The Graduate Union Newsletter April 2017

The Graduate Union Newsletter April 2017

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Contents GU Collegiate

Residents News

4 April Monthly Luncheon Diana Butler OAM

26 Recognising International Women’s Day

5 Coming Monthly Luncheons

28 White Night

6 GU Flu Vaccination Day 8 Graduate House Easter Egg Hunt 9 College Table Matthew Albert - Law 10 Investment for Your Future Seminars 11 John Cain Foundation Monthly Luncheon

Features 12 Professor Profiles Professor Miles Lewis 15 Talking 'bout my generation 18 Graduate Pathway Lisa Renneisen - Career Journey

27 Malene Gottfredsen

Graduate House Student Group

Subcommittee of Council

Members Section 28 Paul Southwick - Australia's transparency problem

Academic and Professional Development Meetings 30 February 2017 Listings

Other Sections 32 Innovation The EM Drive

Review

21 February Women's Forum 22 Monthly Luncheon Professor John Roberts

34 Feedback and Prize Winners

Discovering Melbourne

Extracurricular iTunesU

Graduate House News 24 Seen at Graduate House

Infrastructure Engineering

Trinity College London

25 His Excellency Dr Obaid Al Ketbi's Visit 26 New Chair of the Believe Campaign

First Aid Qualifications

9

Don't Forget The first session of four with Scott Fisher is on Thursday 27th April at 7.00pm.

Seminar is FREE 2 | www.graduatehouse.com.au | ABN 55610 664 963 | Incorporated Association Registration No. A0023234B

GU Collegiate Tue 4 , 18th th

APR

Italian Conversation Dinner

6.00pm

Come along to dine while learning to speak Italian with an experienced teacher.

Members $15, non-members $20.

Wed 5th

APR Wed

5th, 12th, 19th, 26th

APR

Monthly Luncheon

12noon for 12.30pm

with Mrs Diana Butlet OAM on “From Tasmania to Tanzania” Resident Members $10, non-resident Members $30, general public $40 and concession $35.

Bridge Nights

7.20pm for 7.30pm

Join in a game or learn to play the card game Bridge.

Enjoy a shared platter for supper, as well as tea and coffee.

Members $2, non-members $5.

Thur 6th

APR

GU Influenza and Vaccination Day

10.30am - 2.30pm

Free flu vaccinations are available for all Members. Non member university students and staff are welcome (subject to availability).

Vaccination is free. Stay for lunch if desired, at Member and non-member prices.

Tue 11th

APR

Special Morning Breakfast

7.30am to 8.30am

Non-resident Members are welcome to join Resident Members for a hearty breakfast.

Free for Resident Members, non-resident Members $20.

Thurs Tueth th 1413 , 28th

APR MAR Wed 19th

APR

GU Easter Egg Hunt

12.00pm for 2.00pm

Bring your children or grandchildren for an afternoon of fun.

Booking is not required, just come and join in the fun.

Collect as many eggs as you can!

Women’s Forum

10.00am for 10.30am

The topic for April is “Rules for living a contented life”.

Join in the discussion and stay for lunch if desired.

Forum is free. Lunch is at Member and non-member prices.

Fri 21st

APR

College Table Discussion

12.00 noon for 12.30pm

Join Matthew Albert who will lead the discussion on Law. Members $12, non-members $20, loyalty card holders $15.

BOOK NOW

via our website, by phone 03 9347 3428, by email admingh@ graduatehouse.com.au or at reception, 220 Leicester Street, Carlton

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Monthly Luncheon

5th April

Mrs Diana Butler OAM Founder and CEO of the Care for Africa Foundation.

“From Tasmania to Tanzania”

W

hile working as an Emergency Nurse in Launceston, a chance conversation with a colleague about extreme poverty in Africa, inspired Diana Butler to embark on a new journey of intense learning and fulfillment. Diana helped form the Care for Africa Foundation to address: poverty; lack of water; medical; and educational services in Tanzania’s Tarime region.

ABN 55610664963 | IAR No. A0023234B

Under Diana’s leadership, the non-for-profit organisation now works in four key areas: water, rural health, education and social enterprise. Diana Butler has led Care for Africa in its biggest achievements, which include the installation of 9 deep water wells, a yearly Rural Mobile Health Clinic (delivered in schools) and the establishment of the social enterprise programs including aquaculture, bee keeping and a women’s sewing group.

When Wednesday 5th April 12.00 NOON for 12.30 pm RSVP by Monday 3rd April Where Graduate House Bookings (03) 9347 3428 Email: admingh@graduatehouse.com.au Website: graduatehouse.com.au Cost $10 Resident Members $30 non-resident Members $40 general public $35 concession

Diana has become astute at managing large teams of international volunteers, working at both a grassroots level and executive level, understanding best international development practices and fundraising. As Chief Executive Officer Diana has shaped Care for Africa into a sustainable and pioneering organisation.

At the heart of the organisation is the emphasis on the younger generation – as, “this is their world’s future and the organisation’s future.” Diana Butler

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COMING

Monthly Luncheons

First Wednesday of the Month Wednesday 3rd May

Professor Prakash J. Singh Head of the Department of Management and Marketing, The University of Melbourne.

Wednesday 7th June

Mr David Beauchamp Topic: The 19th century notables of Leicester St. The engineer, the inventor, the academic, his brother, the industrialist and the soprano.

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Graduate Union

Flu

Vaccination Day

In collaboration with Immunisation Coalition, Graduate House presents its sixth annual Influenza Vaccination Day. This is a free community service - all Members (Resident and non-resident) are welcome.

Registration Code: q-r.to/bajZZD Graduate House extends again a warm welcome to the organisations that provide this service and the vaccinations free of charge. or scan the QR code

Thursday 6th April, 2017 We encourage you to take advantage of the free flu shot by booking your vaccination time on-line.

10.30AM to 2.30PM

Booking ahead will help us cater for a sufficient number of vaccination formulas on the day.

For more information, phone 03 9347 3428 or email admingh@graduatehouse.com.au.

ABN 55610664963 IAR No. A0023234B

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GRADUATE HOUSE NEWS

About Flu Vaccination Vaccination Day at Graduate House is back again this year providing free vaccinations to the general public.

The event will be run in conjunction with Vaccin8@Work, an organisation that has worked with over a hundred companies and played a major role during flu season to benefit the health and safety of employees.

Vaccin8@Work also worked alongside government and nonprofit organisations such as the Immunisation Coalition and the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute to support broader community health initiatives.

This year only a quadrivalent (QIV) vaccine will be used, as the use of a four-strain vaccine can reduce the risk of a B lineage incompatibility which may lead to a decrease in the influenza burden.

There are many misconceptions regarding the influenza vaccination, the most common being that you will get the flu after your vaccination.

Influenza vaccines used in Australia do not contain any live viruses – you canʼt get the flu from the flu shot.

“The most common reaction is some redness or swelling at the injection site,” said Kerryn Lajoie, founder of Vaccin8@Work. “Some people experience mild “flu like” symptoms such as low grade fever and aches, but this is most likely the result of the body’s early immune response to a foreign substance entering the body and imitating an infection to produce antibodies,” she explained.

Lajoie says that vaccination is one of the most effective means of prevention. “Especially for those most vulnerable to influenza, including the elderly, pregnant women, immunocompromised individuals and children,” she said.

Although the vaccine effectiveness drops in the over-65 age group, during influenza season vaccination greatly reduces cases of hospitalisation – and death – in this group.

The flu is a highly contagious, and for some, life-threatening disease and should not be confused with a common cold. “An average of 2800 Australians will die from influenza and pneumonia every year, and some people are at greater risk of influenza complications,” said Lajoie.

A proponent for the flu vaccination, Professor Lee Dow will return to Graduate House in 2017 for flu day. “The ambience for vaccination day at Graduate House is exemplary, everyone is well supported and cared for.

I’ll definitely be back this year.”

Professor Lee Dow has been attending vaccination day at Graduate House since the day’s establishment in 2012.

The former Vice-Chancellor of The University of Melbourne, says that through vaccination it is important to build long-term immunity, hoping that, while remaining voluntary, the proportion of people vaccinated steadily increases over time.

He has been receiving the influenza vaccination for many decades. “The reasons [for

receiving the shot] that are advanced by health professional and federal departments provide the most authoritative and comprehensive reasons,” he says. “It is these that should be promulgated, as they have been carefully and responsibly worked up over time.”

REMEMBER

If you catch the flu, apart from being unwell yourself, you are at risk of spreading it to vulnerable people at risk of serious complications.

If you come into contact with infants, pregnant women, older people or immune-compromised people while you have the flu you are putting them at risk.

