Category: Griffith University Feed

Ethical business has always been important to Greg Ellis, co-founder of money lending company Nimble and a successful entrepreneur.
The idea for the industry-disrupting company was born when Greg and his friend, Sean Teahan noticed a sizeable gap in the finance market.
“We were talking about how there are no options if you just want to borrow a small amount of money,” the Griffith Business School alumnus explained.
“You’re either annoying your mother, going somewhere suboptimal, to put it lightly, like a pawnbroker. Or you’re racking up a $10,000 credit card with a series of small borrowings, which you generally don’t repay, or pay interest only.”
He says the company’s initial goal was to lend to working people without getting them into a cycle of debt. “It was for people who wanted an ethical, comfortable alternative for a small amount of money and then it was about paying it back shortly thereafter

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Queensland College of Art student Tim Marshall has been crowned Queensland’s top student photographer at the AIPP QLD Epson Professional Photography Awards.
The Bachelor of Photography student, 36, received raves from the judging panel for his submission, which included a powerful stand-out shot taken on a QCA study trip to Nepal.

“I didn’t expect to win,” he said.
“AIPP received more than 700 entries, so there was some tough competition.
“The award was fantastic validation that I’m on the right track and it’s a fantastic foot in the industry door.”
It has been a long and winding road for Tim, who didn’t finish high school and became a father at 20.
He has tried his hand at everything from horticulture to security work and wrestling.
Now a dad of three, he is finishing his Bachelor of Photography at the QCA.
“I finally feel like I have found where I fit,” he said.
“I didn’t get the chance to pursue an artistic

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Griffith Film School student Siobhan Domingo will get the opportunity to hone her craft alongside the country’s top camera crews after winning the ABC John Bean ACS Memorial Scholarship.
The Brisbane-based filmmaker has just embarked on a Masters of Screen Production, which will be partially funded by the scholarship.
The $25,000 scholarship also includes an intensive 6-week internship with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
The John Bean Memorial Scholarship for Cinematography was established in memory of Griffith University alumnus and ABC cameraman John Bean, who died in a helicopter accident in 2011.
It is designed to support the ongoing study of a talented postgraduate student in the field of cinematography and encourage excellence in this specialist field.
Siobhan, who graduated from the Bachelor of Film and Screen Production last year, said she was overwhelmed to have won the scholarship.
“I was very surprised and I’m still trying to process it,” she said.
“I know a scholarship like this

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“Scientific research and a scientific understanding of our natural world are the key to Australia’s future prosperity, employment and environment.”
That is the message from Griffith University Professor Emeritus and Australian of the Year Alan Mackay-Sim ahead of this weekend’s global March for Science event, an international movement celebrating the value and importance of science in our society.
The biomedical scientist from the Griffith Institute for Drug Discovery (GRIDD)  says, “As scientists in this age of “too much information” we must publicly discuss the importance of science in political decision making and convince politicians of all parties to keep investing in science is as important for our future as spending on health and defense.”
The Griffith Sciences Group is the research engine of the Griffith University, hosting more than 20 research centres, institutes and facilities helping to direct the course of research and discovery.
Researchers work in a variety of disciplines from sustainable water supplies to human

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In honour of the generous legacy gift of Griffith University alumnus and historian Robert Henry Gentle, the Harry Gentle Resource Centre will be launched at Nathan campus on Friday, March 31.
Upon his death at the age of 94, Harry Gentle donated a large portion of his estate, the largest single bequest, from an alumnus, to one of Griffith University’s foundation schools – the School of Humanities, to establish a resource centre for Australian history.
The centre will focus on the range of encounters that occurred in the very formative years of colonial government in the region now known as ‘Queensland’.
The digital histories generated will include the experiences of settlers, Aboriginal resisters, diplomats who worked to foster relationships between the colonists and the Indigenous peoples and native police.
Director, Professor Regina Ganter, said the centre will provide a significant portal of previously little-known materials for researchers, teachers and history students from high school

