“Leadership is simply a series of moments, and every moment gives you the opportunity to leave a positive legacy for those you lead.”

This insight, from leadership expert and keynote speaker Dr Kirstin Ferguson AM, was one of many shared at the University’s second annual Professional Staff Leadership Conference on 17 November.

More than 300 professional staff came together for the full-day program, which featured inspiring personal reflections, case studies of leadership in practice and discussions on topics including continuous improvement, service excellence and developing teams.

Aspiring leaders were also encouraged to attend this year’s conference via an expression-of-interest process. One attendee remarked that their inclusion was indicative of the “positive working culture” at Macquarie: “It is a great example of how the University values and encourages not only current leaders but also potential leaders.”

Nicole Gower, Vice-President Professional Services, said she was pleased to receive overwhelmingly positive feedback from conference attendees, many of whom commended the University’s investment in developing staff and fostering connection.

“We know Macquarie’s professional staff value the opportunity to reflect on their practices in supporting the University’s research, education and health missions,” Ms Gower said. “This year’s conference sparked many insightful conversations about leadership and best practice, which are already starting to flow through to teams.”

Highlights from the 2023 Professional Staff Leadership Conference

Keynote speaker Dr Kirstin Ferguson AM shared the eight key attributes of a “head and heart leader” – with attendees measuring themselves on Dr Ferguson’s Head and Heart Leader Scale.

Nicole Gower, Vice-President Professional Services, reflected on her personal journey as a woman in leadership.

Daniel Crippa (Faculty of Medicine, Health and Human Sciences) and Byron Wilson and Paul Dorrell (Office of Strategy, Planning and Performance) were among the presenters discussing leadership in practice.

The day concluded with a ‘You Can’t Ask That!’ Q&A session featuring Professor Lucy Marshall and Katrina Sealey (Faculty of Science and Engineering), Fiona Reyerink (Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Academic) and Brad Windon (Student Shared Services).

The good news is you will still be seeing the same stories, updates and event listings on the intranet. And it will be easier to stay up to date. News will be posted on the intranet in real time instead of weekly, and displayed automatically in feeds that are personalised to your work area and interests.

How to use the intranet

For staff working on a University-owned PC, the intranet should automatically display when you open a Chrome or Edge web browser, or open a new tab in these browsers (you will need to restart your computer on, or after, 5 December for this to take effect). If this automatic display is not occurring – or if you are a Mac or Firefox user – please follow the instructions to set the staff intranet as your homepage.

The staff intranet user guide provides easy-to-follow instructions for accessing the staff intranet on various devices; navigating the homepage and News Hub; setting up quick links. and managing news channel subscriptions.

The guide will always be available in the ‘Intranet resource hub’ (under ‘Services’ in the top navigation of the intranet). The hub also contains information and training materials for content authors and site owners.

What do staff need to do from 5 December?

It is highly recommended that you take some time next week to set up your homepage quick links and subscribe to preferred news channels to ensure you continue to receive important updates relevant to your work. The user guide outlines the steps you need to follow.

Pop-up help desks will be available around campus and online from 5 to 11 December, should you need assistance with setting up your quick links and subscriptions. Ensure you have your laptop with you if attending one of the pop-ups.

If you would like to access the intranet on your smartphone, ensure you have the Microsoft Teams or Microsoft SharePoint applications downloaded (see the user guide for instructions for accessing the intranet via these apps).

Reporting bugs, broken links or errors

Each page in the intranet has a ‘Leave feedback/report a problem’ link at the bottom of the page where you can alert the page owner to broken links or bugs that may have occurred during the migration of staff portal content. Ideas or suggestions can also be made via this link.

US Consul General visits Wallumattagal Campus

Earlier this month, the University was pleased to welcome US Consul General Christine Elder to campus for a meeting with the Vice-Chancellor and Executive Group members. A broad range of mutual interests and opportunities were discussed, including student exchange, study abroad, research collaboration and partnership projects with US-based entities.

