Timorese graduate on a healthy quest for his nation August 2008
alumni magazine
contents
Research
VOLUME 11 NUMBER 2
In focus
Zimi Meka is QUT’s latest top alumnus. For his story and news of all 2008 Alumni Award winners see pages 6 to 8.
Regulars
NEWS ROUNDUP 2
EXPERT-EASE 11
RESEARCH UPDATE 16, 17
ALUMNI NEWS 21
KEEP IN TOUCH 22-24 LAST WORD
by Vice-Chancellor Professor Peter Coaldrake
- SEE INSIDE BACK COVER
Our cover
Public health alumnus Juliao Dos Reis’ smile is as large as his appetite for learning, which he hopes will one day benefi t his homeland of East Timor.See page 4 for his story.
Editor Janne Rayner p: 07 3138 2361 e: j2.rayner@qut.edu.au Contributors
Sue Gardiner, Sandra Hutchinson, Carmen Myler, Niki Widdowson, Rachael Wilson
Images Erika Fish Design Richard de Waal
link s
alumni magazine QUT Links is published by QUT’s Marketing andCommunications Department in cooperation with QUT’s Alumni and Development Services. Editorial material is gathered from a range of sources and does not necessarily refl ect the opinions and policies of QUT.
CRICOS No. 00213J
3 1 10 19
Living in glass houses may only be a stone’s throw away.
Young team champions need to lighten up, or risk burnout.
New speech recognition software is fi ghting identity fraud.
QUT programs are building teens’
resilience.
Profi les
14 9 20 15
A creative grad is shooting for success in Berlin.
QUT graduates have designs on awards.
Science graduate Cecilia Wade makes the most of a helping hand.
A coffee cup of kindness is overfl owing at QUT.
QUT’s women on top.
Features
11 4 12 18
An East Timorese alumnus has healthy ambitions for his country.
A QUT company is turning a profi t on out- of-the-box innovations.
A bushland laboratory is driving ecological research.
QUT leads the nation in creative industries research.
20
9
12
17
PEOPLE could live in glass houses and look at the world through rose-tinted windows while reducing their carbon emissions by 50 per cent thanks to QUT Institute for Sustainable Resources (ISR) research.
Professor John Bell, pictured above, said QUT had worked with Canberra-based company Dyesol, which is developing transparent solar cells that act as both windows and energy generators in houses or commercial buildings.
He said the solar cell glass would make a signifi cant difference to home and building owners’ energy costs and could, in fact, generate excess energy that could be stored or onsold.
Professor Bell said the glass was one of a number of practical technologies that would help combat global warming which was a focus of research at the ISR.
“The transparent solar cells have a faint reddish hue but are completely see-through,” Professor Bell said.
“The solar cells contain titanium dioxide coated in a dye that increases light absorption.
“The glass captures solar energy which can be used to power the house but can also reduce overheating of the house, reducing the need for cooling.”
Professor Bell said it would be possible to build houses made entirely of the transparent solar cells.
“As long as a house is designed throughout for energy effi ciency, with low-energy appliances it is conceivable it could be self-sustaining in its power requirements using the solar-cell glass,” he said.
“Australian housing design tends to encourage high energy use because electricity is so cheap.
“But it is easy to build a house that doesn’t need powered cooling or heating in Queensland.”
He said the glass would be on the market in a few years.
Professor Bell said the solar cell glass was the subject of two Australian Research Council Linkage grants to QUT researchers to investigate ways to increase its energy absorption and to reduce the effects of “shadowing”, where overcast skies and shadows from trees or other buildings can cause loss of collected power.
- Niki Widdowson
QUTLINKS AUGUST ’08 1
The future of solar-powered houses is clear, says a lead QUT researcher.
Windows to the future
PM addresses QUT luncheon
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd marked his 100th day in offi ce on March 3 this year by addressing QUT’s Business Leaders Forum. The event had to be moved to the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre to accommodate a bumper crowd of 750 guests and a large contingent of the nation’s media.
Mr Rudd used the occasion to announce new measures to help ease the nation’s housing crisis.
QUT Carseldine to move
QUT is consolidating its Carseldine- based courses, programs and support
areas into the Kelvin Grove and Gardens Point campuses from the start of the 2009 academic year. Vice- Chancellor, Professor Peter Coaldrake said the university had been considering ways in which it could better utilise the Carseldine campus.
He said the campus had experienced declining student numbers, despite signifi cant investment in the campus over recent years, in terms of courses of study and new facilities. To effect the transition, the university has formed a relocation working group.
Queen’s Birthday honours
Professor Vi McLean, Deputy Vice- Chancellor, Teaching Quality, is one of the latest QUT recipients of the Member of the Order of Australia (AM). The former kindergarten teacher joined distinguished QUT exercise scientist, Professor Tony Parker, in receiving the prestigious award on the Queen’s Birthday public holiday in June.
Professor McLean was awarded for services to education over a 40-year career, while Professor Parker was made a Member of the Order of Australia for his services to sports medicine and
news roundup…
NEWS OF NEW APPOINTMENTS, UNIVERSITY SUCCESSES, ACHIEVEMENTS OF STAFF AND STUDENTS, AND CORPORATE EVENTS.exercise science. QUT alumni to earn recognition in the Order of Australia in the General Division included Reginald Fitzpatrick (DipPharmacy 1950), Margaret Hickey (DipTeach 1955) and Alan McCray (CertMgt 1967). Andrew Lesbirel (BAppSc(Computing) 1979) was awarded the Public Service Medal.
Major new faculty announced
QUT has announced plans to strengthen and renew its undertaking in science and technology by forming a major new faculty. A proposal is currently before the university to amalgamate QUT’s Faculty of Science and Faculty of Information Technology and establish a new Faculty of Science and Technology in time for the 2009 academic year. The proposal coincides with the advancement of plans for QUT to develop a major new science and technology precinct at Gardens Point campus.
Grants for health discoveries
QUT researchers attracted the lion’s share of National Health and Medical Research Council development grants announced by the Australian Government in April this year. A total of 22 grants were funded nationwide to 14 universities and research organisations, with QUT attracting six of them, worth $941,773. Projects included a dressing to reduce the severity of scars and a potential new vaccine for genital chlamydial infection.
All aboard QUT Smart Train
Up to 20,000 school children experienced science and technology fi rst-hand on the 2008 QUT Smart Train, as it made its way across rural and regional Queensland during a fi ve-week tour from May 9.
Governor of Queensland, Her Excellency Ms Quentin Bryce AC, offi cially launched the train as it prepared to make 24 scheduled stops as far west as Charleville, Longreach and Mount Isa and north to Cairns.
