MGSE staff news

MGSE Engagement Strategy

MGSE’s Engagement Strategy has now been endorsed by the MGSE Executive. The Engagement Strategy is a high-level vision statement outlining the desired outcome and key priorities for the portfolio, and is aligned with MGSE’s Strategic Plan 2022 – 2026 ‘The Time Is now’.

Priority actions include establishment of mechanisms for mapping our partnerships, to give us a baseline for determining whether actions to increase the breadth, longevity and diversity of our partnerships in coming years are having an impact; and a focus on increasing opportunities for our MTeach students to have placement experiences in diverse settings, including placements with rural and remote schools, and in non-school settings.

Another key focus for this year is to prioritise collaboration with Advancement to improve the quality and breadth of our interactions with alumni, and to build more lasting and reciprocal relationships with them.

For further information, please contact Melissa Bruorton.

MGSE Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan launch

MGSE’s Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan 2022 - 2023 has now been endorsed by the MGSE Executive. The Action Plan was developed in consultation with the MGSE Diversity and Inclusion Committee and in alignment with the Diversity and Inclusion Strategy 2030 and the MGSE Strategic Plan 2022 – 2023.

The Action Plan will be launched by MGSE Dean Prof Jim Watterston:

  • Thursday 26 July
  • 10am
  • Level 9 conference room.

The Action Plan is ambitious and seeks to embrace inclusive education by actively pursuing Diversity and Inclusion initiatives. Come along to hear about the Action Plan in detail, and to find out about resources available to support you to integrate diversity and inclusion into your professional practice.

Please visit the eventbrite page to register your attendance

For further information, please contact Melissa Bruorton.

Diversity and inclusion opportunities

If you are interested in taking a more active role in supporting LGBTIQA+ students and colleagues, the University offers two training opportunities for staff.

  • LGBTQ+ Awareness Briefing – this session provides an overall understanding of why LGBTIQA+ workplace inclusion is important to an organisation, builds a level of comfort around terminology and explores challenges often faced by LGBTIQA+ employees, raising awareness of the impact a culture has on the lived experiences of its employees.
  • Ally Training – this interactive workshop builds on the Awareness Briefing (which is a pre-requisite) to explore the different roles an Ally can play and what they can do to make a difference. A safe environment is provided which enables participants to address questions, concerns and/or experiences as an Ally.

Both trainings are facilitated by Pride in Diversity and are delivered virtually throughout the year. For questions and further information, please contact Ingrid Leighton at ingrid.leighton@unimelb.edu.au.

Foundations of Wellbeing

All MGSE staff and Graduate Researchers are invited to participate in the Foundations of Wellbeing program. This program is being offered to help staff and graduate students have more ‘great days at work’, and to build a culture of wellbeing at MGSE.

The program was developed by the Centre for Wellbeing Science (CWS) in partnership with Puka Up and Frankie Health. It is a unique and science-based, skill-building wellbeing program for workplaces comprising 10 online modules delivered over a 10-week period on a range of wellbeing topics. Each module takes approximately 1 hour to complete.

The Assessment and Evaluation Research Centre will be evaluating the program independently of CWS. The aim is to investigate the outcomes of the program for staff and inform program delivery improvements. Participants will be invited to complete short surveys prior to commencement, after the program is finished, and three months post-completion. There will also be the opportunity to participate in a focus group following completion of the program. Ethics approval has been obtained for this evaluation (ID: 23005).

The program is scheduled to run from the mid-July until mid-September. Registration for participation in the program and evaluation will be open until the 10 of July.

Register for Foundations of Wellbeing

Asia Pacific Women in Leadership Mentoring Program

Nomination period is now open for the third cohort of the Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU) Asia Pacific Women in Leadership (APWiL) Mentoring Program. This initiative pairs a mentor and mentee on a year-long program focusing on empowerment, professional growth and development.

Visit the APWil website for more information.

Learning and Teaching Initiative (LTI) Grants 2022

Applications are now open for Round 2 of the Learning and Teaching Initiative (LTI) Grants 2022.

There are two funding categories in this round:

  • Category 1: Internationalisation of the Curriculum: Up to $30,000 per project
    • Proposals in this category are asked to commit to introducing greater diversity of perspectives and materials into teaching materials and approaches at either the undergraduate or postgraduate level.
  • Category 2: General learning and teaching: Up to $30,0000 per project
    • Proposals in this category should fundamentally seek to improve the quality and effectiveness of student learning and student learning experiences at either the undergraduate or postgraduate level.

Applications close at 5pm, Friday 15 July and outcomes will be communicated by mid-August.

Please visit the LTI website for more information.

New University of Melbourne Investment Funds

The University of Melbourne has established two new major investment funds dedicated to supporting our researchers through the venture of turning their extraordinary discoveries and innovations into commercial reality.