Vaccination is the single most effective means of preventing influenza. You can carry and spread the flu bug without showing signs or symptoms of having influenza.

Use this link or scan the QR code to secure your place.

q-r.to/bajZZD

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Thursday 13th April

Easter EGG Graduate House

HUNT 12.00pm to 2.00pm Make it a family day.

Bring children and grandchildren.

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ABN 55610664963 | IAR No. A0023234B

is having an

College Table

Matthew Albert will lead the discussion on “Law�

Friday 21st April, 12NOON for 12:30PM

Usual dining room prices apply College Tables are informal collegiate lunch-time discussions on challenging issues in a graduate school field

Matthew practices in commercial, industrial and public law.

He advises and acts in commercial disputes including contract, consumer, building and construction law. His public law matters include judicial and merits review, and acting as counsel assisting the Coroner.

Book online at www.graduatehouse.com.au by phone 9347 3428, through email to admingh@graduatehouse.com.au or at the venue, 220 Leicester Street, Carlton.

A B N 5 5 6 1 0 6 6 4 9 6 3 | I A R No . A 0 0 2 3 2 3 4 B

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INVESTMENT FOR YOUR FUTURE

FREE for MEMBERS $15 per seminar for non-members

FOUR SEMINARS 7.00 pm 27th April 29th June 31st August 26th October book online call +61 3 9347 3428 email admingh@graduatehouse.com.au

S

cott Fisher is a Senior Relationship Manager with Lanyon Partners Private Wealth. He holds a Post-Graduate Diploma in Financial Planning, is a Certified Financial Planner and a member of the Financial Planning Association. He also holds a Bachelor of Biological Science from La Trobe University.

Scott joined Lanyon Partners in 2006. With experience in superannuation, Self-Managed Super Funds (SMSFs), Centrelink, tax structures, insurance, direct shares and managed investments, Scott’s breadth of advice is extensive.

As a financial advisor, Scott helps to plan, build, manage and protect everything his clients need for a confident financial future.

Mr Fisher is past Chair and now member of Lanyon Partners Investment Committee which oversees the construction of model portfolios and is involved with the research and valuation of direct shares.

Scott grew up on a small hobby farm in Arthurs Creek (north of Melbourne) with all the usual pets – horses, emus, geese, dogs, snakes, lizards and birds.

Scott Fisher

Trading the sprawling acres of Arthurs Creek for the innercity life Scott now resides in Hawthorn East with his wife and two children, Olivia (2 years old) and Jackson (7 months). When time permits, Scott enjoys keeping fit, gardening, playing golf and watching his favourite football team, Carlton.

We are grateful to Scott for his many years of managing and growing the William Berry Post-Graduate College Trust and know that our Members and others attending these seminars will be in capable and professional hands.

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JOHN CAIN FOUNDATION MONTHLY LUNCH Wednesday 19th April The John Cain Foundation is a policy think tank for social democracy.

A seated lunch is held at Graduate House on the third Wednesday of each month.

The lunches feature expert speakers on a variety of topics and are a convivial way for progressive thinkers to meet to discuss issues of importance in Victoria.

The April Monthly Lunch features

Evan Tattersall

Chief Executive Officer, Melbourne Metro Rail Authority

Expanding and upgrading Melbourne's rail network

Melbourne Metro is recognised as a necessary addition to the city’s public transport system. The construction phase possibly ten years or longer - will be disruptive, and costs, high. This presentation is an opportunity for the community to learn more about this ambitious project.

Evan Tattersall has 30 years' experience in construction across a number of sectors including transport and building. In Melbourne's metropolitan rail environment he has worked on the Craigieburn Electrification Project and one of the complex inner city packages of the $4.1B Regional Rail Link project. Evan was a Principal with Evans and Peck in Melbourne for 12 years and with Thiess as Construction Manager across Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania for 10 years.

When: 12.30pm – 2.00pm; Wednesday, 19th April Where: Graduate House, 220 Leicester Street, Carlton Cost: $40 ($30 concession – pensioners, full time students) BOOK HERE: https://www.trybooking.com/PBLS For information about the John Cain Foundation contact: secretary@johncainfoundation.com.au www.graduatehouse.com.au | ABN 55610 664 963 | Incorporated Association Registration No. A0023234B | 11

FEATURE PROFESSOR PROFILES

Professor Miles Lewis

Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning at The University of Melbourne.

Life Member, The Graduate Union.

Throughout his research one key theme that is most prevalent has been about treating the history of building technology as a cultural phenomenon.

“Whereas most people look at history of technology and science as progress – someone invents something else and the old things are dropped entirely – it’s not the case in history,” said Professor Lewis.

L

ooking for an area between the Arts and Sciences, architecture was the victorious choice for Professor Miles Lewis. “It seemed to be the ideal choice,” he said at his Fitzroy office, bookshelves overflowing in educational abundance with architecture and history books that frequently spilled out on to some tables.

Professor Lewis is son to Professor Brian Lewis, one of the most pivotal figures in the development of the Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning at The University of Melbourne. In 1946 The Age endowed a Chair of Architecture, and Mr Brian B. Lewis was appointed as the foundation Professor.

He established a progressive fiveyear, full-time degree – one of only three international courses recognised by the Royal Institute of British Architects.

Upon graduating, Professor Miles Lewis completed his PhD on the History and Innovation in Victorian Building, looking at primary sources that largely hadn’t been studied, early trade journals and trade literature and to some extent actual examples of buildings. While university study provided him with a strong foundation in architecture, he describes himself more so as an historian (though trained as an architect) who has mostly worked with archaeologists and other historians.

"For example, people learned to build in brick veneer in Melbourne which has been the standard, common technology for most of the 20th century, and they did it in Perth. Why? It’s one country, there are reasons for that and understanding the reasons for that is what interests me.”

I ask him if a city’s buildings have significance, “that’s like asking if art is significant, or if the world is significant,” he says matterof-factly. “Of course they are in a cultural history sense, but my interest in them, apart from the technology, is the architectural language. There is a grammar about how you put things together, so since the Renaissance there have been certain elements which are used and certain ways to put them together, and the clever architects have been the people who have done that in special ways and perhaps sometimes new ways.”

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Buildings have their own culture.

Ancient connections tie the past and present, redefinition occurring through evolutions. Take for instance gargoyles such as dragons that we see on the rooves of Edwardian homes in Melbourne.

These are not gargoyles. Rather gargoyle is a French term for something that spouts water off a roof. “Only the other night, I was hearing about the appearance of Chinese dragons on English buildings, it was a fashion in the 18th Century, which is what over time has evolved into the so-called

Middle English: from Old French gargouille 'throat', also 'gargoyle' (because of the water passing through the throat and mouth of the figure); related to Greek gargarizein 'to gargle' (imitating the sounds made in the throat).

gargoyle on a roof on a Melbourne suburban houseˮ said Professor Lewis.

Those connections are interesting to Professor Lewis, who points out that another such example of longterm connections is the technique of building in rammed earth, or pisé de terre, which is erroneously thought to have been all over the world, but hasn’t. Originally invented in North Africa, pisé, was unknown in the Middle East where most of the ancient building technology comes from.

From North Africa, General Hannibal invaded the Roman

Empire, and he came into Spain, then to France and Italy. As his journey took two years, he made camps in the winter, and he built in this technique of rammed earth.

This African technique was known in Spain and France, and it became well known Spanish and French building tradition although it is indeed African originally. Then the Spanish colonised Latin America but the French re-discovered the technique, finding it as durable in the 18th Century, and proceed to publish texts about it. “So you’ve now got a literary tradition, textbooks about pisé de terre in French and the Spanish building much of the world, and then the English translating the French books and they can’t build in pisé because it’s too wet,” explained Professor Lewis.

“But when English settlers come to Australia, they had the English textbooks which say how to build in pisé de terre, which they got from France. This is how these long chains of connections interest me historically.”

Supervised by Geoffrey Blainey, one of Australia’s most significant historians, Professor Lewis learned about fluent writing and communicating to the public, as well as the importance of keeping alert and turning anything into use that might be valuable. “Once I was in my room and he was on the phone and he just picked up a book off the shelf,” reminisced Professor Lewis. “It was a documentary on the history of art and he said do you mind if I make a note of this and just use it in my book which I’m writing on the causes of war?”

“That’s the sort of lateral thinking that I learned from him.”

Today history and preservation is key to Professor Lewis who, although retired, does expert witness work in planning and conservation cases, and is also a world heritage referee, so may receive the UNESCO list of world heritage sites final. Last year this found him in Yzad, Iran, as a volunteer, and this year he will be in Spain for a conference of which he is on the committee, reviewing papers that people submit. Some of his most interesting work comes from the questions that are referred from others interested in discovering the narratives behind various objects. In the last two days somebody involved in ship building had found nails which he was puzzled by, first sending the question to somebody in the United States who then referred it onto a Welsh nail expert, who then happened to forward it to a friend of Professor Lewis. The final destination in this request’s journey was to Professor Lewis’s inbox which then led him to spend three days going through British patents trying to resolve this question.

