In 2017, a simple tweet or status update can have far-reaching consequences for a country’s foreign policy and the geo-political dynamic of a region.
Digital technologies and new media are at once disrupting and transforming the nature, conduct and intensity of political dialogue in today’s world, in ways that impact directly and profoundly on all aspects of diplomatic practice.
Griffith Asia Institute (GAI), in collaboration with the Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), will host the second annual Brisbane Roundtable on Diplomacy in the Indo-Pacific: The Digital Challenge on October 26.
The 2017 dialogue builds on the previous Brisbane Roundtable held in May 2016 and will be led by the Griffith Asia Institute Director, Professor Caitlin Byrne, and Professor Jan Melissen, Senior Research Fellow at the Netherlands Institute of International Relations ‘Clingendael’ in The Hague and Professor of Diplomacy at the University of Antwerp, Belgium. Professor Melissen is a global
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Griffith grads named tourism leaders
Two Griffith Business School alumni have been named Young Tourism Leaders by the Queensland Government.
Brooke Santurini, Brand and Marketing Manager at the Gold Coast SUNS and Jackie Babbage, Brand Manager at Riverlife were appointed by the Minister for Tourism, Major Events and the Commonwealth Games Kate Jones.
The Young Tourism Leaders program aims to showcase the lifelong careers available to those entering the industry.
“I feel really honoured to be named a Young Tourism Leader,” said Ms Babbage.
“It’s a great industry and we need more enthusiastic, energetic young people to be part of it.”
The Leaders are part of a year-long program that involves speaking at secondary schools and other events, as well as sharing their own journey on social media with the aim of inspiring others.
Ms Babbage will be encouraging young people to take risks and be creative.
“There’s so many opportunities in tourism and, when you’re young, there’s less risk if you
Griffith tackles questions about fate of next generation
‘Exploring economics: will the next generation be worse off’ is open for enrollment now and asks if the next generation will be better or worse off than their parents.
Two of Griffith University’s leading economic minds, Professor Ross Guest and Professor Fabrizio Carmignani, have come together to help inform the debate over whether the next generation will be better off than those who have gone before.
Available on FutureLearn, the social learning platform, ’Exploring economics: will the next generation be worse off?’ enables individuals to hear from experts about issues such as economic growth, economic policy, the advantages and dangers of innovation and explore the criteria for successful government intervention.
The course runs for three weeks from November 6, though participants can learn in their own time in bite-sized chunks. The course will give people the tools they need to have an informed opinion about the relative prosperity of the next generation.
GRIDD researcher combatting antibiotic resistance
A Griffith University researcher says we urgently need to safeguard current antibiotics and discover new ones to avoid what has been described recently by England’s Chief Medical Officer, Prof Dame Sally Davies as a “post-antibiotic apocalypse.”
Griffith Institute for Drug Discovery (GRIDD) scientist Dr Róisín McMahon has just been awarded a $150,000 Ramaciotti Health Investment Grant to help address this global issue.
The grant will allow the early career scientist to work on her project ‘Overcoming the resistance: new antimicrobials that disarm, rather than destroy bacteria’ with the aim of a clinical application within five years.
“If antibiotics lose their effectiveness, we will face a future where simple infections kill, and where routine medical procedures like hip replacements and Caesarean sections will be riskier to perform,” she said.
“This funding supports research to identify new antimicrobial compounds effective against disease-causing bacteria.”
“My research seeks to disarm rather than kill bacteria. I hope to do this
Who do you know? Women engineers and informal networking in project-based organisation in Australia
After finishing high school in 1974, Kim Ball applied for to become a cadet hydrographer. She was accepted into the program, but her excitement was soon turned into disappointment when she was asked to call back to arrange details.
“I remember that day, I rang the office, and a woman answered, and I said this is Kim Ball responding,” she said.
“There was complete silence for quite awhile on the other end, and finally she said oh my goodness you’re a girl. I’m terribly sorry dear we’re going to have to withdraw the offer.”
Today’s work opportunities for women are very different than they were in 1974 thanks to legislation and a change in industry dynamics, but it was experiences like that as well as her motivation to work in male-dominated areas that sparked an interest the perception of women in the workplace.
