After months of speculation, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has announced Queenslanders will head to the polls on November 25.
Griffith University will look beyond the slogans, blame-games and promises to provide voters with the insights they need to be informed and active participants in the state election.
Griffith experts will draw on their vast experience to contribute to a dedicated website, with written analysis and interactive material including podcasts.
“We have deep cross-disciplinary expertise and a forty year tradition of being engaged in understanding Queensland politics and electorates,” said Professor Anne Tiernan, Dean (Engagement) with the Griffith Business School and Director of the Policy Innovation Hub.
“Expert researchers from across the University’s four academic groups and five campuses are involved as analysts in Griffith’s coverage of the 2017 campaign.
“They study political culture and work very closely with the Government in a number of key delivery areas including, among others, education, health, law and justice and transport and infrastructure. We’re pairing specific domain expertise with political scientists, journalists and historians of the Queensland Parliament. Our team has decades of experience and can offer comparative insights into issues at different levels of analysis, including what’s going on in individual electorate contests.”
Our independent expertise will be underpinned by big data analytics, mining social media to provide insights and profiles of various key electorates. The Griffith team has identified ‘Twenty Seats to Watch’. With telephone polling proving increasingly unreliable, this will allow university experts to tap into voters’ real thoughts through a system similar to what was used in the last US presidential election.
“Queensland is always volatile, but at the moment it is particularly so,” said Professor Tiernan.
“We’re seeing cost of living pressures, wage stagnation – how this will all play out remains to be seen.”
Policy issues that may prove crucial in coming weeks include employment – particularly in regional Queensland. Expect lots of controversy around Adani – energy pricing, natural disaster funding, the digital divide, leadership, integrity and accountability.
“Ultimately, the experts at Griffith University live in Queensland too. This election affects all of us,” said Professor Tiernan.
Visit Griffith University’s dedicated State Election page here.
The airlines are back recruiting cadets — and Griffith University has secured three through Virgin Australia.
Virgin Australia selected 18 cadets (eight already pilots and ten ab initio) across the country to start their pilot training program, among 3000 applicants in the highly competitive process.
Griffith’s highly regarded Bachelor of Aviation degree gave its cadets an edge to make the cut, with Lachlan Barr, Angus Slattery and Shelby Tillett overwhelmed to have gotten the opportunity. They were selected to the ab initio stream.
Virgin’s 54-week program is run from Adelaide where the cadets will get assigned an aircraft to train for.
Lachlan said it was a dream come true.
“Ever since I was a kid I’ve wanted to be a pilot,” said the 22-year-old.
Angus grew up in the industry with his family working in ground operations so a career in aviation was a natural choice
“I was lucky I got to travel a lot,” he said.
Griffith aviation graduate Angus Slattery
“I’d like to be able to continue that and provide that to my kids and keep travelling and living and breathing the industry.
“This is career shaping. The fact our degree has set us up for this opportunity is fantastic.”
Angus is chief pilot in the Griffith Aviation MATES (Mentoring Aviators Through Educational Support) program, a required component of the Bachelor of Aviation degree where students meet on a weekly basis to engage with industry speakers.
Lachlan said Virgin had not hired cadets for five years and they guaranteed a job at the end and supported trainees financially so it was a great opportunity.
Griffith aviation graduate Lachlan Barr
Head of Griffith Aviation Associate Professor Gui Lohmannsaid that having three out of ten ab initio cadets coming from Griffith Aviation is a recognition from Virgin Australia about the quality of the students the university attracted and the education they received as part of their Aviation degrees.
“In 2018, Griffith Aviation is launching new initiatives to make sure their cutting edge degrees are in the forefront of Aviation education,” he said
“They include a new flight procedure lab, specific courses on Rotary Wings and UAVs, as well as the first even Helicopter Pilot Training Graduate Diploma in Flight Management.”
Griffith aviation graduate Shelby Tillett
Griffith University’s Health Group has acknowledged high-achieving graduates through its 2017 Outstanding Alumni Awards.
Seven alumni were recognised for “remarkable” contributions in their fields at local, state, national and/or international level. The awards ceremony provided alumni and staff the opportunity to celebrate triumphs, engage in nostalgia and network with peers.
Many of last year’s winners were on hand to “pass the baton” to this year’s successful recipients, whoinclude published authors, award-winning researchers, health ambassadors and mentors, community volunteers and executives.Most already have earned multiple accolades and all contribute heavily to the betterment of their communities.
