27 diverse student societies were also present, and more than $1400 was raised to support the work of the UN Women International Committee Australia to end violence against women and girls in the Pacific region.

As of today, visitors to mgsm.edu.au will encounter a brand new website for the Macquarie Graduate School of Management. A key component of the Shared Identity project, the new site aligns MGSM with the University’s new identity while still maintaining a distinct brand look for the leading business school. Other major improvements include responsive mobile-friendly design and a new site structure that better meets audience needs.

[Front row, left] Emeritus Professor Jim Piper from the Department of Physics and Astronomy. [Back row, centre] Dr Lee Spitler from the Department of Physics and Astronomy. [Back row, far right] Dr Alfonso Garcia-Bennett from the Department of Chemistry and Biomolecular Sciences.

‘Science Meets Parliament 2016’ Science & Technology Australia President, Emeritus Professor Jim Piper and delegates Dr Lee Spitler from the Department of Physics and Astronomy, and Dr Alfonso Garcia-Bennett from the Department of Chemistry and Biomolecular Sciences met with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull in his office at Parliament House earlier this month.

The 16th annual Science meets Parliament brought 200 working scientists to Canberra for a two-day program of professional development and networking aimed at helping them better communicate their science to the media, policymakers and parliamentarians.

[Left] The newly refurbished Department of Linguistics. [Right] Unveiling of the ‘We Are Ubuntu’ artwork by the Head of the Department of Linguistics, Associate Professor Jan-Louis Kruger (pictured right), and Macquarie University Visual Voices Art Group artist, Olegario Gonzalez.

The long awaited refurbishment of The Linguistics Department C5A building has been completed, in the record time of five months, by the company Inaphase. The new interior has proven to be a hit among staff, showcasing crisp modern features in neutral tones, complemented with splashes of turquoise and copper.

To celebrate, the Department of Linguistics held an opening last Friday afternoon in the elegant space, during which they unveiled the newly installed artwork created by members of the Macquarie University Visual Voices Art Group. The group was established in August 2014 by speech pathologist Christine Sheard in the Macquarie University Speech and Hearing Clinic. The group encourages people with some physical paralysis and language communication difficulties (aphasia) following stroke, to use art as a medium to practise friendship, social participation, renewed self-identity and autonomy.

The unveiled piece pictured is called “We are Ubuntu” from three artists from the group, John Giliberti, Olegario Gonzalez, Alasdair MacLennan and their artistic facilitators Viviene Mewing, Romny Vandoros and Karlene Wilcox; who named the piece after the African term ‘ubuntu’ which means “l am what I am because of who we are”. The artwork rejoices in the fact that communication can occur in more ways than just via speech and that its ultimate success resides also in the attitudes and engagement of people in all our social contexts.

Congratulations to the Macquarie University Catering team on receiving the New South Wales Banquet and Catering Award at the Meetings and Events Australia (MEA) industry awards for the second consecutive year.

The Award recognises organisations that provide catering services for business events either as a stand-alone catering business or as a banquet department providing food and beverage services for conferences and events.

This adds to the long list of awards the team have received throughout the years for their outstanding effort.  Learn more about their achievements.

Late last month more than 800 mathematics teachers from across New South Wales, including many from regional and remote areas came to campus to take part in the Higher School Certificate (HSC) Mathematics Review day.

Run by the Mathematic Department in partnership with the Mathematical Association of New South Wales, and with the assistance of the Board of Studies, Teaching and Educational Standards New South Wales, the day included a number of sessions reviewing each of the mathematics papers from the 2015 HSC. It was an opportunity to highlight areas of concern and provide information and insight to help classroom teachers better prepare their students.

The meeting was organised to discuss how countries in the G77 could use the Sufficiency Economy Philosophy (SEP), developed by the King of Thailand to successfully implement the UN’s new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In her presentation, Gayle outlined the SEP process, showing delegates how it applied to several of the SDGs. Her research into sustainable leadership is of great interest in Thailand, which is looking for practical, evidence-based guidelines for implementing the SEP.

“My associates and I have often been invited to address large audiences and conduct various research projects based on the SEP, including editing a forthcoming book of case studies by Thai experts about applying the SEP to business, health, education, community development, prisoner rehabilitation and agriculture,” said Gayle .

The G77 is equivalent to the United Nations’s G20 but for developing economies, giving them an enhanced negotiating capacity in the United Nations. The group currently includes 134 member countries, with Thailand being the chair in 2016.

“The meeting in Thailand is just one of many forums where experts and policy makers can work together to help achieve UN goals,” said Gayle . She has been invited to address the G77 again, at its meeting in June.

 Learn more about Gayle and her research.

MGSM Executive Centres are two purpose-built facilities offering professional meeting rooms, lecture theatres and flexible learning spaces which can be hired for events. Macquarie staff members are entitled to discounted rates at both facilities.