Engineering Expo showcases opportunities for Research-Industry Collaboration

The Vice-Chancellor welcomed around 300 visitors to the School of Engineering’s Industry Expo on 8 November. In his opening speech, Professor Aman Oo, Head of the School of Engineering (pictured above, left) cited the importance of industry collaboration to advance such projects as photovoltaic cells for indoor light harvesting and innovative technologies for cancer diagnosis. Professor Grant Hose moderated a panel discussion on industry-academia collaboration featuring Professor Lucy Marshall (Executive Dean, Faculty of Science and Engineering) in conversation with representatives from SmartCrete CRC, Beca Group, Multigate Medical Products and City of Ryde Council.

The Expo showcased innovative industry-collaboration projects, from dynamic virtual power plants and waste-to-resources thermochemical conversion, to high-performing IoT drones, human respiratory devices and artificial inner-ear hair sensors.

“We are committed to industry collaboration, not only to partner on producing quality research and timely solutions but also to support the research-teaching nexus,” says Professor Oo.

“This approach ensures that the academic knowledge gained is directly imparted to students, preparing them for a globally connected world.”

Pictured L to R: Dr Matt van Breugel, Research Partnerships; Dr Ondrej Kitzler, Macquarie Photonics Research Centre; Professor Helen Pask, Macquarie Photonics Research Centre and Professor Dan Johnson, Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research, Innovation and Enterprise).

Macquarie attends Indo Pacific 2023

Macquarie participated in the 2023 Indo Pacific International Maritime Exposition held recently in Sydney. This three-day trade and conference event for Australian and international defence, industry, government, academia and technology leaders included 832 exhibitors and a specialist conference program. Over 27,000 people attended the event, representing 52 nations.

Macquarie undertakes research and development activities with Australia’s defence research community through the Australian Defence Science and Universities Network (ADSUN) which is aligned with Australia’s Defence priorities.

“Macquarie is a research leader across a range of defence, science and technology strategic areas with core research and development themes including cybersecurity, future communications, space systems and enhanced human performance,” says Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research, Innovation and Enterprise) Professor Dan Johnson.

“This event is a great opportunity to showcase the breadth of our research and capability to an international network.”

Pictured L to R: Professor Surya Deva, Director of the Centre for Environmental Law; Professor Donna Craig, founding director; Professor Ben Boer, founding director; Dr Constantinos Yiallourides, Deputy Director

Australia’s longest-running environmental law centre celebrates 40 years of impact 

Established in 1983, Macquarie University’s Centre for Environmental Law (CEL) is Australia’s longest-running environmental law centre, celebrating 40 years of transformative change across law reform, research and education.

Over the last 40 years, the centre has maintained a strong interdisciplinary education focus across both undergraduate and postgraduate offerings, while strengthening its focus on research excellence. With expertise across sustainable development, business and human rights, environmental law, climate change, ecocide, food systems, ocean governance and biodiversity law, CEL conducts cutting-edge research to address the triple planetary crisis: environmental pollution, climate change and biodiversity loss.

CEL marked its 40^th anniversary with an international conference on 1 and 2 November 2023, bringing together leading scholars and practitioners to discuss pathways to just transitions. Read more here.

Macquarie Law School’s annual Blackshield Lecture 2023 

The Honourable Justice Brian J Preston FRSN SC, Chief Judge of the Land and Environment Court in New South Wales (pictured above, left), recently delivered Macquarie Law School’s 2023 Blackshield Lecture at the University’s City Campus.

Justice Preston presented an insightful framework for understanding the nature of our right to a healthy environment, and how states can better respect, protect and fulfil this right.

This year’s Blackshield Lecture concluded a two-day international conference celebrating the 40^th anniversary of Macquarie’s Centre for Environmental Law – Australia’s oldest and longest-running environmental law centre.

Old meets new: Macquarie Business School researchers visit world-class ancient coin collection on campus

Recently, a group from Macquarie Business School was hosted by Associate Professor Ken Sheedy, Director of the Australian Centre for Ancient Numismatic Studies (ACANS) in the Faculty of Arts. Numismatics is the study of ancient coins, and ACANS has one of the largest and most valuable collections of ancient coins at any university in the world – over 6500 Greek, Roman and Byzantine gold, silver and bronze pieces.