For example, Outstanding Health Alumnus of the Year, Dr Shelley Roberts, has been heavily involved in research and education since graduating from her PhD (Dietetics and Clinical Nutrition) in 2015.
Dr Roberts currently leads the development, evaluation and translation of innovative new technology to engage hospitalised patients in their nutrition care. This is expected to improve outcomes for patients, health care professionals and hospitals. In addition, she also makes time to volunteer as a lifesaver for the Palm Beach Surf Life Saving Club.
2017 Griffith Health Outstanding Alumni Awards:
OutstandingOverall HealthAlumnus of the Year:Dr Shelley Roberts(School of Allied Health Sciences)
OutstandingYoungHealthAlumnus of the Year:Dr Mohit Tolani(School of Dentistry & Oral Health)
Highly commended: DrSiddharth Kaladharan(School of Medicine)
OutstandingFirst PeoplesHealthAlumnus of the Year:Ms Rochelle Pitt (School of Nursing & Midwifery)
Highly commended: Ms Amanda Rachow(School ofAllied Health Sciences)
OutstandingHigher Degree ResearchHealthAlumnus of the Year:Dr Allison Milner (Australian Institute for Suicide Research and Prevention-AISRAP)
OutstandingInternationalHealthAlumnus of the Year:Mr Karl Andriessen (AISRAP)
Griffith University is the first in Australia to be accredited by the Environment Institute of Australia and New Zealand (EIANZ) for its Bachelor of Environmental Science.
The accreditation recognises the content and teaching and Head of School Professor Chris Frid said it was a remarkable achievement.
“This shows a maturing of the profession” he said.
“This is a highly trained profession that includes many aspects including science, social justice and law and shows a complexity that is equivalent to other professions such as accountancy.”
The School of Environment was one of Griffith’s four foundation schools and the first in the country to have a dedicated school and degree.
The accreditation by EIANZ is seen as important as it shows that Griffith’s Bachelor of Environmental Science has been thoroughly vetted by the nation’s leading environmental industry body against industry benchmarks for content, learning and teaching principles.
“EIANZ has measured the course content against industry needs and found the program exceeds industry expectations.
“This means our graduates can reference the completion of this accredited course to employers and say their degree meets the needs of the industry and gives graduates a major point of difference in the marketplace.”
Current student Lara Keller said the accreditation is another proof point that Griffith’s program is the best in the country.
“Partnerships between EIANZ and Griffith means that I will have access to beneficial networks as I complete my degree.
“I am confident that these networks will enhance my employment opportunities and am proud to say the degree I’m completing has been assessed by a major peak industry body and found to be worthy of the first accreditation here in Australia.”
Bachelor of Environmental Science student Lara Keller
In November, the 40th year of Environmental Science students will graduate.
To find out more about studying Environmental Science visit the study page.
Women are “awesome” but there can still be an unconscious bias in the recruitment of them to senior leadership positions.
These were just two of the statements to come out at a Question and Answer panel event hosted by Griffith Health last Thursday night (19 October).
Titled “Healthy Leadership: The Balance,” the panelincluded senior staff from Griffith and QLD Health and aimed to discuss the gender balance required for healthy leadership.
However it was noted among attendees that the audience was a predominantly female one with only about four men present out of 120 attending.
“Unfortunately I think there still exists an unconscious bias in the workplace when it comes to recruiting women in senior positions,” said Griffith’s Professor Martin Betts. “I remember a time not so long ago, working at another university’s engineering department where I was overseeing the recruitment for six heads of schools.
“For some unexplained reason, following the interview process the recruiting panel managed to all independently select male applicants to all six of the positions. Was this just a fluke?
“I don’t think it was deliberately sexist but I think they just had some form of unconscious bias towards believing that that was what was required in that situation.”
A male and female culture divide ‘alive and well’
Professor David Elwood is Dean of Medicine at Griffith and a clinician. He agreed that biases are often still evident in many workplaces, especially in the world of medicine. “There is no doubt that a male and female culture divide is alive and well in medicine and I am not surprised that women don’t like it,” he said. “Being an obstetrician I can honestly say that women are absolutely awesome, especially in what they sometimes go through in difficult pregnancy situations, so it’s difficult to see women still face awkward situations in the workplace.
“On the other hand, I can admit that maybe even I may suffer from an unconscious bias at times. Only recently I was looking for the name of the chief medical officer of the NHS. I couldn’t work out why I couldn’t find it until I realised this person in the role was actually a woman. I hadn’t even stopped to think that this person could be female.”
