Queensland Conservatorium alumnus Georgina Hopson has won Australia’s pre-eminent musical theatre award – the Rob Guest Endowment.
Georgina took out the award with a stunning performance of Glitter and Be Gay and When Did I Fall In Love after a day of gruelling workshops and interviews with the judging panel.
The $20,000 prize was presented at a gala ceremony at Sydney’s Capitol Theatre this month, and will allow her to travel to New York to undertake further studies.
It was a case of third time lucky for the talented musical theatre star, who was shortlisted for the award twice before.
“Winning this is huge – it is essentially recognition from the industry, and to have that stamp of approval is such an honour,” she said.
“I can’t lie – it’s a pretty great way to start the year.
Queensland Conservatorium Director Professor Scott Harrison said the award was a “remarkable achievement”.
“This the most significant recognition
Category: Griffith University Feed
Well placed for success
In 2012, a group of new graduates from Griffith Film School and the Queensland Conservatorium founded Well Placed Cactus – a digital start up that created games, apps and interactive installations.
Fast forward five years, and the company has just been snapped up by global consulting giant Deloitte.
Queensland Conservatorium music technology graduate Jack Gillespie and Griffith Film School games design alumni Paul Stapelberg and Nic Gomez say the team is “thrilled” about the merger.
“This has always been our long-term strategy – but none of us would have dreamed of this happening when we were starting out,” Mr Gillespie said.
“For an organisation of Deloitte’s scale to bring an established emerging technology team in-house is a huge step forward for the industry, and it has allowed us to get our foot in the front door and take on bigger projects for bigger clients.”
Well Placed Cactus previously collaborated with Deloitte Digital on an award-winning
Indo-Pacific security in focus at Griffith Aus-India-Japan trilateral event
A group of international researchers will examine the changing state of strategic and tactical behaviour within the Indo-Pacific region at next month’s Australia-India-Japan trilateral workshop in Brisbane.
Run by Griffith University and Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the two-day event will bring together industry experts and academics from educational institutions and government agencies across its participating countries at Hotel Jen, in the CBD.
The conference will be opened on Monday 5 February by Professor Caitlin Byrne, the Director of the Griffith Asia Institute.
Workshop attendees will provide insights about the potential international impacts of the changing regional dynamic, as well as recommendations on ways in which cooperation between Australia, India and Japan – and other states – can stabilise and secure the region. The workshop will focus in particular on the means being used to alter the status quo, their effect on the region’s existing order, and how they may be countered.
Topics to
Focus sharpens on Games as final interns commence
The final group of Griffith University students undertaking unprecedented internships at Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games Corporation (GOLDOC) have taken up their positions as the countdown to the Games gets a full head of steam.
One hundred and thirty new recruits arrived for duty at the Ashmore offices of GOLDOC early on a warm January Monday morning, ready to play their part in the staging the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games (GC2018).
“It’s a rare opportunity to have an internship with an international organisation involved in an event on a world stage,” Bachelor of Urban and Environmental Planning student, Emma Davis, said. “This kind of work experience going into my second year is really unique.”
Emma will join the Sustainability and Legacy team for her 12-week internship.
“I’ve grown up with a passion for sustainability, knowing the importance it has in everyday life. I can bring that knowledge and passion to my team in
ARCHE helps rewrite timing for first humans out of Africa
Scientists from Griffith University have played a crucial role in helping an international team of archaeologists rewrite the timeline of human evolution and the migration of modern humans out of Africa.
It had been widely accepted that Homo sapiens had moved out of Africa between 90,000 and 120,000 years ago but that has now been revised after a team of archaeologists uncovered the earliest-ever human fossil found outside the continent.
The fossil, a piece of maxilla, was found in the sedimentary deposits of Misliya Cave in Israel on the edge of Mount Carmel in 2002.
Researchers from Griffith University were able to conduct a range of dating methods on the fossil which indicated an age range of between 177,000 and 194,000 years, pushing back by around 50,000 to 60,000 years the earliest evidence of modern humans ever discovered outside Africa.
