On the 3 March, Macquarie Abroad hosted a welcome back function for students who have recently returned from their exchange programs.

The night began with ice-breaker bingo, followed by speed friendship facilitated by the MacAbroad team. The vibe was electric and they took to it like ducks to water, showing off the skills and confidence gained while studying abroad. Surrounded by people they didn’t know, they clearly felt comfortable speaking to people they just met (fortunately, they did have a lot of exchange stories to talk about!)

MacAbroad presented on a range of topics including the effects of reverse culture shock – the natural feelings of boredom, restlessness, alienation, and the inability to apply new knowledge and skills. We discussed how to combat these feelings through sharing experiences with others, maintaining a lifestyle and staying ‘international’, with their fingers on the pulse and staying connected with their newly established networks. Many returned students had already signed up for the Buddies program and the MACex student group, which is a great way for them to stay engaged back on campus.

In our ‘Experience + Reflection = Learning’ session, we encouraged our returnees to reflect on their experiences, and in a segment on professional development we trained them in turning travel stories into career stories. The students were also encouraged to attend the upcoming ‘Leveraging your travel experience’ workshop we have created in conjunction with the Career and Employment Service.

Applied finance and economics student Patrick Gonzales, who spent a New Colombo Plan semester at Hong Kong University, and completed an NAB internship in Hong Kong had this to say about his exchange experience:

“The internship was a great opportunity to learn practical skills that aren’t taught in the classroom. It was my first role in an office and I gained valuable office experience. NAB also advised me to think of ‘what’s next’ in a career sense, which I hadn’t thought too much about before.”

Our awe-inspiring photo competition was a highlight of the evening, with prizes for categories including landscape/landmarks, campus pride, food glorious food and new experiences.

We wrapped the evening up with networking and pizza, before students were greeted by current inbound exchange students, to discuss studying overseas and provide advice to the ‘inbounders’ about life at Macquarie.

A HUGE thanks to the Macquarie Abroad team: Simon Tran, Sarah O’Reilly, Charlotte Cox, Stephanie Hickman, Eunice Fung, and Vince Bruin (Department of International Studies advisor), who helped make the event so successful.

Contribute your story  and help celebrate the diversity, passion and collaborative spirit of Macquarie staff.

“The role of Pro Vice-Chancellor (International) is an important next-step in the development of Macquarie International (MI). Much good work has been done in the past two years by Nicole as Director of MI, in rebuilding the team and returning to growth in the recruitment of international students,” says Tim.

Tim says the challenge ahead for MI will require more external engagement to achieve the University’s goals in student recruitment as well as outbound mobility. “Together with the Executive team, Nicole will manage the development of the necessary relationships with government agencies, key research universities and funding bodies, to deliver on strategies to scale up and better coordinate the University’s international academic and research collaborations.

“I congratulate Nicole and wish her continued success in this new and strategically important role.”

The Staff Exchange Program provides an opportunity for academic and professional staff to enhance their professional and personal outlook by undertaking a visit to a partner university.

This year, outbound staff exchange places are available at the following universities:

• China
  The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, East China Normal University, Renmin University of China, Jilin University, Fudan University and Dalian University of Technology.

• Germany
  University of Hamburg, University of Potsdam and Leipzig University.

• United States
  Western Michigan University (pilot program for professional staff only).

If your application is successful, Macquarie will fund the cost of your airfare and local costs will be supported by the partner institution.

Who is eligible?
Staff in both academic and professional positions are encouraged to apply. Applicants must have been employed by the University on a continuing basis for the full-time equivalent of at least 12 months at the time of application. Applications from fixed term or casual staff will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

The funding is not intended to support research towards a PhD.

Staff who received a grant under the Staff Exchange Program in the preceding two years are not eligible for a grant in 2016.

A selection committee will be convened to consider applications, which will be assessed on a competitive basis across all partner universities.

For more information and to apply please email: international.relations@mq.edu.au

Applications close COB Friday 18 March 2016.

Four undergraduate students will be leaving our shores next year to complete internships at various universities across the Indo Pacific region, after receiving New Colombo Plan Scholarships. Part of a program across the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Department of Education and Training, these scholarships encourage students to follow their interests in Indo Pacific activities and affairs by studying abroad.

Having demonstrated exceptional academic talent and extra-curricular community engagement, the scholarship recipients from Macquarie include Emma Jackson, who is the Fellow for Singapore and studying Commerce & Engineering, Jennifer Tridgell, undertaking a degree in Law, Susanna Batchelder, studying Arts and Education, and Leonie Nahhas, a Psychology & Education student.

“I really cannot contain my excitement and gratitude for such an opportunity,” said Leonie, who is still coming to terms with it all.

