Dean's Report

Open Day

More than 600 people visited MGSE on Sunday for the wonderful celebration that is Open Day. I was greatly impressed by the organisational skills of the marketing team who spent months planning and implementing their Open Day strategy and worked tirelessly to ensure a seamless event. The variety of workshops, displays, information sessions and enthusiastic staff and students all working together ensured we showcased the breadth of learning opportunities available at MGSE. We were also fortunate to have more than 40 student volunteers who conducted building tours, answered prospective students’ questions and conveyed great enthusiasm for their studies and experiences at MGSE.

The Vice-Chancellor, Professor Duncan Maskell, visited MGSE at a particularly busy time on Open Day which gave him the opportunity to see the great interest that there is in our courses and also our dedicated staff and students at work. Thank you to all the academic and professional staff who gave up their Sundays to contribute to this important day. My particular congratulations and thanks go to our relatively new marketing team of Kim Nance, Eva Chen, Patrick Soo and Paul Vassiliadis and especially Chantelle Shaw, our Open Day Coordinator, whose painstaking preparation ensured the Day’s success.

Victorian Children's Council

Today I attended my first meeting as a new member of the Victorian Children’s Council, which provides independent and expert advice to the Premier, the Minister for Education, the Minister for Health and the Minister for Child Protection in relation to the policies and services that enhance the health, wellbeing, development and safety of children. The Council is particularly concerned with the problems faced by children who are vulnerable and at risk of poor outcomes, and it actively engages with government to provide evidence-based solutions.

Vice-Chancellor's Annual Roadshow

The annual Vice-Chancellor’s Roadshow, where he visits all of the University’s faculties and graduate schools, will commence soon. As many of you will remember the Vice-Chancellor visited us last year, not long after he had started his term at the University, and we heard a little of his background and we briefed him on the new strategic direction for MGSE. As the new strategy for the University continues to be developed the Roadshow gives us the chance to hear directly from the Vice-Chancellor on the University’s future focus and the opportunities and priorities this presents for MGSE. There will also be time for a Q & A so I encourage you to think about any questions or ideas you may like to put to him. The Roadshow will visit MGSE on Tuesday 1 October so please register for this event.

MGSE Dialogues

I was sorry to miss the Quarterly Dialogues last week and I thank John Polesel, Keryn Negri and Helen Cahill for stepping into my place. I understand that a wide range of topics were covered in each of the sessions including development opportunities for professional staff, special study leave, the workload model and Academic Performance Framework, the Leicester Street refurbishment, the current academic structure and the future priority areas for MGSE. The next round of Dialogues will be held from 26 – 28 November and I will look forward to hearing more from you all then.