3
QUTLINKS AUGUST ’08
Burnout burden
A new study says young elite team A new study says young elite team players may be prone to burnout.
players may be prone to burnout.
YOUNG, elite players of team sports such as cricket, netball and hockey are more likely to be susceptible to crippling self-criticism, fear of failure and “burnout” than older elite players.
This fi nding is based on a study by QUT postgraduate psychology student Angela Christie who surveyed 84 male and female semi-elite and elite athletes, aged 18 to 33, playing at state to international levels.
Ms Christie found younger players (aged 18-25), had higher levels of “dysfunctional perfectionism” than elite par- ticipants (aged 25-33).
“The survey results showed that younger athletes were more likely to hold infl exibly high standards. If they don’t meet their own standards, they tend to criticise themselves harshly,” Ms Christie said.
Research supervisor, Professor Kathryn Gow from the School of Psychology and Counselling, said Ms Christie’s research made an important contribution to our understand- ing of the pressure on athletes.
Ms Christie said the fi ndings could potentially shed light on recent discussion that elite sportspeople had lost the ethos of sport for enjoyment.
“Society expects a lot from elite athletes, and so, for some losing isn’t an option,” she said.
“These younger athletes were more likely to gauge their
self-worth from their performance and consequently had a greater fear of failure and strove to avoid errors more than more experienced athletes in the 25 to 33 age range.
“More research is needed to ascertain whether younger athletes will carry these qualities through to the elite level or whether the older athletes have learned to ‘lighten up’ along the way.”
Ms Christie’s study aimed to identify whether adaptive coping reduced the likelihood of “burnout” and if maladap- tive coping increased the likelihood of burnout.
Burnout is the result of an athlete’s inability to cope or to adapt to high levels of anxiety and stress when faced with long, stressful periods during competitions and matches.
“It is a real possibility when a person’s life solely revolves around competitive sport at a high level,” Ms Christie said.
“Players with burnout can experience sleep disturbances, illness, and increased propensity for injury, as well as emotional depletion, agitation, mood swings and failure to experience positive emotions.
“With regards to their sport, burnout can lead to a reduc- tion in self-determination and lowered drive for achievement and goals for higher selection honours. Many just withdraw from the sport altogether and some end up hating it.”
Ms Christie said it was important that elite players had a well-balanced self-concept in which they viewed themselves, not only as highly competent athletes, but as competent members of society.
“Overall, the fi ndings point to the need for athletes to engage in meaningful activities outside sport.”
- Niki Widdowson
Burnout
Healthy
determination From the Timorese jungles to QUT’s lecture halls, Juliao Dos Reis is on a
learning journey to help his country.
WHEN Juliao Dos Reis takes a sip on his cappuccino at QUT’s Kelvin Grove campus, he closes his eyes against the café din to soak in its smell and fl avour.
Despite fair trade coffee coming from Juliao’s home, East Timor, the public health student says his family there would never have the opportunity to enjoy a coffee like this.
“Every time I have a coffee here, I really appreciate it,” the Graduate Diploma of Environmental Health student said.
Juliao’s family are never far from his mind and his decision to come to Australia in 2002 after winning a scholarship was bittersweet.
Juliao’s father was a freedom fi ghter who left home when his son was just four years old, and lived in the jungle outside Dili for 13 years.
“My mother was a housewife with a small business which gave her enough money to feed us but not to send my brother and sister and me to school,” Juliao said.
“My sister and brother gave up the idea of going to school but I had something pushing me … I wanted to learn, even if it wasn’t going to take me anywhere, I wanted to know how to read and write.”
Juliao’s family lived in the same village as his uncle, a civil servant for the Indonesian government, and he attended school until he said it became too diffi cult due to the hatred the uncle had against his whole family being pro-independent.
“People knew my dad was in the jungle and I was living in a society where everyone was
against what he was fi ghting for, so every day was just about
surviving to the next day, not about learning.”
Fearing retaliation and becoming increasingly
uncomfortable around his pro-Indonesian uncle, Juliao left his home aged 10 to work for a family in another village where he was not known as the son of a freedom fi ghter.
When independence was declared in East Timor in 1999, Juliao and his friends were forced to fi nd sanctuary in the jungle where, remarkably, he resumed contact with his father after 11 years apart.
“I had heard rumours he was dead … but there was this guy with long hair down to his hips and he held my hand and said ‘my son’. I looked at him and I recognised him. It was a moment that changed everything.”
When the unrest that erupted during independence calmed down, Juliao’s family was reunited.
“From that moment, I knew I’d learnt nothing. I had stopped going to school at 11 and just wanted to go back and work hard to achieve something, now that I had my family and the country had its freedom,” the 24-year-old said.
“My dad doesn’t work now and when I’d ask him why he used to say to me: ‘If there is a war, I’ll take my gun and go to work but my work is done. It was my duty to take the girl back from the enemies, now it’s your duty to dress her up’.
“I couldn’t understand what he really meant. Now I realise he was saying that he was fi ghting for this country his whole life, and now it’s my duty to go to school and learn how to make the country better.”
Since then, Juliao has been doing his father proud. He went back to school in 2000, getting straight As in 15 subjects and topping his school.
In 2002, he was selected by Education Queensland as one of four East Timorese students to attend Nudgee College as part of a scholarship program.
Despite recognising an “amazing” opportunity, he found it very hard to leave his family after they’d had just a couple of years together.
Juliao said attending Nudgee College was initially “a nightmare” as he struggled to learn things in English and tried to adjust to a different culture and food.
However through persistence Juliao graduated from Nudgee College at age 21 and enrolled in a Bachelor of Public Health at QUT.
He completed that successfully at the end of 2007 and is now immersed in his postgraduate studies in environmental health, as well as working part-time.
“Doing public health, I can teach people about the environment they live in and how to care for it … it breaks the
cycle,” he said.
Earlier this year, Juliao received the 2008 Health Equity Award for demonstrating exceptional application,
determination and enterprise in his course.
“I do think about going home when I fi nish but since this is the opportunity of a lifetime I want to
make sure I take as much as I can before I leave,”
he said.
- Carmen Myler
“I just wanted to go back and work hard to achieve something, now that I had my
family and the country
had its freedom.”
THE OUTSTANDING ALUMNI AWARDS, SPONSORED BY THE NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK, RECOGNISE THE
PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENTS AND CONTRIBUTIONS OF GRADUATES OF QUT AND ITS PREDECESSOR INSTITUTIONS.
Alumni
2008 Chancellor’s Outstanding Alumni Award winner and Built Environment and Engineering winner
Zimi Meka, chief executive offi cer, Ausenco Limited
The co-founder and chief executive offi cer of a highly successful Queensland company has been awarded QUT’s highest alumni honour.