It was those experiences that ultimately led her to her latest
Core values put Griffith MBA in world’s top 20
The Griffith MBA, built on core values including sustainable business practices, has earned a Top 20 place in a leading global ranking list.
The program placed 16th overall in the Corporate Knights Better World MBA ranking, and 1st in the Asia-Pacific region.
Associate Professor Chris Fleming, Director of the Griffith MBA, said he was delighted the program had been recognised for their commitment to producing graduates who are equipped for the challenges of the 21st century.
“This ranking is a reflection of the Griffith MBA core values of responsible leadership and sustainable business practices and the hard work of our academic staff to making sure these core values are embedded throughout,” he said.
The Corporate Knights Better World MBA ranking is now in its 15th year, with programs assessed on currriculum, institutes and centres, and faculty research.
See the full Top 40 list here.
Read Corporate Knights’ article ‘Greening the business of business education‘ here.
The Star has success with Griffith recruitment partnership
Finding a job after graduating is now a lot easier, thanks to industry partnerships such as the one between Griffith University and The Star.
The relationship sees representatives from the hospitality and tourism businesses visit Griffith Business School to recruit promising students both during and after their studies. A recent event has resulted in 54 eager students successfully gaining employment with the renowned hospitality and tourism brand.
Josephine Dalton, The Star Entertainment Group’s national talent manager says the company wanted to work with Griffith because of their stellar reputation.
“Griffith has a leading reputation in the industry for their strong hospitality and tourism focus,” she says. “Specialising in hospitality and tourism makes their end qualification very desirable and it’s something we are really interested in at The Star; we really look for students from that background when employing.”
The Star’s Queensland recruitment manager Amanda Spencer agrees. “There’s no one else with such
New app connects music lovers to artists and venues
There’s a certain thrill that comes from discovering an incredible local band, away from the mainstream media and Top 40 countdowns.
Two Griffith Business School students are hoping to make that process easier – for music lovers, as well as the artists and venues they’re searching for.
Phann Music is an app developed by Bachelor of Commerce student Nathan Nagy and Bachelor of Business student Peter Hamilton.
Phann will help its users find local artists and venues, whilst still incorporating preferred social media concepts.
The app uses location based services and features to identify nearby gigs that fit a user’s music taste.
Much more than that, though, it also provides a valuable platform for musicians wanting to increase their profile and venues needing to publicise events.
The idea took shape during a surfing trip last year, when the two friends combined business ideas – Peter wanted a platform for underground musicians in Australia, while Nathan envisaged
That’s gold! Griffith finds cheap way to detect cancer
Griffith University scientists have developed a new class of nanomaterials that could detect early cancer.
The inexpensive, non-invasive diagnostic tool can deliver sensitive and specific results that are easily and quickly interpreted with less reliance on laboratory equipment.
Working with the team from the University of Wollongong (UOW), the researchers have developed a new class of enzyme-like nanovehicles using gold-loaded nanoporous iron oxide nanocubes for sensing body fluid which, despite containing gold nanoparticles, are inexpensive to make.
The researchers will keep refining the technology with the aim of developing a portable diagnostic device for less than $5.
Early diagnosis of cancer leads to more effective and cheaper treatment, and the majority of cancers can be treated successfully if they are detected at their earliest stages.
However, most current diagnostic methods use expensive biomaterials and rely on sophisticated instrumentation, limiting their use in developing countries and other resource-poor settings.
The team’s two-step diagnostic method uses the gold-loaded
Local farmers creating value from waste
A sugar cane farming family on the Gold Coast has found a way to do well by doing less.
As the farming community shrinks along the South East Queensland corridor, the Keith family, who are based at Woongoolba and own the Rocky Point Sugar Mill, were constantly wondering ‘what next’ to keep their land and turn a profit. They have now diversified their business practice and offer a range of sustainable garden supplies for all home garden projects including organic gardening, potting plants, fruit and vegetable growing, suppressing weeds and more!
Local farmers have been doing it tough over the past ten years but recently published research by a team from QUT and Griffith University has unearthed a potential antidote to the problem.
Simply shifting investment decisions around equipment and processing could avoid future mill and farm closures in the state’s southeast.
Lead-researcher Ms Savindi Caldera, a doctoral researcher from QUT, said the findings