The Mortar Board
Alumni E-Newsletter: June 2012

IN THIS ISSUE:

• Social and Alumni Networks
• Alumni  News and Activities
• Where Are They Now?
• Benefits
• University News
• Future Events

SOCIAL NETWORKING AND ALUMNI NETWORKS

CQUniversity has several social networking mediums, which are there for you to connect with us and with each other. Whether your preferred platform is Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn, general information and discussion topics are shared regularly.

ALUMNI NEWS AND ACTIVITIES

Seeking Research Higher Degree Alumni Response

The University is very interested in hearing from all alumni who studied a Research Higher Degree (RHD). In February, RHD alumni with an email address on file were sent an invitation to update their details and provide information on where their degree took them. This campaign received a positive response from many people.

In trying to establish links to RHD alumni, alumni working in research institutions or positions are requested to encourage their fellow alumni to get in touch with the University. CQUniversity is aiming to create strong links with RHD alumni so assistance is sought to contact alumni who may not already be on the emailing list.

Thailand Networking Event

CQUniversity alumni gathered in Bangkok recently for an alumni function at the Novotel Hotel. The special guest was Dr Theerarat Samrejvanich, a former CQUniversity doctoral student who is a member of Thailand's parliament.

This event was hosted by Sydney Campus Director Susan Loomes, Associate Professor Alison Owens (Director of the International Education Research Centre), Dr Clive Graham (Head of Program for Master of Creative Enterprise and the Doctor of Professional Studies), and Melinda Sung, CQUniversity's State Recruitment Manager for Victoria.

Meantime, these CQUniversity representatives also hosted a Doctorate of Professional Studies & Master of Creative Enterprise Information Evening, again at the Novotel Hotel in Bangkok. This event was supported by Austrade and featured a guest address by Maurine Lam, Senior Trade Commissioner, Minister (Commercial) Australian Embassy Thailand.

Rockhampton Supporter Event

Over seventy Alumni and Donors walked through the doors to the Rockhampton Art Gallery recently as CQUniversity hosted a function to show appreciation for their continued support.

Guests were also treated to the delightful artworks from the CQUniversity Art Collection which had been on exhibition at the Art Gallery since March.

The CQUniversity Art Collection currently holds more than 500 artworks, including significant 1970s works by Australian artists, historical works and contemporary pieces from international, national and local artists.

This exhibition brings together a selection of the finest works from the CQUniversity Art Collection and showcases historical, Indigenous Australian, Pacific Islander, European and Australian artworks across a diverse range of media.

William McInnes featured on cover of Be Magazine

Alumnus William McInnes is no stranger to the camera having acted in some of Australia’s most well-known television shows but this time he stars in CQUniversity’s very own Be magazine to promote the release of his newest book “Worse Things Happen At Sea”.

The book, written by William and his late wife Sarah, recently took out the award for best non-fiction book by Australia’s independent booksellers.  To read more about this book, get a copy of Be Magazine today.

3rd Year Nursing Project – Creating of In-Hospital Networks

The CQUniversity School of Nursing and Midwifery is seeking the employment details of alumni working in the nursing field in Australia. The School has identified an opportunity for third year nursing students, who are required to undertake work placements in order to complete their studies. As part of the work placement, the University would like to provide students with a list of CQUniversity graduates already working in the hospital where the student is undertaking their placement.

If you choose to participate in this program, you will receive an email letting you know the details of the student who has been placed at the hospital where you work, and your details (name and work area for example) will be shared with the student.

It is hoped that the development of career and social networks in hospitals will create a highly positive experience for the students, and ultimately result in recruitment and retention opportunities for hospitals as well.

To participate please update your details at the website (you don’t have to remember your student number to do this), or you can email the Alumni Relations Manager. Please include “3^rd year nursing project” as a subject line or comment.  

E-Mentoring project – Alumni sharing real world experience with students

CQUniversity’s Careers and Employment Service is introducing a new opportunity for Alumni to have a positive impact on the lives of current students by participating in the e-Mentoring Program. The goal for the e-Mentoring Program is to assist the students' transition from study to graduate work by creating a link between industry professionals and students.

Although currently in the pilot stage, the aim of the mentoring program is to allow Mentors (Alumni) the chance to offer information, experience and opportunity to assist participating students to grow professionally. The e-Mentoring Program is designed to link students to Alumni from a similar field of study, and create an environment for questions and answers about career choices and experiences.