• MGSM Sydney CBD will be serving afternoon tea from 12pm to 2pm, Tuesday 1 March
• MGSM Macquarie Park will be serving afternoon tea from 12pm to 2pm, Thursday 3 March

The events will be an opportunity to enjoy a full tour of our venues, meet the conference team and sample the in-house catering.

If you are interested in attending one or both open houses please register your attendance via email to Jo Hillier (jo.hillier@mgsm.edu.au). If you share this invite, please advise the recipient that they must also register in order to attend.

For any questions about how MGSM Executive Centres can help make your next business event a success, contact Jo Hillier.

In 2009, Professor John Croucher from the Macquarie Graduate School of Management (MGSM) was the driving force behind the development of DWU’s MBA program, for which he received an honorary PhD from DWU for ‘services to mankind’.

“The story of Macquarie and its relationship with DWU is indeed a great one, and an excellent example of community outreach to a developing country and our nearest neighbour,” says Professor Croucher.

During her visit, Professor Nembou said she had dreamed of starting an MBA program at DWU, and is grateful to both Professor Croucher and her Vice-Chancellor and President, Father Jan Czuba, for helping that dream become a reality.

“I was aware that Macquarie offered a high-quality MBA program, and it was recommended that I contact Professor Croucher and, as the saying goes, ‘the rest is history’.

“The aim of the program was two-fold. We wanted to have a world-class MBA program, and also have PNG lecturers from within DWU co-teach units so that they could eventually take over. Although the majority of units are taught by international lecturers, this has proved positive because the feedback from students is that they want world-class lecturers with international perspectives.

“These international academics who so generously give of their time and expertise on a pro bono basis explain the success of our MBA program. The Divine Word University is deeply grateful to them.”

Macquarie PhD candidate and MGSM MBA alumna, Ms Justine Wang, recently returned from teaching (pro bono) in the MBA program in Port Moresby, and has been invited back to teach again in 2016.

“I am very grateful for the opportunity to teach in the MBA program at Divine Word University as part of MGSM’s community outreach. I was fortunate to be there at the time of the 40th annual celebrations of PNG’s independence, and the President and Vice-Chancellor of DWU, Father Jan Czuba, made me feel most welcome,” says Justine.

“I very much enjoyed meeting with the students, and hearing about their local issues and concerns, along with developing a deeper understanding of their culture and perspectives on life.”

Congratulations to Macquarie Graduate School of Management’s Professor Richard Petty, and Department of Accounting and Corporate Governance’s Professor James Guthrie on their peer reviewed research paper Intellectual Capital: Measurement, reporting and management, receiving more than 1000 citations.

A study published in Nature investigated citations across 58 million items in the Science Citation Index that covers the sciences, social sciences, arts and humanities and conference proceedings, and found only 14,499 papers published since 1900 had more than 1000 citations.

Professor Petty explains that by any account, the paper is one of the top cited papers in the business disciplines, but it’s also one of the top cited research papers across all disciplines.

“I think we identified a gap in the research at the right time, and our work was of interest to researchers and to policymakers because of its real-world application for business and for regulators and standard-setters,” said Professor Petty.

The duo has also co-authored two other papers in the field of intellectual capital measurement, reporting and management, both of which have exceeded more than 550 citations.

“James and I have collaborated many times and have co-authored at least six papers together that each individually have more than 100 citations,” said Professor Petty.

Looking ahead, the two are working together in the field of Transnational Regulation.

“Our current work is attracting a lot of interest. Last year I co-edited a special issue on Transnational Regulation of Accounting for the Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal. Based on that work we are now working with regulators in the US, Australia, UK and China, as well as several global banks and accounting firms on convening a summit on transnational regulation in 2016,” said Professor Petty.

Dr Adam Lockyer, Senior Lecturer in Security Studies from the Department of Policing, Intelligence and Counter Terrorism, and Annette Stewart, an alumna of the Macquarie Graduate School of Management (MGSM) have been awarded 2015 Fulbright Professional Scholarships, announced during the annual presentation dinner in Perth last week.

The Fulbright Program is the largest and one of the most prestigious educational scholarship programs in the world. It operates between the United States and over 155 countries worldwide, and has supported almost 4,800 scholars between Australia and the U.S to date.

Adam will pursue his research on the future of the alliance between Australia and the United States in the Indo-Pacific Arc. His research examines the compatibility of U.S. and Australian strategies in the region within the context of their own diplomatic histories. Lockyer hopes his research will inform both an article and chapter in his larger project on Australian defence strategy.

“It has almost become a cliché to say that the United States and Australia now share a greater strategic overlap of interests than that at anytime since 1945,” said Adam, “however, this does not mean that we should always work together in their pursuit.

“Australia and the United States have their own unique diplomatic histories with many of the countries that constitute the Indo-Pacific Arc, including Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia. The task in the coming decades will be identifying when the allies should work jointly, when they should work separately and when only one of them should pursue the aim.”