From nails to major conservation cases, such as one in Tasmania when Hobart City Council wanted to build an “access way” for pedestrians and cyclists but the pathway was to obstruct the Derwent River, going through sites in the water which were said to be of archaeological importance.

“The Residents opposed that, and I was called by the Residents and we won the case, despite it being the Hobart Council’s own project. We beat them and it was fantastic!”

"Laws and governance around conservation are not entirely ideal", expressed Professor Lewis. 

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“They’re not bad but the problem in Victoria is the planning system which will often overturn conservation matters in a silly and arbitrary fashion,” he said. He’s been dealing with the Minister of Planning trying to get the reform of the planning tribunal VCAT by lobbying to have VCAT’s role cut down substantially. “He’s listened with interest, but I don’t think his advisors have supported me.”

Professor Lewis has also been involved in developing sets of principles such as, in 1974, initiating the Burra Charter.

governance around conservation, Professor Lewis developed the Burra Charter.

“Now it is written to the law and Federal and state level, and it’s used by the National Trust and everyone who governs the national conservation of Australia,” he said.

One of Professor Lewis’s influences is the architectural historian Nikolaus Pevsner whose questioning and commenting of buildings always seems to enlarge your understanding of the building.

“He might ask if a particular church pew looks Germanic in character, and you think does it?

If you go and do your research, half the time you find that German connection. His guess was right.

This is what I aspire to.”

This charter governs all conservation, so if you ask the Federal Government for money to restore a house, it will be imperative for “I do pick up a lot walking around, your proposal to conform not just in Australia but anywhere, which is useful to me, and that’s to the Burra Charter.

what I’ve tried to do with my students. I tried to encourage them to ask questions all the time about buildings, and have an instinct, not to say I know that’s an alteration to the building but saying there’s a question here, I must look at that and they would come up with information. So there are now quite a few practitioners around Victoria and in Australia who have this approach to buildings.”

Walking down any street anywhere in the world, it would be remiss of us not to look up, or down, and take a moment to really consider what it is that we are looking at.

For an architectural historian, this is inevitable, but there is a lot to learn from someone such as Professor Lewis who clearly articulates, through his work, the importance of that which surrounds us. 

The foundation of this initiative came after Professor Lewis was at a conference in Russia deliberating a proposal to reform the Venice Charter, the 1964 document that was drawn up by conservation professionals, and which provides an international framework for the conservation and restoration of historic buildings.

He was in a small group of people trying to get it reformed because it failed to cover the kinds of buildings that we have in Australia, including, for instance, shipwrecks or mining villages, or looking further east, it also failed to cover mud buildings in the villages, rather covering great cathedrals and temples. Unfortunately, they were not able to get the Charter reformed, and so determined to make a difference to the

Professor Lewis with his book Architectura: Elements of Architectural Style, 2008

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FEATURE

Talking ‘bout my generation It’s time to elucidate some misconceptions about Generation Y. “We are now – in the Me decade – seeing the upward roll (and not yet the crest, by any means) of the third great religious wave in American history”, wrote Tom Wolfe in his seminal 1976 essay, The “Me Decade” and The Third Great Awakening published in New York Magazine.

Wolfe wrote that the saga of the “Me Decade” began with the 30-year boom when wartime spending in the United States in the 1940s “touched off a boom that has continued for more than 30 years, pumping money into every class and population on a scale without parallel in any country history that the “blue collar worker” (who?) now dons the “$35 Superstar Qiana sports shirt with elephant collars and 1940s Airbursh wallpaper Flowers Buncha Grapes and Seashell designs all over them.” The working person didn’t exist, well s/ he was liberated (with questionable fashion sense) and came with a surplus income, political freedom, free time and “freedom from grinding drudgery … They took the money and ran and started doting on Me!” Forty years later and we’re still having the same arguments, though this time directed at Millennials, or Generation Y: those born after 1980 who have been allocated every descriptor possible that pertains to self-centredness. There is abundant literature focussing on millennial attitudes, such as the

work of psychologist Jean M Twenge whose two books The Narcissism Epidemic and Generation Me unleashed a tirade against millennials, picked up my countless media outlets, that brandished data like narcissistic behaviours among college students studied over a 27-year period had increased significantly from the 1970s1.

Millennials get a bad rap but there is an increasing pool of literature and data that are slowly starting to demonstrate that those negative views are unjust. One excellent Quartz article The myth of millennial entitlement was created to hide their parents’ mistakes, sums it up neatly: in these harsh economic times millennials are simply navigating through chaotic terrain stemming from the doings of the previous generations. But this era of structural crises, that millennials are a part of, happened in tandem with the Internet which not only is a benevolent provider of mirth, but offers a massive platform for anyone to engage with the world, share their views via ‘citizen journalism’, and easily connect with like-minded people.

This has made a generation of ‘woke’ individuals. Millennials 1 Other studies echo this data but it has been labelled as flimsy because it’s derived from a subjective source: A Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI). (In fact, Frances Allen, who was chair of the task force that wrote the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV (D.S.M.-IV), and who wrote the criteria that define narcissistic personality disorder (NPI), pointed out that only around 0.5-1 percent of the general population are diagnosed with it, some might be undiagnosed, but the rest are probably just a little overconfident.)

are a woke generation who are. challenging the current work, social and political landscapes to pursue a new way forward.

‘Woke’ is a slang term meaning socially aware of injustices. It applies to people who choose not to ignore current states of dysfunction, whether social or political, and advocate for recognition and change. A woke society means there are woke messages, and while many of those messages are subverted by various pressures, there is a resurgence of ‘woke’ messaging through mainstream media cutting through the fat in an era oversaturated with ‘alternative facts’.

One example is Teen Vogue (primarily created by millennials) which in the last year has shifted its focus from stereotypical teen content, to hard-hitting political journalism which in many instances has criticized the Trump administration, covered the Women’s March and Black Lives Matter movements, and since this editorial re-direction, their traffic has spiked dramatically.

[Teen Vogue] said one Guardian writer, “has come to play a key role in repositioning the title as a passionate and informed, if unexpected, voice for the resistance.” But while Teen Vogue readers may only represent a very small population of millennials worldwide, mass surveys demonstrate that Millennials feel more accountable when it comes to bigger issues. 

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FEATURE Statistics from a recent Deloitte survey demonstrated that more than half of respondents felt accountable for protecting the environment, just over half percent felt accountable for social equality and 40 percent felt accountable for the direction of the country. But they feel that their influence has limitations, as reflected by the data that demonstrates when it comes to protecting the environment, for instance, where they do feel a high degree of accountability, only 38 percent feel they hold enough influence to address it. Working for not-for-profit organisations, volunteering and being involved in good causes is from where millennials derive a sense of empowerment. 30 percent are active volunteers or organisers, and support good causes by becoming a member or making a regular donation to charities and other such organisations.

“Many millennials feel unable to exert any meaningful influence on some of society’s biggest challenges; but in the workforce, they can feel a greater sense of control – an active participant rather than a bystander,” the report noted.

Fatema Samina Yasmin, now a teacher at The University of Dhaka in Bangladesh began her career working for a UN agency.

Although she was well paid, she was unsatisfied working in a process-focused department where she felt that she wasn’t contributing to social change.

Today her teaching job, albeit lower paying, gives her a greater sense of satisfaction. “If I am able to mould the minds of a few

positively, it’s a reward on its own,” she said over email. “I feel compelled in this way because I learned very early in my life that material objects can’t make one happy. They are accessories that can never be a source of satisfaction ... I am a lucky citizen who was educated in public schools and university. My poor country invested a lot in me and I feel compelled to give back what I can,” she added.

Conversely, Hiring Manager at NAB Werribee, Peter Cassar, says that when it comes to work, this generation is self-centred, is constantly seeking to be rewarded and wants greater flexibility in work. “I had one employee who would walk out of the door at 5pm every night, and I said that sometimes you’ve got to stay back to help out,” he said. “The older generation can actually understand that it’s give and take, whereas I think with this generation coming through it’s all about ‘me’ and there’s no give,” he said.

“They bring a different dimension to the culture, and from this point

of view it’s definitely great having millennials in the workplace, but they take a lot more days off.”

This self-centredness is not as apparent with the older generation, noted Cassar, who felt that those younger expect to progress a lot faster without doing much of the leg work. But what is the root to these higher expectations?