There are many benefits gained for both members of a mentoring relationship. Some of these benefits include:

• Personal satisfaction of supporting students
• Developing leadership skills
• Potential to source students for vacation work placement
• Establish or maintain links with CQUniversity on an individual or organisational basis
• Encourage students to achieve their career potential
• Opportunity to network with other mentors and mentees/students
• Share your own experiences with the future work force
• An opportunity to reflect on your career journey

There will be further reporting on how this project is going over the coming months. If you’re part of the pilot program, the University welcomes your feedback.

Alumnus Shakir spotted as excellent employee

CQUniversity Sydney graduate Shakir Karim is proud to have received two 'On The Spot' awards from his employer SAI Global, recognising operational excellence 'even when resources were restricted and at short notice'.

The awards also commend him on helping with problematic and complicated searches, for working hard to fulfill orders, and for sharing his knowledge with team members. Shakir is a Team Member - Property Searches.

SAI Global provides organisations around the world with information services and solutions for managing risk, achieving compliance and driving business improvement.

Shakir has been juggling his work at SAI Global with research towards his Master of Informatics, for which he is analysing Bangladeshi consumers' E-Commerce security and privacy satisfaction in small to medium-sized business.

The Bachelor of Information Systems (2006) and Masters of Information Systems (2008) graduate grew up in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, before moving to Australia to study with CQUniversity.

Indonesian Alumnus nurtures tourism, earns award nomination

Sari Fulton graduated from CQUniversity with a Bachelor of Arts (Sociology) last year, and she's back in the limelight again. Returning to Indonesia after graduation, Sari has established her own business as a freelance holiday rental agent.

Sari provides a five-star service to tourists by providing pre-departure advice about accommodation and in-country airport/hotel transfers, guided tours and a personal service to help tourists have a relaxing and enjoyable holiday.

Her entrepreneurial skills led to her being nominated by CQUniversity in the Business Leadership and Business Management category of the OzMate Indonesian Alumni Awards 2012.

‘Dusty’ sprinkled with Uni-linked talent

The story of 'the original pop diva' Dusty Springfield came to the stage during March and April at the Pilbeam Theatre in Rockhampton, featuring a cast sprinkled with Uni-linked talent.

Lead performer Amanda Locker, who played the title role of Dusty, is a Performing Arts and Learning Management graduate.

Other cast members included: Katie Ross (Performing Arts graduate and current Marketing Directorate employee); Laura Sinclair (current Sociology & Literary Studies student); Jacinta Cran (Arts/Education graduate); Julianne Webster-Scott (Marketing graduate); Melissa Fenlon (Music Theatre graduate); Jessica Earle (current Allied Health student); Nadene Housman (Education graduate); and Georgia Sullivan (current Allied Health student).

Dean honoured to be on national education working party

CQUniversity Professor and alumnus, Helen Huntly, says she is honoured to have been nominated for a national education working party, as a representative of the Australian Council of Deans of Education

Professor Huntly will be part of the 'Initial Teacher Education - Professional Experience' project reference group for AITSL (the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership).

Working in partnership with state-based teacher bodies, AITSL is proposing to develop resources to improve the quality of supervision of pre-service teachers during their professional experiences.

Professor Huntly says her involvement is a wonderful opportunity.

"The working party will investigate and identify at the national level, best practice in the teaching practicum. This is an element of teacher education that is situated at the core of effective teacher preparation and thus is very close to my heart," the Bundaberg-based academic says.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

Dave's journey through CQUni's first four decades

While many of CQUniversity's founding fathers and pioneers are commemorated by names on buildings, Dave Cardnell put an end to an era working his last day on Thursday May 17, more than 40 years after first reporting for duty.

Dave started work back in 1969 at the then two-year-old Queensland Institute of Technology (Capricornia), which later gained university status and changed names several times to become CQUniversity Australia.

He will continue his association with the University as an enrolled student for a while longer as he completes a Graduate Diploma of Learning and Teaching, enabling him to apply for teacher registration so he can seek contract work as a maths and physics specialist in the high school system.

BENEFITS

Library Electronic Database Access

We are delighted to offer electronic database access (free of charge) for alumni of the university. Due to changing vendor license conditions the range of databases available to CQUniversity alumni may alter at any time. Please refer to the webpage regularly for the latest information. Databases include:

• Informit (Australian Content)
• Science Direct

If you have any questions or concerns about this, please contact the Alumni Relations Manager email alumni-enquiries@cqu.edu.au

Click here to learn about how to seek approval and access the database http://www.cqu.edu.au/engage/graduates-and-alumni/benefits#library.

