April 2012

AIH_Connect The Australian Institute of Higher

V o l u m e

3 ,

I s s u e

1

2 0 1 2

ACPET Journal for Private Higher Education - Editorial Board meets to finalise inaugural edition

Education Newsletter

Inside this issue: ACPET

1

A Visit from CIMA

1

(cont. p. 2)

The Editorial Board of the lum design ACPET Journal for Private · quality assurance Higher Education met in Mel· postgraduate education bourne to finalise the inaugu· academic leadership and ral edition of the e-journal, management, and which is well on track to be academic work. published on the ACPET website.

Papers adopting interBoard members (l-r): Professor Joo-Gim Heaney, The ACPET Journal for Private Editorial disciplinary and comparaDr Peter Ryan, Professor Hilary Winchester (Chair), Higher Education is a biannual Professor Mike Berrell, Professor Rosie Wickert, Laura tive international perspecjournal for scholarly articles Hougaz (Editor). Absent: Dr Michael Tomlinson tives, written in the form of on the theory and practice of consultants. comparative reviews, critically higher education in the context ACPET welcomes articles on a reflective case studies or emof the private sector. The jour- continuous basis. Papers are pirically-based papers are parnal aims to provide up-to-date invited on research in: ticularly welcome. All papers perspectives, of benefit to edu- · higher education policy and are refereed through a doublecators, scholars, students, prac- practice blind peer review process. titioners, policy makers and · teaching, learning and curricu-

Malaysia New AIH

1

Welcome to Dr. Luz Stenberg

Member Dean’s

of Arts (Economics) degree from the University of the Philippines. She has taught various units in Economics and Quantitative Methods at both undergraduate and postgraduate level.

2

Column Moodle

2

Around the World and Back Home

3

Menagerie

4& 5

Recognitions and Announcements

6

Dr Luz Stenberg joined the AIH team as Lecturer in Business and Accounting at the start of Semester 1 2012. She currently teaches three units: BUS101 Statistics, ACC103 Economics, and BUS211 International Business Dr. Stenberg graduated from the University of New England, Australia, with a PhD in Economics. Prior to this she completed her Bachelor of Science degree (with honours) and Master

Her research and publications are in the following areas: forestry economics, international trade, environmental economics and computable general equilibrium (CGE) modelling. She has been affiliated with Central Queensland University, Curtin University and the University of Notre Dame Australia.

A Visit from CIMA Malaysia

Ms Karen Phang, Higher Education Partnership Manager at the regional office of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, visited AIH Higher Education on the 19th of March 2012.

AIH Higher Education degree programs are accredited by CIMA and students who complete a Bachelor’s degree in either Accounting or Business qualify for exemptions when enrolling in the CIMA program. Ms

Phang addressed the Auditing class during her visit and the students were delighted to learn of the number of exemptions they would qualify for, as well as other benefits they would receive, when they apply for CIMA student membership after completing their respective degrees.

CIMA is indeed well known as a professional management accounting body worldwide, particularly in the UK and in Commonwealth countries such as Sri Lanka and Malaysia. Accreditation with CIMA also carries a mutual recognition and tie-ups with other professional bodies such as CPA Australia and AICPA in the USA.

P a g e

2

The Dean’s Column

Dr. Joo-Gim Heaney Executive Dean

“I don't like that man. I must get to know him better.”

Abraham Lincoln

Dear Colleagues, Students and Friends: Semester 1, 2012 was a very busy semester for all of us students and staff. This was a semester where AIH grew tremendously in student numbers and consequently, in staff numbers. We welcome Dr Luz Stenberg, our Lecturer in Business and Accounting. Students this semester hailed from a

large number of countries, including India, Vietnam, Brazil, Slovakia, Columbia, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Indonesia, Egypt, Japan, Lebanon, Philippines, Nepal, China, Hungary, and many others. A very warm welcome is extended from AIH to everyone.

academic writing skills. In this workshop, students learnt how to craft their reports, essays and case studies to more precisely and correctly respond to assignment requirements when writing. Good writing skills reflect good scholarship.

