Opposition from New Zealand, Fiji, England, Ireland and Brazil will keep Griffith graduate Shannon Parry on her toes this weekend at the HSBC Sydney Sevens.
And more top class rugby sevens competition on home soil awaits the Rio gold medallist later in 2017 with the inaugural National University Sevens Series announced yesterday by the ARU.
“The more high-grade competitions we have up and running, the more our national team will be kept in good stead going forward,” the Pearls star said.
“More importantly, the universities competition will open up pathways for grassroots rugby and give young women the chance to play a sport that is still generally male-dominated.”
Griffith University is one of eight teams named by the Australian Rugby Union to compete in the National University Sevens Series. Teams from NSW, South Australia, Tasmania and ACT will compete with three Queensland teams.
Director of Griffith Sports College, Duncan Free OAM (pictured), welcomed the announcement following
Category: Griffith University Feed
New wave of engineering students look to Griffith
For soon-to-be Griffith engineering student, Kiarna Broomhead, the decision was easy.
On receiving an early offer to study at Griffith School of Engineering, the 17-year-old instantly called her dad who reminded her it was exactly the result for which she had hoped. She accepted in an instant and immediately breathed a sigh of relief and looked to the future.
The decision was made all the easier by older sisters, Anita and Jessie, who had already forged a family path to Griffith to study digital media and accounting and finance respectively. Kiarna is now forging her own pathway.
Throughout Year 12 and for much of Year 11 she had considered and reconsidered her options, with science-based and mathematics-based degrees attracting her attention. Ultimately, a career in biomedical engineering called, prompting her to choose a Bachelor of Engineering at Griffith as her first step.
Innovation calling
“I didn’t necessarily want to become a doctor or a surgeon but
Goondiwindi students enjoy Griffith, city stay
Growing up in the southern Queensland town of Goondiwindi – population around 6000 – Toni Clarence knows how daunting it can be to relocate from the country to the big city.
That’s why sixteen soon-to-be Year 12 students from Goondiwindi State High School were in good hands recently when they spent a week visiting the Gold Coast and Brisbane to gain invaluable insight into life at Griffith University.
Toni spent her childhood in Goondiwindi before moving to the Gold Coast to study a Bachelor of Teaching at Griffith.
Having also completed a Bachelor of Education at the University and then teaching at various Queensland state schools, she returned to Goondiwindi in 1998 and later completed a Masters in Guidance and Counselling.
As Goondiwindi SHS’s Guidance Officer, Toni was the ideal choice to bring the excited students from the country to the coast.
“I remember how daunting it was when I left Goondiwindi to come to
Film school lecturer appointed Fellow of Royal Society of Arts
Griffith Film School lecturer Dr Tim Marsh has been appointed a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, joining luminaries like Charles Dickens, Benjamin Franklin, Stephen Hawking and World Wide Web pioneer Tim Berners-Lee.
The RSA was founded in 1754, and Fellowships are awarded to accomplished individuals who have made a contribution to society in a cultural or arts-related sphere.
Fellows include scientists, philosophers and environmentalists; leaders in the commercial, voluntary and public sectors; designers and architects; social entrepreneurs and innovative practitioners of literature, film, dance, and the visual arts.
Dr Marsh said he was honoured to have been appointed to the prestigious international fellowship.
“It is a real honour and a privilege to be given an RSA Fellowship,” he said.
“The RSA is committed to finding innovative and practical solutions to the challenges facing society today – something I have pursued throughout my career.
“I look forward to working with the RSA community on a
Can Cory Bernardi’s move lead to sustained success for right wing?
Senator Cory Bernardi’s defection from the Liberals to form his own party is the latest sign of a shift in Australian politics towards the right.
However, Australia lacks the kind of leadership in this political domain that has underlined the emergence of right-wing populist parties in Europe, a political scientist at Griffith University says.
In this context Dr Duncan McDonnell points to the re-emergence of One Nation and Pauline Hanson since the 2016 Federal Election.
“The first thing to say is that Australia has been through this before in the 1990s and the same phenomenon is happening now, pushing exactly the same anti-establishment and anti-immigrant buttons that are being pushed in countries like the Netherlands, France and most recently the United States,” he said.
