1. PSA NEWS:
2016 PSA COMMITTEE ELECTION
Nominations for 2016 PSA Committee positions are NOW OPEN! If you would be interested in nominating for a position, or are interested in understanding more about your democratically elected PSA Committee, head along to http://www.uwastudentguild.com/2016-postgraduate-students-association-elections/.
Please note that nominations are due by 5 pm Thursday 15 October
2015 PSA FUNDING ROUND 2 OPEN THIS THURSDAY!
Submissions for Round 2 of PSA Funding will open this Thursday October 1, so start thinking about the research or conference trips you would like to provide a submission for.
To find out more about funding, head to the website at: http://www.uwastudentguild.com/about/departments/psa/psa/ and for hints from the last round of funding: http://www.uwastudentguild.com/psa-2015-round-1-funding-advice-to-applicants/
UWA SESSIONAL STAFF ASSOCIATION LETTER
The newly formed UWA Sessional Staff Association is opposing changes to support for sessional staff as a result of the dissolution of CATL and movement of functions to the Centre for Education Futures. This movement has seen all professional development opportunities for postgraduate sessional staff removed, with no available advice on future opportunities. We are supporting the UWA Sessional Staff Association in their response to changes in support for teaching staff at UWA. You can find out more about what they are doing at www.uwasessionalstaffassociation.wordpress.com . In particular, have a look at the open letter to Prof Cameron with signatures due by 9 October. If you are interested in this process please collect some signatures and forward them to uwasessionalstaffassociation@gmail.com before 9 October.
2. PSA Events:
STUDENT TALKS IN RESEARCH (STiR!)
STIR is a student research conference and is open for everyone to attend. Come see what research and postgraduate life is all about!
The conference is aimed at a general audience (think undergrads and peers from completely different fields). The format will be 10 minute TED style talks with 5 minutes question time. We are also taking posters (in an infograph style).
DETAILS:
Tuesday 29 September
10 am – 3 pm, PSA Lounge – first floor of the south wing of the Guild Building, in room 1.05
We are now issuing a call for abstracts/posters!
Contact email: uwastir@gmail.com
Contact Person: VP Research, PSA 0424690778
Facebook invite: https://www.facebook.com/events/1199729156719242/
OCTOBER 2015 CONNECT
Welcome new postgrad students! We would love to see you come along to the August Connect. This is a casual meet-and-greet event with drinks and nibbles provided. There’s no need to RSVP, just bring your Student Card with Guild Gold sticker attached. We hope to see you there!
DETAILS:
Thursday 1 October 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm
WaterSports Complex
Drinks and nibbles provided, FREE attendance
Facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/1614241525484040/
BOARD GAMES NIGHT
In response to postgraduate pressure, board games night has moved to Tuesdays! We have a range of board games including classics such as Monopoly and Scrabble, and new favourites such as Cranium and Games Against Humanity. Hopefully it will be warm enough soon to open up the sliding doors, air out the Lounge and enjoy the spring breeze…
DETAILS:
Tuesdays 6 and 20 October
5:30 pm – 9:00 pm
PSA Lounge – first floor of the south wing of the Guild Building, in room 1.05
Bring $5 for pizza on the night!
Facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/477412629085599/ and https://www.facebook.com/events/1693657777538315/
PSA COCKTAIL PARTY @ PIRATE BAR
The biggest event in the PSA calendar is coming up… the annual cocktail party. This year’s cocktail party will be at Perth’s pirate inspired small bar, Pirate Bar. There’ll be cocktails, finger food and an opportunity to sneak into a silent disco.
DETAILS:
Friday 16 October
7:30 pm – 10:30 pm
Pirate Bar, 25 Green Street, Mount HawthornTickets are $50, which includes 3 free cocktails and a selection of finger foods and snacks.Transport Option: Mount Hawthorn is not the easiest place to get to, so we are offering transport passes for those who would like them. Each Transport Pass is $5.00 and can be purchased with your ticket.Timetable:
7:00 – UWA to Pirate Bar, from outside the Tav
10:45 – Pirate Bar to Perth Trainstation
NB: They are billed as different ‘Sections’. When you go to the Trybooking page, book your ‘Ticket ahoy!’ then instead of clicking ‘Checkout’ click ‘Continue Shopping: This Event’ to go back to the Section page and choose your Transport Pass.Work like a Captain. Play like a Pirate!
Tickets can be purchased at: www.trybooking.com/JEMO
Facebook invite: https://www.facebook.com/events/1664412340471351/
PSA ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
We welcome all UWA postgraduates to come to the PSA Annual General Meeting. We will be hearing from the President and Executive regarding the year’s highlights, handing out copies of the 2015 edition of Postscript Magazine and voting for the 2016 PSA Committee.
