News
Triumph in the water for Olympic alumni
The University of Melbourne climbs six rungs on world ladder
Theatre director shares $20,000 award with fellow VCA graduates
Fancy a round of table tennis? Alumnus scores points for inventing round table tennis table
Astronauts inspire award-winning composition
Guatemalan attorney ponders Law of the Sea at Melbourne
Events
Business Council CEO to quash big business stereotypes
A rare chance to explore precious treasures
Graduate Study Expo at the University of Melbourne
Former Agriculture Minister speaks for first time on Horse Flu aftermath
Ambassador to fuel debate on US Presidential Election
Indigenous thinkers explore life after the apology
Reconnecting - Reunions, Entertainment and Future Study - new events page
Lifelong Learning
MUP Book of the Month -The Racket : How Abortion Became Legal in Australia- Special Giveaway Offer
Upcoming Public Lectures - This month's free lectures explore terrorism, migration and other important issues
Employment
Career Opportunity at the University of Melbourne - PL/SQL Database developer/integration specialist
Job of the Month - WebDynamic web project manager
More Special Offers
Serving up the flavour of the season - Football
Win a prize that is music to your ears - Melbourne University Choral Society and Royal Melbourne Philharmonic present Verdi: Four Sacred Pieces
NEWS
Triumph in the water for Olympic alumni
OLYMPIC rower and alumnus David Crawshay is proudly sporting a medal that matches his Australian uniform.
The 28-year-old Arts alum (BA(Hons)2002) and rowing partner Scott Brennan combined brilliantly to win gold in the men’s double scull in Beijing last month.
And Mr Crawshay wasn't the only alumnus to depart China with a medal around his neck. Science graduate Cameron McKenzie-McHarg (BSc (2006)) and Melbourne University Boat Club member James Marburg took home silver in the rowing men’s four. To check out the results of alumni and students who competed in the Olympics, click here.
Pictured above: David Crawshay and Scott Brennan celebrate their win the in the men’s double scull. Image from The Age “Performer of the Week” Photo Gallery. To view more images from this gallery, click here.
The University of Melbourne climbs six rungs on world ladder
THE University of Melbourne has leapt six places to number 73 in the authoritative Shanghai Jiao Tong University Academic Rankings of World Universities 2008. Since appearing at number 92 in the first SJTU rankings in 2003, Melbourne has climbed climbed almost 20 places. It joins ANU and Sydney as the only Australian universities in the top 100. Harvard and Stanford again take the top two spots with the University of California, Berkeley in third. More>>
Theatre director shares $20,000 award with fellow graduates
A RISING theatre director and VCA alumnus who won a $20,000 drama award will share his prize money with fellow graduates to develop an original play. George Fairfax Memorial Award winner and the Hayloft Project theatre company founder Simon Stone (Bachelor of Dramatic Art (2006)) will use his winnings to create a theatre piece that is devised, workshopped and performed entirely by VCA graduates. "This piece, as with every Hayloft project, will be developed completely by graduates of the Victorian College of the Arts," Mr Stone said. The ambitious 24-year-old won the award for theatre graduates after forming professional theatre company the Hayloft Project last year. He has recenly finished an acting role in Balibo, a film directed by Robert Connelly, and has accepted an offer to direct a new production in Sydney next year. More>>
Fancy a round of table tennis? Alumnus scores points for inventing round table tennis table
AN Engineering alumnus and table tennis enthusiast has received accolades for inventing a revolutionary round table tennis table that allows up to 12 people to play the game at once. A life-long love of table tennis and a lack of patience waiting for his turn to play drove Professor Guenter Arndt (BE(Mech) 1962 MEngSc 1965) to invent a new table tennis game and table that allows three-player teams. Professor Arndt's invention was recently featured on popular ABC television show The New Inventors, after it finished as one of six finalists in the sports category for INNOVIC Next Big Thing Award. More>>
Astronauts inspire award-winning composition
ASTRONAUTS in outer space inspired an orchestral work that has won a University of Melbourne staff member a prestigious award. Dr Stuart Greenbaum, Head of Composition in the Faculty of Music, was awarded the APRA “Orchestral Work of the Year” at the 2008 Classical Music Awards for his orchestral composition 90 Minutes Circling the Earth. The piece was inspired by observations made by astronauts from various countries on how the earth looks from outer space. More>>
EVENTS
Business Council head to quash big business stereotypes
ONE of the University’s most influential alumni is set to quash big business stereotypes.
Katie Lahey (BA(Hons)1979, MBA 1989) has served as Chief Executive of the Business Council of Australia, the association for the CEOs of 100 leading Australian corporations, since 2001. Ms Lahey is a key player in steering the changing role for business leaders in national discussion. The Council is moving beyond its traditional focus on issues such as industrial relations law and tax reform, to address broader concerns with social and environmental issues. These issues include education, innovation, health, indigenous issues and emissions trading. Ms Lahey will discuss this changing dynamic and the current and likely future effects on business, government and the broader community at the final VC Oration for Alumni in 2008.More>>
A rare chance to explore precious treasures at the University of Melbourne
SPECIALIST scholars are the only people lucky enough to get close to some of the University's 33 precious cultural collections.
But for four days only, this rule will be lifted as the University's rare treasures are opened for the public to explore.
A range of exhibitions, lectures, tours and events will be held over the University's Cultural Treasures Days in September, giving visitors the chance to experience the artworks, objects and historic items that inspire and inform academic research at the University.