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UPDATE 3.40PM:  Griffith University intends to open all campuses tomorrow as usual.
However, the University will continue to monitor the situation and take advice from emergency services throughout the afternoon and tomorrow morning.
In all cases though, students and staff are encouraged to prioritise their safety first and only travel if safe to do so.
Due to extreme weather conditions today (Thursday, March 30) all campuses have been closed since midday.
Severe weather today is a result of ex-Tropical Cyclone Debbie, as it tracks south down the east coast.
The Queensland Bureau of Meteorology warns of intense rainfall with a risk of sever localised flashing flooding in areas of Sunshine Coast, Brisbane and Gold Coast.
Translink has advised they will be offering free travel services from 10am to allow people to get home quickly and safely.
RACQ have a list of road closures across the state, so please plan your travel before leaving home.
Please check the Griffith

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Understanding the grooming behaviours of child sexual abusers can lead to strategies for better detection and prevention a new report has found.
The report was released by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse and authored by Griffith University’s Patrick O’Leary, Head of the School of Human Services and Social Work, with Royal Commission staff Emma Koh and Andrew Dare.
“Grooming behaviour is not well understood in the community, given persistent stereotypes about child sexual abuse and perpetrators,’’ Professor O’Leary said.
Professor Patrick O’Leary
“Misconceptions include most of the perpetrators being strangers to the victim, the child as a ‘willing’ actor in the abuse, or that most grooming occurs online.
“There may also be a perception that children are safe in institutions and that perpetrators can be easily identified.”
He said the research found parents may have also been groomed and that grooming techniques were sometimes difficult to identify and distinguish from normal caregiving behaviours.
The

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Standing apart as one of Australia’s finest music schools with a glittering roll call of alumni, the Queensland Conservatorium is turning sixty.
Remarkable alumni
Internationally recognised musicians including Dami Im, Jayson Gillham, Katie Noonan, Piers Lane, Megan Washington, Kate Miller-Heidke, Lisa Gasteen and Brett Dean have passed through its doors.
With players in leading positions in every Australian state orchestra, and a host of Grammy and ARIA award winners among its alumni, the Queensland Conservatorium is celebrating a remarkable six decades of peerless music education.
Dream destination
The Conservatorium opened its doors on 18 February 1957 at the South Brisbane Town Hall with just 13 full-time students.
It was based at Gardens Point through the 1970s and 80s, before moving to a new home in the heart of South Bank’s cultural precinct in 1996.
Queensland Conservatorium Director Professor Scott Harrison is himself a graduate of the ‘Con’. He said the Queensland Conservatorium had carved out a place as one of the state’s major

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Budding young scientists will get to collaborate with renowned researchers at this year’s World Science Festival.
Provided as a chance for Queensland Secondary Schools to jumpstart their 2017 science programs, the World Science Festival Apprentice Programs, coordinated by Griffith University, may even provide the impetus and inspiration towards some award winning student projects.
Held on March 22 and 24 at Nathan campus, the two-hour workshops will see Queensland secondary school students get valuable hands-on experience and take part in unique, interactive experiences, either in the field or within a laboratory setting.
The World Science Festival Apprentice Programs are small, hands-on workshops where renowned scientists, technologists and innovators educate curious minds on the workings and wonders of their chosen fields.
In small groups, participants become the scientist’s apprentice, investigating or experimenting in the field or the lab.
Students will learn to identify and understand the toxic risks to the natural environment caused by various human activities as an

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From tackling some of the world’s biggest challenges to acknowledging the unsung women in science and getting kids to become eco-warriors, Griffith University is sharing its expertise across all areas at this year’s World Science Festival Brisbane.
Held from March 22-26, the festival brings together great minds from around the world  in an annual week-long celebration and exploration of science.
Griffith is featured in several events in this year’s exciting program and will showcase its reputation for water knowledge on a global scale.

Professors Stuart Bunn and Poh-Ling Tan will start the festival with the insightful ‘Water: It’s not a Privilege‘ discussion which coincides with World Water Day on March 22.
Professor Bunn, director of the Australian Rivers Institute, says it is important to acknowledge water is a basic human right, while not destroying biodiversity in the process.
“It’s about how we do a better job, and we’ve got this double challenge of addressing sustainable development goals for water and meeting those

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