One possibility is that millennials have a great feeling of distrust for corporations. Professor Eddy Ng at the Rowe School of Business at Dalhousie University in Canada says that it’s primarily due to their parent’s generation. “Millennials may form a distrust of corporations as a result of seeing their own boomer parents downsized during tough economic times (GFC), despite their parents giving so much to work,” said Ng over email. Boomers, he explained, are known to live to work and now that millennials are in the job market themselves, they also see few quality jobs (long-term, wellpaying jobs with good benefits) despite rising levels of corporate profits. “You may have heard of the term “gig economy,” where millennials hop from job to job

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FEATURE without job security. Employers try to cut cost by not hiring workers on a long-term basis, but will instead hire part time or contract workers, also contributing to corporate distrust,” he added.

an average of 8 businesses, compared to 3.5, their businesses are composed of a headcount of 122, compared to 30 and have a turnover of more than 43 percent of that of baby boomers.

These findings could be key as to why millennials are opting for building their own ventures, starting from scratch to implement the policies (or indeed nonpolicies), workplace cultures and dynamics that make the kind of workplace they want to be a part of. They’re called millennipreneurs, an obvious amalgamation, and they’re outperforming their parents, the baby boomer generation.

In a BNP Paribas Global Entrepreneur Report, led by Scorpio Partnership it was shown that millennials are starting their own businesses earlier than the boomer generation.

A millennipreneur will start a business aged around 27 compared to 35, according to the survey of 2,600 “high and ultra-high” net worth entrepreneurs from 18 countries. Millennials start

Giftson Selladurai worked in IT systems for nearly 10 years starting his career as a systems analyst for a real estate property maintaining company based in Greensborough, Victoria. In a short amount of time, their business grew from half a million to three to four million dollars and Selladurai realised this was due to his work. “I understood that I added a lot of value to them which was a great thing but I was still an employee. There was no value add for me,” he said.

He worked there for two years, moved to another company, introducing various automation systems, but again found that although the business started flourishing, he was somewhat standing still. “I then started to realise that I have got skills here that maximises a business’s value, so why should I be an employee rather than becoming an

entrepreneur and adding value to more clients when I’m not limited to just one business,” he said.

So in 2015 he started his business Ruahtech and has been servicing more clients through the building of mobile, web and cloud applications, as well as websites, and additional digital marketing.

But he doesn’t work the typical 9 to 5 hours – he works a lot more, and found the transition between employee to employer quite challenging. “You play multiple hats when you’re an employer… it’s been an exciting ride, but it’s never easy.” But despite this he still would not turn back to being an employee. “Definitely not. For me one of the biggest things was adding value to clients which is not limited by an organisation’s rules when you work as an employee, but as a business entrepreneur you can add value to clients in different ways,” he said. “I can go somewhere and earn 200,000300,000 per year, but that just limits me. As an entrepreneur I can create jobs for people through the business.”

Around the world, the traditional structures and dynamics of work are quickly diminishing.

The concept of clocking in 9 to 5 and sitting at your desk all day is slowly becoming obsolete, rather working remotely and working varied hours are standards that many organisations have adopted.

For instance, in 2014 Netflix introduced a new ‘non-policy’ for annual leave through which employees could take as much time off whenever they wanted without needing to gain approval from their managers. It was up to the individual employees to judge if taking time off was feasible for them and their role. 

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“Rules and policies and regulations and stipulations are innovation killers. People do their best work when they’re unencumbered,” Steve Swasey, former vice-president for corporate communication at Netflix told The Telegraph. “If you’re spending a lot of time accounting for the time you’re spending, that’s time you’re not innovating.” Salludarai can even echo these sentiments – the flexibility of his own altered work processes, gives him better flexibility and allows him to better innovate. Time that is not spent on menial tasks, is time spent innovating on his implementation of a process that allows his remote workers to contribute to projects that would usually take three days, in just one day.

Another study, Evolving talent strategy to match the new workforce reality, by PwC found that it is necessary to transform the core dynamics of the workplace in

order to foster a greater sense of commitment among millennials.

Some of the key findings from a survey of 44,000 millennial respondents demonstrated that just under three quarters were unconvinced that excessive work demands are worth sacrificing their personal lives; 64 percent would occasionally like to work from home and 66 percent would like to shift their working hours. Higher rates of employee retention are largely dependent on these factors that facilitate that all-important emotional connection that drives retention.

By 2020 it has been prognosticated that millennials will make up at least 50 percent of the workforce.

That means two different generations working side by side. There may be a disconnect between generations and employers, but the thing is that we can’t just point the finger at one particular group and tell them that

they’re doing things wrong or that they have the wrong attitude. It’s about adaptation and repositioning our perspectives and values, meeting somewhere in a suitable, productive and harmonious middle, filled with those ‘woke’ individuals in all their narcissistic, self-absorbed, self-interested glory.

Are they the Fourth Great Awakening? Maybe, but if the Third Wave was in the 1970s, and three decades later we’re still talking about how narcissistic youth can be, it seems that it’s just a pre-embedded and omnipresent characteristic of any generation.

“I will say like every generation we are mixed of people who will change the world for the better,” said Fatema. “We will fight to prevent the effects of climate change and then again there are the very shallow ones. I guess that's how nature maintains a balance in a generation.” 

GRADUATE PATHWAY

Lisa Renneisen - Career Journey

I

don’t think I was ever one of those people who just knew what they wanted to do. But this itself has probably been my biggest blessing, because instead of climbing a set ladder, my career always has (and I believe always will be) a journey and adventure.

Back to the beginning …

If you wanted to find the beginning of my journey, like most, it starts at University. I went to the University of South Australia in Adelaide and did a Bachelor of Business, majoring in marketing and minoring in HR. I had been quite involved in the student association AIESEC at University and decided

that when I graduated, doing an internship overseas was an awesome idea. I’d like to say that the decision was based on many highbrow morals about wanting to experience the world … I think if I was honest with myself, I was terrified at having to find a job without much experience, and this would neatly wrap that all up and sort it out for me.

My first job …

The plan worked and soon enough I found myself landing on the tiny Mediterranean Island known as Malta, for what was meant to be a year-long experience. After a 3 - month stint doing a marketing

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internship at a bank (boring), I hit the jackpot. With the help of some people I still call friends today, I managed to score a 12 - month HR internship working with an international start-up and business incubator, iWorld Group, that was based in Malta.

This was it. My opportunity to get into the exact area I wanted to be working in.

I was going great guns at my job, but the CEO had clocked me and challenged me to consider looking beyond HR. Three months into my dream role and I was now being challenged to get into a product management role and I wasn’t event quite sure what that was! Turns out I loved it and this was just the beginning of some amazing doors opening for me.

Through my time at iWorld Group I got to take my first work trip (to NYC) and do an incredible FIFO experience (a few weeks in a remote German town followed by a week-ish in Malta).

However, time passed and the small Mediterranean island eventually got a little too small for me and I decided it was time for the big smoke. Off to London I went. Things had been going so well for me in the small pond, why wouldn’t it be even more amazing in London?

Lost in the big smoke …

Unfortunately, whilst I thought big city would equal lots of jobs, what I hadn’t considered was it also meant lots of competition.

Getting a job was tough and whilst I was desperate to keep building up my product and project management experience and continue the journey I started in Malta, unfortunately, for the first couple of years, that did not quite work out. I fell back on my

marketing degree … at least it paid the bills.

Eventually, Lady Luck looked down on me, and a colleague from my time in Malta connected me with a start-up in London who were on the lookout for someone with my skillset. Although it took some time until they could hire me (waiting for funding is a pain) …

I finally found myself back in the start-up scene I loved. This was also the first time I started to fully understand the power of personal brand – my reputation had been 90% responsible for helping to land my new role.

I loved my job and things were going great, however, my one year overseas had by now reached the 7 - year mark and the grey skies of London were taking their toll.

It was time to come back to Australia and I had Brisbane in my sights.

Finally back in Australia …

7 years later Back in Australia, I again found myself falling back on my marketing skills. I landed the role of Marketing Manager at Vision6, and as it was a brand new role, I found myself starting to realise that it wasn’t the marketing I didn’t like when I was back in London … it was the systems and processes that existed and I had to conform to that which drove me nuts. I was starting to understand that it was the set up and creation phase that I really loved.

And that is fundamentally the catalyst that lead me to where I am today.

My journey as a co-founder.

I joined Nadine working part time at the beginning of 2011 (I was initially planning on working part time and studying full time) but

then this magical thing happened … we started coming up with all these awesome ideas of things we could do.

Nadine has a background in events, having worked for a production house in London producing large scale conferences across Europe and even New York. However, she knew very early on that she made for a terrible employee and that she wanted to work for herself! However, it was not until we had been working together for a couple of months that we realised how well we complement each other.