Queensland hotbed
“Queensland is a hotbed not unlike some of the provincial and regional parts of Europe where people who feel that the distant capital does not care about them turn
Griffith filmmakers produce ad campaign for RSPCA
They say never work with children or animals – advice Griffith Film School students disregarded when they shot a cinema advertising campaign for the RSPCA.
The assignment was part of a second year subject called Industry Engagement, which pairs young filmmakers with local charities.
A group of six students was chosen to work on a cinema advertising campaign to promote the RSPCA’s ‘Adopt for life’ message.
The 30-second spot traces the life of a boy and his dog, starting in the present day and moving back through the years to the day the puppy was adopted.
Adrian Teveluwe produced the shoot.
For the animal-lover, it was a dream gig – but not without its challenges.
The crew of student filmmakers had to brainstorm the concept, build the set from scratch and wrangle child actors and dogs.
“We kept the concept simple so we could focus on the child actor and the animals,” he said.
“The kid was very
Griffith graduate painting the town red
Queensland College of Art graduate Anna Vu is lighting up the city with her latest work – a series of vibrant drawings projected onto Brisbane’s William Jolly Bridge.
The works are part of the Brisbane City Council’s BrisAsia festival, which celebrates traditional and contemporary Asian art and culture.
Anna, also known as AMA, is an internationally renowned street artist, who spends most of the year on the road.
After the BrisAsia team spotted her work on Instagram, she was invited to project her vivid sketches onto local landmarks as part of BrisAsia and the Brisbane Street Art Festival.
“I’d never worked with projections before – most of these sketches were originally tiny pieces that could fit on the back of an envelope,” she said.
“It’s certainly the most public exhibition of my work so far!”
Anna has strong ties to the region – her family hails from Vietnam and China, although she was born in Australia.
“I think a
Great Barrier Reef building coral under threat from poisonous seaweed
World-first research on the Great Barrier Reef has shown how ‘weed-like’ algae will kill vital coral because of increased carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere.
The Griffith University study, conducted in collaboration with national and international experts in reef and chemical ecology, showed that if the world continues with ‘business as usual’ CO2 emissions, important reef building corals will suffer significantly by 2050 and die off by 2100.
Associate Professor Guillermo Diaz-Pulido from Griffith’s School of Environment says it is because algae will compete for space with corals in the reef, much like a weed, and eventually take over.
Researchers knew increased CO2 had an effect on seaweed behaviour but have now been able to demonstrate how this happens. They discovered this is due to an increase in the potency of chemical compounds that poison corals.
“This is a major step forward in understanding how seaweeds can harm corals and has important implications for comprehending
Women’s AFL under research spotlight
Griffith University researcher Dr Adele Pavlidis has been awarded a $20,000 grant to research the Women’s AFL competition which began its inaugural season last weekend.
She says it’s important not to make assumptions about women’s strength and skills at this early stage and they should be judged on their merits and not compared to the men’s game.
“Some of the rules changes, for example, how the chest area has been made sacrosanct, needs to be further justified. This wholesale rule change will alter the way the game is played with no medical reason.”
She will interview administrators and players over coming months, as well as analysing media coverage of the sport.
“My research aims to support the long-term sustainability of women’s sport both at the grassroots and professional levels.
“Long-term sustainability means there are opportunities for women to influence and shape the future of sport, and that equality and inclusion are top of the agenda.”
Dr
Opportunities abound for students to study in Austria
The Rector of University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU), Austria and delegation made a visit to Griffith University today to sign a renewal of the current student exchange agreement between Griffith University and BOKU.
The renewal of this agreement, signed by Professor Sarah Todd, Vice President (Global), Griffith University and Professor Martin Gerzabek, Rector, BOKU, will give students studying within areas such as Natural Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Geology and Soil Science the opportunity to spend time studying abroad.
Founded in 1872, BOKU is the only Austrian university offering Bachelor, Master and Doctoral studies in the areas of Agriculture, Bio-economy, Forestry and Wood Technology, Civil Engineering and Water Management, Food Science and Technology, Biotechnology, Nano-biotechnology, Landscape Architecture and Planning and is currently ranked 39th in the world in the 2016 QS World Ranking by Subject for its Agriculture and Forestry programs.