MGSE staff news

Digital Taskforce Update

The Teachers' Lounge

The Taskforce has just launched The Teachers' Lounge - a virtual digital sessional lounge space during the second semester. It will be in a scheduled Zoom meeting each Wednesday from 2.30pm-3.30pm.

It’s a weekly drop-in session to say 'hi' during semester two, ask a quick Canvas question, and meet other sessional and casual MGSE faculty who might have the same Canvas learning design questions.

There is no pressure to attend The Teachers' Lounge, but the Taskforce would like to have some idea about how many people might be dropping in or even if you’re interested, please contact Kathryn Coleman to add you to the recurring Outlook invite. Then you can choose when you want to drop by.

Visit the Digital Taskforce page for updates for further updates.

New MGSE LMS mailbox

There is a new mailbox set up specifically for MGSE administrative LMS support.

From now on staff are asked to please direct all LMS queries – no matter how big or small – to the team at mgse-lms@unimelb.edu.au.

Staff Pulse Check survey

As we head into Semester 2 and the COVID-19 pandemic continues to unfold here in Victoria, the University is committed to supporting all staff through the next phase of remote/ on campus working.

To help the University identify and implement practical measures that support staff, the University will be asking for feedback via a short Pulse Check Survey, which you should have received via an email with a unique link. The survey will be open until 5pm Friday 31 July.

The University is seeking to better understand the different circumstances that people are living and working in as a result of the pandemic, how they are travelling, and what measures might make a difference to their working lives. This will help to prioritise the continued efforts to support staff over the coming months and into next year.

The survey should only take you a few minutes to complete, and all individual responses are confidential and anonymous. Findings will be shared with the University community in aggregate form and will be used to help improve the experience of staff. For more information contact Pulse-Survey@unimelb.edu.au.

Kate Challis RAKA Award 2020 applications open

The Kate Challis RAKA Award is now open for applications from Indigenous poets. RAKA, which means 'five' in the Pintupi language, is awarded to an Indigenous artist in one of five categories annually, including creative prose, poetry, script writing, drama and visual arts. In 2020, the $20,000 award celebrates the best book of poems already published between 2015-2020 written by an Indigenous author. The award was established by eminent art and cultural historian Professor Emeritus Bernard Smith. It is named to honour the memory of his late wife, Kate Challis, who was known in her youth as Ruth Adeney.

Applications close Monday 7 September. For any enquiries contact Amanda Morris.

Indigenous Knowledge Institute website

The Indigenous Knowledge Institute website is now live. The Institute aims to advance research and education in Indigenous knowledge systems. On the website you can find helpful information, news and resources. This includes information about activities and research happening across the University, guidance around Indigenous research ethics, and information on the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander School Curricula project. To stay up to date with Institute news and opportunities, sign up to the mailing list from the homepage or go directly to the sign-up sheet.

MGSE co-signs INEI Statement on the global pandemic

MGSE and fellow International Network of Educational Institutions' (INEI) members have co-signed a Statement on the Pandemic demonstrating a shared commitment to supporting education. The Statement was jointly composed by member representatives which included Professor Lorraine Graham. The Statement can be read via the MGSE website.

Call for presentations - 2020 PSC

Submissions for presentations for the 2020 Professional Staff Conference (PSC) are now open. The theme of this year's conference is 'Building Resilient Futures' and this free virtual conference will take place during the week of September 14-18.

The 2020 PSC Committee invites submissions from professional staff of all backgrounds and is committed to creating an inclusive and welcoming event featuring a diverse range of speakers. The deadline for submissions is Sunday 9 August. For submission guidelines and more information visit the 2020 PSC website or contact the PSC Committee.

2019 Sustainability Report

The University's fifth annual Sustainability Report has been released. Read the 2019 Report to see the University's achievements and progress on the targets and priority actions of the Sustainability Plan 2017-2020, as well as where we've got more work to do. The report covers activities across research, teaching and learning, engagement, operations and governance, and illustrates the breadth and depth of our work through case studies drawn from across the University.

MGSE Go Green Update

TerraCycle has just announced the launch of their disposable razor recycling program. Until now, razors have been one of those cursed items that cannot go into your home recycling and often ends up in landfill in their millions.

Once the ground floor office in Kwong Lee Dow is functioning again, Jenny Lowe will set up collection boxes at the front counter for various items that often end up in landfill.

In the meantime, please do not put your used razors in the bin, but save them up along with your toothpaste tubes, toothbrushes, dental floss, plastic pens, bottle tops and bread tags to bring in and add to the collection boxes when possible to do so.

University  COVID-19 health and safety responsibilities

Updated information has been added to the University's dedicated Health and safety responsibilities page to include DHHS advice on when, for medical reasons, you are not required to wear a face mask/covering.

The page also has FAQs on supplying your own masks, University supplied masks, wearing masks in the workplace and an 'exclusion for teaching' section explaining that teachers and educators must wear face coverings in all other areas of the campus when not teaching.

Other useful links to keep up-to-date with the latest information is:

• Testing and notification process for COVID-19
• Working from home remotely
• Looking after your mental health

New Phishing simulation exercise coming soon

With COVID-19 there has been an influx in the amount of phishing scams being reported to the University's cybersecurity team and to the Australian Cyber Security Centre. While the cybersecurity team work hard to prevent these scams from reaching your inbox, sometimes they will slip through. To increase awareness of and help you identify such phishing scams, the cybersecurity team is commencing a program of phishing simulation over the next few weeks.

The simulations will involve sending emails that try to lure you into clicking on a link or downloading an attachment, while presenting some tell-tale signs of being a scam or a phishing email. The team will try to simulate the same attacks that we see cyber-attackers using so they can help you learn how to identify and protect yourself better. If you do interact with one of these emails, you'll be presented with a page that provides information on how to detect such emails in the future. If you do spot that there's something not right about the email, as always, please report it to spam-report@unimelb.edu.au.

Some common signs that you're looking at a phishing email are:

• A sense of urgency requiring 'immediate action'
• Pressuring you into bypassing or ignoring your work policies and procedures
• Asking you to redeem online prizes you cannot recall competing for
• Requesting sensitive information, for example your credit card number, passwords, financial statements
• Grammar and misspellings are a giveaway that it is a phishing email
• Dodgy links or attachments asking you to click or download a malicious file. This is usually a file you don't remember requesting.

These simulations are meant to help increase your knowledge about common scams and protect you at the University and at home. If you have a cybersecurity related question, please remember to contact the team at security-awareness@unimelb.edu.au If you have a cybersecurity related issue or would like to report a concern, log a Service Now ticket.

Our stories: a student documentary during the pandemic

Four students, three locations, one semester. What was their life like in the midst of pandemic? How did they cope with the changes? What happened? This documentary is a production by the Arts Teaching Innovation interns, 2020. Note that captions can be turned on in the settings.  For any enquiries contact xia.cui@unimelb.edu.au.

2020 Best Practice Awards in Tertiary Education Management

The ATEM annual Best Practice Awards recognise outstanding practice in tertiary education management across 10 categories. Nominate yourself, your team or colleagues by downloading the Awards Criteria brochure and the Nomination form. Anyone who works in the sector or related industries can apply or nominate.

Nominations close Thursday 27 August.