Students have been very busy getting acculturated to the rigours of higher education in ensuring regular attendance and participation in classes. One of the hallmarks of AIH is that there is strong faculty and student interaction for personalised education. This is where students develop their English language and communication skills. In Week 6, students attended the Academic Writing Workshop. This is an avenue for students to develop their

Week 2 had Ms Karen Phang visit AIH from CIMA Malaysia. Week 4 saw CPA Australia conduct a site visit at AIH, and in their words, they were ―very impressed‖. Then in Weeks 9 and 10, industry speakers visited AIH: CPA of NSW gave a most lively presentation to the students, while Mr Mark Webster clarified immigration questions for students.

Weeks 10 and 11 saw students (cont. bottom page)

aih.moodle.com.au AIH is excited to launch the new student lea rning system Moodle. Moodle has a number of new features not previously offered by the old Blackboard system. Moodle offers students a new Student Lounge. Here students can talk to each other on any topic that interests them.

Topics currently being discussed include what factors contribute to international students gaining

HD level status; questions asking if people are having fun or getting bored and questions surrounding the availability of textbooks.

The Student Lounge also contains step by step information on how to submit your assignments online. So the next time you are bored or want to ask something why not try the Student Lounge.

Moodle (from top)

ACPET (from p. 1)

the recently held writing workshops. This information includes how to write a research report, an argument essay, and a discussion essay.

For further information refer to the ACPET journal website.

Take a look at some of these new features and let us know how we can improve the system even further.

By: Luke Carter (cont. below) This new space could be fantastic for your studies or to meet and collaborate with your fellow students.

Moodle also offers a new Library Zone. Here students can view the library’s latest acquisitions; learn how to cite and reference research; and access the electronic databases from home. There is also great information relating to

Dean’s Column (from top) campaigning for elections for the AIH Higher Education Student Council, honing their presentation and leadership skills. We are very fortunate to have Ms Jackie Mitrevska from AIH Student Services helping with Student Council activities.

There is a lot happening at AIH. But more importantly, given that there are so many nationalities on campus, it is crucial that we all act professionally, support-

ing each others’ endeavors and dreams.

Speaking English on campus, and getting to know people, which, as Abraham Lincoln (16th President of the USA) intimated, is the best way to get over barriers and form friendships!

Make the most of your time at AIH and you will grow in academic stature and develop personally.

P a g e

3

Around the World and Back Home Lebanon is a country in the Central Bank (Bangko Sentral ng the Carpathian Basin from the east, wind to Europe, called Nationalism.

East Mediterranean. Beirut is the capital of the 10,452km, ― Paris of the Middle East ―, as it is known for.

The most spoken language is Arabic. However 80% inhabitants speak and write French, and almost all new generation is fluent in English.

Lebanon is well loved for its 4season climate. Not mention-

ing that one could be skiing on one of its mountains, and then enjoying the hot water beaches within 20 minutes. You might have seen Lebanon on Australian television news but I assure you that the impression one might have is different from what Lebanon really offers. We cannot deny the past conflicts, political issues and wars as well as the present danger in some areas of this beautiful country.

However, the situation never stops tourists from visiting or Lebanese people from returning home for a holiday every summer. Last year ―The Geita Grotto ― was nominated to become one of the seven wonders of the world.

In Lebanon, you will always be greeted with a smile, treated like a royalty with great sense of hospitality and banquets of a large variety of food.

I recommend you to search for the sites: Beit El Dein, Edde Sands, Beirut Down Town, Baalbeck, Harrisa to see for the hidden beauty, just waiting to be discovered by you. Then maybe, just maybe, you land as a visitor but you fly back as a friend of this beautiful country.

Pilipinas), the Philippine Peso is a mid range currency in terms of movement and volatility in Asian markets in the midst of the current US economic woes and the EU financial debt crisis.

impelled indirectly to do so by Byzantine foreign policy. Finding it well-suited to their pastoralagricultural lifestyle, and sparsely populated, they rapidly occupied it to settle there for good.

