Who are you?

Our team is comprised of 22 technical staff who support teaching and research in the Departments of Biological Sciences and Chemistry and Biomolecular Sciences. Our team has diverse skill sets, varied knowledge areas and collectively vast experience in supporting teaching and research.  The team members represent at least a dozen cultures.

What do you do?

We actively support undergraduate/postgraduate teaching across two departments. On average, 8000 students per year go through our laboratories. This translates to about 60 teaching units in 14 labs. The breadth of teaching units we support is quite diverse, with subjects ranging from Microbiology to Vertebrate Evolution.

We are involved in every stage of laboratory teaching from developing experiments, assessing associated risks, and providing a safe environment for all. In addition, our team actively supports research, including terrestrial/marine fieldwork, Plant Growth Facilities and outreach.

When we are not doing all of the above (and which is what makes us tick), we enjoy professional development as a team, social activities and breaking bread together.

Why do you do it?

We asked the same question to our staff and they said:

• I love to be able to work with students, being able to teach them on what I’m passionate about: “Science” (99% staff said this in their response)
• Gaining knowledge and new skills. Friendly workplace and positive work culture
• Flexibility to work independently or within a team. Working with great people that care and are committed to their job.

In a nutshell, we facilitate hands-on learning to inspire the next generation of scientists, entrepreneurs and laboratory managers.

Who do you most frequently work with?

We work mainly with students, academics, tutors, and risk and assurance staff.

But our roles require us to work with all areas across the University, eg. admin, HR, Faculty, IT, Property, Security, Executive groups, Timetabling, Learning and Teaching, external stakeholders and other University technical staff.

What’s a recent achievement you’re proud of?

Our team is proud to have contributed to the following:

• “Kick start your technical skills”- a laboratory bridging course we developed from conception to implementation to help students transition smoothly to university
• Supporting undergraduate teams that won gold medals in the international genetically engineered machine (iGEM) foundation competitions
• Deployment of an online, custom-built fieldwork end-to-end solution
• Our staff members over last two years have either won the VC’s award or have been short-listed in multiple categories.

What’s planned for the future?

We are actively making our working environment a green laboratory space by implementing various methods such as recycling, reusing, rethinking and repurposing.

We have plans to make our laboratories greener and have a positive impact and further support sustainability.

We are planning to have a recycling / upcycling competition in November!  Please come and join us.

Where can we learn more?

Get in touch with the team!

Location: E8A, E8C, F7B teaching laboratories
Email: o365-group-techstaff@mq.edu.au
Web: http://bit.ly/2ooKKO9 and http://bit.ly/2oRpKk2
Phone: Rekha Joshi (Senior Technical Manager), x9266

JoAnne Sparks, University Librarian

For JoAnne, equity means that gender, ethnicity and age are no longer barriers for people, and that focus is instead directed to harnessing our human potential, nurturing the potential of those around us, and seeing how far we can excel – both individually and collectively.   

“I think I might be a neurosurgeon today if I had been born a boy. My life has been great, and I have had many wonderful opportunities, but the expectations of society and that I had for myself as a young woman were confined. I have no regrets, but without those barriers, I might have followed my interest in science, mathematics and other subjects.

The work of the Gender Equity Strategy has helped us consider how to support staff and managers as we strive to remove these obstacles. I have appreciated the approach taken – it’s not about quotas, it is about paying attention to progress and finding ways to ensure everyone can succeed. Celebrating our successes and the accomplishments of individuals is one part of making a difference.  It feeds a culture where the new norms are explicit, positive and celebrated.”

Dr Noah Bassil, Director of Centre for Middle East and North African Studies

For Noah, equity means gender is not a consideration in the way that people are viewed, judged, treated or valued. It also means that work practices, policies and principles do not discriminate based on gender, and that people are not assigned roles and responsibilities on this basis.

“I had a most wonderful opportunity provided to me by the University to take up to six months of parental leave when my son, Hugo, was six months old. It really helped create a bond between Hugo and me, and I feel very privileged to have had this opportunity. But my experience gave me a much clearer sense that the struggle for gender equity is part of the wider struggle for equity and a more tolerant world in general.