And working together on a daily basis naturally meant that we loved throwing around new ideas.

It was September 2014 and we had a disastrous year on the recruitment front. Hires that were meant to start and never did, or ones that did that didn’t stick around more than a few months.

Our frustration levels were high.

All we could see was a generation of graduates who were meant to be extremely competent, and they were … technically … but as a hiring manager, that’s only half the story. There seemed to be a consistent lacking gap on the soft skills that everyone needed, regardless of their degree (think communication, problem solving, networking, emotional intelligence etc). And the more we complained about this to friends and colleagues, the more we started to realise that no matter the size of the company, everyone faced this problem.

However, although plenty of people were talking about the challenges of millennials - very few people seemed to be directly trying to help them. 

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We were sick of complaining.

We wanted to do something about it. So, we created something, doing what we do best and created an explosive new event that would help millennials unleash their potential when it comes to career and life.

This is how generationYOU was born!

A final thought.

By no means have the last 6 years been a smooth ride … actually the correct term would be a rollercoaster – extreme highs and lows (it just so happens though that I love rollercoasters).

But the one thing I can now be certain of is every step on my journey has played a crucial role in making me who I am today. Running our own business means I need all my HR skills, and marketing and product development and start up experience and more. But bringing together everything I love, every single day, makes bouncing out of bed every morning a simple task.

• A couple of awful managers that made me want to chuck in the towel and quit #gladididnt.

These things happened.

And they are stories for another time … don’t be put off though by the bumps you will inevitably face in your career, cliché as they sound, they will only make you stronger.

Graduate House is proud to sponsor two current Residents to attend the 2017 generationYOU conference.

Express interest to admingh@graduatehouse.com.au or visit www. graduatehouse.com. au/learn-here/awardsand-opportunities/ generationYOU

generationYOU will hold their annual conference at The Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, Friday 7th April.

Some of this year’s speakers include: Levi Aron, Country Manager, Deliveroo; Lauren Evans, Graduate Programs Consultant, Ashurst; Jessica Hudswell, GM Change and Engagement, Telstra and more.

A quick qualifier … when I read this back, it sounds like a fundamentally perfect journey … and I don’t for one moment want to not be grateful for all that has happened to me. But I do want to point out, that there we’re definitely some hairy moments along the way including; • The legal dispute at one company that lead to everyone’s salaries being frozen over xmas #broke.

• The crappy sales job I had in London that barely paid minimum wage #brokeagain.

• The time I was told the tech team wouldn’t listen to me because I’m a girl.#gosh 20 | www.graduatehouse.com.au | ABN 55610 664 963 | Incorporated Association Registration No. A0023234B

REVIEW

Women's Forum Review

Wednesday 15th February

The significance of Why

Some examples of “Whysˮ: Why do bad things happen to good people?

Why did people not predict - and thence take action to make an ʽinputʼ (e.g., Brexit, Trumpʼs Presidency, etc.)?

Why is intelligence not a measure of success?

Why do people not help each other in times of difficulty?

1

Ancient Greek culture focussed on “Whyˮ and applied it to abstract concepts e.g., ʽthe good lifeʼ.

"Why" is often avoided by fear or embarrassment.

What is it that makes us hesitate or avoid the “Whyˮ?

Is it connected with fear of being shamed? (e.g., Why does not he or she know/understand that?).

2

Unexpected results or consequences frequently follow the path of knowledge and the understanding by the people who vote, e.g., in an election. Is process more important than product? - this can produce a “Whyˮ from those not introduced to the process.

3

Ignorance is the greatest evil in humanity. It can and usually is exploited.

4

Many points of view will produce many “Whyˮ from those who do not understand or know the background to the action.

5

Community consultation may avoid aggressive “Whyˮ in response.

6

Small children are the most profilic users of “Whyˮ because they do not have the level of understanding nor the ability to predict that comes from life experience/advanced education, e.g., adult behavior based on understanding ʽI can predict that this chair is stable and fixed therefore I can sit on itʼ.

7

The stock market is a good example of adult ability to predict consequences.

8

The most significant thing about “Whyˮ is to find out. If the ancient Greek philosopher had not explored the concept of “Whyˮ, many following generations may not have advanced.

The next forum is on Wednesday, 19th April with the topic

Rules for living a contented life.

The forum is free. Lunch is at Member and non-member prices.

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REVIEW

Monthly Luncheon with Professor John Roberts Marketers Nudge! Should we let them?

T

o nudge or not to nudge?

That is the question, broadly, that Professor John Roberts explored at March’s Monthly Luncheon. Professor Roberts discussed what marketing is, it’s amorality, how changes in our society may alter the effectiveness of marketing and whether we should be worrying about marketing in the years to come.

Worrying about what marketers do is not new.

What is Marketing? A definition by the American Marketing Association suggests that “marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and process for creating, communicating, delivering and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large.” Professor Roberts opined that this is an awful definition, labelling it ‘tripe’ and adding that the definition by Bjorn Shorte (fun tip: re-arrange the letters to see who this is really attributed to), “marketing is the management of the customerfacing activities of the firm.”

Marketing, says Roberts, is about how the firm relates to its publics and about understanding potential customers and trying to meet the needs of potential customers.

Querying the crowd, Professor Roberts asked what people think of in relation to marketers:

“Nuisance!”

“Bother!” “Rip off!” “Shonky!”

“The reason why I asked this is that marketers, compared to the other professions, never really rate that highly.

It’s quite interesting to me as to why people use the descriptors that you shouted out earlier.”

This is not new, he suggests, as marketers have never had a particularly good rap.

Historical views of marketing, such as that of Aristotle, for instance, said that “Retail trade is justly censured because the gain which results is not naturally made but is made at the expense of other men.”

Professor Roberts contests these views – and quite rightly – defending his profession because if there isn’t a match between what the organisation does and what people want, then it’s highly unlikely that anything will be sold. But there are three possible things that can be done about this potential issue:

Manipulate: Marketers try and manipulate consumer needs so that customers will value your product.

We see marketers do this all the time, where marketers manipulate customers’ needs, such as for example, Colgate advertisements in the 1950s, suggesting that if you don’t use Colgate you will be socially rejected.

Lie: Marketers can lie and say that a product is meeting the needs of the customer.

Change: If the products of the firm do not meet the needs of the customer, change the products of the firm.

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REVIEW Marketing manipulates customers’ needs, marketing lies, and marketing changes what the firm offers. 95 percent of marketing relates to change because it is easier to understand what people value and to give it to them.

In this sense, marketing plays an incredibly important social function to the extent that it understands what people value, and how the resources of the community can be harnessed to give people what they want.

This is the job of the marketer to understand what people value and to work out how the community can use its resources to give what is valued most. While in some instances, the process of this can be unethical, yes, how this can be stopped is key. However, marketing does hold an important social function when methods are developed to understand what people would like and help to educate a firm as to how those social needs might be met.

This doesn’t mean that manipulation should necessarily be stopped nor does it mean that “we should stop lying”.

The question is then if marketing is a matching process and the easiest way to achieve the financial objectives of the firm is to meet the needs of the customer. If that is what marketing is primarily about then the point really is that surely this is a balanced exchange, it’s not a ‘negative sum game’, explained Professor Roberts, it’s positive – the consumer really does get something.

But considering the negative perceptions of marketing, when is it not a positive sum game? Factors such as information asymmetry, unethical tools/asymmetric power, preying on the young, weak and

elderly and unpriced externalities (costs that are paid indirectly and collectively, such as climate change). There are some times when marketing needs to be regulated, as there are times when this matching process whereby understanding what people value and by giving it to them doesn’t work. Therefore, regulatory bodies exist – or certainly, they should exist. Marketing, nevertheless, is a useful social force that seeks to understand what people value and help them to achieve those values.

With the shifts in global trends, where does this leave the value equation for marketing and the role of regulatory bodies?

On the one hand, consumers are more readily able to ‘name and shame’ more effectively due to the various platforms that are easily accessed by consumers allowing them to disseminate their opinions on a much larger and global scale, such as for example, the CEO of Uber who was forced to step down from Trump’s advisory council due to public pressures and Uber users boycotting Uber. Competitors also play a key role in identifying flaws with other products, and promoting their product as superior due to these flaws. On the other hand, the rise of big data, the rise of behavioural economics and advances in neuroscience also impact marketing.

Big data allows companies to improve vital aspects of marketing including cross-selling which does have the potential to add great value to consumers lives. One example is Tesco that went from being the fourth biggest player in the UK grocery market to the top player by far due to its use of big data after buying a data company.

The issue with the use of big data, however, as much as it can address very specific needs of customers by analysing their consumption patterns, life choices and so on, it does raise questions as to whether it can become an invasion of consumer privacy.