QUT mechanical engineering graduate Zimi Meka was named the QUT Chancellor’s Outstanding Alumnus for 2008 in recognition of his success in both business and humanitarian activities.
The annual award recognises QUT alumni who have achieved outstanding results in their careers and communities.
Since graduating with honours in 1981, Mr Meka has progressed from project offi cer in a Mackay copper refi nery to business leader and company executive.
Mr Meka co-founded Ausenco Limited as engineering director in 1990; in 1999 he was appointed managing director; and in 2008 he became chief executive offi cer.
Ausenco, now with 3000 staff, provides engineering and project management services to the global resource industry,
and has almost doubled its export revenue in the past 18 months, expanding its operations into Asia, Europe and Africa under Mr Meka’s leadership.
The company has also won a raft of design awards including the prestigious R W Hawken and Engineering Excellence Awards and has been recognised with three Premier of Queensland’s Export Awards and an Australian Export Award.
In 2007, the company was inducted into the Australian Exporters Hall of Fame, an honour bestowed on only three other companies since 1962.
Ausenco designs, constructs and commissions mineral processing plants in some of the world’s most diffi cult and remote locations.
Mr Meka was instrumental in the establishment of the Ausenco Foundation, which assists communities in these locations, allowing them to benefi t from the investment of mining infrastructure in their area.
Projects undertaken by the Foundation include assisting 42 talented children from a remote village in Tanzania to perform at world-renowned events and supporting the promotion of tourism in Lao People’s Democratic Republic.
2008 Chancellor’s
Outstanding
Alumnus Award
winner and Faculty
of Built Environment
and Engineering
winner
7
QUTLINKS AUGUST ’08
Margaret Vider joined the nursing staff at Brisbane’s Holy Spirit Hospital in the early 70s. During a career spanning more than 30 years, Ms Vider was the hospital’s principal nurse educator, director of nursing, and from 1995 until her retirement, its director of mission. Ms Vider has made an outstanding contribution to furthering health care standards and nursing as a profession. A Fellow of the Royal College of Nursing Australia, she has served for many years on healthcare sector boards and committees, including the Queensland Nursing Council and the Florence Nightingale Committee. Here she was at the forefront of a lobby group that was successful in having formal nursing education transferred to universities. In 2005, Ms Vider was appointed a Deputy Commissioner to the Bundaberg Hospital Commission of Inquiry. Ms Vider continues to contribute to the profession and is a member of QUT’s Human Research Ethics Committee.
Ms Vider gained her Bachelor of Applied Science (Nursing) and Diploma of Nursing Administration from QIT.
2008 Outstanding Young Alumnus Award Winner
Michael Bonning, president of the Australian Medical Students’ Association
Michael Bonning won a Dean’s scholarship to study a Bachelor of Applied Science (Biochemistry) at QUT, which he gained with distinction, and thereafter completed an honours degree in microbiology. By the time he had completed his fi rst degree, Mr Bonning had also been awarded bronze, silver and gold Duke of Edinburgh awards. Mr Bonning is currently in the fourth year of a medical degree having won Defence Force and John Flynn Scholarships to assist with his studies. He has made a signifi cant contribution to medical and community organisations. He has been both chair of the Queensland Medical Students Council and president of the University of Queensland Medical Society. Currently he is president of the Australian Medical Students’ Association and a federal director of the AMA. Mr Bonning has participated in State Government advisory groups and taskforces, having signifi cant input into government policy on issues surrounding medical education. He is also chair of the Ashintosh Foundation, a charitable focus for the medical faculty at The University of Queensland.
Science winner and Special Excellence Award for Excellence in Medical Research
Health winner and Special Excellence Award for Contribution to the Community in Healthcare
An internationally renowned researcher in the fi eld of infectious diseases, primarily malaria, Professor Alan Cowman has had a major impact on understanding of the key mechanisms underlying the development of this major parasitic disease. He is focussed on developing vaccines and new drugs to counter the parasite’s ability to develop resistance. Professor Cowman’s extensively published research has been cited more than 9,500 times and has been supported by grants and consortia worth more than (AUD) $26million. His work has been recognised with numerous honours, including Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science; International Research Scholarships from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute; a Wellcome Trust Fellowship; the Australian Academy of Science Gottschalk Medal; the Lemberg Medal of the Australian Society for Molecular Biology and Biochemistry and a Commonwealth of Australia Centenary Medal. Professor Cowman is also an inaugural NHMRC Australia Fellow. This illustrious career began with the attainment of a Certifi cate in Biological Laboratory Techniques.
Professor Alan Cowman, head of infection and immunity division, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research.
Margaret Vider, former nursing administrator and educator, Holy Spirit Hospital
In her role at world-leading agribusiness, Syngenta, Susan Kelly has developed and implemented highly successful programs that support business growth, brand building, recruitment and cultural change. She has developed initiatives to increase employee engagement, on which she recently spoke at the International Association of Business Communicators Conference in New York. In Australia, Ms Kelly has played a leading part in developing public relations practice in Queensland and her skills have been recognised with multiple awards of excellence. Ms Kelly holds a Bachelor of Education, Graduate Diploma of Communication Practice and Master of Business (Communication Management).
Business winner
Susan Kelly, head of internal communication, Syngenta, Switzerland
Information Technology winner
Gordon Moyes, executive producer, Krome Studios, Brisbane
Alumni
Creative Industries winner
Sean Mee, artistic director
and CEO, La Boite Theatre Company, Brisbane
Law winner
The Hon Joe Ludwig, Minister for Human Services and Senator for Queensland
Education winner
Rhonda Davidson-Irwin, music lecturer, composer and performer
Sean Mee has led La Boite Theatre Company through a period of unprecedented growth and transformation. One of only two companies in Australia exclusively producing Australian plays, La Boite has become a nationally signifi cant generator of new Australian theatre. Mr Mee has championed the work of Queensland playwrights, encouraging a new generation to tell uniquely Queensland stories. He has received two Matilda Awards, one for his direction of Leah Purcell’s Box the Pony which also won the 1999 NSW and 2000 Queensland Premiers’ Awards for Best Play. More recently, Mr Mee co-directed and acted in the stage adaptation of David Malouf’s Johnno which toured to Britain last year. Mr Mee holds a Master of Fine Arts (Drama).