Professor Rainer Grun and his ARCHE Team dated the fossil to around 180,000 years
Top Australia Day honour for Griffith science leader
Professor Jennifer Martin AC experienced a memorable 2017 with numerous honours, awards and accolades for her leading role in protein crystallography research, promoting women in science, and science communication.
But just weeks into the new year, the Director of Griffith University’s Institute for Drug Discovery (GRIDD) has been recognised again with one of the highest honors in the Australia Day Honors List – a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC).
Professor Jenny Martin AC with her 2017 Wunderley Oration Medal
“I was shocked and thrilled to be awarded such a prestigious honour.
The award of an AC is a rare privilege and I am enormously grateful. It’s wonderful recognition of my work and the values of excellence, respect, integrity, collegiality and authenticity,” Professor Martin said.
The internationally renowned scientist received a host of honours last year including the Wunderly Oration Medal, election to the Australian Academy of Science, and elevation to Bragg Membership of the
PhD candidate kicks goals for kids with Indonesian AFL program
David Schmidtke is a force to be reckoned with. The Griffith University PhD candidate is on track to create multilevel impact through sport after delivering an AFL program to more than 300 students across Bali, Indonesia, in just one week through his not-for-profit company, Via Sport.
David, along with Rory Brown (University of Queensland), Alexander Horton and Nick Parry-Jones (University of Melbourne), founded Via Sport in September 2017. A modern take on the traditional not-for-profit, Via Sport was officially launched on 9 January 2018 with its flagship AFL program in Bali.
For David, the need for an inclusive sports program in Indonesia was apparent after his two-month stint in Bulukumba, as part of DFAT’s Australian Indonesian Youth Exchange Program (AIYEP).
“We noticed that the boys were playing soccer in the morning and afternoons in the village; however, we rarely saw girls playing sport,” explains David.
“As a result, we introduced AFL 9s, a sport with
UN Industrial Development Organisation draws on Griffith lecturer’s research in new report
Research into household consumption patterns conducted by Griffith University senior lecturer Dr Andreas Chai has been used as the basis for the opening chapters of the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation‘s latest global Industrial Development Report.
The first such report to be published in two years, the 2018 IDR focuses on the demand for manufacturing around the world, and ways to drive inclusive and sustainable industrial development.
Dr Chai – who is also the Discipline Lead for Economics in Griffith Business School‘s Department of Accounting, Finance and Economics – has had an interest in the data behind household consumption since he was a PhD student, when he first came across an 1856 manuscript, written by statistician Ernst Engel, exploring the living conditions of the working poor.
“Engel made some excellent insights into how to assess the living conditions of households and what can be done by governments to improve living standards,” Dr Chai said.
“One of these was
Griffith alumnus helping deliver the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games
When Carolyn Mibus graduated from her Bachelor of Commerce with majors in Human Resource Management and Industrial Relations, she never imagined herself working on the biggest international sporting event in the world. But with a raft of corporate experience under her belt and a desire to travel, she set off for the UK for what she thought would be a six-month stint.
Almost 10 years later, Carolyn has finally returned, toting an impressive CV that includes a life-changing experience working on the London Olympic Games. It was this position that awakened her love of working in a Games environment and now she’s back on the Gold Coast to help deliver the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
“Getting the London Olympics role really changed everything,” she says. “Before that I was working as a HR Business Partner in London, and I knew the Olympics was coming up and I always had this passion
Successful youth-led domestic violence strategy focus of new Griffith research
Evaluating the impact of a youth-led domestic violence strategy is the focus of new research at Griffith University.
“Young people helping other young people build respectful relationships is a critical way of preventing violence against women in future generations,” says Alanah Dwyer, a youth ambassador for Logan-based youth-led violence prevention program R4Respect.
Also a Bachelor of Family and Child Studies student at Griffith, Alanah says the program delivers workshops to high schools around the district, creating awareness of the need for respectful relationships.
“It is amazing to see how these young people relate to us as other young people – just listening to them and what they have to say to us after our presentations is really eye opening and we feel we have achieved so much in raising awareness of the issues.”
R4Respect has now just received a $172,000 grant from Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety (ANROWS).
A research collaboration
Led by Dr