Macquarie Business School visitors handled examples of Lydian electrum – the earliest coin issues known (over 2500 years old), the silver tetradrachms of Alexander the Great, and large Roman bronze coins with the portrait of the great emperor Hadrian, among other coins.

Professor Worthington (pictured left) and co-author Captain Michael Ferguson present their analysis in a neat framework, breaking down Alexander the Great’s rule and talking about the lessons he brings to the modern world.

The book details how leadership and warfare have some consistent themes over time, especially relevant in our digital age. But this tome is not just a history lesson on military adventures, it also looks at the security scene in the 21st century. If you are interested in peace, war and strategy, this book shares insights from Alexander the Great’s story that might change your perspective.

“This book may make you feel uncomfortable, but then again, so it should. As the character or even the nature of war changes because of disruptive emerging technologies, it is crucial that the human aspects of generalship, statesmanship, strategic thought and good old boots on the ground are not left behind,” says Professor Worthington.

“Alexander the Great embodies all these things and more. Our book uses a thematic approach to tell a new military history of Alexander within the context and nature of modern warfare and what leaders today should learn and apply from his successes, and especially, his failures.”

The book also includes concluding commentary from Lt Gen HR McMaster, the 25th National Security Advisor to the President of the United States.

Arguing that Alexander’s old campaigns still have something to teach us today, Professor Worthington and Captain Ferguson note how vital it is to have leaders who can adapt and understand history in our tech-heavy world.

Whether you are a student or scholar with interest in the classics, ancient history, modern history, peace studies or military studies, this book is relevant to you. It is not just for academics, but also for defence leaders, military scholars and anyone curious about warfare, military history or history in general.

The Military Legacy of Alexander the Great: Lessons for the Information Age is published by Routledge.

The evening was supported by Macquarie’s Young Alumni Advisory Board (YAAB), led by Ki Yan Baldwin and members Alistair Booth and Delia Deng. Beer with the Boss was an opportunity to engage with nine accomplished bosses, including three from YAAB.

“Networking at alumni events is always insightful and inspiring,” said alumni Viraj Dugar. Selena Chua added that the event provides attendees with opportunities to strike up interesting conversations with senior leaders and alumni, making new connections. “I am looking forward to more events like this,” she said.

“It is like speed dating but with bosses,” joked Dr Prashan Karunaratne, referring to the event where attendees move between bosses every 15 minutes, gathering tips and insights.

The bosses included Karen Ganschow, Head of Data Sciences at Aware Super; Heidi Han, Communications Consultant; Rakin Hasan, Manager of Technology and Systems Assurance at HLB Mann Judd; Kaylene Hubbard, Tax Partner at KPMG; Michelle Hutchison, Chief Operating Officer at Schebesta Ventures; Richard Norrie, Cyber Resilience Consulting Lead at Dell Technologies; and Alejandro Ortiz, CEO and Founder of Alejandro Ortiz Consulting.

As the bosses shared their expertise, alumni listened intently, asking questions and soaking up the knowledge on offer. “There was a real buzz in the air. The alumni were super-engaged and asked so many great questions,” said Ms Hutchison.

Ms Hubbard agreed: “The energy in the room was incredible; the diversity of attendees and their confidence and enthusiasm were inspiring. I was in awe of them and their self-awareness.”

Mr Norrie noted: “All the bosses were really passionate about what they do. And this is what I attempted to instil in the attendees – passion will get you places that even raw talent cannot.”

Michelle Hutchison, Chief Operating Officer at Schebesta Ventures, engages with alumni

The bosses addressed practical aspects of employment, guiding graduates on breaking into the corporate world and tackling questions about negotiating tricky situations, entering new fields or managing tech start-ups. The rise of cybersecurity, risk and AI emerged as particularly hot topics.

Ms Ganschow addressed fears about job loss, saying, “There will always be challenges so be bold, be curious and don’t stay still. Put a light on the hill and watch people swarm.”

Mr Ortiz shared his insights on making informed and meaningful career choices. He encouraged introspection in alumni to identify core talents and align them with passion to achieve a fulfilling career.

Ms Han connected with alumni who had been international students and shared her insights on building a supportive network.

