MGSE staff news

Graduate Open Days 2020

Open Day 2020 for Graduates begins next week and will run over four days from Monday 14 September until Thursday 17 September. MGSE will be hosting a range of online sessions as part of the virtual experience this year.

Download the MGSE 2021 course guides and visit the Universities Open Day website via the intranet. You can share the event via the University's Facebook page.

New content - Cultual Commons website

Stay connected, inspired and engaged with the University of Melbourne's arts and culture through virtual tours, online collections, videos, catalogues, podcasts and more. Watch, read, listen and experience cultural content from across the University's 40 collections and more than 15 galleries, museums and theatres. To coincide with Open Days 2020 the Cultural Commons website has been updated with content focused on the opportunities these spaces provide for students.

Engage with your graduating students

Following the Victorian Government’s response to COVID-19, the University of Melbourne will not hold traditional graduation ceremonies in December 2020. The University will hold-over all 2020 graduation ceremonies to 2021 when there may be a greater chance of delivering a ceremony format that enables larger graduand volumes and the presence of families.

In light of these new arrangements, the University will offer students more opportunities to graduate in absentia before the end of 2020, or defer to a ceremony in 2021. The first of these additional in absentia graduations will take place on Monday 5 October.

Another in absentia round will be held on Tuesday 22 December with more details to be delivered in the coming months.  Further in absentia conferral opportunities are also planned across January-March 2021 for students as they finish their course requirements, to enable a swift conferral for those students who require it for professional reasons. Below are some ways you can engage with students.

Post a message to students on your faculty’s Padlet page by Monday 5 October

  • Under 'message board' on MGSE’s page of the website, there will be a Padlet page, where you can post congratulatory messages via the Padlet link
  • The message doesn’t have to come from an individual. Group messages are also welcome
  • There is a facility to post GIFs, pictures, or to simply write a message – visit the padlet support page for more instructions
  • Be as creative as you feel like – the page looks best when it’s populated with lots of different messages.

Nb. These boards are moderated, so your message may take a couple of hours to appear on the pages

Share the celebration on your social media accounts on Monday 5 October

  • For those with public social media accounts, share MGSE’s video or a link to the website via Instagram or Twitter.
  • Use the hashtag #UniMelbAlumni2020 to join the broader conversation
  • If you would like, you can add your social media posts to MGSE's Padlet page using the 'Link' button.

Professional Staff Conference 2020

Registrations are now open for the 2020 Professional Staff Conference, which will be delivered virtually across five days (Monday 14 – Friday 18 September) and is free for all professional staff to attend. Now in its seventh year, this conference aims to encourage the exploration of best practice, reporting of project outcomes, and sharing of new trends and opportunities, while engaging staff across the University through motivational and creative practice.

This year’s theme is 'Building Resilient Futures', with a focus on building capability and adapting to change. The two keynote speakers are Hugh van Cuylenburg (Co-Founder and Presenter of The Resilience Project) and Dr Jennifer Gray (CEO of Zoos Victoria). Registrations are currently open for all sessions.

In addition to the two keynotes, the week-long event is made up of a fantastic program of short 30 min presentations from colleagues around the university. You can choose to register for as many or as few of the sessions as you like.  For any questions, please contact the PSC committee.

UoM Early Childhood Centres - applications open for 2021

Applications are now open to enrol your child for a place in one of the UoM Early Childhood Centres at Queensberry and Swanston Street. To apply, please complete and return the application form by Friday 23 October to be considered for vacancies commencing from January 2021.

For any enquiries email childcare-enquiries@unimelb.edu.au

IT Updates

Changes to external emails in your inbox

From last week you might have noticed a highlighted marking on all emails that come from outside the University into your inbox. As part of keeping staff and our information safe, the University’s cybersecurity team have turned this feature on to help you identify any scam related and potential phishing emails that might get through to your inbox. This will help staff identify any potential phishing emails that may come through to your inbox especially those that might be trying to impersonate another member of staff.

If you suspect suspicious emails remember:

  1. Don’t click on links to download any files from unsolicited emails
  2. Forward any suspicious emails to spam-report@unimelb.edu.au
  3. Log a Cybersecurity ticket to report any suspicious emails or for advice from IT

New Microsoft Teams meeting features

The University is continuing to release more Microsoft 365 functionality to enhance your virtual campus experience. Some new features in the Microsoft Teams app will improve your video conferencing and voice call experience. These new features allow calls and meetings to pop out into their own window, separate from the main Teams window. There are new options for viewing incoming video, including viewing up to 49 people at once and improved access to meeting room controls. For assistance please contact the IT Service Centre.

University wireless network updates

Even though most of us are off campus at the moment, the University network is an essential part of our virtual campus experience. Maintenance of the University network continues, and the team in Business Services has been working on renewing network certificates for the UoM wireless network (UniWireless) and Eduroam service. A network certificate protects the network by helping your computer identify the network and secure the login process.

From Monday 7 September, some users of the network may see a prompt on their device to 'trust' a new network certificate for UniWireless or Eduroam. If you see this prompt, review the message and accept the new certificate. If you require any support or further advice on connecting to the University network, contact the Service Centre via the Staff Services Portal, online chat or by phone on 834 40888.

New Zoom functionality available next week

From the beginning of this week, Zoom will give you the option to restrict a meeting or webinar to people with University of Melbourne email accounts. This optional feature will assist teachers with marking attendance in classes delivered over Zoom. If you select this option for your Zoom class, students will need to access the session using their University of Melbourne student email address.

This option is made available when you schedule a meeting or webinar. Visit the IT Knowledge Base article to learn more or for assistance contact the IT Service Centre.

Scholarly Services Updates

Scholarly Services pausing non-teaching related ordering

Due to increased expenditure to support online teaching, new orders will be placed on hold unless directly required for teaching semester 2 subjects. For more information visit the How to order items for the Scholarly Services collections page.

Australian Open Textbooks Project wants to know - How do you use textbooks as an educator?

All teaching staff at Australian universities are invited to complete a survey as part of a national scoping study investigating the potential of open textbooks to act as social justice for learners.

Academic Skills new web page

Academic Skills have launched a new web page with improved navigation and accessibility. The site now integrates seamlessly with, and links to, Academic Skills videos (formerly on YouTube) and online modules (on the LMS). Testing with students and staff, as well as analytics since the launch, have proved the ease of navigation of the site. Staff are encouraged to link to the homepage or relevant sections as required, particularly on their LMS sites.

Have your say - University's Sustainability Plan

The University's Sustainability Plan expires at the end of 2020, and a new Plan for 2021 to 2025 is being developed over the coming months. The new Plan will shape the University's commitment to lead and act on the critical challenges of global sustainability and a changing climate, and to model our campuses as sustainable and resilient communities.

To inform the new Sustainability Plan,  the University is seeking input from staff, students and alumni on three key questions:

1. What does sustainability mean to you?
2. What role do you think the University can and should play in transitioning society to a sustainable future?
3. What priorities would you like to see reflected in the University's Sustainability Plan 2021-2025?

Have your say by submitting your response via a survey or join an online session:

Visit Our Sustainability Commitment page for more information or for any enquiries contact: sustainable-campus@unimelb.edu.au.