Behavioural economics is the study of phenomena not explained by economists. When psychologists started to think that people didn’t think in what economists call “rational ways”, economists got around that by reframing their models. As consumers, we are required to make thousands of decisions a day – in the words of Daniel Kahnemann, we think fast and slow: some decision we make very quickly, while other decisions take a lot more thought.

Our shortcuts in thinking “keep us alive” but economists do not classify these kinds of decisions as rational. Marketers understand those shortcuts and for example, if healthy foods are placed at eye level in a shop, sales of healthy foods will increase – it takes less time for the consumer to make a decision.

In Austria the organ donation rate is at 99 percent compared to Germany’s 12 percent – why?

Because in Austria you are an organ donor unless you don’t opt out, but in Germany you are an organ donor only if you opt in.

The only difference is the default.

“We are learning quite a lot in behavioural economics about how we can nudge, as Dick Thaler says, the consumer towards better decisions.

Finally, studies in neuroscience assist with market research as they demonstrate how emotions affect choice. Pepsi and Coke 

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GRADUATE HOUSE NEWS

are the same, chemically. If you are given both and not told the difference, your brain will light up in the same way. If you are given coke and not told what it is and given coke and told what it is, your brain will light up in different ways. Physiologically we react differently to different marketing stimulus.

As marketers get more and more able to understand consumer’s reaction to these products, we have to make sure that they use that understanding to make things better, not make some of the heuristics and biases that we use and exploit them in ways to make them work. Marketing is an amoral profession – marketing is a set of tools that can help us meet the needs of the community better, but we have to make sure that’s the job that it’s actually doing, used as a force of good rather than a tool of exploitation.  Thank you Professor John Roberts, Life Member!

Professor Roberts - what a magnificent speaker on such a fascinating topic!

We must have a return visit, PLEASE! Wendy Seng Hpa

Seen at Graduate House Infrastructure Engineering Geophysicist Dr Yaakov Anker of Samaria and Jordan Rift Research and Development Center, Ariel University, Israel visited Graduate House with members of the Department of Infrastructure Engineering, The University of Melbourne, to discuss the construction of hemp products (walls, ceilings, desks). It would be interesting to use these in the terrace redevelopment!

From left to right standing: Professor Colin Duffield, Dr David Wilson, Mr Jesse Wilson From left to right seated: Darren Christie, Australian Hemp Manufacturing Company, Dr Yaakov Anker and Stan Polan, Nagambie farmer and businessman.

Trinity College London Friday 27th January - Trinity College London held a ‘Discover Trinityʼ presentation and afternoon tea at Graduate House where the New Melbourne representative, Mr John Green, who is also on the Council of The Graduate Union, was introduced to their local teachers.

Established in 1877, Trinity College London - an international exam board - undertakes assessments of over 700,000 candidates in more than 60 countries.

Subjects tested include music, drama and speech, dance, the performing arts, English language and the teaching of English.

See http://www.trinitycollege.com for more details.

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GRADUATE HOUSE NEWS

His Excellency Dr Obaid Alketbi's Visit Monday 27th February Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates to Australia, His Excellency (HE) Dr Obaid Alketbi, was welcomed to Graduate House.

Arriving in two diplomatic cars, HE Dr Alketbi along with his entourage was greeted by the President of The Graduate Union, Dr Ken V Loughnan AO, the Chair of Council, Mr Rhys Watson, and the CEO/Head of College and then taken on a tour of Graduate House, followed by morning tea in the Johnston Library.

"It was a privilege to host HE Dr Alketbi at Graduate House and to

show him our college, as well as The University of Melbourne� said Dr Bennett. “His Excellency's visit is important in fostering a strong academic relationship between our two countries."

Awadh Alameri, Second Secretary Mr Abdullah Omar Alahmed, Vice-Police Attache Mr Abdulaziz Salem Mohamed Al Junaibi and Executive Secretary Ms Laura Aoun.

"We are particularly interested also in learning more from Dr Alketbi on his University of London PhD on the transferring and anchoring of foreign technology," she explained.

We thank HE Dr Alketbi for his generous gifts and for this inaugural visit and look forward to a continuing dialogue and further opportunities for collaboration.

Also with Dr Alketbi were ConsulGeneral HE Saeed Matar Sultan Alsiri Alqemzi, Cultural Attache Mrs Rawdha Almansoori, Police Attache Major Majed Mefareg

We hope also to welcome to Graduate House citizens of the United Arab Emirates who decide to come to our great city Melbourne and our 'education state' of Victoria to undertake postgraduate studies.

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GRADUATE HOUSE NEWS

New Chair of the Believe Campaign Mr Leigh Clifford AO has been appointed as the new Chair of the Believe campaign at The University of Melbourne.

Functions and Guest Services Manager, Bill Mihelakis completed his first aid training, and is now fully qualified to perform first aid, including emergency life support and cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

The current Chair of Qantas and former CEO of Rio Tinto has served as Deputy Chair of the campaign since 2013.

Mr Clifford was quoted as saying that he is “excited to take on an expanded role in the campaign.”

First aid qualifications

Mr Clifford speaking at 2016 Graduate Union Annual General Meeting Dinner.

His qualifications will be renewed annually.

All of us at Graduate House extend great congratulations to Bill!

The new campaign Chair presented at the 2016 Graduate Union Annual General Meeting Dinner on his graduate pathway and business insights to over 100 guests.

Recognising International Womenʼs Day of the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, School of Life and Environment Sciences at Deakin University.

Parisa Shiran, Lesley Bawden (one of the hosts of the Dinner) and Jamie Gunawan.

Wednesday 8th March - Members of the Melba Group, Lesley Bawden and Marg Sawyer, sponsored Resident Members, Parisa Shiran and Jamie Gunawan, to attend the International Women’s Day Dinner hosted by the group at Graduate House. The dinner featured a presentation from Professor Leigh Ackland, Director

Said Jamie of the dinner: “I was fortunate enough to be invited to this yearʼs International Womenʼs Day Dinner at GH. It was a wonderful opportunity to meet so many inspiring and intelligent women who were approachable and willing to share their stories.

The guest speaker, Professor Leigh Ackland, gave a very interesting speech and delved into the problem of “alternative factsˮ in todayʼs society. Professor Acklandʼs speech triggered meaningful discussion across the group and I feel very lucky that I was able to participate. I would love to attend again next year.”

Parisa Shiran was also sponsored by Rotary Carlton to attend the Rotary International Women's Day Breakfast at the Palladium, Crown Casino. Parisa

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RESIDENT NEWS

Malene Gottfredsen Malene Gottfredsen was a Resident at Graduate House in 2008 and returned in 2017 to visit her old college.

She arrived as a student from Denmark, and immediately upon her arrival at Graduate House was surprised not only about the welcome but also the atmosphere among the students. “After a long day in the lab it was always nice to come home and enjoy the kitchen’s meals,” she said.

During her residency, Gottfredsen was completing her Master’s thesis at the Howard Florey Institute at The University of Melbourne. Her thesis "Analysis of excitatory amino acid transporters in the CaCo-2 cell line-mechanism of regulation of activity and cell morphology" was about glutamate transporters that are found in the brain as well as in other organs.

By means of a cell line, she looked at cell shape and morphology in addition to transporter efficiency upon stimulation with different drugs. This was basic research in order to find possible biological pathways as possible drug targets, for treatment of both acute brain injury and delayed injury, such as Parkinson’s and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

Today, Malene remains in the pharmaceutical industry working with adverse drug reactions from outputs of clinical trials, as it is a regulatory requirement to monitor these.

Since 2008 she has been back in Melbourne four times and visiting Graduate House regularly to find the same warmth she experienced before, despite her cohort having moved on.

“It was good period and when I am in Melbourne I try to stay a couple of nights if I have university related arrangements,” she said.

Thanks Malene for coming back to Graduate House!

We hope to see you again soon.

said: “… as an early career researcher in women’s and gender studies, I found Kitty Chiller’s speech [at the breakfast] about the necessity of ʽtaking responsibility for your own potentialʼ to bring about the changes you want to see happening, inspiring and encouragingˮ.

Attending also the dinner, I learned about some of the issues women faced in the past (something which I realised I don’t know enough about) and also about some of the challenges women are facing now. It was a very lovely and friendly gathering where we discussed many champions of women’s rights and advocates of female art and literature, including most importantly Virginia Woolf whose ideas (social and artistic) we agreed are still very much relevant to our time.

I want to thank Rotary Carlton members Mr Casey Tan and Mr Keith Ryall, and Lesley and Margaret of the Melba Group, for giving free tickets to their events, which allowed me to attend both to learn and to have an enjoyable time.