Being one of the few fathers who takes primary caring responsibilities highlighted the extent that caring for little children remains gendered, and the ways that this gendering continues to shape attitudes, consumption, values and language in our society. The policies at Macquarie are going beyond this. When I informed my colleagues I was taking extended parental leave, no one questioned it; I was very pleasantly surprised with the very warm support I received demonstrating to me the commitment to gender equity in the University community.

Continuing dialogue and reflective practice to promote gender equity is key to helping gender equity thrive. Language is very important for changing the way people think, and following this with actions, whether by policy or practice, is important for producing change.”

Professor Michael Steel, Head of Department, Physics and Astronomy

For Michael, gender equity reflects the need for change, particularly in his discipline, and is about ensuring that long-standing injustices are corrected on the basis of fairness.

“The Australian physics community has enormous appetite for change, and as the Head of Department, I feel a very strong personal responsibility to empower that change. Beyond my personal motivations, practically speaking, failing to give all candidates and staff equal opportunity to succeed is sabotaging our ability to compete at the top level. If I don’t hire the best candidates of any gender, some other physics school will, and they will outperform us.

At the moment, I think our progress is largely about culture. The more we talk about these issues, the more everyone understands and believes in our commitment to change. I am confident that both the women and LGBTI members of the department now believe they will be listened to and supported if they experience any unacceptable behaviour, and that there would be consequences for those that engaged in such behaviour. We should be doing much of the above also for LGBTI staff and students, particularly as applies to gay women, for whom the standard challenges multiply.  We have a very enthusiastic diversity committee, but one that has yet to make serious impact. That will happen this year.”

Grai and Heather, job-sharing Discipline Group Leaders, Medicine, Health and Human Sciences

For Grai and Heather (affectionately known as “Greather”), in a perfect world, equity would mean that everyone is afforded the same opportunities regardless of gender, and the ability to have whatever career or family unit they choose.

Grai: “Having two children while being employed at Macquarie meant I could take maternity leave and return to my substantive position as a team leader. Macquarie’s maternity leave provision is excellent, and onsite childcare services are exceptional. If more leaders championed flexible work arrangements, equity could thrive more. Never discount the possibility of job share arrangements, in any role, no matter how senior. There are lots of great benefits to job sharing; it makes me feel like I have a second brain and a second perspective to bring to my work.”

Heather: “I think that the University is considerate of women and men who work and wish to vary their hours to assist them in their personal lives. For many, having a short work day, picking up children at the end of the school day and then working from home at night works well. Patterns like this need to be recognised and encouraged. Job share works really well for Grai and I; we support each other and this helps us ensure that our work doesn’t overwhelm us.”

Professor Alison Rodger, Head of Department, Chemistry & Biomolecular Sciences

For Alison, gender equity has come in the form of encouraging girls and women into science careers, and supporting and empowering them to stay in the field.

“I have been in science academia for a long time, and am delighted that I am no longer the only female academic in my department. My new department at Macquarie is gender-balanced – which is amazing for a STEM department. Both men and women are extremely successful in all areas. As far as I can tell, gender is not a variable here – which is great news and leaves me wondering what I should do with the energy I have previously used in this space!

I have worked to encourage girls into science careers and to support early career researchers to stay in science careers since I discovered a long time ago that the Australian Atomic Energy Commission paid men more than women because they could dig holes better (even if the job did not require digging). Whether it is gender or other characteristics, it is important that we recognise a person’s ability to do what is required in a position, and not assume that the next person must follow a previous model.”

The Gender Equity Strategy is launching on International Women’s Day, this Wednesday 8 March, at local morning teas across the University. You should have received an invitation from your office or faculty. If you would like more details, email Lauren Dillon at Workplace Equity and Diversity.

Prime Minister Harold Holt disappears while swimming at Cheviot Beach in Victoria.

Postcodes are introduced throughout Australia.

The average weekly wage is approximately $57 ($740 in today’s dollars).

Everyone is singing Engelbert Humperdinck, The Seekers and The Monkees.