Alumni who have access to a campus can also borrow hard-copy materials. Further information about this is available on the Benefits page of the alumni website.

Bookshop Discounts

Click here to access information about the benefits designed specifically for our graduates. http://www.cqu.edu.au/engage/graduates-and-alumni/benefits#bookshop.

Be Magazine

Click here to read the latest version, which is full of alumni news, and stories from all the CQUniversity campuses. Don’t forget to check out the article about alumnus William McInnes.

We encourage you to join the Friends of Be Magazine (CQUniversity's magazine) group. This site is a venue for subscribers to comment on stories, ask experts a question, suggest a story for an upcoming issue and comment on the magazine in general. Just search for the group in your groups section to join.

UNIVERSITY NEWS

Launch of the BMA Chair in Indigenous Engagement

On the 18th April, CQU and BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA) affirmed their joint commitment to ‘closing the gap’ in Indigenous education and opportunity, with the announcement of a new senior leadership role at CQU, as well as 15 new scholarships for students from all backgrounds, representing a $1.8 million commitment from BMA. Prof. Bronwyn Fredericks has now taken on the role of the BMA Chair in Indigenous Engagement along with the role of Pro Vice-Chancellor (Indigenous Engagement). The jointly funded position will support outreach activities between the university and the Central Queensland region’s numerous Indigenous communities.

Bronwyn, an alumnus of CQUniversity, will of course work closely with the University’s Indigenous education, spirituality and research centre Nulloo Yumbah in her newly created role. Bronwyn is not new to the Central Queensland region having worked in numerous positions in Rockhampton, including at Central Queensland University in the 1990s and Queensland Health. She was also an active community member and served on several regional boards including the Bidgerdii Community Health Service, CQ Community Legal Service, the Women’s Health Centre and the Aboriginal and Islander Community Resource Agency (AICRA). Most recently, she has served as a Principal Research Fellow within Queensland University of Technology’s Faculty of Health.

Stage and Screen star joins Bachelor of Theatre team

Music theatre star and TV veteran Peter Cousens has been appointed as an Adjunct Associate Professor in the School of Creative and Performing Arts, and as an Artistic Ambassador for the Bachelor of Theatre program at CQUniversity.

In his new role at the University, Peter will visit the conservatorium at the Mackay campus from time to time to conduct workshops and master classes and will be a mentor for our theatre students.

In addition, he will contribute to raising the profile of the CQ Conservatorium of Music and the Bachelor of Theatre program by enhancing significant links with the performing arts industry, the profession and the wider community, with a view to firmly establishing the CQCM as a major player in performing arts education in Australia.

"We are privileged to have Peter as part of our team and I very much look forward to welcoming him and working with him as we build the capacity and capability of the School," says Professor Matthew Marshall, Dean of the School of Creative and Performing Arts.

Peter Cousens said the Mackay-based Bachelor of Theatre program had the advantage of being away from the pressures faced by students attending bigger programs based in capital cities, including the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) and the Western Australian Performing Arts Academy (WAAPA).

CQUniversity cements its presence in Cairns with new Distance Education Study Centre

CQUniversity is no stranger to Cairns with around 350 students and hundreds of graduates already in the region, but a new Distance Education Study Centre will finally give the University's Cairns-based students a place to call home...

With a campus footprint already stretching from Mackay to Melbourne, CQUniversity hopes the centre - to be located at 36 Florence Street in Cairns - will serve as a welcome support mechanism for both students and graduates in Far North Queensland. The Development and Alumni Relations Directorate is eager to host an alumni function at this new study centre.

FUTURE EVENTS

The University schedules a range of events throughout the various campuses, which may be of interest to graduates of the University.These events include academic conferences and presentations on a range of topics, performing arts events at the Mackay Conservatorium of Music as well as concerts and events in other locations.

Current upcoming events include:

• Music and theatre events at the Conservatorium of Music (Mackay). Alumni receive a discount!
• 14^th June - GECON Graduating Engineers Conference (Rockhampton)
• 13^th June - Brisbane Alumni Networking Function
• 14^th June - Gold Coast Alumni Networking function
• 25^th June - Noosa Alumni Networking Function
• 3^rd July - Gladstone Alumni Networking Function
• 19^th July - Emerald Alumni Networking Function

For other CQUniversity events click here