Please make an effort to attend as we need a quorum to make decisions on the 2016 Committee. You could even throw your hat into the ring for a last minute nomination!
Postgraduates are welcome to follow us to the Water Sports Complex for the November Connect.
DETAILS:
Thursday 5 November 2015
4:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Social Science Lecture Room 2 (Room 1.29)
Facebook invite: https://www.facebook.com/events/1645143965728030/
WE WOULD LIKE TO ANNOUNCE THAT THE FRIDAY MORNING ‘SHUT UP AND WRITE’ SESSIONS HAVE BEEN DISCONTINUED BECAUSE OF A LACK OF INTEREST. WE MAY REVISIT THIS DECISION IN 2016.
3. OTHER NEWS and EVENTS:
LEARNING MENTORS
Education Lab is looking for Learning Mentors. It’s a free open source community project where year 9 – 12 students can get academic support, do hands on science and interact with the local science community. There’s also opportunity for students to connect with scientists or learn more about different scientific fields. We’ve just started and we are currently launching a trial for 8 weeks from the 24/10/2015 to 12/12/2015, every Saturday from 10AM to 12PM at St Catherines Bloom Lab.
We are currently recruiting Learning Mentors to join the Education Lab during our trial period (Applications close 12/10/2015). Learning Mentors will have an opportunity to run hands on science activities with the group in the first half hour or bring along any STEM related activities they’re working on. During the remainder of the session they’ll be able to assist students in their learning, network and learn from other Learning Mentors.
Find us on the ‘Community Organisations’ page on the Guild Volunteering site: http://www.volunteering.guild.uwa.edu.au/programs and at https://www.enkel.co/enkel-education-lab/
Application closing date: 12 Oct 2015
THE PhD MOVIE FOR THE RIDE TO CONQUER CANCER
Based on the beloved comic strip “Piled Higher and Deeper” by Jorge Cham, the film features a fun, compelling story about discovery and teaching. It looks at themes of competition in research, overcoming writer’s block, and finding your voice in the competitive world of academia. The Nameless Grad student is now an integral part of Prof. Smith’s Lab. However, the current economic situation has put the lab in peril as research funding are at an all-time low. The group must travel to an important academic conference and square off against a rival research group as they compete for results and grant money. Meanwhile, Cecilia’s advisor declares he is going on sabbatical, and she must finish writing her thesis or be stuck in grad school another year.
DETAILS:
Harry Perkins Auditorium
Screenings at 6:30 pm (doors open at 6:10 pm) on:
Movie 1 – Wednesday 30, September: $20 (includes one complementary drink)
Movie 2 – Thursday 1, October: $25 (includes one complementary drink)
Movie 2 – Thursday 8, October: $25 (includes one complementary drink)
Full PHD comics Experience: $40 (includes both movies with two complimentary drinks)
Event at Evenbrite.com : https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/phd-comics-movie-nights-tickets-18654110948 ). Tickets will be available for sale at the door, unless sold out prior.
AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL MAP COMPETITION
The Australian National Map Competition is launched! In celebration of the International Cartographic Association’s (ICA) International Map Year 2015-2016, you are invited to demonstrate the power of maps and submit a map to the Australian National Map Competition themed on demonstrating the power of maps. Entries will be evaluated by a panel of experts with a variety of prizes for the best maps.
The competition is a joint venture between the 9th International Symposium on Mobile Mapping Technology (http://www.mmt2015.org/), Mapping Sciences Institute of Australia (MSIA) and the Surveying and Spatial Sciences Institute (SSSI).
If you consider yourself to be a bit handy with map-making tools head to the website for more information: www.sssi.org.au/newsdetails/commission/868/6.html. Entries close 19 October 2015.
COMPLETING THE PIPELINE: FROM BIOLOGY TO BIOINFORMATICS AND BACK AGAIN – 2015 EMBL AUSTRALIA PHD SYMPOSIUM
The conference focuses on exposing students to research that explores fundamental biological questions on a grander scale such as ‘next-generation’ sequencing, mass spectrometry, lipidomic approaches, and large cohort studies. The symposium is organised by students, for students, and includes both lecture sessions and informal, interactive panel question/answer sessions.
It is the only conference of its kind in Australia, bringing together students from a broad range of disciplines in a collaborative environment.
DETAILS:
Wednesday 25th – Friday 27th November
Bio21 Institute in Melbourne
Registrations are now open
Please visit our website: http://eaps.org.au/ for registrations find us on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EMBLAphdsymposium and twitter: twitter.com/EMBLAuSymposium
To make the symposium more accessible to interstate students we are subsidising the cost of accommodation. As availability is limited, be sure to register early to avoid disappointment.
