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 SOON!
Submissions for Round 2 of PSA Funding will open on October 1, so start thinking about the research or conference trips you would like to provide a submission for.
If you are interested in applying for an award it might be worth considering presenting at STiR (Student Talks in Research), PSA’s mini-conference. This year we are awarding bonus points for the travel award to those who presented at STiR. See below under ‘Events’ for more information on STiR.
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/
#VALUEPOSTGRADS
The Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations, of which the PSA is a member, is kicking off a campaign to promote the hard work that postgraduates do in Australia. We would love you to tell us what you are doing of value at UWA and in the wider higher education sector. #Valuepostgrads on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram (and #uwapsa while you’re at it!) any time you talk about your uni work and show us what you’ve been up to! You can also head to the Facebook page to tell your stories https://www.facebook.com/valuepostgrads.
If you really want to get serious about contributing to the campaign, write ‘My research degree will…’ on a piece of paper and follow it with a statement on what your research degree will contribute or why research funding is important. Snap a photo of you holding up the piece of paper and upload it to Twitter with #valuepostgrads, the Facebook page (www.facebook.com/valuepostgrads) or at the CAPA website (www.capa.edu.au/valuepostgrads).
FEEDBACK FROM UWA POSTGRADUATE COURSEWORK STUDENTS
Thanks to those coursework students who took the time to provide us with feedback on issues of concern to them. These issues are now being considered by the PSA Committee. We’ll update you on any progress we make. It is worth highlighting that not all students responding to the call-out identified issues, with some students indicating they were delighted with the level of support they have received during their degree.
ISSUES and SUGGESTIONS:
Links with professional bodies: employment opportunities may be increased and opportunities accessed with enhanced links between faculties/schools and industry professionals
Issues with contact hours: low number of labs per unit, and minimal face-to-face teaching opportunities
Issues with space: opportunity to sit in a dedicated, quiet space to complete work is difficult in some faculties
SURF treatment for Trimester units: Concern that trimester units aren’t reflected accurately in the SURF results, with some trimester SURF grades agglomerated
Intensive Units: Concern around the quality of education from a 5 day intensive course, particularly when in a series of courses (two weeks/units in close succession without feedback from the first)
2. PSA Events:
SESSIONAL STAFF OPEN FORUM – ARTS DEPARTMENT
The Centre for Advanced Teaching and Learning (CATL) has been developed into the Centre for Education Futures (CEF). This will mean:
– Fewer staff in CEF than in CATL.
– Resources put online, or are yet to transition into online content.
– Fewer Teaching Internship positions across the university, slowly progressing towards dissolution of the centralised program.
Questions for Discussion:
• What will it take to guarantee that every PhD candidate who wants to teach during their candidature has the opportunity to do so?
• What resources are needed for candidates who have no previous experience in teaching, or for those who want professional development?
• Who should be responsible for the coordination of such resources? (CEF, Faculty, School or the Unit Coordinator)
• Can teaching training enhance professional skills that are applicable to outside academia?
• Instead of a centralised Teaching Internship Program, should we consider a Faculty specific program?
DETAILS:
Wednesday 2 September
4:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Social Sciences, Lecture Room 1
SEPTEMBER 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 3 September 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm
WaterSports Complex
Drinks and nibbles provided, FREE attendance
Facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/962437093797322/
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 8 and 22 September
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/434428040097653/ and https://www.facebook.com/events/455933461253374/
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). There will be a prize for best talk and poster, as well as participation prizes! Refreshments will be on the PSA.
There are no requirements to present a poster, we will display whatever you give to us! We just ask that the content is accessible to undergraduates and showcases a little about life as a postgraduate.
Note: If you are looking forward to apply for the PSA Conference Travel awards in the next round, you can earn 3 bonus points if you present your research at STIR. There will be limited slots available on first come first serve basis.
DETAILS:
Tuesday 29 September
Venue and Time to be determined based on number of abstracts
We are now issuing a call for abstracts/posters!
These will be due September 14th.
Contact email: uwastir@gmail.com
Contact Person: VP Research, PSA 0424690778
Facebook invite: https://www.facebook.com/events/1199729156719242/
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/
KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR UPCOMING PSA EVENTS, INCLUDING THE OCTOBER PSA COCKTAIL PARTY AND THE NOVEMBER WOMEN IN RESEARCH EVENT!
3. OTHER NEWS and EVENTS:
HOW TO SURVIVE YOUR PHD – MOOC
RESEARCH students – The Thesis Whisperer has created a free online course for helping students survive their PhD/research project and dealing with supervisors. It runs for 10 weeks and started on August 26, but positions are still available! Head to https://www.edx.org/course/how-survive-phd-anux-rsit-01x for more info.