And on 6 March at 9am, Professor Peter Mason delivered the University’s very first lecture. Nearly 80 students attended the physics lecture, Structure and Properties of Matter.

Today, Professor John Croucher from the Macquarie Graduate School of Management (MGSM) has fond memories of being among the first cohort of students at Macquarie. He remembers some definite resourcing challenges in those early days – like trying to undertake Introduction to Computing… but without a computer.

“The lecturer, poor Harry Hancock, used to draw pictures on the blackboard of what a computer looked like if we had one,” he recalls.

John joined the University after reading about it in the newspaper.

“It was sort of a novelty thing. I was saving pennies working overtime… I thought ‘that sounds good.’ Every student there felt the pioneering spirit, that we were the first. We had no idea whether we would get a job [at the end of a degree] because employers didn’t know anything about the University. We were going up against established universities. It was a leap of faith.”

Like Macquarie, John has come a long way. Prior to becoming a MGSM Professor in 2004, he was a Professor of Statistics (1998-2003) and has four PhDs including an honorary doctorate from Papau New Guinea. He was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 2015 and has authored 30 books. In 2013, he received the Prime Minister’s award for the Australian University Teacher of the Year.

Looking ahead, John doesn’t try to guess what the future holds for the University.

“Who knows?” he says. “When we started (50 years ago), there were no calculators, no colour TV’s, no mobile phones, no internet and no one had computers. Everything has led to where we are now, and where we are going is sure to be very exciting.”

What memories do you have from the last 50 years at Macquarie? Share in the comments below.

“I was half-way through a fixed-term ARC Fellowship at another university when my first child Oliver was born. Despite my new responsibilities as a parent, I felt enormous pressure to ‘keep up’ – with my research, publications and supervision – business as usual, so-to-speak. There were no childcare places at the university, and I was sleep-deprived and juggling madly. I didn’t have a continuing position, and so I was concerned about would happen when my fellowship ended if I couldn’t be as productive as I had been in the past.

When I returned to work, I felt like I was drowning – and drowning alone. Of course, many other women and men in my department and university had small children too, but there were never any conversations around how we manage these demands, and no structures or strategies I was aware of to support my return to work. I hadn’t even thought about these issues before my pregnancy; they weren’t on the agenda, but clearly they should have been.

Soon after my return from parental leave, I moved to Macquarie and into an environment where conversations about work-life balance were more common. I also found myself surrounded by female senior role models; Macquarie proved to be a better match for the life I wanted to lead as an academic. When my second child was born, although still sleep-deprived and juggling, I felt supported and understood by my colleagues, the department, and the university. In exchange, I felt in the best possible position to make the most of my opportunities and contribute to Macquarie.

Fostering an inclusive and supportive culture for all is morally right, but it’s also best organisational practice. Universities can, and should be, social leaders in gender equity. Ensuring women are equal participants, not just in undergraduate courses, but in higher degree research, postdoctoral positions and across all academic levels and the Executive, will help us meet Macquarie’s vision for excellence in learning, discovery and engagement.

If I could give advice to my younger self, I would tell her to speak up sooner – for herself and for others – when systems avoid having these important conversations. Don’t assume that your struggles or worries are yours alone; others are in the same boat, and sharing experiences and strategies can make a huge difference.

Finally, look for champions – both women and men – to inspire and mentor you.”

Join us in celebrating the outstanding achievements and contribution of women at Macquarie by attending the Macquarie Women morning tea, at which Amanda will be a guest speaker. Professor S Bruce Dowton will also be launching the University’s draft Gender Equity Strategy before it is released for a University-wide consultation.

A love of science can be born in the heart of a child in Baulkham Hills or Bourke. But for school children in rural or remote locations, access to enriching and engaging learning opportunities can be limited. Here, LEAP Projects Coordinator Casey Featon explains how Macquarie is changing that with our innovative virtual classrooms project.

‘Drones, Droids and Robots’ was the schools theme of 2016 National Science Week, inspiring students across Australia towards careers in science and technology.

This year, Macquarie academic staff volunteered their time to help high school students in rural and remote locations participate in National Science Week, through the Widening Participation Unit’s LEAP-Links Virtual Classrooms program.