Rhonda Davidson-Irwin has taught more than 10,000 children, performed for Queen Elizabeth, Bill Clinton and Muhammad Ali, composed more than 900 songs for children’s TV shows, In the Box and Puzzle Play and established one of Queensland’s most dynamic orchestras, Viva La Musica. She composed the music for the 2004 Athens Olympics and more recently, the Warner Brothers’ Great Outback Spectacular. A talented musician, her CDs have been distributed worldwide, one album going gold. Recently Ms Davidson-Irwin has been working on the Music Council of Australia’s new national advertising campaign – Music. Play for Life. She holds a Bachelor of Music (Music Education).
Since graduating in 1995 with distinction in a Bachelor of IT, Gordon Moyes has enjoyed a stellar career in the video game industry. After the worldwide smash hit Dark Reign in 1997, Mr Moyes gained experience in Los Angeles before joining Pandemic Studios Australia in 2002. He played a key role in developing many award-winning game projects, including the Game Developer’s Association of Australia’s Best Game of 2006 - Destroy All Humans! 2, the success of which signifi cantly increased Brisbane’s national and international profi le in the games industry. In 2007, Mr Moyes completed an Executive Master of Business Administration. He has recently been appointed executive producer of Krome Studios.
Joe Ludwig has had a long, outstanding career in public life.
The Minister worked as an industrial inspector in 1978, before moving to the Australian Workers’ Union as an advocate.
In 1998, he entered the Senate, serving as parliamentary secretary and manager of opposition business. During that time, he completed a Bachelor of Arts, a law degree at QUT, a graduate diploma in law at ANU and was admitted to the bar. Following the 2007 federal election, he was appointed manager of government business in the Senate and Minister for Human Services. In this role, he is at the forefront of the major social, health and welfare agenda being implemented by the Rudd Government.
Special Excellence Award, Early Career Fashion Entrepreneurship
Gail Reid, international fashion designer
At only 26, Gail Reid has already tasted success. In her graduate year, she won the Queensland Mercedes-Benz Start-Up Awards which enabled her to show at Australian Fashion Week 2005. In 2006, Gail Sorronda (Ms Reid’s label) was one of a select group representing Australian fashion at G’Day LA and she was again invited for G’Day USA in New York in 2007. Ms Reid has now produced fi ve contemporary collections, having shown them in trade shows in Paris, London, Los Angeles, New York and Berlin. Her designs have appeared in UK Harpers Bazaar and Elle, Australia’s Vogue and Oyster, French magazine Fairytale and books, The Party Dress: A history of fashionable occasions and Young Asian Fashion Designers.
Last year, Ms Reid was selected to design for Target.
She has opened her fi rst retail outlet in Fortitude Valley and supplies exclusive boutiques in Berlin, New York, Los Angeles and New Zealand. Ms Reid holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Fashion).
WHEN Berlin beckoned, designer/photographer Esther Cole heeded the call and found herself in a damp European winter.
As uncomfortable as this may seem to a Queenslander, it was the perfect place for the 25-year-old QUT communication design graduate to delve into a watery world of photographs.
Moving to the northern hemisphere in November last year, Esther followed the well-worn path of twenty-somethings heading overseas for working holidays.
In Queensland, she had already cut her teeth as a photographer and multimedia designer for the family business and had set up her own her freelance design and photography business frollop in 2005.
“About the beginning of 2007, I found myself suddenly independent of major responsibility for my ill father and younger brother,” Esther said.
“I also recognised the need to develop myself further professionally.”
Berlin was a natural choice for Esther, who had gone to Germany as a Rotary exchange student in 2000 and studied the German language during her degree.
“I have been fascinated since high school with the city’s sordid history,” she said.
“I can identify with and feel at home with the people, culture and most importantly, language.”
Esther has sunk her roots in the trendy former East Berlin suburb of Prenzlauer Berg popular with artists and students, and taken a job as a project/account manager in a creative agency called Dievision (“The Vision”), for which she was well prepared.
“At QUT, part of the communication design course I took was a brilliant project management subject run by Kenneth Lyons. This, and the experience of running my own business, developed a bit of a passion in me for contact with clients and coordinating an interdisciplinary team,” she said.
With her camera, Esther has captured surreal landscapes and streetscapes in both northern Germany and England during the wet European winter.
She photographed refl ections in an abundance of puddles, creeks, lakes and rivers, and fl ipped those images upside- down, to reveal strange yet familiar worlds.
Her exhibition In the Surface was on display from March to May of this year at the newly opened Kunstschwimmer gallery, on the border of her neighbouring suburb.
“In the Surface is close to normal, but different enough to make you look a second time,” Esther said. “You’re looking at the almost 2-D surface of water, but the refl ected image provides depth, allowing you to look into the surface.”
- Rachael Wilson
Beautiful, intriguing images refl ect the talent of a young communication
design graduate.
On reflec tion
QUTLINKS AUGUST ’08 9
QUT software is improving the
security of our telephone transactions.
TO help in the fi ght against identity fraud, QUT researchers have developed a speaker verifi cation system that can assist in determining if a person is who they say there are, when talking on the telephone.
Unlike PINS and passwords, which can be stolen and fraudulently used, speaker verifi cation provides a layer of security which is far more diffi cult to bypass when doing business over the phone.
The technology has been developed over the past two years by biometric researchers Professor Sridha Sridharan, Dr Robert Vogt and Dr Michael Mason, from the Faculty of Built Environment and Engineering.
Dr Michael Mason said the software recognised voice patterns during short durations of speech over the phone, and could quickly and accurately confi rm the identity of the speaker.
“Current methods of verifying a person’s identity involve knowing a few personal details and rely on a series of questions such as your date of birth, mother’s maiden name and personal identifi cation numbers,” he said.
“By being able to authenticate a person’s identity based on their speech our system ensures people aren’t able to impersonate you just because they have access to some personal information.”
Dr Mason said QUT’s software aims to achieve competitive performance and thereby improve the security and effi ciency of security-sensitive telephone transactions.
He said the technology was the outcome of research supported by the Australian Research Council.
“We are also developing other biometric systems based on face recognition and a combination of a person’s face and voice, which QUT hopes to commercialise in the future.”
In a deal brokered by bluebox, QUT’s commercialisation company, the software has been acquired by Australian IT security company, Torqx Pty Ltd, which plans to implement the system across the government, banking and fi nance, entertainment, telecommunication and health sectors.
Torqx chief executive offi cer Gary Samuel said the software would be used to help tackle the burgeoning biometrics and authentication industry.
“Our primary aim is to develop a best practice standard for voice verifi cation software using the QUT-developed system, for application in interactive voice response telephone systems worldwide,” Mr Samuel said.
- Sandra Hutchinson
11
QUTLINKS AUGUST ’08
Bluebox has the tools to market QUT research.
Bluebox has the tools to market QUT research.