The Governor of the BSP, Amando Tetangco Jr., said that the volatility and appreciation of the peso allowed businesses both exporters and importers to plan their future more effectively. He also went on to say that the peso is in the middle range of other Asian currencies together with the Japanese Yen and Singapore dollar, having a higher rate than the Chinese Yuan and the Taiwanese Dollar. The currencies with higher rates of appreciation were the Taiwanese and Singapore Dollars while those with lower appreciation values included the Chinese Yuan and Korean Won.

Contemporaries -- in the mistaken belief that they were descendants of the Huns, who had occupied the region in the 5th century -- came to refer to them as Hungary, and soon the entire Carpathian Basin came to be known as Hungarian, giving rise to the still habitual words Hungary and Hungarian (as to Hongrois, Ungar and so forth). From Arabic sources of the time, which refer to them as Majjar or Madjar, it would appear that they already called themselves Magyar, a variation on Megyer, the name of one of the seven tribes which had by then asserted its supremacy over the others.

The Philippine Peso was in the mid range of currencies in the area when it came to exchange rate volatility compared to the US dollar, which helped it remain competitive. The BSP also reiterated the fact that they would not interfere with the exchange allowing the market to determine the value of the Peso. They would; however, step in to help ―smoothen‖ out any large movements to help Philippine businesses plan more effectively.

The other tribes were, for the most part, speakers of either a Germanic or a Slavonic language, both IndoEuropean. The Hungarians, in contrast, brought with them a tongue of Finno-Ugric origin (enriched with traces of Turkic and Iranian influences) entwined with a distinctive outlook, folkmemories, tunes and attitudes.

Over all, the Philippine Peso, while not being the top of the pack in regards to the Asian market currencies, is one of the most consistent with its value and is on its way up, but at a steady and sensible pace.

History of Hungary

Peso holding steady against dollar

By Lawrence Agcaoili (Philstar News Service, www.philstar.com)

According to the Philippine

In the closing years of the 9th century a confederation of seven nomadic tribes, numbering perhaps a few hundred thousand people altogether, crossed over to

Over 1000 years we fought against many countries: German-Roman Emperor attacked us, Mongols in 1222 and killed half of our population (0.5million). We got strong again and kept it as one of the strongest countries in Europe until 1525 when Turkey occupied quarter of Hungary. Habsburg house which was, that time, one of the biggest in Europe (reigned over Spain, South Italy, Czech Country, Low Countries*) operated from Austria, Vienna, used the right time to get interest in the weakened country which resulted in separation of the Country into Turkey, Hungarian Kingdom (under Habsburg house) and Transylvania.

In 1848 there was a war of independence against Habsburg house but we lost. However, we got economic freedom named HabsburgHungary Mo n a rc h y.

The golden ages in the 19 centuries blew new

In the Carpathian Valley, there always were different nations who wanted their independence.

We lost the First World War 1918 and Hungary lost 75% of its territory.

We lost the Second World War as well and we were under Soviet Union regime from 1945-1990. From 1990, we can say, we have been a free country but now my country is struggling under economic crises. *Benelux countries

Immigration Australia By: Camillo Andres Avila Romero

These days, one of the questions that most frequently roams our minds is, whether Australia is the country where we want to live in the future.

It is not easy to answer this question because sometimes it does not matter whether we want to stay in Australia but whether we can fulfil all the immigration requirements that as you know change every year. So, to get the permanent residency we need to complete all the requirements to qualify for one of the spots which are available. It is not a hushhush that every year it is becoming harder and harder, but not impossible, to immigrate to Australia.

It is not a secret that Accounting is one of the careers in demand at the moment but it does not mean it is a direct entry to get your residency.

This only means that it depends on immigration changes that will be made next July and also on the profile of each applicant interested in studying something really valuable with a huge opportunity to get the job of their dreams.

I would like to emphasize the importance of speaking correct English. It is very important to speak correct English if people would like to stay in Australia. It is not only for immigration purposes, it is for our personal development of our daily lives as well. So AIH students should challenge themselves and create an environment of speaking English on campus every time they are here. So I want to encourage you to improve your English. Remember, it is only up to you, no one else can or will do it for you.