Find out more: https://www.unimelb.edu.au/newsroom/news/2022/june/new-$115m-investment-funds-to-accelerate-research-discoveries-from-idea-to-reality

Westpac Research Fellowships

Westpac Research Fellowship applications are now open! These Fellowships offer early career researchers a unique opportunity to support their groundbreaking research, provide access to networks, open career pathways and global experiences.

Fellowship recipients will be exceptional people, chosen for their intellectual ability, leadership qualities, and commitment to the community. Successful Fellows will be undertaking research that has the ability to make a difference to Australia’s future in one of the Foundation’s priority areas:

  • An Inclusive Country;
  • Australia in Asia;
  • Sustainable Futures; or
  • Thriving Tech Sector.

Applications close 25 July 2022. Visit the Westpac Research Fellowships page for more information.

Level 9 - Conference Room

Room 915 (the large Conference Room on Level 9) has been refurbished and is now ready to use for events and large meetings.

The room has been upgraded to a Zoom Room space with ceiling microphones, dual cameras and two projector screens, and there are touch panels at the front and rear of the room to allow for easy access to room controls.

Staff wishing to use Room 915 can book the space using Outlook. To check the room’s availability, first go to your Outlook Calendar and select “Open Calendar” and “From address book”. Search for !278-9-915-Meeting Room. Once you’ve confirmed that the room is available, you can book it by adding !278-9-915-Meeting Room to the location field in your calendar invitation.

Meeting Rooms & Focus Rooms - Booking Issues

Business Services has kicked off an activity to simplify booking meeting rooms and focus rooms across the school. The activity will tackle the following issues: Duplicate outlook resource calendars for the physical room Outdated outlook resource calendars Inconsistent naming conventions Inconsistent space classification Inconsistent concierge panel view Inconsistent outlook resource calendar permissions If you have further questions, please contact Fusan Nguyen, Business Services - Relationship Manager.

Building Maintenance - Balcony Inspection

University contractors, HiRise Access, will be inspecting the balcony at 100 Leicester Street (BN278). As part of the inspection, contractors will be abseiling down the facade. The inspection will occur this Thursday, 30 June, from 8.00 am until 12.00 pm.

Newly appointed Health and Safety Representative

Elisa Bone has been appointed as MGSE’s new Health and Safety Representative (HSR), following the recent election process conducted in accordance with UoM’s guidelines. HSR’s are elected by members of a Designated Work Group (DWG) to represent them in health and safety matters. For more information, visit the University’s Health and Safety website. Elisa will join MGSE’s other HSR’s, Nick Archer and Winnie Huang, on the OHS Committee. Welcome Elisa to our OHS community.

Enquiries: https://safety.unimelb.edu.au/people/community/hsr-dwg

Computer Workstation Self-Assessment

All staff who work at a computer workstation on campus should complete a Computer Workstation Self-Assessment Checklist. The checklist will guide you in undertaking simple adjustments of equipment, such as the desk, chair and monitor to optimise comfort.

In most cases, workstation issues can be resolved with your manager; or by referring to TrainMe - Office Ergonomics. If your manager is unable to resolve your workstation concern, please contact your Health and Safety Business Partner by emailing the completed checklist to ohs-enquiries@unimelb.edu.au.

More information and registration: https://safety.unimelb.edu.au/safety-topics/setting-up-your-workstation

Enquiries: ganning@unimelb.edu.au

New Metrics Partnership Seminar: Advancing Collective Agenda

The Assessment Research Centre (ARC)'s New Metrics project recently held a successful two-day seminar with 35 research partnership schools, to advance their collective agenda on reimagining and influencing schooling in Australia. This seminar took place ahead of New Metric's upscaling work in 2022 and 2023, involving launching online professional development courses on transforming assessment and recognition design for complex competencies, and implementing new assessment plans in schools and networks.

Enquiries: angela.pollock@unimelb.edu.au

MGSE Graduate Research Student and Supervisors Celebration and Networking event

Date: Wednesday 13 July

Time: 16:00 to 18:00

The MERI and GR team would like to invite all MGSE Graduate Researchers and their research supervisors to a networking and celebration event to be held in the Old Quad, on campus, between 4 – 6 pm on Wednesday 13th July.

This will be a fantastic opportunity to meet fellow Graduate Researchers and academic staff and to celebrate the achievement of our recently graduated GRs. Food and drink will be provided, and the evening will incorporate an opportunity to marvel at the illuminating Emu Sky Exhibition. Complimentary hoodies will be available to GRs who have not yet received one. Please RSVP by Friday 8 July.

More information and registration: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/mgse-gr-networking-and-celebration-event-tickets-370972487697

Submit and enquiry

National Education Summit Australia

(from left to right) Naomi, Bella, Kylie and Jess Huang, MGSE Ambassador from the Master of Modern Language Education.

The National Education Summit Australia, held on Friday and Saturday, 17-18 June is an important professional development event for Australian educators. On the Friday Matt Harrison and Jess Rowlings presented at a session about their work on Next Level Collaboration. MGSE was one of the 100 exhibitors, and it was a great success as many people came by and asked questions about what courses were available and how to apply for research higher degrees.