Competing against some of the best and brightest students in Australia for the award, our applicants were supported throughout the process by a collaborative network of Macquarie staff from Macquarie International, Merit Scholars, Macquarie Abroad and the Career & Employment Service.

The students also engaged with High Commissions and business so they could display their initiative, passion and interest in a corporate setting. Minister for Foreign Affairs, The Hon Julie Bishop MP, considers the program a great opportunity for future leaders.

“This talented group of students will be impressive young ambassadors for Australia in the Indo-Pacific region, as they undertake studies, gain industry experience and learn about another culture while fostering friendships and networks that will last a lifetime,” said Ms Bishop.

“Australia is investing in the next generation of leaders who will continue to advance and build on our important bilateral relations in the Indo-Pacific region.”

As part of the program, the students will enrol in courses at their host university, and also undertake internship placements enabling them to gain invaluable hands-on work experience. There is also the opportunity to undertake part of the program at a second destination within the region, such as India, allowing them to further expand their global network while continuing to represent Macquarie University. Scholarship recipient Jennifer says she will take full advantage of the opportunities given.

“I will immerse myself in everything. I’m ridiculously excited,” she said.

Our international reputation and standing continues to grow, with 2015 being an active year of engagement with our partners across the globe. Over the past 12 months we have hosted more than 66 high level delegations, including international universities, governments, research funding agencies, scholarship bodies, and NGOs – with the aim of promoting our learning and teaching strengths, research, teaching and learning activities and encouraging international collaboration.

During this time the International Relations (IR) team has worked closely with faculties, key offices and research centres including PACE, the Office of the DVC (Research), CUDOS and the SIMHUB on visit programs for delegations from 29 countries. These activities have included workshops, networking events, symposiums and tours of our facilities.

“International visits play an important role in ‘emboldening the University’s international recognition’ as set out in ‘Our University: A Framing of Futures’,” explained Michele Robinson, Associate Director International Relations.

“They build and strengthen relationships, identify synergies and deliver strong outcomes, including funding to support staff and student mobility, joint research and teaching programs and scholarships,” she says.

Key visits have included the Vice-Chancellors/Presidents of Uppsala University (Sweden), China University of Geosciences-Wuhan (China), and North-South University (Bangladesh), the Hamburg-Fudan research workshop, a delegation of 15 National Universities from Japan, and government delegations from China, Vietnam, Russia, France, Germany, Korea, and the European Union.

In the last week IR has hosted visits from the French Ministry of Higher Education and Research, French higher education and research institutes including the CNRS; as well as German organisations, including the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and the German Research Foundation.

“Collectively, these organisations administer more than €2 billion [just over $2.9 billion AUD] of funding, making them heavyweights when it comes to international research,” says Michelle.

Macquarie also actively engages with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (in Australia and overseas), Austrade and the NSW Department of Premier and Cabinet – all of whom are tasked with promoting Australian higher education and research internationally. The IR team has participated in roundtables and hosted one-on-one meetings with Australian Heads of Mission and Trade Consuls to a number of countries including Mexico, India, the Philippines, Iran, France, the US and China.

“We are looking forward to an even busier year to come,” says Nicole Brigg, Director of Macquarie International. “We would like to thank all of our partners across the University for their support during 2015, which was a great success.”

For further information on past and upcoming events involving the International Relations team, please contact Michele Robinson, Associate Director, International Relations at (michele.robinson@mq.edu.au).

The Macquarie delegates, from the ARC Centre for Cognition and its Disorders (CCD), the Centre for Language Sciences (CLaS), and the Department of Linguistics, included Distinguished Professors Stephen Crain and Katherine Demuth, Associate Professor Rosalind Thornton, Postdoctoral fellows Nan Xu Rattanasone and Weiyi Ma, and PhD students Hui Chen, Ben Davies, and Kelly Rombough.

 “I am delighted that our colleagues had eight presentations at the conference, representing the academic excellence of Macquarie University,” said Dr Weiyi Ma, who presented research comparing English and Mandarin speakers to determine how children acquire language syntax and word recognition.

Considered to be the most prestigious conference in the field of language acquisition, the conference program included presentations from an array of research areas, ranging from linguistic theory to cognitive development. PhD student Ben Davies, whose research focuses on the variant forms of grammatical units, says that the conference has allowed him to sharpen the focus of his research.

“It has allowed me to see where my topic sits within the broader area of language acquisition, and has given me perspective on what questions I should be asking and attempting to answer in the future,” he said.

Conference attendees included experts from research institutions worldwide as well as US universities Stanford and MIT. PhD student Kelly Rombough, whose research looks at children’s production and understanding of grammatical units, says that the conference offered her a great chance to engage with others in her field.

