INTERVIEW WITH A ROBOT

UniSA has established a new joint college with a Chinese university, offering bachelor and master degrees in engineering and IT.

It’s the first time an Australian university has established a joint college offering both bachelor and master degrees with a Chinese university partner.

The partnership allows UniSA to offer six programs (four at bachelor and two at master level) in conjunction with Xi’an University of Architecture and Technology (XAUAT), one of China’s highest ranked universities for civil engineering.

The new programs are being offered through the new XAUAT UniSA An De College, located in Xi’an China, and supported by UniSA’s Division of Information Technology, Engineering and the Environment.

UniSA has launched 12 new 100 per cent online degrees. Although the trend to online learning is on the rise, students increasingly want more than an on-campus course shoe-horned into an uninspired and unsatisfying online format.

UniSA Online is a suite of 12 career-focused degrees – in business, health, construction, information technology, psychology and sociology and communications and media – which have all been designed specifically for the online environment.

Director of UniSA’s Teaching Innovation Unit, Professor Shane Dawson, says personalisation in online learning has come of age.

“There are a number of new tools that are improving the online learning experience,” Prof Dawson says. “At the heart of our innovation are technologies that allow us to give students personalised support to be successful.”

Australia’s most technologically advanced teacher training facility is planned for UniSA’s Magill campus and is expected to open its doors in early 2018.

The high-tech Samsung SMARTSchool will support advanced teacher education and research from reception through to secondary school, with a focus on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).

It’s thanks to a new partnership between Samsung Electronics Australia and UniSA. Plans include a suite of Samsung technology such as visual display technology, smartphones, tablets, wearables and virtual reality headsets.

The initiative is part of the development of the education precinct at Magill – home to the largest cohort of teaching students in South Australia.

UniSA’s star continues to rise after leaping into the world’s top 250 institutions in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, released in September.

The ranking places UniSA in the top 10 universities in the country and makes it the youngest Australian institution in the world’s top 250, continuing an upwards trajectory for the State’s largest university, already positioned in the world’s top 50 universities under 50 years of age.

UniSA Vice Chancellor Professor David Lloyd says UniSA’s jump into the 201-250 band reflects the commitment that UniSA staff have made to improve both research and teaching and to build a connected and outward looking university community.

“I’m also delighted to see that UniSA ranks in the top 100 for international staff and for our industry engagement,” Prof Lloyd says.

The culmination of hours of study, assignments and exams for more than 1050 students was celebrated in August at UniSA's mid-year graduation ceremonies. Two ceremonies were held at the Adelaide Convention Centre where family and friends watched loved ones graduate and celebrated their hard work.

Five law students from UniSA’s Business School attended the 8th University Scholars Leadership Symposium hosted by Humanitarian Affairs at the United Nations Convention Centre in Bangkok, Thailand. The symposium has a strong focus on social change and development with the opportunity for the students to understand how to become an agent of global change. 

Hundreds of people visited Magill @ Twilight in August to tour the facilities and learn about what is on offer at UniSA’s Magill campus. Prospective students and their families participated in a range of activities and sessions, including a presentation about education degrees. There was also free live music.

Trent Parke and Narelle Autio’s The Summation of Force exhibition appeared at the Anne & Gordon Samstag Museum of Art from June to September and was awarded the South Australian Living Artists Festival Unitcare Services Moving Image Award. The exhibition was a multi-channel video work that pitched competitive sport and the mythical power of cricket as a metaphor for life and parenthood.  

With Pridham Hall set to open in May 2018, hundreds of graduates, staff and supporters have donated $1000 each to have three words ‘to live by’ etched into one of three sculptural features in the new ceremonial and sporting complex. UniSA Honorary Doctorate recipient Maggie Beer chose “Appetite for life” as her three words.

The annual Images of Research: Engaged Research, Enterprising Researchers Photography Competition provides an opportunity for staff and students to showcase the breadth and diversity of research at UniSA where the images tell a story about the research we do and the people who make it happen. Burp baby, burp by midwifery student Jessica Begley, won the 2017 People’s Choice Award.

Highly respected Narungga-Kaurna elder, Kevin O’Loughlin OAM was acknowledged for his contribution to Aboriginal education with an Honorary Doctorate from UniSA.