The LEAP-Links program offers distinct video conference presentations that are interactive and offer high school students – wherever they are – an opportunity to ask questions directly to some of Macquarie’s most exciting thinkers and STEM communicators.

The aim of the program is to provide curriculum enrichment, increase higher education aspiration and engagement opportunities for students with little direct access to university facilities.

The theme of the 2016 LEAP-Links National Science Week Virtual Classroom Series was ‘21^st Century Technologies.’

The following Macquarie staff gave presentations that focused on the use of autonomous technology in our society and the impacts of this technology on our modern lives:

• Carl Svensson – From Arduino to Self-Driving Cars and Shipping Port Automation
• David Inglis – Accessible Automation: How to use an Arduino to sense, compute and act
• Wade Marynowsky – Creative Robotics: An artist’s approach to autonomous technology

Carl says it was fantastic to be part of the event and witness how technology can bridge physical distances.

“It was great to see such collaboration between schools and students,” he says. “Bringing people together in such a way can be so empowering.”

Over 30 academic staff members have been involved in the program to date, ‘virtually’ sharing their expertise on topics ranging from chemistry to creative writing. Each session has the aim to open high school students’ minds to the possibilities of further education.

For more information, or to be involved in the program please contact the LEAP-Links project coordinator Casey Featon. You can also visit the LEAP website for information on other fantastic programs offered by the Widening Participation Unit.

We invite staff to contribute stories – in their own voice – that celebrate the diversity, passion and collaborative spirit of Macquarie staff.

Dr

Following last week’s widespread public shock and the announcement of a Royal Commission into the treatment of Aboriginal children in detention in the Northern Territory, Holly was moved to take action, publishing an opinion piece in the Huffington Post and New Matilda.

Read the story here:

Holly Doel-Mackaway: Policies Must Be Made With Aboriginal People, Not For Them

“This matter has shone a floodlight on Aboriginal children’s human rights and galvanised the support of the nation in a way that has never happened before,” Holly notes. “My aim in writing this article was to influence the appointment of an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person to lead the Royal Commission and encourage decision-makers to engage Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people throughout the whole Royal Commission process, not just as witnesses.”

With yesterday’s resignation of Brian Martin OA as head of the Commission, Holly says she is pleased that the Government responded to calls for an Indigenous leader to head the Commission.

“Appointing Mick Gooda to co-lead the Royal Commission with Margaret White is a significant move by the Government toward supporting Indigenous self-determination,” Holly says. “Despite the shaky start, there is renewed hope that the Royal Commission may now offer a significant avenue to address long-standing violations of Indigenous children and young people’s rights in Australia.”

“I am now calling for the establishment of a youth-led Aboriginal Children and Young People’s Advisory Council to work closely with Mick Gooda and Margaret White throughout the Royal Commission process.”

You can follow Holly’s campaign on Twitter (@4ChildRights).

We invite staff to contribute stories – in their own voice – to help celebrate the diversity, passion and collaborative spirit of Macquarie staff.

Walanga Muru, Office of Indigenous Strategy and Macquarie University Sport recently collaborated to send 10 Aboriginal students to the Indigenous Unigames in Brisbane. Here Kate Butler, Manager of Sport Development at the Sport and Aquatic Centre, and Emma Hardcastle, Commonwealth Programs Support Officer at Walanga Muru, talk about their experience working with the students.

Each year Macquarie enters teams into Australian University Sport events, such as the Indigenous Unigames and Eastern University Games. At these events, student athletes compete against other Australian universities across an array of sports.

Walanga Muru recently sent a team of 10 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students to the Indigenous Unigames held at ACU in Brisbane from 26 June to 1 July. Jo Milling, Unisport Coordinator at Macquarie University Sport, partnered with Walanga Muru to coordinate training for the students in basketball, netball, volleyball and touch football.

Student athletes from the Eastern University Games MacWarrior Leadership Team volunteered their time to coach the Indigenous Unigames team, a team of students who had only just met and were unfamiliar with some of the sports.