For more information visit: www.acaciaau.com

P a g e

4

Menagerie MY FEELINGS

"More than Basketball"

SAY SAY SOMETHING THAT MEANS TO ME EVERYTHING SIMPLY DELIGHTED FEELINGS GIVE ME DIFFERENT MEANINGS. WINDOWS AROUND YOU TELLS YOU I LOVE YOU YOUR SWEET MEMORIES MOVES AROUND SURROUNDINGS. I HAVE EVERYTHING HERE AROUND MISS YOU EVERY MOMENT AROUND MY HEART CALLS YOU, TO SAY I LOVE YOU. BELIEVE IT OR NOT ITS NOT MY FAULT SIMPLY TO LOVE YOU DOSENT MEAN TO HURT YOU

UDEEP JOSHI

A year ago, Richard, who works for AICL/AIH, started a basketball team to represent both of these schools. He scheduled some try outs for the AICL and AIH students including some of his friends as well. I was one of those lucky students who were chosen to join the team. That year, we were able to compete in a basketball league which matches were held at Steel Park Marrickville basketball court every Sunday. This is a league organized by a Filipino-Australian community that loves the sport of basketball. Even though that was our first season, we were still able to reach the quarter finals and only lose this game by 5 points. Since then, we have been practising every week and trying to become better players and improve our game.

Entering our second season, we are hoping to win more games than we did last season and reach the finals. Unfortunately, due to injuries of some of our players and conflicting schedules, we keep on losing and even lost some winnable games that we should have won.

Although we think that this will not be a good season for us, we will continue playing because at the end of the day, winning or losing, this game is all about having fun and playing the sport we love. For me personally, it gave me an opportunity to meet other people, which is a good thing for an international student like me. It enables me to improve my basketball skills but also reminds me that whatever we do in life, working as a team will lead us to something good - success.

Nikko Leopando

A Warm Welcome and the Art of Letting Go: A Milestone of AIH By: Abigael Placido-Candelaria Two years ago, AIH opened its doors welcoming a number of students to put the institution’s mission and vision into action. With the help of those students, AIH was able to start achieving its goals.

Since then, in return, AIH has been delivering two Bachelor Courses which can help its students in achieving their individual goals. The institution also encouraged the students to learn individually by allowing them to share their own unique talents.

The past year has been a busy one for the institution and its students. With the help of a former student who was the pioneer of the student council idea, Christine Ivy Valeza (President 2011), and the rest of the student council officers, AIH established their very first Student Council. Students will always be grateful for the idea of bringing together the students and institution. People behind the institution were very pleased with the success of their mission in spite of the various cultures.

Within the same year, AIH_Connect was released delivering information from both on and off campus and around the world events. Once again, creating another way of en-

couraging students to share their talents.

As AIH starts another year, it once again opened its doors not just in welcoming new students but also new talents and great new ideas. It also opened its doors to new lecturers who will succour students academically.

As AIH says goodbye to the first batch of graduates, the institution will continue what these students have started and will try to make it better year after year.

Australian Institute of Higher Education has been with you and will continue being with you until you succeed in your own career.

This institution will give the same guidance to every student who crosses the campus’ threshold.

P a g e

5

Menagerie Love At First Sight His hands were the first to keep me warm The set of hands that promised me protection for the rest of my life The touch that reminded me constantly I’m loved every second of my life.

Then his lips that touched mine making him my first kiss The kiss that sealed his unconditional love The lips that created the theme song of my childhood days.

He who held my hands whenever I’m scared He who made a path for me to walk on so I could follow my dreams He who would pick me up every time I fell and made mistakes.

The man who taught me how to dance The man who helped me believe The man who gave meaning to love My first kiss, first dance, first love The love at first sight….

Happy 60th Papa

Abigael Placido-Candelaria

Dear Dr. Dancs, Hmm…How to start? I really don’t know what to write to say thank you for what you have taught me. Oh maybe, you would still fix my grammar mistakes in this letter.