Mr Hasan said: “It’s important to remember, we’re all running our own race. It’s not about reaching the finish line; it’s about enjoying the journey and what we learn along the way.”

Referring to the alumni in the room, Ms Hubbard concluded: “The future is in good hands.”

Activities to further support the employability of Macquarie alumni are now being planned for 2024. If you would like to get involved or share ideas, please email alumni@mq.edu.au

An Unlikely Prisoner recounts Professor Turnell’s experience of being incarcerated in one of the most terrifying prisons in South-East Asia, where he was held for 650 days. As an academic whose prior experience with confrontation extended only as far as giving constructive criticism to students on their essays, Professor Turnell discovered a great personal resilience as he emerged from his ordeal with an unbroken spirit and his sense of humour intact.

Welcoming Professor Turnell to Australian Parliament House following his release, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese remarked: “What he endured in his 650 days of incarceration is something that no human being should have to endure, yet he has done it with grace and, even in inhumane conditions, with profound humanity.”

Professor Turnell was featured in several prominent media outlets last week, ahead of the release of An Unlikely Prisoner. These included ABC Radio National, The Daily Mail and The Guardian.

An Unlikely Prisoner is published by Penguin Australia.

Replacing the current staff portal website, the intranet is a central hub of fully updated information, served automatically to your web browser and hosted in a secure SharePoint environment accessible only to staff.

As highlighted by Vice-President Professional Services Nicole Gower in September, everything about the intranet has been designed to make working lives easier for Macquarie staff. Fully customisable homepage quick links, people/page/document search and personalised news and events feeds have all been configured to save you time and keep you informed.

A tour and how-to guide for the staff intranet will be shared in the last issue of This Week on 28 November.

What is changing from 5 December?

The staff intranet will automatically display when you open a web browser on a University laptop or desktop computer.

You will  need to restart your computer for this to take effect. You can also access the intranet by clicking on ‘staff’ on the Macquarie University homepage, or by selecting the ‘Intranet’ icon in the Microsoft Teams app.

Most all-staff and faculty/portfolio-level communications will be sent via the staff intranet, not email.

This Week will no longer be emailed to staff weekly. Instead, all-staff news will be published daily on the intranet homepage via the searchable news hub. Personalised homepage feeds will deliver news, events and leader messages based on a staff member’s faculty/portfolio. Staff members can also choose to view, or subscribe to, news from any other part of the University.

Subscription-based channels will serve staff involved in teaching and research

Content currently found in Teche and Research Spotlight will be delivered via two subscription-based channels: Learning and Teaching, and Research Services. Staff can adjust their subscriptions at any time.

You will need to set up your homepage quick links

Every staff member will be able to create a set of quick links on the intranet homepage to their own most used tools, sites and pages (including external webpages and tools). Instructions will be provided, and help will available via pop-up help desks at various campus locations, and online, from 5–8 December.

Use SharePoint – not Google – to search the intranet

The staff intranet is secure internal platform, with content not discoverable by external search engines. You can also use the SharePoint search bar to find intranet content, along with people and M365 documents and sites.

If you have questions about the new staff intranet, please contact Lauren Bradshaw, Intranet Business Lead: lauren.bradshaw@mq.edu.au.

As our staff are acknowledged for their contribution to the University’s research, health and education missions, it is timely to pause and reflect on what makes an educator stand out as exceptional in transforming the lives of our students.

There are many answers to that question. However, there are a few things that stand out to me personally about great educators:

• Passion – great educators always have a deep and genuine passion to see students succeed. They strive to see their students light up with those ‘ah-ha’ moments that are truly transformative.
• Communication – great educators can take the most complex of content or skills and communicate these in a way that makes them resonate and stick with students. They can cut through all the noise and deliver clear and concise messages on the most important aspects of what students need to know.
• Connection – great educators connect with students on a human level. They engage students actively in their learning ensuring that students can see the relevance and meaningfulness of what they are learning. Connection is also about the simple things – knowing students names, respecting their active role in the learning process, bringing the whole group along in the conversation.
• Agility – great educators are agile and flexible. They will recognise if something is not working or if the energy in the classroom is low and pivot to shift the dynamic in a room.