Making research pay Making research pay
Dr Richi Nayak Dr Richi Nayak looks at issues around the increasingly looks at issues around the increasingly sophisticated way in which the internet and mobile sophisticated way in which the internet and mobile platforms
platforms provide services. provide services.
I am concerned about giving away my life story online, how can I protect myself?
I
n this era of online applications, publishing online is the easiest way to reach the global audience. “Crawlers” and“web-spiders” are able to extract information from web pages which is primarily used for indexing by search engines to enhance the accuracy of the search. So the next time someone wants to fi nd information related to you, a search engine can display your information within the few top search results based on the information gained by your online life story. One way of protecting information is to use images containing the text instead of using the text directly bysimply saving your text fi le as an image fi le. At the moment, web- spiders and crawlers are unable to extract information from the images even though a huge amount of effort is being put into reading text from images.
What is data mining and how does it affect me if I’m using social networking sites such as Facebook?
D
ata mining, in simple terms, is extracting knowledge or particular trends from data accumulated over a considerable length of time. Data mining is utilisedto understand user behaviour in online web services so the services can be enhanced to enrich the user experience with add-on services such as personalised recommendations based on like users’ preferences. The usabiltity of sites like Facebook is not affected. However, all your activities (interactions with the system) are collected in server logs that can be analysed later. The data collected is not matched with your personal details that you have entered on your Facebook or MySpace page. As a user you cannot stop the collection of your data, in fact, most sites require you to agree to allow data collection.
What can we look forward to regarding smarter online services?
S
marter online service will be able to predict users’ next moves. This eventually means the service you’re using knows you better than you know yourself. For example, a user who regularly visits a sports site asking for stories on“Brisbane Lions”, goes to the site to search for “footy”, and the site will know that what they really want is news about
“Brisbane Lions”. In a couple of years online services will provide personalised service even if you do not specify what you are looking for. Thus, you should get a recommendation which you actually wanted, but had never thought of. Some of us in the Faculty of Information Technology are conducting sophisticated
“personalisation” research that will guide website users towards their perfect partner, car or house.
expertease…
DR RICHI NAYAK IS A SENIOR LECTURER IN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND RESEARCHER IN THE SMART SERVICES CRC.
Bluebox, QUT’s technology transfer and commercialisation company, has been quick to put runs on the board after its launch only 18 months ago.
The Torqx partnership (opposite page) follows such coups as the multi- million dollar research collaboration with Syngenta, the world’s leading agribusiness company, to develop to commercial scale sugarcane that may yield cost-effective bioethanol (see Links Feb 2008, p1) and the successful fl oat of QUT’s medical devices company ImpediMed on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX).
In the latest round of National Health and Medical Research Council grants, six of 22 grants awarded to 14 universities went to QUT thanks to bluebox and the Offi ce of Research who worked with
QUT applicants to develop competitive applications with strong commercial potential.
Eager to generate new commercial opportunities in the future, bluebox life sciences general manager Dr Paige Maguire and her team have conducted an IP review of QUT’s Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation (IHBI).
They identifi ed several promising research projects including computer models to predict fracture healing, a tool to aid feeding of premature babies and a health lifestyle promotion program for women with chronic disease.
“Our aim is to translate IHBI research outcomes into viable products that can be used for the benefi t of everyone,” Dr Maguire said.
Similarly, bluebox’s Colin Kinner, physical sciences general manager, and his teamhave also recently completed an IP review of QUT’s Information Security Institute, uncovering potential marketable projects including automated vehicle surveillance software and side channel analysis of smart cards.
Bluebox’s diverse activities aim to mine the potential of QUT researchers and stimulate their enthusiasm for and participation in commercialisation of QUT research.
The bluebox Discovery Competition for QUT staff and students
awarded $10,000 in prize money to biotech and IT researchers last year.
- Niki Widdowson
FIFTY-TWO hectares of Samford Valley bushland is being transformed into a living laboratory for QUT scientists and students to undertake ecological research.
The opportunity to use the property has been made available to QUT following negotiations with the executors of the estate of well-known entomologist Dr Elizabeth (Patricia) Marks, pictured right.
Institute for Sustainable Resources director Professor Peter Grace, pictured left, said the Samford Ecological Research Facility would provide valuable insights into issues surrounding climate change, urban growth and its effects on fl ora and fauna communities.
“With South East Queensland experiencing unprecedented growth, it is critical to ensure that we are aware of the impact such changes are having on our
natural resources and habitat,” he said.
Professor Grace said the Samford site provided QUT researchers and students rare access to study plants and animals in remnant vegetation which is close to intensive development.
“This facility will provide QUT with a site specifi c, fully controlled research base for a range of natural science, engineering and built environment, and social sciences programs together with teaching and learning opportunities,” he said.
“The property supports a broad range of habitats including at least fi ve different plant communities, and a major waterway system.”
With 70 per cent of the site untouched vegetation, Professor Grace said the property, located just 25 minutes north- west of Brisbane, provided a natural laboratory for researchers to measure
Field resea
13
QUTLINKS AUGUST ’08
rch Samford bushland transforms into
a natural laboratory for QUT.
changes in the natural environment.
“The Samford Ecological Research Facility will give us the opportunity to monitor the microclimate, evaluate changes in local waterways and look at the social importance of the property to the community,” he said.
“We have already set up sensor networks throughout the site to collect sound data of local bird colonies and other wildlife.
“This will make it possible to keep track of fauna populations and identify changes that may be linked to the health of the environment and climate change. It is also proposed to involve undergraduate groups in a number of water, building and surveying projects.”
Professor Grace said QUT’s approach to Samford was to “touch the ground lightly”.
“We want to measure the impact that urban development is having on the environment without impacting the environment ourselves,” he said.
As part of the Samford project, QUT will work in collaboration with Stanford University, California and the University of Michigan – both leaders in the area of ecological fi eld research.
“These international links will help us benchmark changes to the environment, climate and ecosystems,” he said.
“Instead of waiting 30 years to see that the environment is changing for the worse, we will be able to share data and use computer-based modelling to show likely scenarios of the future.”
ISR’s newly appointed general manager Jim Reeves said ISR staff, led by project manager Michelle Gane, had undertaken an effective engagement
strategy with the Samford community.
“The community has a real interest not just in maintaining the natural values of the site, but seeing it as an important educational resource for the area,” Mr Reeves said.
QUT is progressing with an arrangement with the executors of Dr Marks estate to secure the land.
Professor Grace said the property would be one of the largest gifts received by the university.
“QUT is proud to have been provided with this unique opportunity and believes that the proposed research will refl ect the wishes of Dr Marks.”
The late Dr Marks was internationally recognised for her work with mosquitos and malaria and had a long association with Samford Valley and its community.