Anouchka Chatelier, Director of Kew Student Residence, Cr Keith Ryall, Mr Casey Tan, Rotarian and Finance/Accounting Businessman, and Parisa Shiran, Literature PhD student at The University of Melbourne and Resident Member of Graduate House.

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RESIDENT NEWS

White Night Some Graduate House Residents attended Melbourne’s All Night Party, White Night. From 7pm on 18th February until 7am the next day, the streets, buildings, alleyways and hidden spaces get a whimsical makeover and our Residents captured some of the marvels.

Photos by Avi Gandhi.

MEMBERS NEWS

Australia you have a transparency problem Cr Paul Southwick is a frequent contributor to Acuity Magazine, and here offers his view on the five things Australia should do to improve its sliding transparency rating.

IN BRIEF • Cultural change is by far the hardest medicine to take, but also the most effective • Australia desperately needs a system that encourages and rewards whistleblowers • Australia’s watchdogs are all too often wrong-footed – or asleep

Graduate House Student Group 2nd March - The Graduate House Student Group (GHSG) held their first meeting for 2017 to share ideas for Resident activities this year.

They are planning on introducing more day-trips around Victoria, as well as group outings, movie nights, music nights and cultural dinners.

Now in its third year, the Student Group organises activities for the Resident body and represents them on the Resident’s Committee.

Previous events have included research talks, informal evening presentations on their research, and welcome dinners for new Residents.

We look forward to updating you about coming Resident events.

Subcommittee of Council There are many opportunities to play a part in college life. One is to be a representative on a subcommittee of Council, where a Resident Member will represent the best interests of other Resident Members, as well as gaining governance experience, a valuable addition to any CV. Thank you so much to all of our Resident Members for letting everyone know about the opportunity to be a Resident Member representative on our Buildings and Facilities committee. Submissions to join this committee have now closed.

We encourage all Resident Members to continue to play a part in college life through the Graduate House Student Group and in other college activities.

In Transparency International’s 2016 Corruption Perceptions Index, Australia ranked 13th.

Australia’s score in this most recent ranking, published in January, saw it drop to 79 out of 100, down from 85 out of 100 in 2012. The least corrupt countries scored 90 and the most corrupt (Somalia) scored 10.

Transparency is a key component of investment and interest-related decisions. Internationally, the competition for capital is intense.

Transparency also plays a key role in attracting tourists and, in the education sector, convincing overseas parents that Australia is a good place to send their children.

With the English speaking UK, Singapore and Canada all rating ahead of Australia, a further slip would bite the nation economically. Here are some things Australia should do to improve its transparency rating.

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1. Cultural change In some countries a “decent person test” means once transgressed, it is impossible to return. In Australia, the ubiquitous “fair go” principle, which has many redeeming features, can also work to allow wrongdoers to rise again and to repeat misdeeds.

In Australia, “dobbing someone in” is considered a sin, whereas in higher ranked countries, the emphasis is on ejecting and rejecting forever those who transgress.

Cultural change is by far the hardest medicine to take, but also the most effective, as Singapore (ranked number seven) proved.

2. Politicians leading by example Recent examples of, “do as I say, not as I do” illustrate poor political leadership.

The aggressive recent attacks on Australia’s Greens’ Senator, Sarah Hanson-Young, Save the Children aid workers and Human Rights Commission President Gillian Triggs, over immigration detention centres, were brutal. In each case, the government was wrong, but the damage was done.

Tax legislation in Australia prohibits workers from deducting the cost of travel to work.

Politicians not only get their travel paid for by taxpayer, but have

been widely rorting these generous allowances.

Leader Michael Croker’s view on whistleblower protection here.

Federal Attorney-General George Brandis wanted the right to spy on anyone, at any time, without a warrant, but is fighting (with taxpayers’ money) to prevent his own work diary being released under freedom of information requests. Australia was even accused of spying on its near neighbours in trade negotiations.

4. Institutional front feet Whether it’s ASIC ignoring warnings about financial planning skulduggery in the banks, unions tolerating criminals in their midst, or international tax and money laundering loopholes being closed after the horse has bolted, Australia’s watchdogs are all too often wrong-footed – or asleep.

The government has also criminalised doctors and journalists transparently reporting on misdeeds in detention entrees and wants to be able to force journalists to reveal their sources.

By way of example: Acuity reported in its February/March print magazine on financial services sector reforms that will allow existing financial planners until 2024 to transit to new arrangements.

Unless the Australian federal government breaks bad habits, Australia could see a Brexit/Trump electoral response at home.

3. Reward and protect whistleblowers In Australia, whistleblowers are fired, have careers destroyed, are subject to court action and end up penniless. In the US, whistleblowers are protected and rewarded.

Australia desperately needs a system that encourages and rewards whistleblowers. The more organisations know employees are not scared to report wrongdoing, the less likely they are to permeate misdeeds. Read Chartered Accountants ANZ Tax

Australia needs operational change – including executive incentives to legislate and act early – in order to stay several steps ahead of corrupters.

5. Trans-Tasman merger For years, Kiwis flocked to “the lucky country” at rates of up to 50,000 per annum. That has turned around recently and net immigration is now positive in the other direction.

Previously it was said that New Zealand would be much better off merging with and becoming a state of its larger, dominion sibling.

Perhaps the tide has turned and Australia should become a province of New Zealand – which is ranked first, equal with Norway, on the Transparency International’s 2016 Corruption Perceptions Index.

At the very least, Australia could consider adopting Aotearoa’s seemingly much more agile and accountable “no states, single house of parliament” form of government.

First published by Acuity www.acuitymag.com.

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Academic and Professional Development Meetings

The following groups from The University of Melbourne have convened meetings, workshops and seminars at Graduate House in February 2017 Advancement Office - Advancement Workshop 17th February 8 attendees

Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering CBE 2017 Strategy and Planning Day 6th February 31 attendees

Department of Finance Lunch Meeting 13th February 5 attendees

Infrastructure Engineering 13th February 12 attendees

Research, Innovation and Commercialisation - Professional Certificate, Network of Schools, Palliative Care 9th, 10th, 17th, 18th, 20th, 21st, 22nd, 23rd, 24th, 25th February 434 attendees

University of Melbourne Commercial - Graduate Certificate in Clinical Teaching, GPSL Board of Examiners Meeting 1st, 17th February 40 attendees

University Services - Leadership Team Planning session 3rd February 12 attendees

The patronage of organisation Members in charitable, not-for-profit, government and professional development sectors is acknowledged, as is that of our many Members who organise functions.

Australian Social Work Education and Accreditation Standards (AASW) 1st February 6 attendees

Australian Society for Music Education (ASME) Victorian Chapter 8th February 9 attendees

Australia Teachers of Media (ATOM) 13th, 17th February 25 attendees

Australian Asian Association (AAA) 13th February 6 attendees

Australian Italian Lawyers Association 23rd February 25 attendees

Australian School of Applied Management (ASAM) - Women and Leadership 9th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 23rd February 102 attendees

John and Barbara Wellington 50th Anniversary 25th February 27 attendees

Carlton Rotary - Lunch, Dinner, Board and Heritage Cluster Meetings 7th, 9th, 14th, 15th, 21st, 28th February 148 attendees

Carlton - Parkville Probus Club Inc 14th February 70 attendees

Career Education Association of Victoria (CEAV) Training - Graduation Class 2016 and Workshop 10th, 27th, 28th February 81 attendees

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Academic and Professional Development Meetings Choir and School of Hard Knocks Future Visioning Seminar 4th February 15 attendees

DCA Advisors Pty Ltd 14th February 17 attendees

Geography TeachersĘź Association of Victoria Inc (GTAV) 10th February 60 attendees

International Education Association (ISANA) - Branch Committee Meeting 20th February 10 attendees

John Cain Foundation 15th, 22nd February 58 attendees

Kildare St. Paul

Kildare St. Paul Reunion 25th February 57 attendees

Melbourne College of Contemporary Psychotherapy (MCCP) Final Celebration 22md February 32 attendees

Lunch Meeting

Melba Group 24th February 13 attendees

MosaicLab and New Democracy Foundation (NDF) 13th, 28th February 8 attendees

Order of St. John 6th February 8 attendees

Organisation Development Australia (ODA) - Leadership and Braining 28th February 20 attendees

Phoenix Australia - Centre for Post Trauamtic Mental Health, Board Meeting 21st February 9 attendees

Pulse Credit Union 4th February 10 attendees

Supply Chain Logistics Association Australia (SCLAA) 2nd February 8 attendees

Slavery Links 1st February 4 attendees

Social Education Victoria (SEV) Committee Meeting 8th, 22nd February 17 attendees

Social Work Department Writing Group 23rd February 8 attendees

Swinburne University of Technology Swinburne Department of Education 8th, 15th, 23rd February 8 attendees

The Graduate Union Collegiate Events and Governance Meetings 1st, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 14th, 15th, 21st, 22nd, 27th, 27th February 338 attendees

Turkish Teachers Association of Victoria (TTAV) 7th, 10th, 22nd February 24 attendees

Uniseed Management Pty Ltd Uniseed/UIIT Board Meeting 24th February 10 attendees

VCAA Assessment Practices Workshop VCAA/DET 6th February 40 attendees

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Innovation The EM Drive

For those keen to visit Mars, NASA may have found the answer to efficient space travel: the EM Drive.

