 |
 |
CollegeDownUnder is now CampusDownUnder August 2007 Newsworthy & Interesting
Office of the Vice-Chancellor & PresidentMEMORANDUMTO : All Staff and Students August 15 2007 SUBJECT : Bond Receives Australia's Highest Ratings in 2008 Good Universities Guide
I am delighted to announce that Bond University is now the best rated University in Australia, after earning the most five-star ratings in the 2008 Good Universities Guide. The independent guide awarded the maximum five-star rating to Bond in an unrivalled ten key performance indicators, with the next highest performer being the University of New South Wales with nine. Particularly pleasing was our clean sweep of the educational experience and graduate outcomes categories, which is testament to the outstanding success of our graduates and our unique personalised approach to education. I would also like to make special mention of our outstanding results with regards to our Academic staff. For the first time ever, Bond was awarded five stars for Staff Qualifications, which together with our five star teaching quality, is wonderful recognition of the calibre of our staff here at Bond and the commitment you all have to delivering a quality educational experience for our students. It is an incredibly proud day for Bond University when we are nationally recognised as a top performer across so many key indicators of a university's standing. In summary, in the 2008 Good Universities Guide, Bond ranks FIVE STARS for :
Congratulations to all our staff and graduates who helped us achieve the highest ratings of any Australian University. Regards, Professor Robert Stable Vice-Chancellor and President Bond University student Movie launch - red terror Semester 072 Film & TV students showcase evening http://www.redterrormovie.com/ . Red Terror tells the story of an Ethiopian family in the 1975 revolution. During the time of the Red Terror the Ethiopian army forced every first born male to join the battle against the rebellious liberation front. Scared of the ruthless dictatorship Mahari sends his son Tatek away to hide from the military forces. But when the army arrives and finds the son gone, they take Mahari instead; leaving behind his wife and his younger son Alemu. enrepreneurial small medium enterprise lecture series Attendees were inspired and learnt that a great idea is not always enough. An opportunity (to create a sustainable profitable venture) is more than just a good idea. The interactive lecture involved a creativity exercise that participants thoroughly enjoyed. One participant commented that listening to Professor McKaskill was moving. "Tom is a great story teller and is very engaging. It is wonderful to learn from someone who has done this himself and is speaking from personal experience". Big stars take over the gold coast and the state Blockbusters to be, Nims Island (Jodie Fostere and Abigail Bresline) and Daybreakers (Ethan Hawke and Claudia Karvan) are just two from a number of movies scheduled to be filmed in Queensland and on the Gold Coast over the next 12 months. Hollywood heavy weights Steven Speilberg and Tom Hanks are up in the north of the state filming a 10 part TV series The Pacific. The Pacific is the sequel to the TV series Band of Brothers. To make the World War II mini series epic, being shot around Port Douglas in Queensland's tropical north, a cool $100 million will be spent. Annual college visit day at Bond a great success Campus tours, academic presentations, all-day live entertainment and international food stalls were just some of the fun on offer to help prospective students gain an insight into the University’s undergraduate and graduate courses and vibrant student life. Bond University Vice-Chancellor Professor Robert Stable always looks forward to showcasing the University to the wider community. "The Bond community is a unique mix of cultures, interests and talents and Open Day provides prospective students the opportunity to witness this first hand," he said. Bond University Student Council President Matt Cantatore agrees with Professor Stable saying that Bond is unlike any other university. "It’s the people here, combined with the beautiful campus and world class facilities, that make Bond, in my opinion, the best university in Australia," he said. "People come and see what Bond has to offer, meet with students and teachers and see whether Bond is the place for you," he said. Matt also suggests that prospective students prepare before the Open Daynext year to make the most out of their experience. "It’s a good idea to have a look online to see what courses might interest you before Open Day. Then on the day you can make sure you have questions to ask and schedule enough time to talk to people from those faculties," he said. "I would really encourage people considering tertiary study to come along and find out what Bond is like by talking to current and past students. "Choosing a university is as much a lifestyle decision as an academic one, so make sure you get all the information you need before you decide," he said. NEW SOFTWARE HERALDS SAFER ONLINE BANKING In today’s technologically savvy society people are becoming increasingly aware of the threats posed by invisible predators prowling online and through our hard drives. Our personal information, identity and banking security are under threat and we cannot see the culprits coming. But by using the software that Professor Krishnan (pictured right) has developed, computer users around the world can now have piece of mind regarding the security of their information. The software called BOSS (Banking on a Secure System) has been designed for the average home user and does not require the installation of any software. "It is a system in itself," says Professor Krishnan, "you insert the CD and reboot your computer - this circumvents the possibility of any virus designed to record your data, capturing your transaction information." The system could benefit many areas including internet banking, electronic transactions, online share trading, and taxation form lodging to name but a few. "It is a cost effective, universal applicable solution, which can be customised for a number of purposes, strengthening the link between organisations and their customers," said Professor Krishnan. Bond University is currently looking to industry and government to develop partnerships to assist in the wider distribution and application of the software. Professor Krishnan envisages that governments may be interested in promoting the software for the public-good, while financial institutions may wish to customise the solution to provide an additional protective layer for customers. "We have received requests from all over the world and 20 CD’s have already been sent out for evaluation, so this is just the beginning" said Professor Krishnan.
