The 2016 Macquarie University Amazing Race is on again, and all staff are invited to get involved. So dust off that fancy dress costume, bring out your competitive spirit and get ready for an afternoon of fun and team building.

Teams of four can register now through the Macquarie website, or individuals can sign up and be allocated a team. On race day, teams will leave the start point with a map and their first clue which they must crack to determine their next check point. At each destination, teams must work together quickly to complete a fun, physical or mental challenge in order to gain points and to receive the clue to continue the race.

“The race only took a couple of hours but our team talked about it for months afterwards; it was a real hoot!” said Campus Engagement Development Officer Lauren Hargreaves, who was one quarter of the ‘Welcome 1’ team from Campus Engagement in 2015.

The event is focused on fun, participation and community spirit. For Macquarie staff, it is the perfect opportunity for an afternoon team-building activity or some friendly office rivalry; the crew from Campus Engagement entered two teams in 2015!

For any staff new to Macquarie, it’s also a nice occasion to get out of the office and find areas of the campus they might have not yet discovered.

“We were probably the slowest team but it really didn’t matter; it was good fun and a great way to get everyone out of the office and around the campus,” said Robert Ephraums, Team Leader, Campus Engagement and part of the 2015 ‘Welcome 1’ team.

Giveaways and prizes will be awarded for the fastest team, the team with the most points and the most creative team costume. A free barbecue will conclude the event for participants.

For more details and to register, visit the Amazing Race website.

If racing isn’t your thing, but you’re still keen to get involved, you can volunteer to help out at one of the checkpoints during the event. Contact Manager – Sport Development, Kate Butler (kate.butler@mq.edu.au) to register your interest.

Date: Thursday 31 March
Time: 1pm, with a barbecue presentation from 4pm
Where: All around campus, starting from the Central Courtyard

From our very beginnings, Macquarie has been consciously inclusive. From paving a path for women to pursue tertiary study, to the incredible number of nationalities and cultures to be found amongst our staff and students, ours is a place where different perspectives are welcomed and celebrated.

On Wednesday 23 March we will celebrate the diversity of our Macquarie community at a free Harmony Day event for all students and staff.

From 12pm to 2pm, the Central Courtyard will be alive with colours, sounds and tastes from around the world, with plenty of delicious food on offer.

Award-winning slam poet Abe Nouk will be performing a selection of poems reflecting on his upbringing in war-torn Africa and his new life in Australia.

As a signatory organisation to the Racism. It stops with me campaign, there will also be a screening of Unified Ryde – a film produced by Macquarie students and staff in partnership with the City of Ryde and the Salvation Army.

Harmony Day at Macquarie University
When: Wednesday 23 March
Time: 12pm – 2pm
Where: Central Courtyard

Learn more about the event.

Launched in 2006, the national Close the Gap campaign looks to close the health equality gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians by 2030. While the campaign has seen successes during the past decade, the life expectancy gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians is still 10 years. Contributing to this statistic are a number of factors, including high infant mortality rates, lack of access to education and health services and lower rates of employment.

Thursday 17 March marks national Close the Gap Day, and there are a number of ways you can help the Office of Indigenous Strategy, Walanga Muru, raise awareness for the Close the Gap campaign:

• Beginning your lecture with a Close the Gap slide recognising the significance of the campaign – download a one-slide Close the Gap presentation
• Holding a small event such as a morning or afternoon tea – Register this through Oxfam
• Displaying Close the Gap posters in hallways or meeting rooms – download them here
• Donating to Close the Gap directly through Oxfam
• Using Oxfam Close the Gap resources to show your support through your personal social media

If you would like to get involved with any of the above initiatives, Walanga Muru would like to hear about it! Contact Emma Hardcastle (ext. 9973, emma.hardcastle@mq.edu.au) to share your support.

Close the Gap Snaps
Not planning your own event but still want to show support? Walanga Muru invites all members of the Macquarie community to pledge your support and take a ‘Close the Gap Snap’. Find the team near Boost Juice in the Central Courtyard on Wednesday 17 March from 12pm to 2pm.

A Welcome to Country or Acknowledgement of Country ceremony is conducted during official proceedings and events and the new procedure provides a streamlined approach for staff to action bookings.

For more information about Welcome to Country proceedings or other Indigenous cultural matters contact Emily Sutton (emily.sutton@mq.edu.au) or call ext 4209.

Read more about the launch of the Indigenous Strategy Green Paper.

“Still Alice offers vivid, personal insights into a diagnosis of dementia. We can see exactly what it means for a person, especially for a relatively young person as in this movie to start to lose their cognitive abilities and sense of self as the disease progresses. We also see what it means for those who love them, their families and carers as well as their colleagues and communities,” says Amanda.