However, you know that I want to say: thanks for everything you taught me and for all your advice. You know how helpful your advice was and how successful I became because of that.

I really don’t know what to write about nearly 1 year which I spent in your law class. You are really a nice teacher. Well I know, I used to come late, I didn’t show up…Well well…

That’s bad…However, all teachers here, at AIH, have always been supportive and always showed the willingness to accept me because I wanted to learn.

Especially thanks to you, Dr Beata, as you advised, I went ahead and tried to apply for a job experience position. At least I gave it a try. I made it. I got the job related to my course. Then I had a chance to go further and apply for a position of a tax agent. I know it’s a small agent, but you said it doesn’t matter, everybody starts like that. Well I trusted you again. I will work hard to show them what I know. Hope one day I can write a longer letter to say a bigger thanks to you.

Hope you will have more good students who attend classes and study well so you don’t need to stress out to find a way to make them understand.

From Van Khoa Hoang, one of your students

CPA Australia By: Camillo Andres Avila Romero Have you ever wondered what will you do when you finish your studies and become a professional? Would you like to continue developing your professional skills? Australia gives us many opportunities for continuing our personal development and finding the way to reach the success. One option is to become a CPA member which is the ultimate career advantage. This Programme gives you the chance to succeed in business, and work at any position for any company anywhere in the world.

Millions of accountants and emerging professionals beget competition which becomes more difficult every day, and for this reason you really need to stand out of the crowd.

The CPA is an internationally recognised program, always supporting you through your career and opening a world of opportunities. Think about it; this is a good start if you want to become different.

Ms Julie Chessman came to AIH to talk about the advantages of joining CPA.

For more information visit: www.nsw@cpaaustralia.com.au

AIH_Connect

Recognitions!!!!

Editorial Board: Editor-In-Chief: Natalia Kotrasova

Congratulations to Alma Ramirez for receiving the inaugural Dean’s Scholarship for Semester 2, 2011 at AIH Higher Education.

(Student Administrator) Managing Editor: Abigael Placido-Candelaria

She attained the highest average mark above that of a Distinction average in that semester. In recognition of her achievement, she will be receiving a tuition rebate for one unit for Semester 2, 2012 at AIH Higher Education.

(BBus Student)

We are looking for: University/Menagerie (from left to right) Associate Dean,

Editor

Dean & Alma Ramirez

AIH Higher Education commends her on her achievement which places her in the highest academic category. This demonstrates her dedication to learning and scholarship at AIH Higher Education and we hope that she will continue with her achievement.

Layout and Graphics Editor

Students placed on the Dean’s List for Semester 2, 2011: Swarna Chowdhury

Photo Editor

If

you’ve

takes,

got

come

what

and

join

Christine Ivy Valeza

it our

editorial team!!!!

Contributors (Around the World and Back Home): Balint Bakos Hind Bechara Abigael Placido-Candelaria

(Hungary) (Lebanon) (Philippines)

Announcements AIH Diary:

Useful Information for students:

Office hours:

Semester Break:

Co-op Bookshop:

Mylah Amboang (Account Officer):

2nd July - 27th July 2012 Semester 2, 2012: 30th

July 2012 –

16th

November 2012

Mid-semester Holiday for Semester 2, 2012: 24th September – 28th September 2012

3 Broadway (Crn Broadway & Harris Street), Ultimo NSW 2007 http://www.coop-bookshop.com.au

Mon – Fri: 9.30am – 12pm, 1pm-5pm Natalia Kotrasova (Student Administrator): Mon—Fri: 8:30 am—5:00 pm

Second-hand books: search these websites: 2bb.uts.edu.au

Library Opening Times: Monday:

9am—5pm

Tuesday:

9am—5pm

Wednesday:

9am—5pm

Thursday:

11am—4pm

Friday:

closed

association.cqu.edu.au or call the UNSW number: 93856111

Student Labs: Monday to Friday: 9am—5pm

We would love to hear from you!

Send your inquiries and/or contributions to

ID Cards: Minimum to recharge: $5

administration@aih.nsw.edu.au

Find us on: