MGSE staff news
University end-of-year closure
The University will close from COB Wednesday 23 December 2020 and re-open on Monday 4 January 2021.
Update on COVID-19
Return to campus updates
- 25% workforce (current) replaces 4m^2 in staff spaces. 'Office-based workers' still need permission for approval and must have the opportunity to physically distance (1.5m still applies)
- Shared spaces (kitchen, common rooms, meeting rooms) have density quotient of 2m^2 per person.
- Union House is classified as a shopping centre for the purposes of mask wearing.
- Strongly recommend masks in areas where physical distancing cannot be guaranteed. MGSE teaching spaces in labs and creative arts areas are currently under review. Staff will be informed if masks are required and will have access to masks if needed.
- Public access to buildings is being reviewed. KLD will likely be made publicly accessible teaching activity is increased. Preference would be to keep 100 Leicester available only to staff who have access.
Read more on the MGSE intranet page.
Interstate travel update
Staff are reminded that interstate domestic travel for University business by University employees must be planned and approved, then booked via UniTravel.
The UniTravel workflow has been restored to pre COVID-19 approval processes in accordance with the University's Staff Travel Policy. In exceptional circumstances where an external party requires the travel booking to be made via a process other than UniTravel, then the travel must be recorded via the UniTravel Log My Trip function. The registration must be made prior to the travel commencing. Please note that, in addition to University's Travel and Off Campus Work Requirements, COVID-19 has introduced additional risks that need to be considered and assessed by each traveller prior to travelling.
These include:
- Identifying and complying with local requirements in other jurisdictions, including but not limited to quarantine, health declarations, gathering restrictions and record keeping.
- Identifying and complying with COVID safe and other requirements of organisations that the traveller is planning to visit, including accommodation.
- Risks of being stranded interstate. These may include potential impacts on personal and/or work responsibilities and significant financial costs associated with temporary accommodation and/or compulsory quarantine.
- Identifying and seeking medical advice about any pre-existing health or other conditions that may increase the risks associated with the travel and proposed activities.
- Identifying and assessing any personal circumstances that may increase the risks associated with the travel and proposed activities.
- Reviewing and understanding the Australian Government's Domestic Passenger Journey Protocols.
University employees planning to travel must complete the University's COVIDSafe training prior to commencing the travel.
SharingStories Foundation launches interactive stories from Country
The SharingStories Foundation, in collaboration with the Nyikina, Gija, Bangerang and Jaara communities, are proud to launch a suite of vibrant bi-lingual films and multi-touch digital books for kids, made by kids, that invite all Australian families to experience and value First Nations stories.
The culmination of a decade’s work and developed collaboratively with each community, the four multi-touch books share rich and culturally diverse stories from custodians living on Country in four Indigenous communities across the Kimberley, WA and Victoria.
Of the seventeen diverse First Nations language groups Australia-wide that SharingStories Foundation are working with, the Nyikina, Gija, Bangerang and Jaaracommunities are the first four to launch their stories.
Visit the SharingStories Foundation website.
MGSE Go Green achieves Silver
Congratulations to the MGSE Go Green team for achieving Silver Office Level for Green Impact this year. The team for 2020 included: Phil Tudor, Jenny Lowe, Daniela Ramirez Duran, Lucy Bond, Lachlan Dunn, Yvette Turner, Stacey Oldman, Olivia Stocks, Alice Garner, Benjamin Howes, George Carter-Smith.
UoM Early Childhood Education Services 2021 waiting list
UoM's Early Childhood Education Services 2021 application is now open. There are vacancies across the 2-3 and 3-4 year old rooms in addition to the funded four year old kinder program. Forms and information are available online. To apply, please complete and return the form as soon as possible to be considered for vacancies commencing from 27 January 2021 at Queensberry and Swanston Street Children's Centres.
Digital Taskforce Update
Designing for learning with technology
Learning Environments and the Melbourne Centre for the Study of Higher Education jointly offer professional development opportunities. Sessions will provide a diverse range of topics covering the use of learning technologies in teaching.
2021 LMS Content Copying Process
Coordinators of 2021 (non-MSPACE) subjects are reminded to confirm any LMS content copying in this spreadsheet.
Content copies from 2020 to 2021 subjects will be completed weekly according to copy preferences entered in the spreadsheet.
If you are a 2021 subject coordinator and didn’t receive the email about this, or if you have any questions about the process, please contact mgse-lms@unimelb.edu.au.
Visit the Digital Taskforce page for further updates.
December free parking in the City of Melbourne
City of Melbourne is offering free parking to visitors to the city during December so people can enjoy planned activities, shop and enjoy restaurants and cafes. Download the free parking voucher to display in your car. Remember while parking is free, all other conditions - including time limits and clearways - still apply.
IT Updates
Windows computers being updated
To keep you working on the latest version of Windows, IT Services have been updating University-managed Windows computers. These updates install automatically and run in the background. Once the upgrade is complete, your computer may prompt you to restart. If you have any questions about your Windows computer, please contact the Service Centre through online chat, phone or ServiceNow.
Zoom account consolidation and personal meeting room links
IT have fixed an issue where different email addresses used by one person created duplicate Zoom accounts. If you had a duplicate Zoom account, this process may change the link to your Zoom personal meeting room. Please check any personal meeting room links you've shared or used to schedule a meeting after 12 December. If your link has changed, you will need to resend or share the new link with your meeting participants. For further enquires contact IT services and support.
Zoom and Teams virtual backgrounds
Business Services has made University-themed virtual backgrounds available on all University computers. These virtual backgrounds are available on both Microsoft Teams and Zoom. You don't need to do anything to activate these new backgrounds on Zoom. To activate them on Teams, you need to download the backgrounds from the Software Centre (Windows) or Self Service app (Apple).
Adobe Acrobat Pro Enterprise license
As part of the license renewal this year, you may be prompted with a login notification the next time you use Adobe Acrobat Pro. If you receive this prompt, please follow the instructions and sign in with your University email address to continue using Acrobat Pro. If you're prompted with a message that asks for a serial number, please close and re-open Adobe Acrobat to progress to a login screen. For further enquires contact IT services and support.
Retirement of Adobe Flash Player
Adobe has announced it will cease distributing and updating Adobe Flash Player after 31 December 2020. Flash was superseded by modern alternatives. In response, the University is beginning the process of removing Adobe Flash Player from all University-managed Windows, Apple and Linux devices by April 2021. Please be aware that the general retirement of Flash by Adobe may impact Flash based applications from 31 December. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the retirement of Adobe Flash Player, please contact the Service Centre.
Refreshing the Staff Hub homepage
Following the launch of the new Staff Hub search, the Staff Hub homepage has now been refined. The new design is based on feedback from users and makes it easier to find resources and services. You can bookmark the Staff Hub or set it as your default browser, so you always have the site handy. Join the conversation on Yammer.