These qualities are supported when educators have a high level of emotional intelligence, and Macquarie educators exude a high level of emotional intelligence in a way that is rare in a University setting, leading us to deliver a high quality teaching experience to our students. This is recognised by our students who have ranked us second in the country for postgraduate teaching quality in the most recent QILT student survey, with our undergraduate teaching also above the national average.

Our educators are passionate about what they do, and it shows. This extends into the way we engage with our students across all aspects of their educational journey. Our students can see that we care about them and can see that we genuinely want them to succeed and reap the benefits of a Macquarie education.

This came through very strongly, both from our students and our staff, as we consulted on the Macquarie Advantage education strategy, which will harness academic excellence as one of our key strengths.

But while our academic excellence is widely known, it can be easy for great things to go unnoticed, or to be only seen locally by those within a unit, course or department. It is important that we shine a light on the great work that is happening in education at Macquarie, so we can share this practice widely with others.

Education is critical work. It is critical in the transformation of our students – enabling them to become what they dream of being. It is also critical to our communities, the nation and beyond as education both delivers the future workforce the world requires and the transformation of families and communities, both here and abroad.

Recognising our best and brightest, and the transformational work they do every day, is not just something that brings us great pleasure and pride, it also reminds us all of our power to transform.

Vice-Chancellor Professor S Bruce Dowton praised the tremendous accomplishments of the nominees and also thanked professional staff for their support of the University’s education and research missions.

“It is a great pleasure to recognise the outstanding achievements of the finalists, who have given their time, industry and intellect to solve the big global problems through research excellence and change the livelihoods of students through learning and teaching,” said the Vice-Chancellor.

Congratulations to all the winners.

Vice-Chancellor’s Learning and Teaching Awards

Vice-Chancellor’s Learning and Teaching Student-Nominated Award

Recognises staff for their teaching and support of learning that influences, motivates and inspires students to learn.

Dr Irina Dedova, Department of Chiropractic, Faculty of Medicine, Health and Human Sciences

Associate Professor Richard Garner, School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering

Dr Ali Lalbakhsh, Macquarie University College

Dr LayPeng Tan, Department of Marketing, Macquarie Business School

Dr Hector Viveros Tapia, Department of Management, Macquarie Business School

Vice-Chancellor’s Learning and Teaching Sessional Staff Award

Recognises sessional staff for their approaches to teaching and support of learning that influences, motivates and inspires students to learn.

Mr Camille Rahme, Department of Chiropractic, Faculty of Medicine, Health and Human Services

Vice-Chancellor’s Learning and Teaching Early Career Award

Recognises staff for their quality teaching and support of learning, and the impact they have on influencing, motivating and inspiring students to learn.

Dr Madeline Taylor, Macquarie Law School, Faculty of Arts

Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Learning and Teaching Innovation

Recognises the development and implementation of innovations that improve learning, teaching or assessment to enable, motivate, support and inspire students to learn.

The team of: Associate Professor Louise Koelmeyer, Dr Belinda Thompson, Robin Blumfield, Professor Catherine Dean, Robbie Blackwell, Dr Kylie Gwynne, Fiona Tisdall Blake, Dr Morwenna Kirwan, Matthew Robson and Chloe Szilas, Faculty of Medicine, Health and Human Sciences

Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Teaching Excellence

Recognises staff for their excellence in teaching and support of learning and the impact they have on influencing, motivating and inspiring students to learn.

Dr Natasha Todorov, School of Psychological Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Health and Human Sciences

Vice-Chancellor’s Educational Leader Award

Recognises educational leadership that has influenced and enhanced learning and teaching and/or student experience.

Associate Professor Josephine Paparo, School of Psychological Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Health and Human Sciences.

Research Excellence Awards

Excellence in Higher Degree Research Awards

Presented for outstanding research undertaken by a current or former higher degree research candidate (in both HASS and STEMM-based disciplines).

HASS

Michelle Bishop, School of Education, Faculty of Arts

Thom Dixon, School of Social Sciences, Faculty of Arts

STEMM

Jaime A. Alvarado-Montes, School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering.