HEALTH PROMOTION SEMINARS IN SEPTEMBER
The UWA Health Promotion Unit is hosting 2 workshops this September that are free for students to attend. They also have another Mental Health First Aid Training scheduled in September – you can register for this at http://www.student.uwa.edu.au/life/health/fit/training
Hepatitis WA ‘Liver Healthy Life’ Workshop This is an interactive workshop where you will learn to make healthy juices and salads and how to maintain optimum liver health. Come down on your lunch time for tasty snacks and to learn more about Hepatitis.
This workshop is free for UWA students and staff. All juicing ingredients are supplied. A maximum of 20 participants can register so get in quick!
DETAILS:
Wednesday 9 September
12:30pm-2:00pm
RSVP: http://www.student.uwa.edu.au/life/health/fit/training/yeah-workshop
‘Consent! Safe Sex! STIs!’ Workshop
We’ve all heard the phrases, but what does it mean for you? If you want to learn more about barrier methods, sexually transmitted infections and informed and enthusiastic consent, come down and meet the YEAH Ambassadors on campus. Find out more about YEAH<http://www.redaware.org.au/> for Red Aware.
This workshop is free for UWA students and staff. A maximum of 30 participants can register.
DETAILS:
Thursday 10 September
1:00pm-2:00pm
RSVP: http://www.student.uwa.edu.au/life/health/fit/training/yeah-workshop
UWA 3MT FINALS
The UWA Three Minute Thesis (3MT)™ competition fosters the development of important academic and research communication skills among higher degree by research students.
The challenge is to give an engaging and dynamic talk on your research topic and its significance, in language appropriate to an intelligent but non-specialist audience, in just 3 minutes.
DETAILS:
UWA 3MT Semi-finals and Finals:
Thursday 10th September 2015
University Club Auditorium.
Semi-finals from 9am – 1pm
Finals from 3pm to 5pm
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND COMMERCIALISATION SEMINAR
Come along and learn about Intellectual Property and Commercialisation at UWA!
The seminar will give an overview of:
– Intellectual Property – what it is and why it’s important
– Patenting – what you need to get a patent
– Developing your idea – including sources of funding
– Commercialisation – how to put your ideas to use
DETAILS:
Thursday 10 September 2015
11.00am – 12.00pm
G41 Seminar Room, Ground floor, Ken and Julie Michael Building
Free for UWA staff and postgraduates
RSVP via the event page on the Research Week website http://www.researchweek.uwa.edu.au/events/rdi-intellectual-property-and-commercialisation-for-uwa-researchers-seminar/ or resdev-research@uwa.edu.au
JOSEPH GENTILLI LECTURE: COASTAL SCIENCE REFLECTIONS ON THE PAST AND PRESENT AND IDEAS FOR THE FUTURE
Coastal Australia faces a raft of issues which requires a broad historical as well as contemporary understanding of this wide range issues across various spatial and temporal scales that arise from changes in different drivers impacting directly on coastal environments, lifestyles and livelihoods. Some attempt must be made to apply scientific understanding as best one can to the issues facing those who use coastal resources. Decision-making should benefit from that knowledge. This is not always the case. This lecture will offer some personal examples of where coastal science has been of use, where it has been ignored, and where it could be of value in the future.
DETAILS:
Monday 10 September
6:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Theatre Auditorium, University Club
FREE attendance RSVP at: www.ias.uwa.edu.au/lectures/thom
DEVELOPING INCLUSIVE EDUCATIONAL COMMUNITIES: SUPPORTING DIVERSITY IN GENDER AND SEXUALITY, LITERACY AND TECHNOLOGY
ONLINE SURVEY – If you’re a UWA student between the ages of 18-26 we would love for you to participate in Murdoch University’s Equity and Social Inclusion Survey examining Literacy, Use of Technology and Diversity in Gender and Sexuality. The survey takes about 15 minutes to complete online. Easy! Head to: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/RCYD59R
COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIAN POSTRADUATE ASSOCIATIONS – FEEDBACK ON RESEARCH TRAINING PROGRAMS
Do you care about the future of PhD training programs? The Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations (CAPA) is seeking feedback on your experiences in research training. This is in light of the ACOLA review of PhD programs. While CAPA’s submission for this Review is now complete, they seek further contribution to on-going policy works. To get involved, fill out the questionnaire at: http://goo.gl/forms/Q9filj3abB
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 F
ind 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