- Sandra Hutchinson
Innovations of QUT design graduates continue to be recognised at the highest levels.
By design
QUT design graduates are making a splash on the Australian and international business scene through their success in the 2008 Australian Design Awards and the 2008 Queensland Design on Show Awards.
Leo Kanas, who completed a graduate diploma in industrial design in 2007, was a fi nalist in the prestigious 2008 Australian Design Award – Dyson Award for a unique headset that allows you to listen to music through your jawbone or skull while simultaneously listening to the world around you.
Leo said his concept headset, called AURA, could be connected to any music source via an easy to use Bluetooth transmitter.
“I came up with the idea one day when I wanted to be able to listen to some background music while I was sitting in a lecture,” Leo said.
“AURA is based on ‘bone conduction’, which works on the principle of hearing sound through the vibrations in
the bones of your head, like the sound you hear when you grind your teeth.
“The headset vibrates your skull, which in turn vibrates your cochlear. The vibrations are not noticeable to feel, but they are sensed by the cochlear as sound.”
Leo said the result is being able to hear everything around you while listening to music.
In the same awards, graduate Scott Cox won the 2008 Award for Sustainable Design for an energy-saving exit sign.
It also received an Australian International Design Mark and is part of a select group of nine products to be exhibited at the Australian Powerhouse Museum.
The Slide Connect G2 Emergency Exit Sign was co- designed by Formwerx, a consultancy fi rm founded and owned by Scott, who graduated from QUT with a degree in industrial design in 1987.
The exit sign uses 70 per cent less energy than traditional fl uorescent lights, and lasts up to six years longer, meaning less maintenance is required.
At a state level, industrial design graduate Robert Geddes won the Smart State Designer of the Year 2008 at the Queensland Design on Show Awards presented by the Design Institute of Australia (Queensland Branch).
One of Geddes’ latest designs, which promises to put fresh bounce into backyard pools in time for summer, is the SubJumpa, pictured left, an underwater pogo stick.
Already selling in countries including the USA and Sweden, the SubJumpa was launched locally on the Gold Coast in July.
His win caps off another year of extraordinary representation by QUT students and graduates in the state awards’ list of fi nalists and winners.
Scott Cox
Award-winning headset designed by Leo Kanas, as a QUT student
15
QUTLINKS AUGUST ’08
If you ever wondered about the value of giving a struggling student a hand, read on.
MC Cerius’s spunky lyrics are not just for show judging by the determination she displayed in overcoming fi nancial hardship to graduate from QUT.
MC Cerius, aka Cecilia Wade, pictured, threw herself into her twin passions of hip-hop and environmental science while a struggling student at QUT in 2003.
A $2000 QUT Learning Potential Fund scholarship, in her second year of university through QUT’s Equity section, went a long way towards ensuring Cecilia fi nished her Bachelor of Applied Science.
QUT assists a number of low-income students with the special fund supported by donations from staff, alumni, and the general community.
Strutting her stuff in front of hyped crowds was one of the few respites from her studies Cecilia allowed herself after refusing to jeopardise her marks by taking an off- campus job during semester.
“I just wanted to put everything I had into my studies,” Cecilia explains.
“I saw other students struggling to juggle work and study and I just didn’t want to
do that. I wanted to get the full university experience and get good grades.”
As a 29-year-old mature age student she was not eligible for rent assistance and she treated her uni studies as her full- time job, spending 40 hours a week studying, researching and preparing for lectures.
So she paid the fi nancial price, scraping by on savings from her holiday jobs and what she earned taking lecture notes for Equity students, all while living on the “red and white diet” of home brand pasta and sauce and relying on occasional food parcels from the Student Guild.
“It was humbling at times,” she admits.
“I spent all my time in the library using the free resources that were available. But it made me realise that if you’re determined to learn all you really need is a pen and paper.
“It was such a huge weight lifted off my shoulders when I received the scholarship.
“But it went much further than that. It also gave me a sense of moral support. I felt like I was a valued member of the university community. I got the scholarship around the same time my marks started improving.”
In fact, by the time Cecilia graduated she had made the Dean’s List with a grade point average of 6.25, which she
describes as a “proud moment”.
The now 34-year-old alumnus works in Brisbane City Council’s department of natural environment and sustainability while after work her alter ego MC Cerius performs on stage in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne.
- Sue Gardiner
MC in da
poor house
no more
update Research
Virtual biopsy cuts diagnostic surgery
A non-invasive diagnostic tool to detect surface cancers quickly and painlessly using technology currently employed by gyms to calculate body composition has been developed by a QUT PhD medical physics researcher.
Jye Smith, pictured, from the School of Physical and Chemical Sciences has developed a new diagnostic technique using bioimpedance spectroscopy to diagnose cervical and skin cancers.
Bioimpedance measures the electrical characteristics of biological tissue and is used by gyms to calculate amounts of lean tissue, water and fat.
“It has only recently been applied to biological tissue to determine healthy, cancerous or dead cells,” Mr Smith said.
“It offers the possibility of a simple device that can be run over the surface of the skin or internal organ that can quickly, cheaply and accurately record changes in cellular structure that point to cancerous changes.”
“The beauty of this technique is that the patient doesn’t need an anaesthetic, the data is immediate, and it has the potential to be as accurate as more time-consuming, expensive techniques.
Mr Smith said further development of the technique could very well see it make its way into GP practices or skin clinics.
Blokes in denial over weight: study
More than half of all Australian men are overweight or obese, but less than a third of them think they are, according to new QUT research into perceptions of weight status.
The research, published in a recent issue of Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, reveals that many blokes are in dangerous denial about their weight, says researcher Katrina Giskes.
“There are some psychological benefi ts to positive perceptions of weight status, but the risks associated with incorrect perceptions cannot be ignored,”
she said. “Kidding yourself you’re lighter than you are, for example, makes it easier to ignore public health campaigns encouraging healthier food and more active lifestyles.”
Older drivers safer but more vulnerable
Older drivers were less likely to crash but were more likely to die when they did, according to Dr Mark King, from QUT’s Centre for Accident Research and Road Safety – Queensland. Dr King says the ageing Australian population means a new approach to road safety was required. “Young drivers are much more likely to crash their cars, but the issue for older people is that they are much more vulnerable if they are involved in a crash, either as a driver or as a passenger,” Dr King said. “They are more likely to be killed because they are more fragile.”
Small window to infl uence kids’ nutrition
Children’s food preferences are well developed by age fi ve, leaving parents a short time to establish positive eating habits for life, according to nutrition researcher Professor Lynne Daniels. Dr Daniels said regularly giving babies even small amounts of sweet, fatty or salty foods could help them learn to prefer these over nutritionally valuable foods.