AISEC INTERN ABROAD
AIESEC is an international nonprofit organization that provides young people with leadership opportunities to develop themselves into global leaders with an urge to make a difference in society. As of January 2014, the AIESEC network includes over 100,000 members in 124 countries and territories. It is the largest student-run organization in the world.
If you are looking for a challenge and want to get involved in internship work it might be worth checking out the international exchange program available via AISEC! This includes assistance with the New Colombo Plan for exchanges in Asia.
To find out more, head to internships.aisec.org, email mikhael.zhou@aisec.net to book a time to talk or go to their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/AIESECUWA
AUSTRALASIAN EARLY CAREER URBAN RESEARCH NETWORK (AECURN) – WEST AUSTRALIAN CHAPTER
Calling all urban researchers! The WA chapter of AECURN is established and we’d like to invite you to be part of it. AECURN is a network of Early Career and PhD Urban Researchers from across Australia and New Zealand which emerged out of the State of Australian Cities PhD Symposium and is based on the AESOP Young Academics Network model in Europe.
AECURN offers a forum for networking and sharing academic expertise and resources, organising training workshops, seminars, guest lectures, etc., and facilitating cross university collaboration within WA, Australia and internationally.
Sign up to the website to receive updates of events, workshops, conferences and publishing opportunities: www.aecurnonline.com or contact mariana.atkins@research.uwa.edu.au or Rebecca.Scherini@curtin.edu.au.
JOIN THE LIMINA EDITORIAL COLLECTIVE!
We are looking for people to join us as part of the editorial collective. There are lots of ways to get involved as part of the collective and we welcome all different levels of involvement, so don’t feel put off if you don’t have a lot of time to commit. You can:
Review Articles
Copy edit
Attend meetings and contribute your thoughts
Get involved in one of our teams (events, social media and marketing, web)
You don’t need editorial experience to be a collective member so come along to one of our meetings if you’re interested. We meet every Wednesday at 1pm at the UWA Arts building room 1.33.
To find out more about the Journal and/or browse our past publications visit http://www.limina.arts.uwa.edu.au . Don’t forget to also check us out on Facebook and Twitter.
Email any questions you may have to our submissions editor, Colleen, at liminajournal@gmail.com.
UWA PODIATRY CLINIC
Did you know that UWA has its own Podiatry Clinic staffed by UWA students? Competitive rates for services are available, plus you’ll be helping your fellow postgrads with their training. Podiatry students have to complete 1440 clinical hours for their degree – so they could use your help (and your feet)! Head to http://www.podiatry.surgery.uwa.edu.au/clinic for more information.
STUDYSmarter
Have you heard about STUDYSmarter? They help coursework students by making YouTube videos and conducting sessions related to referencing, English language proficiency, basic math concepts, writing technical papers etc. Their resources are quite useful for Research students too.
You can find out more about STUDYSmarter at their website: http://www.student.uwa.edu.au/learning/studysmarter
UWA BTW (Bi the Way)
UWA BTW (Bi the Way) offers an informal, safe, supportive, and inclusive space for UWA staff, students, and alumni who identify as bisexual, pansexual, non-monosexual, bi poly, biromantic asexual, or no-label. The group is welcoming of people of all sexes, gender expressions, pronouns, and ages.
We will be holding monthly social events during semester (e.g. casual drinks, dinners, movie outings), and provide positive and light-hearted support within a drama-free environment. Our ultimate aim is to foster a community of like-minded friends.
Join us and keep in touch through our Facebook group (https://www.facebook.com/groups/UWABTW/ ) or our mailing list (uwabtw@gmail.com ).
Note: This is not intended as a hook-up group. Anyone who makes members of the group uncomfortable will be asked to leave. We would like to maintain a safe and supportive environment.
ASPIRE UWA – HIGH SCHOOL OUTREACH PROGRAM.
Aspire UWA is a high school outreach program that works with high school students under represented at the University. Aspire UWA are currently starting up a new initiative for Post Graduate students where they can become involved in outreach work through the Aspire UWA program on a voluntary basis. There is a lot of different ways the postgraduate students can become involved in this initiative both on and off campus and we seek to provide a stronger sense of University community and belonging for those involved.
For more information in regards to discussing this new initiative, please contact Megan Henderson at: megan.henderson@uwa.edu.au.
Newsletter content?
Is there anything you would like to see in the newsletter? Just email psa@guild.uwa.edu.au or the media officer direct at Psa-media@guild.uwa.edu.au and let us know! Make sure you keep your submissions as unformatted plaintext, include an email contact and try not to make it too wordy. We will not accept flyers or pictures as attachments to the newsletter. The newsletter will be distributed once per month in 2015, so if you have an urgent matter you can post it to the PSA Facebook page or connect with us on Twitter and we can promote your post.
Email: psa@guild.uwa.edu.au Facebook: www.facebook.com/uwapsa Twitter: @UWAPSA