BOND COURTS HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS The competition, sponsored by SpartaMatrix International, involved students stepping into the shoes of lawyers and arguing a mock legal case before a judge in a courtroom. This year, the competition attracted 360 students (120 teams) from around Australia who competed in regional rounds, battling for a place in the final. The top fourteen teams were then flown to Bond University for the final rounds, which took place this month. The Grand Final saw two teams argue the case of a school that had been successfully sued for injuries by a 15 year-old student who, after becoming intoxicated at a school party, drove a ride-on lawnmower into a hole dug for the school’s new swimming pool. The case was argued in front of a panel of judges including Judge John Newton, Professor Mary Hiscock of Bond University and Senior Member Bernard McCabe from the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. Brauer College from Victoria were the victorious team, with reason to celebrate after narrowly defeating runners-up, Sydney Grammar School. The winning team included two year 11 students, Justin Powell and Andrei Khaidurov and year 12 student, Tom Ballard. Justin Powell was also awarded Overall Outstanding Advocate. The students admit that although they won the competition, at the beginning of the year they had no idea what mooting was. Now, it seems their flair for arguing their point could see them carve out careers as successful lawyers. STUDENTS INVESTIGATE VIRTUAL MURDER CASE The assessment lasted five weeks with students collecting evidence online and determining which tests to run on the evidence in the virtual lab. Real evidence was then given to students to test in the Bond University Science Lab where students have access to the latest forensic testing equipment. Professor Angela van Daal, Forensic Science lecturer and world renowned expert in DNA Typing says that Bond houses some of the most advanced laboratory equipment in Australia. "Bond University is the only university in Australia with this DNA typing equipment," she says. "In fact, some of our equipment is more current than that used in actual DNA analysis labs." In the Moot Court, students presented evidence to selected jurors under the watchful eyes of course coordinator, Professor van Daal, and prosecutor for the proceedings, Professor David Field.Professor van Daal believes assessments like this help students gain experience in the courtroom and give them a taste of what they will face in their future careers. "This assessment is very beneficial for students as it really gives them a feel of how to give evidence for a real case in a real courtroom." Professor van Daal says. "The day was very successful, the students involved gave us very positive feedback, they really enjoyed gaining practical experience." As forensic disciplines become more prominent than ever with new career paths emerging for forensic professionals, courses such as those offered at Bond are becoming increasingly popular ACHIEVEMENTS AND ACCOLADES Bond’s Japanese Studies students did very well at the Gold Coast Annual Speech Competition held at the Griffith University on Saturday, 11 August, with organisers very impressed with the standard of the Bond University participants. Congratulations to Chen-Yi Lin and Sam McDonald who placed first and second respectively in the second year Japanese level, and to Byron Frost and Sachin Gupta who placed first and second in the third year level. Congratulations to Associate Professor of Law Terry Gygar who is the winner of the 2006 Lexis Nexis Stanley Shaw Bond Prize for Teaching Excellence. Well done also to Assistant Professor Jodie O’Leary who came a very close second. Assistant Professor of Australian Studies Dr Shirleen Robinson recently spent a week in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, helping stage "Australia Week"– a celebration of Australian culture. Dr Robinson delivered two keynote lectures on the stolen generations and Australian popular culture, and arranged for the screening of two Australian films with discussions afterwards. She also gave talks at two Chinese universities in Beijing and Shanghai. Finally, we would like to advise that the 2007 Manfred Donike Award for Scientific Excellence in Doping Control was awarded not to Sonya Marshall-Gradisnik as reported, but to Australian researcher Adam T. Cawley, for his work on the research paper "Compound specific detection of endogenous steroid abuse in athletes", which he presented to the 2007 Manfred Sports Doping Conference in Cologne, Germany. Mr Cawley collaborated with Sonya Marshall-Gradisnik from Bond University, who is an Assistant Professor of Biochemistry and Cell Biology and other researchers Robert P. Weatherby, Adrian V. George, Graham J. Trout and Rymantas Kazlauskas on the project. |