However, Professor Daniels also said the way we fed children was just as important as what we fed them in terms of teaching children to respond to hunger.
“A lot of people think all we need to do to form good eating habits is ensure children have a high exposure to fruit and vegetables,” Professor Daniels said.
“But you know how it happens in families; someone gives baby a taste of an ice-cream or a sip of soft drink. These small amounts might not be so nutritionally important but it is regular exposure. Babies learn to like what they get exposed to and then they eat what they like.”
17
QUTLINKS AUGUST ’08
Sun badge exposes risks of outdoor work
A badge that is not much bigger than a 50 cent piece has been developed by QUT to monitor the sun exposure of people working outdoors. Sun scientist Associate Professor Michael Kimlin said UV exposure was a major issue for many Queensland workplaces, highlighting the importance of employers and employees in adopting sun protection
polices and practices. The badge, which is made of a polymer material, degrades when exposed to sunlight.
It works by undergoing a photochemical reaction when exposed to UV light and can easily attach to a person’s clothing.
One of the organisations which has been working with QUT researchers with the project is electricity company Energex.
Sunfl ower seeds bring cancer hope
A mini-protein found in sunfl ower seeds could be the key to stopping tumours spreading in prostate cancer patients, according to QUT researchers. Dr Jonathan Harris, from the Faculty of Science, and PhD student Joakim Swedberg, are working on the naturally occurring molecule, and have received more than $600,000 worth of grants this year to support their research. The grants came from Queensland Cancer Research, the Prostate Cancer Foundation, and the National Health and Medical Research Council.
“We are interested in this mini-protein as a potential treatment of prostate cancer, in particular for those patients who relapse,” said Dr Harris.
Pollution shrinks foetus size: study
Exposure to air pollution signifi cantly reduces foetus size during pregnancy, according to senior research fellow Dr Adrian Barnett who compared the foetus sizes of more than 15,000 ultrasound scans in Brisbane to air pollution levels within a 14km radius of the city.
“The study found that mothers with a higher exposure to air pollution had foetuses that were, on average, smaller in terms of abdominal circumference, head circumference and femur length,” Dr Barnett said. The 10-year study, which was undertaken by Dr Barnett, Dr Craig Hansen (US Environmental Protection Agency) and Dr Gary Pritchard (PacUser), has been published in the international journal Environmental Health Perspectives.
40 per cent of Aussies dial and drive: study
A QUT researcher is urging drivers to turn their mobile phones off before getting into their cars, with a new study revealing 40 per cent of Aussies use their phone at least once a day while driving. The study by Shari Walsh, from the School of Psychology and Counselling, found that despite drivers knowing the dangers of using their mobiles at the wheel, they continued to talk on their phone. The most frequently reported behaviour was answering the phone, with 46 per cent confessing to doing this.
reputation a
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- Niki W iddo
wson
PROFESSOR BRIAN FITZGERALD is tackling the emerging tension between protecting intellectual property through copyright laws and technological solutions such as digital rights management and the increasing moves to share and remix content, or open-content licensing.
His work investigates and extends Creative Commons licensing in order to make publicly funded creative archives more accessible.
DR JASON POTTS is an evolutionary economist, and therefore an example of how the Centre is bringing together the new sciences and the humanities in order to map the value of culture and creativity. His speciality is the economics of innovation in the digital age. For example, he’s analysed the BRW Young Rich List to demonstrate the growth of creatives and the creative industries in terms of value and impact to the national economy.
PROFESSOR ERICA MCWILLIAM is investigating the development of formal education in digital literacy. She begins from the standpoint that to enter the creative workforce, young people don’t just need more education, they need a different sort of education and training that takes account of the increasingly important role of creativity in innovation-led economies.
Teen building
Students at St Margaret’s School in Brisbane have joined QUT’s Resourceful Adolescent Program.
ADOLESCENCE can be stormy but it is a vital period in a young person’s progression to adulthood.
A resilience-building program developed by QUT’s Professor Ian Shochet and coordinated by Astrid Wurfl from the School of Psychology and Counselling has been smoothing the way for teenagers around the world for 13 years.
RAP (Resourceful Adolescent Program) is a school-based, strength-focussed program for 12-15 year olds which imparts thinking and interpersonal coping skills to deal with the demands and competition inherent in today’s society.
Professor Shochet said the program aims to prevent the development of future problems by promoting a range of protective factors.
“It is a universal program that targets all teenagers in a particular grade as opposed to those at risk of depression or in a treatment group.
“It is easier to recruit and engage an entire class of students because individuals do not face the risk of stigma for being singled out for intervention,” he said.
“If RAP-A for adolescents is implemented across the board it can help young people avoid depression, which affects one in fi ve of our teenagers.”
Professor Shochet said their research had shown that for teenagers, school connectedness or level of engagement with both teachers and fellow students was one of the strongest
indicators of positive mental health and “a particularly strong predictor of depression.”
“Students who do not feel a strong connection to their school have poor attendance, engage in risky health behaviour, have a drop in grades and may be in trouble for delinquency,” he said.
“All these behaviours are often associated with depression.”
Ms Wurfl said RAP integrated cognitive-behavioural techniques for keeping calm, restructuring unhelpful thoughts, and problem-solving with interpersonal skills which focussed on promoting harmony and dealing with confl ict by understanding the perspectives of others.
“The common thread is the teaching of techniques to maintain self-esteem in the face of a variety of stressors,” she said.
The RAP team have also developed Indigenous RAP for young Indigenous people and both programs are supported by RAP-T for teachers and RAP-P for parents.
The RAP program has been implemented in approximately 500 schools in Australia and 13 other countries over the past 10 years. Evaluation shows that students have developed psychological resilience through participating in the program and have been found to be less vulnerable to depression, Professor Shochet said. See www.rap.qut.edu.au
- Niki Widdowson
A QUT program is steering young people through diffi cult times.
QUTLINKS AUGUST ’08 19
Come along to the Alumni AGM
IF you are a graduate of QUT, or its predecessor institutions, and a voting member of Alumni, you are invited to the Alumni Annual General Meeting and Volunteer Reception to be held on October 2, 2008 at 5.30pm in the Gibson Room, Level 10, Z Block, QUT Gardens Point.
If you are interested in nominating for the position of president of QUT Alumni, representatives on Council or one of the three elected Board members, please contact (07) 3138 2954 or email elections@qut.edu.au for the relevant nomination forms, or download from www.governance.qut.edu.au/
resources/elections/index.jsp.
Nominations open on August 25, 2008 and close 4pm on September 10, 2008.