The EM Drive has been shrouded in controversy due to the fact that it breaks Newton’s Third Law – all forces between two objects exist in equal magnitude and opposite direction and the conservation of momentum. Labelled as “impossible” by many physicists, the EM Drive has been tested as a viable propulsion method for space travel, as it could operate in a vacuum without any propellant.

This means, theoretically, that a space craft could reach Mars in 70 days without any fuel. The drive’s ability to operate without any propellant is the key to it’s defiance of Newton’s Laws of physics. The theory behind the EM Drive is based upon a cone and electromagnetic waves. The shape of the interior of the cone, coupled with bouncing electromagnetic waves will stimulate thrust. The photons of the waves, as they bounce from the small end, will produce a tiny amount of force, causing the larger end of the cone to accelerate in the opposite direction.

To reach a certain speed, a space-craft merely has to generate electricity to use for conversion into microwaves, and it is these microwave photons that are fired into the metal cone. By scaling up the drive and use of electromagnetic waves, a spacecraft has the capability to reach incredible speeds without any need for fuel, only a power generator (i.e. nuclear reaction or solar), thus becoming a “perpetual motion machine.”

Recently, NASA’s Eagleworks Laboratory fielded their own independent test of the EM Drive, and a leaked report states that the EM Drive does function and is capable of generating 1.2 millinewtons in a vacuum, a substantial increase over other viable space-flight options like the light sail (capable of only 6.67 micronewtons per kilowatt).

However, Roger Shawyer, the British architect behind the EM Drive, hopes that the EM Drive will have greater impact on Earth. In particular, he envisioned using the EM Drive to send solar-harvesting satellites into space with the capacity to beam power back onto Earth. “We will go to Mars, but the most important thing is what EM Drive will do for the rest of the world. It will be solar power stations, and city-tocity long-haul flights using hydrogen. It’s green and convenient and will change our world in the next few decades”, he said.

Learn more at http://www.businessinsider.com/leakednasa-paper-suggests-the-impossible-em-drive-reallycould-work-2016-11?IR=T

Discovering Melbourne Pauline Gandel Children's Gallery Melbourne Museum 11 Nicholson Street Melbourne Museum's children's gallery is for babies to five-year-olds, setting a new standard in early childhood learning. Walk in the shoes of a palaeontologist at the Dinosaur Dig or dance the morning away at the Camouflage Disco, complete with a mirror wall, light projections and unique soundscapes.

Melbourne Food and Wine Festival 31st March - 9th April It's back. Melbourne Food and Wine Festival, possibly one of the best times of the year, brings you the food events, from tastings to workshops, presentations and more from all cuisines worldwide.

Free events, paid events, and events for the whole family all to do with food!

Learn more at melbournefoodandwine.com.au

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Extracurricular

iTunesU Education at your fingertips – literally.

With the increasingly popularity of MOOCs, it’s no surprise that one of the world’s largest mobile OS, iOS, developed an app allowing anyone, anywhere to access hundreds of online courses from universities worldwide.

iTunesU provides varied material including learning resources and classroom apps to higher education categories including art and architecture, science, business, psychology and social science.

www.graduatehouse.com.au | ABN 55610 664 963 | Incorporated Association Registration No. A0023234B | 33

FEEDBACK Organising a function at Graduate House was easy - unsolicited, spontaneous and unanimous from all present. It is an excellent venue, meeting all our requirements, and with magnificent food and superb service. Arrangements were smoothly organised.

The function room and spaces more than met our expectations. They provided privacy, were beautifully appointed with discreet floral arrangements and that table setting was conducive to conversation and movement, permitting frequent changes of conversational partners ... an important factor in our family gatherings as all our offspring and their many cousins love to keep in touch with each other.

Today we were very impressed with the quality of the meal. We enjoyed every course. Thank You.

- John Johnson

Food, as always at Graduate House, was excellent in quality and appropriate in quantity. The choice of two main courses enabled each person present to find one suitable to their taste. We especially appreciated the fact that the three unable to be there at the appointed start time were served with a hot meal when they arrived. The high standards of service that we have come to accept as normal at GH were indeed maintained both from the regular staff and extras called in to help. As some of our young are themselves involved in hospitality as part-time jobs, praise from them is praise indeed! We have yet to find a more suitable venue for a family gathering so I am sure we will be back and certainly have no hesitation in recommending GH as the best venue for whatever gathering anyone has in mind. I am sure we will be back! In fact it was suggested by one of the family who experienced a similar function earlier in the year that it was pointless to think of anywhere else!

Organising a function at Graduate House was very easy and pleasant. The function room and spaces were suitable to our needs. The entrĂŠe, wine and main course were plentiful and of a high quality. The staff were very helpful and pleasant.

- Patricia Danko Melbourne College of Contemporary Psychotherapy

The lunch was particularly enjoyable. Good company and fun at the Women's Forum. Excellent chicken and mushroom risotto. Will come again!

- Margaret Mayers Thank you, GH kitchen crew for the daily freshly prepared meals, especially the recently added fresh fruits in the morning. They are the best!

- Resident Member

Organising a function at Graduate House was very straightforward. Great function room and spaces and we were happy with food quality and quantity. Staff very helpful through all stages of the event.

- Eileen Fogarty Kildare/St Paul Reunion Group

- James Mulholland

The lucky feedback-giver for FEBRUARY is Heather Kudeviita who won a bottle of Emeri De Bortoli Chardonnay Pinot Noir

Your feedback is important Submit a Dining Room Feedback Form to be in the Monthly Draw AND to be in the running for the Year-End Prize of a $500 Coles Myers Gift Voucher

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9347 3428 mingh@graduatehouse.com.au www.graduatehouse.com.au

uaTe

DONATION

union of The universiTy of Melbourne inc.

Funding for Futures

Phone: 03 9347 3428 Email: admingh@graduatehouse.com.au Website: www.graduatehouse.com.au

The GraduaTe union of The universiTy of Melbourne inc.

The Gradua 220 Leicester Street VIC, Austr

D onati on Form

The Graduate Union 220 Leicester Street Carlton VIC, Australia, 3053

Donation Form

D onat i on For m 2 0 1 4

From its establishment in 1911, Members Donation Formhave lived, learned and met together to continue the experience of ‘the meeting of the minds’ beyond university as they entered the workforce, had families, became leaders, From its establishment in 1911, Members have lived, learned and met volunteered across the world andofretired. together to continue the experience of ‘the meeting the minds’ beyond university as they entered the workforce, had families, became leaders, volunteered across the world and retired.

Members built the organisation through great generosity

These in the form of These donations of funds and buildings, bequests and sponsorship, Members built the organisation through great generosity in the togetherform withof volunteer pro work.

We seek always to honour donations ofand funds andbono buildings, bequests and sponsorship, together with volunteer and proofbono work.

Wecontributing seek always to honour this legacy and to foster a culture active and membership. this legacy and to foster a culture of active and contributing membership.

PleasePlease give give to our unique association of graduates. to our unique association of graduates. giftdeductible is tax deductible and acknowledged in in TheThe Melbourne Graduate Your giftYour is tax and acknowledged Melbourne Graduate (please specify if you wish to remain anonymous). (please specify if you wish to remain anonymous).

Donor Information

or Information TiTle: naMe: daTe of birTh: naMe of orGanisaTion, Group or universiTy deparTMenT/ school: (for orGanisaTion MeMbers only)

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Carlton, Victoria The GraduaTe union To send220 Me Leicester a reMinder Street, To send in a cheque or puT Money inTo The Gu accounT Australia, 3053. www.graduatehouse.com.au | ABN 55610 664 963 | Incorporated Association Registration No. A0023234B | 35

DONATION

Phone: 03 9347 3428 Email: admingh@graduatehouse.com.au Website: www.graduatehouse.com.au

Funding for Futures

The Graduate Union 220 Leicester Street Carlton VIC, Australia, 3053

D o nat i o n F o r m 2 0 1 4

The GraduaTe union of The universiTy of Melbourne inc.

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