Dr Ali Lalbakhsh, School of Engineering, Faculty of Science and Engineering

Excellence in Higher Degree Research Supervision – Supervisor of the Year

Recognises our outstanding Higher Degree Research (HDR) supervisors who enable our HDR candidates to achieve their highest potential.

Professor Niloufer Selvadurai, Macquarie Law School, Faculty of Arts

Early Career Researcher of the Year

Acknowledging outstanding performance in research by an early career researcher (in both HASS and STEMM-based disciplines).

HASS

Dr Emlyn Dodd, Department of History and Archaeology, Faculty of Arts

STEMM

Associate Professor Noushin Nasiri, School of Engineering, Faculty of Science and Engineering

Excellence in Research – Five Future-shaping Research Priorities

Winners demonstrate the real-world impact of Macquarie University research in delivering benefits to Australian and international communities.

Healthy People

The team of: Professor Catherine McMahon, Professor Leanne Holt, Associate Professor Boe Rambaldini, Dr Kylie Gwynne, Luke Halvorsen, Kai Nash, Noeleen Lumby, Cara Cross, Dr Yvonne Dimitropoulos, Dr Andrea Salins, Faculty of Medicine, Health and Human Sciences and Faculty of Arts

Resilient Societies

Associate Professor Mark Alfano, Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Arts

Prosperous Economies

The team of: Dr Miles Yang and Dr Candy Lu, Department of Management, Macquarie Business School

Secure Planet

Professor Tina Soliman-Hunter, Macquarie Law School, Faculty of Arts

Innovative Technologies

Professor Tao Gu, School of Computing, Faculty of Science and Engineering

Excellence in Research Integrity

The inaugural Excellence in Research Integrity award recognises outstanding contribution, leadership or innovation in research integrity by an individual or team.

Associate Professor Mianna Lotz, Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Arts

Excellence in Research Innovation, Partnership and Entrepreneurship Award

Recognises and rewards excellence in research innovation, partnership, commercialisation, translation, and entrepreneurship at Macquarie University.

The team of: Distinguished Professor Phil Taylor, Dr Bishwo Mainali, Dr Vivian Mendez, Dr Maciej Maselko, Dr Soo Jean Park, Dr Mary Whitehouse, Dr Piotr Trebicki, Applied BioSciences Insect Biosecurity Team, Faculty of Science and Engineering

The Jim Piper Award for Excellence in Research Leadership

Recognises outstanding and inspiring researchers who are on a path to becoming both a leading researcher and a research leader at Macquarie University.

Professor Helen Rizos, Macquarie School of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Health and Human Sciences

Watch the full Academic Staff Awards ceremony below:

Macquarie extends its reach through active alumni networks across key cities, including Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing and Chengdu. The University recently celebrated the contributions of this network through two events held in Shanghai and Beijing.

The Shanghai event (pictured above) attracted more than 125 attendees, including Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) Professor Rorden Wilkinson, alumnus Feng Guo, Executive Director of Global Corporate Banking at J.P. Morgan, and Helen Sawczak, the NSW Government’s Senior Trade and Investment Commissioner for Greater China and Director of AustCham China. Professor Wilkinson expressed gratitude for the support received from alumni, the student community and the partners represented.

At the Beijing event, 226 guests were welcomed by Professor Wilkinson as well as Macquarie’s Executive Director, Philanthropy and Alumni Relations, Hedda Paisley, and Macquarie alumnus JC Liu, CEO of Zevest Tech Investment Holdings Limited. Professor Wilkinson highlighted Macquarie’s upcoming 60th anniversary, inviting alumni to celebrate this milestone.

He also urged alumni to commit to lifelong learning and enquiry: “It is important across your lifetime to always be open to new knowledge and the possibility for greater understanding.”

These events showcased Macquarie’s rich education and research, and underscored the enduring connection between the University and its global alumni community.

As the University approaches its 60th year, these gatherings are a celebration of the institution’s success and a reminder of the pivotal role played by our alumni in shaping and enriching its continued legacy. The Chinese alumni community is a vital contributor to Macquarie’s growth and global impact.