“As a PhD student it was a great opportunity to meet a number of well-known researchers in my field of work.  I had the opportunity to discuss my research project one-on-one with both students and highly qualified and world-renowned researchers,” she said.

Macquarie has one of the largest concentrations of researchers  focusing on how children learn language. Their participation in this conference – which only accepts around 14 per cent of paper presentation applicants – provides further evidence of the outstanding calibre of this research group.

Earlier this year, the German Academic Exchange Services (DAAD) awarded one million euros (approximately $1.5 million AUD) to facilitate collaboration under the Hamburg-Macquarie-Fudan trilateral strategic partnership.

The partnership supports a range of activities including the development of international opportunities for higher degree research candidates and joint research initiatives in urban development, marine and coastal systems, physics and climate change, as well as English and business among other fields. Eleven projects across four of Macquarie’s faculties are currently funded under the partnership.

The workshop provided an opportunity for the partnership coordinators and research project members to discuss current issues, funding and future plans for the partnership, including a session on alternative funding mechanisms for Macquarie staff interested in developing new projects with Hamburg and Fudan.

Hamburg and Fudan researchers also used the week to meet with their Macquarie counterparts and work on their collaborative projects.

Academic and professional staff from all three universities that attended the workshops, deemed them a great success.

“The recent series of workshops set an excellent standard for future meetings among those in the partnership, further facilitating the collaborative process and paving the way for strong research outcomes in the future,” said Michele Robinson, Associate Director, International Relations.

“CONACYT is Mexico’s official body in charge of the promotion of scientific and technological activities, setting government policies and granting scholarships for postgraduate studies,” explains Guie Hartney, Regional Director for Latin America, Macquarie International.

The partnership is expected to include joint funding for up to 10 scholarships for Mexican students enrolled in a research degree – Master of Research (MRes) or Doctor of Philosophy (PhD).

“The partnership will see Macquarie host Mexico’s finest master and research candidates, and provide our students with high profile research and training initiatives in Mexico normally not available to non-CONACYT partners,” says Guie Hartney.

Why the change
Insurance provider ACE offered the University the most competitive renewal premium, cover terms, and claims handling system.

Important information for impacted staff and students

• Our ACE travel insurance policy number is: 01PP532077.
• While our insurance provider is changing, there is no change in our emergency assist provider. In the event of an emergency contact ACE Assistance on the 24/7 reverse charge number: +61 2 8907 5995. For safety and security assistance, it is red24.
• To access and register for the services provided under the policy:

1. Log onto www.aceassistance.com
2. Click on the ‘red24’ link

As per our current process, you will be required to complete a one-off registration using the Policy number (01PP532077). You will still be able to access services using your email address and chosen password.

• Campus and STA travel will update your itinerary with the updated ACE travel insurance policy number and ACE Assistance customer care number.

ACE ownership
It was recently announced ACE is purchasing the Chubb business, globally. This acquisition has now received shareholder approval, however it is still subject to regulatory approval and is yet to be finalised. It is important to note if this proceeds, the combined business will continue to operate under the Chubb brand, considered to be the stronger brand in many of the areas in which they engage.

For more information or questions contact insurance.mq@mq.edu.au

Last week, representatives from eight countries came together to discuss how collaboration between the University and the international not-for-profit sector can contribute to solving some of the world’s greatest challenges. Macquarie staff met with 18 PACE International partners to discuss ways to strengthen their partnerships and create change in many contexts across the world.

“Macquarie has delivered the PACE International Program in partnership with Australian Volunteers International for the past five years,” says Allison Simons, Associate Director, International Programs. “In 2016 we will take a much stronger leadership role to further deepen and develop partnerships with organisations internationally to better deliver sustainable outcomes for our students and partners.”

The week-long event gave partners the opportunity to broaden their relationship with the University and connect with academics and unit conveners to forge new relationships. “It also opened up new areas for collaboration, with some partners particularly excited to develop PACE activities in disciplines such as dance,” says Allison.

Allison explains the week has resulted in greater clarity of the strategic direction of the PACE International program and the role Macquarie plays in managing relationships with partners and designing new PACE activities.

“It’s events like this that lead to innovative and exciting new PACE activities for our students that will make significant contributions to helping our international partners drive long term social change in different parts of the world,” says Allison

A highlight of the week was the PACE T talk, ‘Global Social Change – How Universities Can Contribute’ which provided further opportunity for local and international partners to connect with each other.

“Our partners’ response to this very special session was incredibly positive, and we were all encouraged to believe many worthwhile opportunities exist for us to collaborate together to help build more resilient societies,” says Allison.