A much-loved educator, storyteller and cultural consultant, O’Loughlin has been a champion for cultural understanding and the value of Aboriginal knowledges. Known affectionately to many as ‘Uncle Dookie’, he devoted many years teaching at the Taoundi Aboriginal College, and was pivotal in establishing the Cultural Tourism Agency.

Vice Chancellor Professor David Lloyd says the University is proud to recognise O’Loughlin’s outstanding achievements.

“He is a vast storehouse of traditional cultural knowledge, and has been an influential cultural ambassador in South Australia,” Prof Lloyd says.

A highly respected judge and an expert in Native Title, the Honourable John Mansfield AM was awarded an Honorary Doctorate for his commitment and service to law and the wider community.

During his 20-year tenure as a Justice of the Federal Court of Australia, Mansfield delivered a number of landmark Native Title decisions, was influential in the reform of Australian Competition Law, and made a dedicated contribution to developing courts in Vietnam, China and the Pacific.

Vice Chancellor Professor David Lloyd says the Honorary Doctorate acknowledges Mansfield’s enduring commitment to both legal education and building stronger societies.

“His integrity and his career contribution to society both locally and internationally is an inspiration for others," Prof Lloyd says.

A former director of the Sansom Institute for Health Research and current professor of Nutrition and Population Health at UniSA, Emeritus Professor Kerin O’Dea has been honoured for her work in health research.

Throughout her career, Prof O’Dea made valuable contributions towards understanding the relationship between diet and chronic diseases, in particular Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. 

Prof O’Dea has been a strong advocate for the Mediterranean diet, warning of the dangers that high sugar convenience products pose to human health. As a board member of Outback Stores, she has worked actively to promote the supply of healthy food to remote Aboriginal communities.

One of Australia’s most distinguished military officers, Sir Angus Houston was awarded an Honorary Doctorate for his 41 years of service to the Australian military.

Sir Angus’s career began in 1972 as a helicopter pilot in the Royal Australian Air Force. He was awarded an Air Force Cross for an open sea rescue in 1979 and an Achievement Medal in 1990 for his role in Blackhawk helicopter operations. By 2005, he had been promoted to the pinnacle of the military hierarchy, Chief of the Defence Force.

UniSA Vice Chancellor Professor David Lloyd describes Sir Angus’s military career as an inspirational to all.

“Sir Angus’s service to his country has been exceptional, across so many different fields. Not only has he served the military with distinction, his leadership skills have proved invaluable in so many other areas,” Prof Lloyd says. 

Now an Adjunct Professor at UniSA, Emeritus Professor Roger Harris was honoured during the August graduation ceremonies for his international leadership in adult and vocational education research.

In a career spanning 42 years, Harris’s work at UniSA focussed on training reform, workplace learning and professional development.

Prof Harris is a co-leader of the Leadership, Teaching and Learning Research Group, and a member of the Professorial Group in the School of Education. He was also director of the national consortium on vocational education and training research.

For almost 23 years, Prof Harris was the editor of the Australian Journal of Adult Learning, bringing the publication to international recognition and acclaim.

Former UniSA Professor David Corkindale was awarded an Emeritus title during the August graduation ceremonies, recognising his leadership in marketing and management.

During his career at UniSA, Prof Corkindale led the marketing discipline, and was instrumental in founding the School of Marketing. He is currently a senior marketing scientist with the University’s Ehrenberg-Bass Institute for Marketing Science, the world’s largest centre for research into marketing.

Prof Corkindale was part of a team that gained one of the first research grants to develop marketing programs for small and mid-sized wineries; a project that has positioned UniSA as a global leader in wine marketing research.

Retired Professor of Writing and Communication and former director of International Programs in the School of Communication, International Studies and Languages, Professor Claire Woods was awarded an Emeritus title during the August graduation ceremonies.

Prof Woods, who led a teaching team to develop the successful BA (Professional Writing and Communication), was awarded the national award for University Teacher of the Year in Arts and Humanities and the Prime Minister’s Award for University Teacher of the Year in 2000. 

Emeritus Professor Woods established UniSA’s Narratives of War research group examining stories of war through interdisciplinary focus through literature, writing, film, theatre and music.

Acknowledging years of valuable service to Human Resource development, UniSA has made Ruth Blenkiron a Fellow of the University.

The recently retired Executive Director of Human Resources led the establishment of UniSA’s centralised recruitment service, which paved the way towards a culture of excellence.