Annette, a graduate of the Master of Business Administration, MGSM, will work closely with the Conservation Measures Partnership (CMP), an active consortium of leading conservation organisations, agencies and funders in the U.S.

The CMP brings together its members to share experiences and conduct research to improve the practice of conservation. Annett’s Fulbright project aims to develop a series of case studies, so she can develop new insights to empower conservation organisations around the world to achieve better protection for the world’s wildlife and landscapes.

The Macquarie Graduate School of Management (MGSM) has moved up six places to be ranked 49th in the world in The Economist‘s ‘Which MBA?’ 2014 rankings survey, which directly compares leading international business schools. This is the first time the school has broken in to the global top 50.

Most notably, this ranking sees the school retain the position of the top business school in NSW, third in Australia and fifth in the Asia-Pacific region. The school has also achieved a global ranking of three for increase in salary.

“This outstanding result gives us every reason to be proud of our School – our students, our alumni, our faculty and our staff – all who have shown great dedication to the School’s success,” said Professor Alex Frino, Dean of MGSM. “This is what we have been working towards and it is great to see it reflected in the results.”

Read more about MGSM’s rankings in The Economist.

Elections will soon be held for:

• one professional staff representative on University Council,

• four academic staff representatives from each Faculty, one academic staff representative from the Macquarie Graduate School of Management and one academic staff representative from the non-Faculty electorate on Academic Senate,

• one academic staff representative from each Department and one professional staff representative on Faculty Boards, and

• two student representatives on Faculty Boards.

Information on the Election Process and Nomination Forms are published on the Council and Senate websites.

Nominations opened Thursday 18 September 2014 and close Thursday 9 October 2014.

For more information, contact election@mq.edu.au.

How long have you been a researcher at Macquarie?
I have been teaching and researching at Macquarie since 1998.

I was drawn to research because…
I have always seen the social sciences as being evidence-based explorations of social worlds and the possibilities they contain. Right now my interest is focused on the growing influence of renewable energies around the world, and particularly in China.

What would be an ‘elevator pitch’ of your research area?
For several years my research focused on the rise of newly industrialised economies in East Asia, particularly Korea, Taiwan and Singapore, and on how they deployed smart strategies of technology leverage to catch up with the advanced economies.

Now my focus is on how China is doing the same thing, but at a vastly greater scale – and with a deliberate focus on the physical realities of its industrialisation process. This means looking at how China is building a fresh energy system based on renewables which complement its earlier dependence on fossil fuels and nuclear; and its circular economy to enhance resource efficiency.

In layman’s terms, what is the wider impact of your research?
The wider impact of this research is that it studies how countries can escape “carbon lock-in” created by fossil fuels and build their industrial systems around the manufacturing of renewables, which in this way offer superior energy security. At the same time, this strategy will lead to energy systems that have lower carbon emissions.

In ten years I see my research…
In ten years I see my research contributing to understanding how a giant economy like China’s, and following that the economy of India, can raise incomes for billions of people without costing the earth.

My favourite and/or most proud research moment was when…
On September 11 2014, when I saw that Nature published a commentary article on these themes from myself and collaborator Dr Hao Tan.

Read more about John’s recent article.

Following an “unbelievable sales pitch” from her Higher Degree Research Manager, Faculty of Business and Economics Finance Manager Hana Krskova enrolled in the Master of Research (MRes) – a unique pathway towards a PhD that offers a combination of advanced coursework and research training – that is attracting increasing numbers of students and staff.

“While trying to decide if I could possibly be any good at research, I received a lot of guidance and advice from our Heads of Departments, Research Centre Directors, as well as Associate Deans of Research and Learning and Teaching,” said Hana. “I feel lucky to be surrounded by senior academics who dedicate their time to helping junior researchers like myself.”

Inspired by the dedication of her academic colleagues, Hana says the MRes program provided the perfect avenue to explore her curiosity for competitive education, with help from mentor and senior lecturer Chris Baumann.

“I would like to explore the differences between the permissive approach to education preferred by the Western world, and the stricter approach of East Asian countries which appears to lead to better results in the Programme for International Student Assessment surveys of 15 year olds conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development,” said Hana.

Michelle Wood, Director of Communications at MGSM, was drawn to further research because she believes it has the potential to make a real difference to the numbers of women not only completing an MBA, but taking their place as leaders in Australia’s top companies.

Through the MRes program, Michelle’s research examines the underlying reasons for the gender imbalance in MBA programs (currently there are about 70 per cent of men and 30 per cent of women completing MBA’s in Australia), and will develop strategies to address it.

“We are surveying women about the issues they face in enrolling and studying for an MBA, as well as their experiences post-MBA. It is our hope by addressing the inequality at enrolment level we could have a real impact on the numbers of women working in senior management, executive ranks and on the boards of our leading companies.”

Learn more about the MRes training pathway program or register for an information session.

Read about Faculty of Science General Manager Imtiaz Bhayat and Student Wellbeing Emergency Care Manager Steve Bailey’s MRes studies.