Professor Sheena Reilly, PVC for the Griffith Health Group, agreed that men are often more comfortable promoting other men. “In Canberra, where my daughter works in government, she reports to all male bosses. Of course we brought her up to believe she could do anything and that’s how she was when she first started, but now she does admit there are ceilings.”
The issue of whether it’s more difficult to be a female leader than a male one also arose with former Griffith HR director, Janine Walker who said that women do not always have the competitive drive approach more commonly seen in male leaders.
“Males typically apply for leadership roles more commonly than women and are less likely to hold themselves back.”
“I remember early in my foray into senior leadership, I didn’t always feel as confident as I should have sitting at the boardroom table,” said director of Menzies Health Institute Queensland, Professor Suzanne Chambers. “However a male colleague tapped me on the shoulder and said to me ‘”of course you belong at this table as much as anyone else, please just behave like it”. It was a challenging thought.”
The subject of promotional opportunities for the middle ranking positions at Griffith were also brought to the fore, with an audience member lamenting the lack of career pathways above a level seven role.
The issues of flexibility and worklife balance were also discussed, with Ms Walker admitting that “many employees have been subjected to the ‘power boss’ who runs 20km before work every day and sends you an email at 4am”.
Professor Reilly stated that she “cannot understand why some people do not take any annual leave.
“From personal experience, I know that I generally get the balance right but it can easily be put out of kilter and I need to make sure that I have time for myself; it’s so important.”
“Just because you are a leader or aspiring to be a leader, does not mean someone should not take leave,” pointed out Dr Liz Fitzmaurice from Griffith’s School of Medicine.
An audience member agreed and lamented that being criticised for something as simple as taking a lunch break is unfortunately sometimes more than just an isolated workplace experience.
“It’s so important for people to take time out of work and find time to simply switch off and relax,” she said.
Leanne Geppert, Executive Director of Mental Health and Specialised Services (West Moreton Hospital and Health Service), stated that most people agree that great leaders are our mentors and should therefore demonstrate values such as integrity and respect, with work/life balance being integral to this.
Summing up, Professor Betts highlighted the extensive research which concludes that diversity in the workplace with a good gender balance is conducive to more efficient workplaces. “It’s probably a lot to do with having more of these persuasive conversations around change and showing the benefits,” he said.
There was considerable support from the audience for this event to become a more regular aspect of the Health Faculty, with ideas for a series of events around the theme of Leadership.
Increased physical and emotional health benefit for women recovering from cancer has been the outcome of a Griffith University wellness program which is now set to become widely used across Australia.
Led by Griffith’s Menzies Health Institute Queensland, and timely for Breast Cancer Awareness Month October 2017, the nurse-led study aimed to reduce the significant side effects associated with breast, blood and/or gynaecological cancers, whilst also reducing the risk of developing other chronic health conditions.
As part of the Women’s Wellness After Cancer Program, women aged 18 and over with cancer undertook an evidence-based e-health 12-week lifestyle intervention.
“This was a massively important program for women, during that crucial time after cancer treatment where women are known to be particularly proactive in wanting to look after themselves,” says clinical nurse manager Janine Porter-Steele who will be speaking at this week’s Pink Ribbon Blue Sky Breakfast in Brisbane this Friday (27 October).
Adopted by several healthcare settings
Set to be adopted by several Australian healthcare settings, the program focused on diet, exercise and managing side effects of cancer and its various treatments with each participant receiving access to a specially designed website, iBook and hard-copy book providing them with a step-by-step approach to implementing good health practices.
“Throughout the 12 weeks, the participants — all of whom had just completed the acute treatment phase for cancer – were guided by an experienced registered nurse to support them in goal setting and maintaining motivation.”
Each study participant had access to three online consultations with a nurse who provided advice regarding sleep, diet, exercise, alcohol intake and stress levels.
“The step-by-step approach can be adapted for the personal needs of each participant, with some key strategies introduced,” says Ms Porter-Steele.
“We were pleased to see that following the program, participants saw various physical and emotional health benefits which both improved their quality of life and also empowered them to feel more in control of themselves after what can be very devastating experiences.
“Improved body mass index and waist circumference were just some of the positive outcomes, as well as improved body image and sexual functioning. All of these are key in the post cancer stage.
“However, this is more than just looking at someone’s cancer in isolation. This is really a holistic, multi-behavioural approach to mitigating the potential long-term consequences after the disease, looking at the health and wellbeing of someone’s overall lifestyle eg concerning sleep patterns or even their menopausal issues, to make sure they can get the best possible outcomes.