Blenkiron has an extensive background working in the public service, including director of Workforce Development with the South Australian Department for Education and Children’s Services, Registrar of the Supreme Court of South Australia, Deputy Commissioner for Equal Opportunity and principal of Seymour College.

Australia’s first female Prime Minister and a career champion for education and equity, Julia Gillard, was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in October after she delivered the 20th Annual Hawke Lecture.

The honour was not only in recognition of her leadership and career but also for what she continues to contribute as an ambassador for education and mental health.

Gillard took up the reins of beyondblue in July this year, the nation’s highest profile mental health and suicide-prevention advocacy and education organisation.

UniSA Vice Chancellor Professor David Lloyd says that for young Australian women Gillard has been a powerful role model of determination, hard work, belief in the power of education and the importance of public service. 

  "Julia’s energetic approach to life and work is to be admired,” Prof Lloyd says.

“Her career reveals a real energy to pursue her ideals through education and hard work and a commitment to making a difference in society.”

Physiotherapist and renowned pain specialist, Professor Lorimer Moseley, has been announced as a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences (AAHMS).

The AAHMS welcomed a number of new Fellows in October, who have all displayed outstanding leadership and contributions to health and medical science in Australia.

Prof Moseley has made pivotal contributions to the understanding of persistent pain disorders and the role of brain processes in the causes of conditions and their treatments, while also generating new fields of research and clinical practice.

He has developed a specific treatment which targets disrupted brain processes in chronic pain that is now recommended in clinical guidelines internationally and considered best practice, while his contributions to the field have been recognised by awards and honours on every continent.

Prof Moseley is one of three South Australians to be inducted and the only recipient from UniSA.

Two UniSA Professors have been elected as Fellows of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia (ASSA).

Professor Carol Kulik, Research Professor in Human Resource Management at the Centre for Workplace Excellence along with Professor Joffre Swait, Research Professor and co-Director of the Institute for Choice, were formally recognised as Fellows in October. 

Prof Kulik says it is an honour to be elected to ASSA by her peers.

“The contributions made by previous generations of Fellows have been so great, it is truly humbling to be invited to join their ranks,” Prof Kulik says.

Fellows are elected to the Academy by their peers on the basis of a distinguished contribution to one or more of the Social Sciences that has also been recognised internationally.

Professor Leah Bromfield, co-director of UniSA’s Australian Centre for Child Protection and one of Australia’s foremost child protection researchers, has won the national Telstra Business Women's Award in the public sector and academia category.

Prof Bromfield was one of three UniSA researchers who were the finalists in that award category in the South Australian finals. The other nominees were Associate Professor Rachel Kennedy of UniSA’s Ehrenberg-Bass Institute and Lee Martinez, Department of Rural Health, Whyalla.

After winning the state category, Prof Bromfield went on to win the national award.

Prof Bromfield is a research expert in issues affecting child protection systems, chronic maltreatment and cumulative harm and has worked closely with state, national and international governments on establishing and implementing child welfare reforms, including the National Framework for Protecting Australia’s Children.

Associate Professor Carol Maher has been awarded the 2017 Healthy Development Adelaide Women’s Excellence in Research Award.

The award is given to Healthy Development Adelaide mid-career women members for excellence of research achievement by women working in the field of developmental health.

Assoc Prof Maher works in the Alliance for Research in Exercise, Nutrition and Activity (ARENA) and gave a guest lecture about children’s health, activities and lifestyles around the world when she received the award.

UniSA Program Director for Environmental Science and Geospatial Science Dr Tom Raimondo has been announced by ABC Radio National as one of the Top 5 researchers under 40 years old.

Radio National’s Top 5 Under 40 are selected each year through a national search for early-career researchers who have a flair and passion for communicating their work. The winners become Scientists in Residence across ABC RN, communicating their research and learning more about the media and broadcasting. 

As a convert to geology, Dr Raimondo said he wanted to use his title to spread the word about the fascination and usefulness of geology, a science sometimes seen as an ‘oldie’ but a ‘goodie’.

The Australian Council of Graduate Research has presented UniSA’s Associate Professor Jill Dorrian with an award for excellence in graduate research supervision.

The Australian Council of Graduate Research (ACGR) announced the winners of its inaugural national Excellence in Graduate Research Education Awards at a ceremony at the University of Technology Sydney. The awards promote outstanding performance in higher degree research supervision, leadership and industry engagement.