The games were both fun and competitive, providing students with the opportunity to network with other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students across Australia. The team came fourth overall in basketball and was sitting eighth out of 33 teams by the end of the second day. They also came second in their netball and touch football pools.

Student Katena Valastro finished her final semester with a bang by competing in the event. Having now completed her degree, Katena has now herself joined the Walanga Muru team, highlighting the success of the Grow Your Own model presented in Walanga Muru’s Indigenous Strategy Green Paper.

This is an example of how networking opportunities and continuous support for our students can lead to academic progression and fostering successful future employees.

Walanga Muru would like to thank the Widening and Participation Unit for their generous contribution in helping our team attend this important event.

We invite staff to contribute stories – in their own voice – to help celebrate the diversity, passion and collaborative spirit of Macquarie staff.

Note: this content may be distressing to some readers.

A decade ago I investigated a greyhound trainer for potential breaches of Queensland’s animal welfare law while working as an inspector for the RSPCA. I vividly recall walking down row after row of damp, dark concrete kennels with dozens of forlorn looking dogs confined to individual pens. Few of them had bedding material and several had deep ulcerations where their protruding hip bones had been rubbing against the concrete floor as they lay.

I gave the trainer a notice directing him to provide appropriate bedding and to seek veterinary attention for their wounds. I returned a few days later to find the trainer had complied with my directions. I inspected the dogs again and departed. I still remember the rows of brown eyes staring back at me as I turned to shut the door to their kennel, knowing I had no cause to return.

To this day I feel a sense of guilt that I could not have done more, but the law did not permit me to do so. Under Australian law, dogs, as with all animals, are classified as property. Animal welfare laws impose minimum standards of care upon owners but these standards do little to protect an animal’s psychological wellbeing, nor do they extend to protecting an animal’s life. Legally, an animal owner may choose to end the life of their animal property at any time and for any reason. They simply have to ensure the death inflicted is “humane”.

This legal classification has served the greyhound racing industry well for many years. Greyhounds could be bred and trained in their thousands at minimal expense and discarded at will if they did not turn out to be viable “wagering products”. According to some, there is nothing wrong with this business model, “the dogs love to race and there is nothing cruel about killing dogs provided the method is humane” they say. But the Special Commission of Inquiry, led by former High Court Justice Michael McHugh, disagreed. It held that the question of whether the industry should be permitted to continue involved a “value judgement” and within that evaluation “animal welfare must be given the greatest weight”.

The Commission found that “because of an increased social focus on animal welfare” the legitimacy of the industry’s business model and its social licence to operate “had been declining for several decades”.

While the McHugh report was scathing about the widespread nature of live baiting, the deliberate under reporting of on-track injuries and deaths, and the poor conditions in which greyhounds were commonly housed, it was the 50 to 70 percent “wastage” rate that sealed the industry’s fate – a staggering 48,891 to 68,448 deaths.

The Commission’s extensive modelling found that even if the number of race meets was reduced to the minimum required to keep the industry financially viable, 2000 to 4000 dogs would still be killed annually. In reality, the Baird Government was given little choice. Opting for further regulatory reform would have been tacit approval for the ongoing killing of scores of dogs for the purposes of sport, gambling, and human entertainment. This is a reality other state governments now have to grapple with. There is nothing to suggest the statistical modelling presented by the NSW Commission would be any different in other jurisdictions where greyhound racing is permitted to continue. The new and compelling evidence should be a cause for those governments to reflect.

Ignorance is no longer an excuse.

Those opposing the end of the greyhound racing industry are fundamentally at odds with evolving societal expectations about how we should treat “man’s best friend”.

So a decade on from my firsthand exposure to the greyhound industry, I feel a deep sense of relief. Finally a government has had the moral fortitude to stand up for what’s right and many thousands of dogs will be spared the horrible conditions I witnessed all those years ago.

The Baird Government has recognised that a greyhound is not a betting commodity, but a dog, no different to those who share the households of millions of Australians around the country. Fundamentally, the decision goes beyond the limitations of our animal welfare laws to recognise that not only is a dog’s welfare important, but so too is her life.