Partnership is the right blend
THREE QUT graduates are brewing up a range of initiatives to give back to the university which provided them with fond memories along with their education.
The three directors of boutique coffee chain Merlo – Dean Merlo, Patrick Herd and Paul Roati – are all former QUT students and have worked in partnership with the university for several years,
supporting a series of QUT’s key fundraising activities.
These include annual appeal receptions, QUT Coffee Week, the Staff Giving Thank You morning
tea, alumni donor receptions and the River Fire dinner.
“I enjoyed my time at the Queensland Institute of Technology, as it was then known,” said Mr Merlo.
“And when I was here, education was free, so I feel a particular debt to the Law School. It’s all about giving something back.”
Bar Merlo at Gardens Point is a far cry from the now-extinct student coffee lounge Mr Merlo once haunted on the ground fl oor of Y Block.
Coffee Week
QUAFFING a coffee at QUT during QUT Coffee Week (May 26-30) helped disadvantaged students by raising cash for QUT Learning Potential Fund scholarships and bursaries. For every hot beverage sold at campus venues – Beadles, the Student Guild Bar, Bar Merlo and Dusk – $1 was donated by the café, and matched dollar for dollar by QUT. Trying their hand at the art of coffeemaking were guest baristas V-C Peter Coaldrake and all fi ve DVCs. The fund raised $11,200.
Making their mark
AT just 30 Raeleen Gillett, pictured above left, has won the 2008 inaugural IT’s Million $ Babes award in recognition of her multi-million dollar, international software development company.
As CEO of Octahedron, Raeleen has tapped into the niche market of web- based jewellery store management
C&K – 100 years old, but forever young
ALUMNI of the Brisbane Kindergarten Teachers’ College can read about the birth of the college and how it morphed into QUT’s School of Early Childhood in the new book Playing for Keeps C&K’s fi rst century 1907-2007. The book details the fascinating history of Australia’s oldest community-based organisation that began in Fortitude Valley and has touched the lives of more than one million Queensland children. It can be ordered online from candk.asn.au or from the C&K headquarters, 14 Edmonstone St, Newmarket.
Helen Gregory C&K’s first Century 1907-2007
software. Raeleen initially developed the program while completing her Bachelor of IT/Bachelor of Law honours degree at QUT.
Alumnus and urban planner, Yen Trinh, pictured above centre, was named Australia’s Young Planner of the Year in the Planning Institute of Australia’s 2008 Awards. Yen graduated from QUT’s Graduate Diploma in Urban Regional Planning in 2004 and now works for Brisbane City Council.
QUT journalism graduate Solina Theron, pictured above right, was a fi nalist in the recent New Zealand’s Qantas Awards for Journalism (equivalent of the Walkley Awards) for one of her investigative television stories aired on 60 Minutes. After graduating in 1999 Solina travelled overseas before returning to New Zealand to work on various news programs.
Dean Merlo (left) and Paul Roati
21
QUTLINKS AUGUST ’08
JULIE MANNION, ALUMNI RELATIONS MANAGER
alumni NEW S Chapt
er and Gr oup ne ws
Recent Alumni Events
Mentoring program launched
Alumni and friends of the QUT Fostering Executive Women (FEW) Alumni Group gathered at the historical sandstone mansion Palma Rosa in May to celebrate the launch of its 2008 Mentoring Program. Attendees included patron Ann Garms OAM and supporters Cheryl Macnaught, Rhyll Gardner from St George Bank and representatives from WHK Horwath. Inaugural recipient of the Cheryl Macnaught International Scholarship Helen Brodie spoke about her Harvard Business School experience. The next FEW scholarship winner will be announced at a dinner at the Polo Club on November 18, 2008.
Student Leadership Awards QUT journalism student Sarah Moran, pictured, was recently announced as the 2008 Student Leader of the Year.
The Student Leadership Awards, an initiative of QUT Alumni, aim to recognise students of QUT for their
contribution to the university and the wider community.
Nine Excellence Award winners were also chosen.
Alumni meet in Singapore
Ten of QUT’s Alumni Chapter/Group presidents from around the world met with Alumni board president Brett Hooker in Singapore recently to attend the biennial
Australian Universities International Alumni Convention and join in an information sharing workshop to discuss ways to advance QUT Alumni. More than 55 QUT alumni also attended a Queensland alumni reception held by the Queensland Government.
International events
A number of other international alumni events have been held recently including a breakfast in Papua New Guinea, a reception in Kuching, Malaysia, the launch of the new China Alumni Group in Shanghai and a reception in Indonesia.
Upcoming Alumni Events
The 1945ers will be holding their annual reunion at Orleigh Park, West End on Wednesday, October 8, 2008.
An event for the Taiwan Alumni will be held on Sunday, October 19, 2008, in conjunction with the international graduation ceremony.
A Hong Kong Alumni event will be held on Tuesday, October 21, 2008, along with the international graduation ceremony.
The Honorary Doctorates’ Luncheon will be held on Friday, October 17, 2008.
The Sydney Alumni Chapter will be having Christmas Drinks on November 28, 2008.
The Young Alumni Leadership Forum will be held in late October.
The 20 Year Club Dinner will be held in early November.
For more information on 2008 activities and other QUT Alumni Chapters and Groups, click on the Chapters link at: www.alumni.qut.edu.au
Join Our Alumni E-Newsletter
for special offers, alumni events and activities, QUT and alumni news.How to contact the alumni offi ce: Webwww.alumni.qut.edu.auEalumni@qut.edu.au P +61 7 3138 1843 Fax +61 7 3138 1514 Mail QUT Alumni GPO Box 2434, Brisbane Q 4001, Australia
Alumi services and benefi ts
On the address sheet with this issue of QUT Links, you will fi nd details outlining various services and benefi ts that are now available exclusively to QUT alumni, including NAB@work which offers a range of preferential retail banking and wealth management benefi ts, discounts at the QUT Bookshops, library membership and performances at the QUT Gardens Theatre.
Wine benefi t for alumni
Take advantage of the partnership between QUT Alumni and one of Australia’s largest national wine distributors, Premium Wines Direct. As an Alumni member, you can have access to outstanding prices on premium Australian wine plus bonus offers. Ordering is easy and they will deliver to your home or offi ce anywhere in Australia.
qutwine@winedirect.com.au
Golden Graduates Morning Tea
Graduates from 1958 and earlier, QUT’s predecessor institutions, CTC, BKTC and the Queensland Teachers’ Training College at Kelvin Grove, will gather at the annual Golden Graduates morning tea on Saturday, November 8, at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre to renew old acquaintances.
Special thanks to sponsors FKP Limited and Malouf Group Pharmacies.