The movie follows the life of a linguistics professor at Columbia University, Dr Alice Howland (Julianne Moore), who is diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s after she notices she is forgetting simple things like words and the path she follows on her daily jog. With her family by her side, the once-vibrant woman endeavours to hang on to her sense of self for as long as possible, reflecting the very real struggle experienced by dementia sufferers daily.

“Every year, more Australians and their families are facing a diagnosis of dementia. Alzheimer’s Australia tells us that dementia is the single greatest cause of disability in Australians aged 65 and over,” says Carolyn.

Following the film, the three panellists will talk about the current memory research they are undertaking, using examples from Alice’s story to explain what memory loss involves and what it really means for an individual.

“Researchers and clinicians at Macquarie are part of a national and global effort to better understand how to predict and protect against dementia. We are also working to support people and their families as they are diagnosed and live with dementia,” says Greg.

Event details
When: Thursday 22 October
Time: From 5.30pm
Venue: E7B Courtyard
RSVP:  Online
Cost: Free. Additional costs apply for food and beverages.

Learn more about Professor Barnier, Professor Greg Savage, and Dr Carolyn Orr’s research.

Have you registered for the Warrior Walk tomorrow? If not, there’s still time! All staff are invited to take part in this free event, run in partnership with the team at Warawara, featuring an indigenous theme.

Starting in the Central Courtyard on Wednesday 14 October at 12.30pm, the group will take a two kilometre stroll around campus, past the bush tucker garden and the Learning Circle. The walk will conclude with a free bush tucker-themed lunch, served in a re-usable salad shaker.

The walk aims to demonstrate how easy it is to include healthy exercise and food into a working day, and is also a great opportunity to catch up with friends around campus.

Date: Wednesday 14 October
Time: 12.30pm to 1.30pm
Location: Central Courtyard (start)

Registrations are open online now.

The day was divided into an exhibition space in the foyer open to all staff. Here, teams showcased their hard work and provided insight into how they align with our strategic initiatives and priorities. The Conference featured a series of insightful discussions by our executive leaders on our progress in some of our priority areas and future vision for the University to an audience of senior staff who were tasked with reporting back to their areas on what they learned.

“I have been the Vice-Chancellor of this University now for three years, and it remains the most rewarding experience of my professional career,” says Professor S Bruce Dowton as he opened the conference. “We are here to serve the big questions facing society, and our challenge is to be responsive and nimble in addressing them.”

Among the presentations, the Vice-Chancellor, COO Dr Paul Schreier and CFO John Gorman led a panel discussion exploring the economic outlook for higher education globally, and how that might affect the budget and financial reality of the Australian sector and Macquarie University in particular.

“There will be very significant global demand for graduates in the future,” says Dr Schreier, “and we are in the business of supplying them. There is a great opportunity for us if we are able to seize it.” Nonetheless, the panellists spoke of the need for financial restraint throughout 2016.

“Our annual surplus is reinvested every year into capital works and improvements, and that is how we finance the long-term future of the University. We must work to improve our surplus in 2016 and that will involve some tight budget decisions next year,” says the Vice-Chancellor.

This year’s budget has been adversely affected by a reduction in international student enrolments, but the panel indicated that there were signs of improvement for next year. “The upturn in international recruitment hasn’t happened yet, but early indications are that 2016 will see a growth in our international student numbers,” says Dr Schreier.

Director of Strategic Planning, Associate Professor James Rabeau, says the event was a truly engaging and informative experience for all in attendance. “The all-staff exhibition was an exciting showcase of on the ground action occurring across campus. The exhibition is an important vehicle through which our entire community can learn about the development and implementation of Strategic Initiatives and discuss progress. I spoke with many staff at the exhibition keen to gauge their thoughts, and all were impressed with the depth and quality of the displays on show,” he says.

Conference presentations highlighted areas of key strategic significance, including Learning and Teaching, Academic Health and the Business Process Improvement Initiative, to provide insight into how Our University: A Framing of Futures is being realised. One of the many highlights from the Conference was a panel discussion which included external corporate partners Optus and Abbott Australasia who gave their perspective on how to better connect academia with industry.

“We were fortunate to get real external views, and a clearer sense of the importance and emphasis the University is placing on industry engagement,” says Associate Professor Rabeau.

Did you attend the all-staff exhibition? Tell us what you think.

Sign up to receive the Higher Education Landscape monthly email produced the Office of Strategic Planning by emailing strategy@mq.edu.au. This month in focus: Cybersecurity.

