 SBS e-News
Executive Dean's Welcome
Season’s greetings and welcome to the Christmas edition of SBS e-News.
Before you embark on your Christmas break I’d like to share with you a few of our end of year successes. In particular I draw your attention to our first story. It gives me great pleasure to let you know that the Faculty has been successful in securing the UQ International Alumnus of the Year Award for the second year in a row! Please read on to find out more.
2010 will be an exciting year for the University as it celebrates its Centenary. The Faculty and our Schools will be jumping on board to celebrate this milestone with a number of events and activities planned throughout the year. We will bring you information on each of these in future editions.
I would like to thank you for all your support throughout 2009 and hope you enjoy the festive season!
Professor David de Vaus
Executive Dean
Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences
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Two in a row for SBS
 For the second year in a row, the SBS Faculty has won the UQ International Alumnus of the Year Award.
Master of Social Planning and Development (Professional) student Thi Ngoc Diep Nguyen accepted the award at the Courting the Greats Luncheon, held at Customs House on Thursday 26 November.
Diep, a sanitation expert, graduated from the School of Social Science in 2002 after completing her undergraduate studies in Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. Deip previously worked as a consultant to the Belgian Technical Cooperation on a project contributing to better sanitation and therefore quality of life for people living in the Tan Hoa Lo Gom Canal area in Ho Chi Minh City.
Since graduating from UQ, she has also worked as a social support consultant for Black & Veatch International (BVI), Phuoc Hoa Water Resources Project, Vietnam, transferring surplus flow from the Song Be River to provide additional water in the Saigon and Vam Co Dong river basins for development of irrigated agriculture and to supplement existing supplies for salinity control and Domestic, Municipal, and Industrial (DMI) use in Ho Chi Minh City and the surrounding provinces.
The International Alumnus of the Year Award was introduced in 2002 to recognise the outstanding personal and professional achievements of the University's international alumni community. The criteria for the award considers contributions to the community and career achievements since graduation.
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SBS staff receive Equity Fellowships
Dr Katie Makar from the School of Education, and Dr Barbara Masser and Dr Vanessa Cobham from the School of Psychology have each been awarded a 2010 Promoting Women Fellowship worth $15,000 from UQ’s Equity Office.
The aim of Fellowship is to increase the percentage of women in senior academic positions, and to assist in career progression, as prioritised in the University’s Equity and Diversity Plan.
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On-the-job experiences reported on radio show
Jacradio, the School of Journalism and Communication’s online digital radio station, has recently introduced a new program to provide a practical and entertaining learning resource for students wishing to enter the journalism and communication sector.
Titled, The Intern-Net, the program is a place where journalism and communication interns and graduates share their exciting and informative on-the-job experiences.
The program consists of ten episodes, each delivering different in-studio panel-discussions and one-on-one interviews with Journalism and PR graduates. Topics include how to prepare for and make the most of the crucial first career step, getting an internship and doing work experience, right through to writing a winning job application.
Presenter John Austin, Journalist in Residence and Journalism Internship Coordinator said the Intern-Net tells the fascinating stories of students who have made the journey from their studies to the workplace and offers hot tips and sound advice.
“The show brings to life the tall and true tales of interns and graduates who have been there and done that and lived to share the news that there’s life and careers out there in media land.”
The show is podcast and can also be heard throughout most of the summer semester on the following days and times: Monday 4pm, Tuesday 9am, and Friday 12pm.
To hear the show visit the JACradio website and click on the link to the Program Guide. Podcasts of the program will be posted on the School’s website at a later date.
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UQ teacher education graduates recognised amongst the best teachers in Queensland
As part of World Teachers’ Day celebrations, five University of Queensland teaching graduates were recently nominated for a Queensland College of Teachers excellence in teaching award.
The prestigious awards provide opportunities to recognise and celebrate teachers who inspire their school communities. There were two awards categories: Excellence in Teaching and Excellence in Beginning to Teach.
Three of the finalists in the Excellence in Teaching Award completed their teacher preparation studies at UQ. They were Greg Bland (Brisbane Girls’ Grammar School), Ben Luinys (St Patrick’s College, Townsville) and Sophia McLean (Kepnock State High School, Bundaberg). In the Beginning to Teach Award, Jennifer Bergstrum (St Aidan’s Anglican Girls School, Corinda) and Danielle Oke (All Saints Anglican School, Merrimac) were amongst the five finalists.
Head of the School of Education Professor Peter Renshaw said he was delighted that UQ graduates were well represented amongst the nominees.
“It gives me great pleasure to see our former students being recognised for their outstanding work. Our programs are designed to prepare and develop our graduates as first rate teachers many of whom are offered teaching positions beginning in the following year, before the completion of their programs.”
The University of Queensland has been educating teachers for the workforce since 1945 and is one of the most highly regarded schools of education in Australia. In 2009 UQ introduced a Bachelor of Education (Primary) to complement its existing Secondary, and Middle Years of Schooling programs.
“The UQ teacher preparation programs are highly regarded by teachers with whom our students are placed for supervised practicum. The secondary teacher preparation program which these young teachers undertook provides lengthy teaching practice allowing time to build rapport with classroom students and staff and become involved in the “whole school” experience,” Professor Renshaw said.
The nominated teachers represent a range of teaching areas which include mathematics, science, health and physical education, music and business.
Professor Renshaw said these types of awards were important to provide public recognition for the work of high achieving teachers and well as profiling the great work that teachers do in their communities.
“Not only do teachers educate, but they also inspire young minds and without excellent teachers in our schools, young students may not reach their potential.”
Caption: Award nominee Greg Bland.
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Researcher receives award
Oleg Nicetic, from the School of Journalism and Communication's Centre for Communication and Social Change, was awarded a medal for his outstanding contribution to agricultural and rural development by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in Vietnam. The medal was officially presented to Oleg by Vice Minister of Agriculture, Dr Bui Ba Bong, at a ceremony in Cao Lanh, Dong Thap province on 25 September 2009.
Oleg’s work in Vietnam started in 2001 with the training of Vietnamese scientists in the chemistry and application of mineral spray oils on crops. Since then, Oleg has been involved in seven projects in Vietnam of which he led four. The projects consisted of research and development activities involving more than 7,000 citrus and vegetable farmers in 27 provinces, ranging from Ha Giang in the north to Soc Trang in the south. Oleg’s work significantly contributed to the generation of scientific knowledge, primarily in the field of integrated citrus management and participatory extension.
Most of this work was done when Oleg was with the University of Western Sydney. However, he joined the UQ Centre for Communication and Social Change last August to work full-time with Associate Professor Elske van de Fliert on the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research funded project in the North West Highlands of Vietnam.
Caption: Vice Minister of Agriculture, Dr Bui Ba Bong, presenting the medal to Oleg.
More....
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