Many thanks to Naomi Paton, from Future Students who coordinated our presence and worked tirelessly throughout the two days. Also, many thanks to Gosia Klatt, Kylie Smith, Sandra Pereira and the MGSE student Ambassadors who supported this over the two days. We wish Naomi all the best for her new role at RMIT.

MGSE Academic Group Research Leads Collective

As shared at this year’s Setting the Scene, MGSE has formed a collective of “Research Leads” across Academic Groups who will liaise with Academic Group Leaders, A/D Research, A/D Graduate Research, and MERI to help foster and build further research capacity across the school, relevant to the specific needs of each Academic Group.

Our thanks to all those who submitted EOIs. The following academics have been appointed to this role for the second half of 2022, commencing July 1:

  • Arts and Humanities Education - Brad Merrick
  • Early Childhood Education - Jeanne Marie Iorio/Catherine Hamm (Co-leads)
  • Educational Leadership - Pauline Thompson
  • Languages & Literacies Education - Alex Bacalja
  • Learning Intervention - Sean Kang Maths
  • Science & Technology Education - Carmel Mesiti/Victoria Miller (Co-leads)
  • Wellbeing, Policy & Pathways - Mary Leahy
  • Teacher Education - Natasha Ziebell
  • Social Transformation & Education - Rotating Representative

Volunteer callout: Careers in Teaching Expo

Date: Wednesday 27 July 2022
Time: 10.00am, 2.30pm

The annual Careers in Teaching Expo will be running on-campus on Wednesday 27 July. We're looking for staff volunteers to help welcome our guest exhibitors, crowd control and support overall event logistics. If you're not able to volunteer, please stop by throughout the day to check it out.

Enquiries and registration: mgse-experience@unimelb.edu.au

Diversity and Inclusion

If you are interested in taking a more active role in supporting LGBTIQA+ students and colleagues, the University offers two training opportunities for staff:

  • LGBTQ+ Awareness Briefing – this session provides an overall understanding of why LGBTIQA+ workplace inclusion is important to an organisation, builds a level of comfort around terminology and explores challenges often faced by LGBTIQA+ employees, raising awareness of the impact a culture has on the lived experiences of its employees.
  • Ally Training – this interactive workshop builds on the Awareness Briefing (which is a pre-requisite) to explore the different roles an Ally can play and what they can do to make a difference. A safe environment is provided which enables participants to address questions, concerns and/or experiences as an Ally.

Both trainings are facilitated by Pride in Diversity and are delivered virtually throughout the year. For questions and further information, please contact Ingrid Leighton at ingrid.leighton@unimelb.edu.au.

Calling Participants for Research on Ethics Processes & Data Sharing

Have you applied for & received ethics clearance for data sharing as part of your research project? Digital Stewardship is conducting research on data sharing and human ethics processes at the University. This is part of a larger multi-institutional Institutional Underpinnings national project, headed by the Australian Research Data Commons (ARDC). We are calling for researchers, including graduate researchers, who have included data sharing in their human research ethics applications to participate in a 3-hour workshop 19 July to examine processes of ethics applications specifically related to data sharing. This will include questions regarding experience of the process, perceived and actual barriers and how the process has resulted (or not) in your data being shared.

If you are interested in participating, please contact the Project Manager, Nicole Davis, davis.nicole@unimelb.edu.au to register your interest. Graduate Researchers will be compensated for their time with a $50 gift voucher. HREC ID 24262

Call for research participants

Help researchers at the University of Melbourne understand educators’ views about mindfulness in the context of education. Complete an online survey (HREC23306) and enter the draw to win an electronic gift card valued at $100.

Corwin Professional Learning Conference 2022: Making Learning Visible

Date: Monday 12 and Tuesday 13 September 2022

Central to this conference is the exploration of ways to inspire a generation of learners who are their own teachers. When learners become their own teachers they know how to learn. They can self-reflect, self-monitor, self-evaluate and most importantly, self-regulate in an environment which creates and sustains powerful cultures of learning.

Designing learning in which all learners – students, teachers, and leaders – learn not by chance but by design is our core purpose.

This conference promises to be a vibrant forum with our community of educators, education professionals and leaders across the Asia-Pacific region.

Visit the conference website for registrations and more information.

Enquiries: Charlotte.Allam@corwin.com

Melbourne Connect: Innovation Week (MCIW)

This year’s Innovation Week runs from Monday 5 – Saturday 10 September and exists to explore the very best in innovation across Melbourne Connect and the University. We want to hear your ideas, and we want you involved. What does innovation look like in your field? What are the pressing problems and how are you part of the solution?

You can host your own event at Melbourne Connect – or host it elsewhere. Your idea can come fully formed – or you can work with the MC team and other partners to develop your idea further.

How do you participate in Innovation Week? It’s easy!

  • Submit your EOI here by Thurs 30 June.
  • Talk with us about your proposal.
  • If your idea is accepted, submit your full event description (+ pics and bios) by Friday 15 July.