More than 150,000 Australians are expected to demonstrate the power of the pedal as they hop on their bikes and enjoy the health benefits of riding to work. Information Technology Project Manager Andrew Elliston is encouraging all of us to give it a go.

“Riding to work is a great way for people to get active, de-stress and save money on petrol and parking,” says Andrew. “It’s also something you can easily fit around your busy work and family commitments.”

With more than two-thirds of Australians not getting enough exercise, this year Bicycle Network is aiming for 10,000 new riders to take part in Ride2Work Day – and to keep riding.

Chief External Relations Officer from Bicycle Network Chris Carpenter says Ride2Work Day plays an important role in inspiring Australians to jump on their bikes and get active.

“More than half of riders who start commuting to work on Ride2Work Day are still regularly riding twelve months later,” he says.

Ride2Uni Day
Featuring a free breakfast for all riders, ‘pimp-my-ride’ station, bicycle route and information stand, free bike health checks, slow bike race and a lucky prize draw.

When: Wednesday 14 October
Where: Central Courtyard
Time: From 8am

Register now.

FAME Festival is a brand new two-day celebration of university and community life at Macquarie.

FAME will showcase the diversity of our campus community by bringing together food, music and people in a vibrant festival-style atmosphere.

The event will run from 10am on Wednesday 14 October and Thursday 15 October, and is open for everyone to attend, including students, staff, family and friends – the more the merrier!

Entry to FAME is free and will offer a wide variety of activities such as pop up food trucks, roller derby, live music, an international film festival, Oktoberfest celebrations and free rides and amusements. All events have free entry, however some elements to the Festival (such as food and drinks) will have independent pricing.

It is important for staff to note that classes will not be cancelled during the Festival, with the festival designed to allow students to attend activities and events around their class and assessment commitments.

More information on the Festival activities will be made available closer to the day, but to find out more now visit the FAME Festival website, and for any enquiries use the ‘Ask a Question’ form.

The 27^th Annual Women, Management and Work Conference (WMWC) hosted by Macquarie is shaping up to be yet another successful event. This year’s conference will be held on 6 November at the Four Seasons Hotel in the CBD and is open to anyone wanting to learn more about ‘The Power of Inclusive Leadership through Collaboration’.

Program highlights include interactive masterclasses, networking opportunities and engaging speakers, including Master of Ceremonies Donna Meredith, MD, Keystone Corporate Positioning and Principal, Interaction Associates Australasia.

Since co-founding Keystone in 1997 Donna Meredith and her team have designed and managed strategic brand, marketing and cultural change projects for more than 300 organisations both within Australia and overseas, and also provided specialist consultancy services to airlines and tourism organisations nationally and internationally on aviation, digital and distribution issues. In 2011 she became Principal of global leadership company Interaction Associates’ operations in Australasia.

We asked Donna about her life as a corporate leader, what advice she has for others, and how she continues to grow and learn.

What characteristics do you believe every leader should possess?
Today’s challenges and opportunities call for an expanded model of leadership – leaders must tap into the power of participation! Facilitative leaders empower people to work together to achieve a common goal by making it easier for their people to share responsibility for success, contribute their ideas and expertise, speak up when they have problems, take the initiative, work with others and make decisions.

What is your advice to someone looking to become a better leader?
Being a better leader is all about behaviour. While people can’t always tell what you are thinking, they can see what you are doing. Invest in your own development so that you are able to model three critical and related behavioural attributes consistently: being strategic, being collaborative, and being receptive and flexible.

What motto guides or motivates you in your career?
I’ve had a number of thoughts, sayings and ideas that have motivated me throughout my career, and I find they often involve themes of optimism and hope. It’s my belief that being positive, hopeful and optimistic (coupled with hard work, great colleagues, and yes, a little luck) have been the driving forces of my career.

What are you doing to ensure you continue to grow and develop as a leader?
In the same way that you must innovate in business, you need to innovate within yourself. I try to constantly be aware of how much I can learn from others. I am fortunate to have colleagues, mentors, friends and most of all, family, who challenge and support me in equal measure. That allows me to never get too comfortable and to always want to be ‘more’.

Event details
When: Friday 6 November
Time: 8am – 5.45pm (followed by cocktails and Gala Conference Dinner hosted by Professor S Bruce Dowton, Vice-Chancellor)
Where: Four Seasons Hotel Sydney

The conference is most relevant to mid to senior level academic and professional staff. University staff will receive a special registration rate of $852 excl. GST (a 25% discount) by selecting the Registration Type – “Macquarie University Staff”. Registration closes 26 October.

Tickets are available now. See the full list of speakers.