Last week, Macquarie hosted an Intercultural Symposium on STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics). Here, organisers Hye Eun Chu, Bronwen Wade-Leeuwen, Cathie Howe and Katherine Stewart report on the event, which was funded by the Australia-Korea Foundation.

Attended by more than 30 school teachers, school administrators and teacher educators from the Sydney area, as well as fellow science education colleagues from Curtin University, Seoul National University and Ewha Womans University in Korea, the Intercultural Symposium provided an exciting opportunity for attendees to discuss the new STEAM education initiatives in their respective countries.

“The event provided a great foundation for developing future collaborations between Australia and Korea,” says Dr Hye-Eun Chu, Chief Investigator of the Intercultural STEAM Project (ISP) at Macquarie University.

“I am hopeful this project will enable educators in Korea and Australia to offer their students more authentic science learning opportunities via the implementation of cross-cultural science lessons. I am also looking forward to having the Australian team visit us in Seoul,” adds Dr Sonya Martin, Co-Chief Investigator of the ISP at Seoul National University in Korea.

The contemporary approach to the STEAM Symposium meant that attendees were able to personally share ideas and possibilities with each other – a process that was heralded by Macquarie’s Dr Bronwen Wade-Leeuwen, an artist and collaborator on the ISP project.

“It was wonderful to see academics, teachers and students from across the globe coming together to improve the way we collaborate, communicate and create as a united community. It is my vision that symposiums like these will come together in the form of a Macquarie STEAM Academy in the future,” says Bronwen.

The symposium and ongoing project is now being seen as an opportunity to bring teachers and academics together to collaborate around STEAM learning.

“The process is great way to facilitate opportunities to share ideas, findings and, co-construct resources that will support the STEAM education community in both Australia and Korea,” says Cathie Howe, Manager of the Macquarie ICT Innovations Centre.

Dr Kathy Stewart, a science educator at Macquarie, says that STEAM’s strength comes from its emphasis on teaching an integrated approach to learning both in undergraduate teacher education programs and in primary classrooms.

“The STEAM symposium adds a cultural emphasis and an added layer of meaning for learners. What better reason is there to learn but to share your understanding and your excitement about something new,” she says.

We invite staff to contribute stories – in their own voice – to help celebrate the diversity, passion and collaborative spirit of Macquarie staff.

Jackie Gent, Officer of Development (Annual Giving), shares the story of a very special seat in the Macquarie Theatre.

Prashan Karunaratne teaches the ECON111 unit to approximately 1600 students each semester.  As a compulsory subject in many different degrees, Prashan has developed ways to make the subject more interesting and relevant to a variety of different disciplines.

“I want to show students in real terms how economics is relevant in the world we live in, but have some fun at the same time.  A bit of sarcasm also helps,” said Prashan.

Prashan’s fun and contemporary teaching tools, like tagging real life examples on social media with #mqecon and using the catchphrase “Everyone say WOW!”,  are embraced by his students, and have helped build interest and enthusiasm about the concepts they are studying.

Last year Prashan taught for three consecutive semesters in the Macquarie Theatre, and so the theatre became a big part of his life.  He decided to commemorate this time – and the students who have participated in his subject – with a plaque in the theatre, purchased through the University’s Buy a Seat initiative.

Maura Brookes, Annual Giving Manager in Advancement and Corporate Engagement, said ‘Buy a Seat’ is a great way for staff, alumni and students to celebrate their time and contributions to Macquarie.

“It has been heartening to see staff members like Prashan getting involved in the campaign,” she said. “His unique inscription will forever immortalise his classes in Macquarie history.”

Prashan is a firm believer in giving back to the next generation and helping to set them up to do well in life. He said some students are so young when they start university, some only 17 or 18 years old, and that alumni and staff have a duty of care to the younger generation.  “Students expect a lot from Macquarie,” he said. “Giving back by donating is one of the ways we can help.”

Seats are still available to buy in the Macquarie Theatre. Learn more.

We invite staff to contribute stories – in their own voice – to help celebrate the diversity, passion and collaborative spirit of Macquarie staff.