Highlights will include exhibitions from the Baillieu Library's Louise Hanson-Dyer Music Library, the Print Collection and Rare Books.Important letters relating to the Kelly gang's robbery of the National Bank's Euroa branch will also be displayed, to mark the 150th Anniversary of the National Australia Bank and its relationship with the University. The University of Melbourne's Cultural Treasures Days run from 18 - 21 September. More>>
Pictured above: Elioth Gruner, Untitled (Flowers in a vase), 1905, oil on wood panel, 34 x 25.5cm. Gift of the Russell and Mab Grimwade Bequest. On display at the Ian Potter Museum of Art
Graduate study expo at the University of Melbourne
THE University's flagship graduate study information event will be held this month, with academic and admissions staff on hand to answer questions about future study. Alumni interested in pursuing further study with the University of Melbourne are invited to attend the Melbourne Graduate Expo on Wednesday 10 September from 3-8pm. Graduate schools across the University will also hold a number of information sessions and activities as part of the Melbourne Graduate Schools Festival. More about the Expo>>
To view a
Former Agriculture Minister speaks for first time on Horse Flu aftermath
FORMER Federal Agriculture Minister Peter McGauran will speak for the first time on the horrific Equine Influenza outbreak that devastated Australia's racing industry. Mr McGauran was forced to order a nation-wide ban on horse movements after the exotic disease struck Australian horses in August 2007. The prestigious alumnus (BA (1980)), LLB(1980) and CEO of Thoroughbred Breeders of Australia and Aushorse Ltd is set to offer an insider's view of the flu labelled the worst exotic disease outbreak in Australia's history that unravelled the racing and horse industries overnight. More>>
Ambassador to fuel debate on US Presidential Election
A FORMER official to the Clinton administration will head to Melbourne Law School to further fuel debate on the US Presidential Election. Former US Ambassador to Finland Derek Shearer, who served as foreign policy advisor to Vice President Al Gore during the 2000 Presidential campaign and Senator Hillary Clinton in the 2007 to 2008 Presidential primary contests, is set to offer an "insider" analysis of the upcoming Presidential election in his lecture "Obama vs McCain - Who Will Win, Does it Matter?". More>>
Indigenous thinkers explore life after the apology
LEADING indigenous thinkers will join forces to discuss the impact of the Rudd Government's apology to the Stolen Generation. Key indigenous academics and representatives will this month speak at a forum hosted by the University of Melbourne Human Rights Forum, the Social Justice Initiative and Trinity College. A raft of imminent speakers will look at the impact of the apology on relationships between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians and discuss the way forward. More>>
Reconnecting - Reunions, Entertainment and Future Study
With the range of events for alumni and friends rocketing, GradNet now has a new events page.
The contents of the events page is listed below.
Arts Entertainment and Leisure
Future Study and Discussion
LIFELONG LEARNING
Upcoming public lectures
A JAPANESE artist will share her experiences growing up as a migrant in Australia, a Californian professor will speak on the first terrorists and other international and local experts will discuss a fascinating range of topics in upcoming free public lectures at the University of Melbourne.
Click here to view our Public Lectures listing.
Melbourne University Publishing (MUP) Book of the Month
The Racket: How Abortion Became Legal in Australia
By Gideon Haigh RRP $34.95
A GENERATION ago in Australia, abortion was a crime. It was also the basis of one of the country's most lucrative and longest-lasting criminal rackets. The Racket describes the rise and fall of an extraordinary web of influence: a story that culminated in the landmark ruling that made abortion legal, and a public inquiry that humiliated a powerful government and a glamorous police force. More>>
Your chance to win
MUP has three copies of "The Racket" to give away to Alumni Web Community members.
To be in the draw to win, email alumni-office@unimelb.edu.au with your '@alumni.unimelb.edu.au' email address in the body of the message.
Please note: To be eligible for this offer, you must be a member of the Alumni Web Community who has not won a prize in the previous three editions. Please register here to become a member.
Calling for registrations for Beginners Business Chinese
THE Confucious Institute at the University of Melbourn has opened registrations for its popular beginners course in business Chinese. The Tiger course teaches basic communication skills in Chinese business settings. The lunchtime classes will be held on Wednesdays from 17 September to November 19 or Thursdays from 16 October to 18 December. More>>
EMPLOYMENT
Career Opportunity at the University of Melbourne
THE University of Melbourne's Advancement Office is seeking a PLQ/SQL database developer/integration specialist to work primarily on database integration projects. The successful applicant for this 2-3 month position will be responsible for developing complex Oracle PL/SQL procedures, functions and packages for record matching processes. The role will also be required to use our standard data loading tools to feed data into our enterprise CRM and perform data integration and validity testing.
To find out more, download the position description PDF here.
Job of the Month: Web Project Manager
WebDynamic, a division of Advancen Software, requires a Web Project Manager. Reporting to the operations manager you will be responsible for planning, scheduling, executing, tracking and measuring the success of a number of concurrent projects. You can expect to be working with a wide variety of clients, from SMEs to large corporations. While you will be supported by systems and processes you are expected to be pragmatic and creative and use your initiative to ensure that deadlines, budgets and client expectations are met. If you are a recent graduate and you wish find out more about this position (Vacancy ID #43555) log onto Careers Online at http://careersonline.acs.unimelb.edu.au/cae/studentscae/ with your student number and family name.
Careers@Melbourne
Positions available at the University of Melbourne.