“We also built a lot of peer support aspects into the program, with women being able to easily connect with one another through the program’s discussion boards and forums.
“Our future aim now is to build on this with a maintenance program, which will further allow women to gain support in their recovery journey,” says Ms Porter-Steel.
For more information on the program contact Janine Porter-Steele at [email protected]
Graduate Andrew Zaniewski was a member of the top-three-placing Griffith University team for the Global Business Challenge back in 2014. Now the entrepreneur has put his hat in the ring once more, returning to mentor the current team from Griffith Business School.
The Griffith University alumnus was determined to give back to the school that gave him such amazing opportunities. “When I saw that Griffith was the host university this year, I put my hand up to be involved and coach the team in providing some guidance around the competition format and business model development,” Andrew explains.
“I wanted to see if I could give some input in helping to steer the team in the right direction, thanks to the success I had back in 2014. So far their hard work has paid off since they’ve made it into the final seven from a pool of 98 teams, with the final round to be held in early November.”
The Global Business Challenge is a competition for graduate students which allows participating teams to submit business ideas for sustainable solutions to global problems.
Andrew has a wealth of business experience to draw from, having had a lot of success as an entrepreneur.
The former Bachelor of Commercestudent graduated at the height of the Global Financial Crisis when industry relevant jobs in banking and finance were hard to come by. “Some of the entry-level positions were being filled by people who had masters degrees. It was quite difficult,” he says.
Andrew had been offered a corporate position with one of the big four banks but would have had to relocate, something he wasn’t interested in at the time. He worked his way through myriad industries: waste collection, resources, international importing and exporting, heavy machinery, real estate and hospitality. Nothing seemed to quite fit his career aspirations.
While he was working hard making the Surfers Paradise restaurant he owned a success, he stumbled upon a major gap in the market. The RSA required for hospitality workers to operate in Australia was at that time only offered in English.
“My mother’s side of the family is Japanese and I had international friends either on student visas or working holidays and a lot of them would have an RSA but have zero understanding what the registration requirements actually were; they had somehow coasted through,” the Griffith Business School MBA graduate explains. “Being a rational person at the time I thought, ‘Oh that’s a bit of a risk,’ because if I was to hire someone who had the qualification but didn’t understand it, if they were to do something wrong that’s a $60,000 fine. So I started exploring a new option.
“That’s what my company does now, online RSA training in languages other than English,” he says. “No one else in Australia was doing it at the time and no one else is now either.
“It was serendipitous in a way that it sort of brought together my client consulting background, hospitality and the international education and other industries I had been exposed to.”
But his foray into entrepreneurial enterprise didn’t stop there. While he was running his initial restaurant, Andrew came across the Japanese food franchise Ramen Danbo and decided he wanted to bring it to Australia. “Through friends’ connections I met the owner of this franchise in Japan and he was very co-operative. He was fairly keen to get something established overseas and said no worries to bringing it here,” he says.
“We are the first and only chain of ramen restaurants that’s actually an established brand in Japan, that’s entered the QLD market, and second for the whole of Australia,” Andrew says. “Needless to say we’ve definitely raised the bar for ramen on the Gold Coast!” And the hospitality mogul has plans to open a second location within the year.
Andrew believes doing the Global Business Challenge had a huge impact on his career trajectory. “Participating in challenges like this gives you a really well-rounded university experience which looks great for employers. It also helps get your profile out there and is great for networking,” he says.
He also identifies Griffith’s push towards integrating sustainability into business practices as something that has guided his work focus. “The Business School was great at bringing together sustainability and conventional business,” he explains.
“When you hear sustainability you get a tree-hugging hippie image but it’s more than that. When you look into it, it really makes a lot of sense. Griffith looks into long-term sustainability… financial sustainability, social sustainability and environmental sustainability – these three are what makes a business truly sustainable. They really focus it in a corporate sense, thinking of the bottom line of the shareholder at the same time as being socially responsible and teaching you how to create that balance, which is great knowledge to have in the business world. I know I’ve benefited from it over the years.”
Griffith Business School has become a force to be reckoned with in the CFA Institute Research Challenge.
Attending the Australian National finals for the 5th time in 6 years, the team secured second place at the hotly contested event.
The Challenge requires participants to research apublicly traded company, prepare a report and then present theirfindings to a panel of judges.