Assoc Prof Dorrian, who is Associate Head of School: Research and Associate Professor: Psychology, was one of just three winners on the night, and the only one in her category.

An international expert in spatial planning, Professor Stefanie Duhr, has been appointed as Professor of Planning in UniSA’s School of Art, Architecture and Design.

The appointment is part of UniSA’s strategic action plan, Crossing the Horizon, through which 100 academic staff are being employed across the University’s research themes and key disciplinary strengths.

Prof Duhr has more than 10 years’ experience with Radboud University based in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, most recently as the Professor of European Spatial Planning Systems. 

Pro Vice Chancellor of the Division of Education Arts and Social Sciences Professor Denise Meredyth says Prof Duhr will strengthen the University’s expertise in spatial planning.

Booker Prize winner and “national treasure”, Thomas Kenneally, has been appointed a Professorial Fellow at UniSA.

Author of more than 30 novels, and many more dramas, screenplays and books of non-fiction, Kenneally is best known for his Booker Prize winning Schindler’s Ark, later adapted into the Academy Award winning film Schindler’s List.

The three-year Fellowship will see Kenneally deliver masterclasses at UniSA from 2018, providing invaluable insights for students of creative writing and literature.

UniSA Vice Chancellor Professor David Lloyd describes the appointment as an excellent opportunity for students to benefit from the wisdom, talent, insights and experience of one of Australia’s most successful authors.

“Tom’s works have helped to define the experience of Australia – the landscape, the history, the people,” Prof Lloyd says.

Former director of service delivery for Hewlett Packard Enterprise Services in the South Pacific and state manager for South Australia, Peter Stevens, is the new executive director for the UniSA’s MBA and Executive Education.

Experienced across a 20-year career in a wide range of business operations, from HR management and IT, to strategy and operations development, sales and service delivery – Stevens brings a great depth of knowledge of modern business environments to the role.

The new role will lead growth and strategy for executive education focusing on UniSA Business Schools’ MBA and International MBA programs along with related executive education programs.

Stevens said he was excited to be taking on the role and working as a champion for executive education.

Accredited Mental Health Social Worker and former Associate Dean of Flinders Living, Narelle Lieschke, has been appointed as UniSA’s new Manager: Counselling.

In her previous role, with oversight of student wellbeing at Flinders University’s 560+ bed, residential facility, Lieschke was keenly aware of the important role education plays in supporting safe environments for students.

Before working at Flinders University, Lieschke worked for five years at Yarrow Place Rape and Sexual Assault Service in South Australia where she managed a team of six clinicians who provided counselling services to victims of sexual assault and their families.

“My goal is to keep UniSA at the forefront – with a suite of best practice counselling services which are benchmarked to the highest national standards,” she says.

Defence industry executive and former Army Officer, Matt Opie, has been appointed as UniSA’s new Director, Defence – a flagship ‘expert’ role created to steer engagement with South Australia’s burgeoning defence industry sector across research and education. 

A specialist in defence, most recently as Head of Industry Engagement for Saab Australia, Opie has experience across a range of disciplines, including strategic management and business development.

He has also worked on projects around the world, from Australia and the Asia Pacific to the United States and Europe.

UniSA Deputy Vice Chancellor: Research, Professor Tanya Monro says Opie will bring both high calibre skills to the new role and a powerful knowledge of what the defence industry needs from universities.

Professor Joanne Cys, currently Head of UniSA’s School of Art, Architecture and Design, has been appointed as the next Pro Vice Chancellor of the Division of Education, Arts and Social Sciences (EASS).

In addition to her current role as head of school, she is deputy chair of UniSA’s Academic Board. Before this she was Dean: Academic in the Division of EASS (2013-2016) where she led key initiatives to improve the quality of teaching and learning, student engagement and support, and cross-disciplinary collaboration in curriculum development. 

UniSA Vice Chancellor Professor David Lloyd says Prof Cys has provided tremendous support for UniSA in a wide range of acting roles, including UniSA Dean of Graduate Studies and Head of the David Unaipon College of Indigenous Education and Research. She will begin in the role in 2018.

Prof Lloyd also paid tribute to the current Pro Vice Chancellor, Professor Denise Meredyth, for her significant contributions in leading the division for the past three years and fostering its creative industries focus.