The 2017 GBS team – Alex Demeshko, Lorenzo Ciapetti, Caitlene Hillman (captain), David Forrest and Artem Zainitdinov – were grilled by a number of top investment executives during the final held at KPMG near Darling Harbour in Sydney.
“Our team has performed extremely well amid intense competition,” said coach Dr John Fan.
“I would like to acknowledge their extraordinary commitment, passion and top-quality work.”
Fellow team mentor, Ken Howard from Morgans Financial, said it had been another exceptional year for the team.
“The students involved were a pleasure to work with and they produced an excellent report,” he said.
“As the founding chair of the CFA Brisbane Chapter, I would like to thank Griffith University for the way in which it has embraced the Research Challenge and I am certain it has raised the standing of Griffith University within the financial services community, both within Australia and overseas.”
A team from the University of Sydney took out the top prize at the CFA Institute Research Challenge Australian final this year.
The GBS team in the ‘war room’ in Sydney.
How can Australia ensure Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) continue to prosper in the future?
On November 2, a symposium organised by Griffith University will seek to shed some light on the question, examining both challenges and opportunities in detail.
SMEs make up 99 per cent of the nation’s businesses and, while they may be small by name, their contribution can’t be understated -SMEscontribute a third of gross domestic product and 46% of private sectoremployment.
“Governments are acutely aware of the importance of SMEs, introducing a number of reforms and strategies in an endeavour to assist the sector,” said Associate Professor Brett Freudenberg.
“However, the future for SMEs present a number of issues, such as the rise of the sharing economy, financial constraints, the growth of international opportunities, mooted tax reforms, succession planning and climate change.
“These issues can present both opportunities and challenges for SMEs; and navigating these will be a key for success in the future.”
Speakers at the symposium will address topics including growth, disruption, tax and advice.
The event is sponsored by Griffith’s Law Futures Centre and the Reform and Innovation in Policy, Practice and Legal Education group within Griffith Business School.
The Griffith Asia Institute recently hosted a successful workshop in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on the theme of Contemporary Research Challenges in Southeast Asia.
The workshop was for early career researchers and PhD students working on the region to build collaborative linkages and research capacity in both Australia and Cambodia within their discipline.
The Cambodian workshop was aimed at early career researchers and PhD students to build collaborative linkages and research capacity in both Australia and Cambodia.
Participants included Griffith Asia Institute members and Griffith University PhDs and early career researchers, senior academics and early career researchers from Northern Illinois University, Murdoch University, the Royal University of Phnom Penh, the Cambodia Development Resource Institute, as well as postgraduate scholars conducting research in country and based at the University of Sao Paulo and the University of Westminster, and at the University College of London.
The workshop addressed a diversity of topics in the region including the political economy of Southeast Asia; research challenges in transitional settings; governance and foreign policy issues; rule of law and justice in Southeast Asia; regional environmental and transboundary governance; and human security.
The event was particularly beneficial to Cambodian early career researchers. Heavy teaching schedules and a lack of funding are significant challenges to conducting research in Cambodia. This workshop gave local participants the opportunity to rehearse their research proposals and papers, receive feedback from colleagues and senior academics, and to build connections with other scholars working on the region.
By bringing together local researchers and those based outside the region, the workshop was intended to support the production of future collaborative research projects driven by both innovative theoretical and empirical scholarship. Those attending the workshop exchanged information on professional development, career opportunities, research practices and upcoming research projects.
Huot Sokunthea from the Royal University of Phnom Penh International Studies Department gratefully accepts the donation of books from Lucy West on behalf of the Griffith Asia Institute.
Helpful advice was also offered to early career researchers by the Director of the Asia Research Centre at Murdoch University, Professor Garry Rodan, on how to publish in academic outlets, and by Associate Professor Kheang Un from Northern Illinois University on the need for young Cambodian scholars to develop their research areas and interests.
The Griffith Asia Institute also supported the donation of over 30 academic textbooks and journals to the Royal University of Phnom Penh’s International Studies department. The texts will be used by both students and staff in the department to build research capacity. Huot Sokunthea, a lecturer in the department who accepted the books said that because funding was limited the donation was “significant and highly appreciated”.
While in Cambodia, Dr Stephen McCarthy and Adjunct Associate Professor Andrew Selth also held talks with senior university staff, research centre directors, and managers at the American University of Phnom Penh and the Center for Khmer Studies on exploring the possibilities for future research collaboration with GAI.
Article written by Griffith Asia Institute members Dr Stephen McCarthy and PhD candidate, Ms Lucy West.
