Southern Cross Matters

Over recent months, over and above the preparatory efforts I’ve noted above, a substantial number of colleagues have been involved in the critical task of engaging with prospective students and their families and helping them to understand our ethos, our values and our ambition and how our approach to learning and support connects tangibly to the realisation of their future dreams. I am so thankful to all of the teams who have worked so hard and so creatively to inspire those who will form the incoming 2023 cohort of students to join us. This has been an outstanding team effort which I know will reach a particularly high pitch over the next several crucial weeks.

Three years ago we took the bold decision to revolutionise our approach to curriculum design, learning, teaching and assessment. As we look to the future, we must commit to undertaking the hard work of reflecting on the lessons we have learned thus far in the journey and drawing upon them to generate tangible improvements wherever we can. We must also begin a searching conversation across the University as a whole about the quality of the broader student experience we offer and with clarity and focus work towards the identification of opportunities within our grasp to make immediate and impactful improvements. 

Although this will be difficult, I am reminded constantly when I read through Southern Cross Matters of just how many complex and difficult things we take in our stride as an institution and the wonderful spirit that underpins the approach that we take to solving the challenges we pursue.

I hope you’ll enjoy this edition of Southern Cross Matters and those to come throughout the year very much indeed and wish you well for the journey ahead in 2023.

Tyrone 

Early data on student results under the new Model has been promising. When compared to pre-COVID figures of 2019, results up to Term 3, 2022 under the Southern Cross Model showed a 16 per cent increase in student success rates in completing units, from 69 per cent to 85 per cent. Mean Grade Point Averages increased from 3.6 to 4.4 and absent fail rates fell by 25 per cent to 4.6 per cent.

This is the first year that law and health undergraduate units will be taught under the Southern Cross Model. Faculty of Business, Law and Arts Associate Professor Mandy Shircore said while some law subjects can be quite content heavy, developing units for the new model has allowed for a focus on the important content and the learning experience for students.

“It has given us an opportunity to ensure that what we’re providing to students is the most relevant, up to date and topical of legal issues,” Mandy said.

“This new model allows the students to progress through the materials that we’ve provided in a scaffolded and carefully designed way. Our unit writers have put a lot of effort into ensuring that it is a really engaging course progression and I think that the unit teachers will enjoy the opportunity to be able to focus more on the application of the law to real life examples and scenarios."

“We’re all pretty excited about the opportunity to focus on developing those problem-solving and critical thinking skills which are so important for lawyers.”

All of the Law degrees have received full accreditation under the Southern Cross Model. 

Delegates attended from 28 countries across Central, East, South and South-East Asia and Oceania. Australia was represented by three delegates.

As part of the event, Clare was invited to address staff at the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia-Pacific (UN ESCAP) headquarters in Bangkok where she shared how Australian libraries are progressing work towards the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

“The workshop was an invaluable opportunity to learn about the diverse range of sustainable development initiatives being led by libraries and library associations throughout the Asia-Oceania region. It was a privilege to meet with library leaders from Uzbekistan to Vanuatu who I will continue to work with virtually during 2023,” said Clare.

About IFLA

The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) is the leading international body representing the interests of library and information services and their users. It is the global voice of the library and information profession. 

IFLA is an independent, non-governmental, not-for-profit organisation founded in Scotland in 1927. Its headquarters are at the National Library of the Netherlands in The Hague.

Later last year the Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience recognised 'Stormbirds' with a Highly Commended Award in the Mental Health and Wellbeing Award category of the 2022 National Resilient Australia Awards. 

The CCYP has worked collaboratively with Mackillop Family Services for many years to develop programs that support children, young people and adults to understand and cope with change, loss and grief. 

“A key part of the 'Stormbirds' session is ‘Growing Stronger Together’, which supports children and young people to identify ways that a natural disaster can strengthen communities. It’s important that they can name the special people, places and things that helped them through a difficult time. Knowing there are people who continue to support them beyond the immediate crisis is critical for developing resilience and feeling positive about the future,” said Professor Graham.

Congratulations to Anne and the CCYP for this national recognition of their significant work.

Pearl, a Bachelor of Indigenous Knowledge student majoring in Law and Justice, is considering internship options within the University of the South Pacific, located in Fiji. She chose Fiji as her primary location to advance her goals of understanding how Indigenous (and Pacific Islander) methodologies of combating climate change can inform Western law frameworks that address environmental challenges.

“It’s a huge honour and privilege to have been awarded this scholarship. I’m hoping to use it as a stepping stone into the rest of my academic and professional career. I’ll be heading off to Fiji in August to study semester two at the University of the South Pacific. There I’ll be focusing on Pacific Islanders’ world views and looking at how local communities are effectively combating climate change through embedding localised knowledge into policy and self-governance.”

Yasmeen, who is studying a Bachelor of Science (Environmental Systems and Marine Systems), is planning to undertake an internship in South Korea, as she would like to be able to experience a completely different ecosystem in a temperate climate. She is also interested in the Korean culture and has started to learn the language.  

By supporting Australian undergraduates to study and undertake internships in the Indo Pacific region, the NCP aims to lift knowledge of this part of the world in Australia.

It encourages a two-way flow of students between Australia and the rest of our region, complementing the thousands of students from the Indo-Pacific coming to Australia to study each year.

Modern day pioneers are helping conserve these wondrous ecosystems. People like the University’s Distinguished Professor Peter Harrison whose ground-breaking Coral IVF technique reseeds coral directly on reefs rather than in the laboratory.

The island Cook climbed, which he named Lizard Island for its abundant yellow-spotted monitor population, is proving the ideal base for Professor Harrison’s coral larval restoration efforts.

Surrounded by coral reefs, the six islands of the Lizard Island group lie midway between the coast and the outer ribbon Reef, about 93km north-east of Cooktown. Most of the islands enclose a deep lagoon, aptly called the Blue Lagoon, that provides sheltered anchorage for the floating nursery pools where coral embryos grow into larvae.

Always the innovator, Professor Harrison introduced new equipment and processes to the Coral IVF technique during his most recent trip in December.

“Lizard Island used to have spectacular reefs but many of these were badly damaged by recent mass coral bleaching events caused by abnormally high seawater temperatures,” Professor Harrison said. 

“Some of these reefs have recovered naturally but many have not, so we are trialling a range of new techniques to increase larval supply and settlement onto damaged reef areas to increase coral recovery.” 

The team was buoyed by the success of a new 4m2 spawn catcher. Placed in the path of oncoming ocean currents and with its boom arms open and a net attached, the spawn catcher made collecting many millions of coral eggs and sperm bundles an easier task.

Nurturing week-old coral larvae to enable them to settle and metamorphose into the single coral polyp stage is critical to ensuring long term survival of a coral colony. To optimise this coral recruitment, swimming larvae were encouraged to attach to limestone tiles placed inside a mesh tent. This significantly improved the production of settled coral polyps. Further, when the team relocated these individual tiles onto reefs the corals were already well-established, thereby enhancing their chances of long-term survival and growth to adulthood.

Professor Harrison recently published a Technical Report outlining the evolution of his Coral IVF technique over the past decade with collaborator Post Doctoral Researcher Dr Dexter dela Cruz.

“Without healthy reefs, we potentially lose up to a million species that live in and around the reef ecosystem and lose essential food supplies and other resources for hundreds of millions of coastal people who rely on healthy reefs,” said Professor Harrison.

Watch the video.

Our fearless student hosts have tackled topics that give an idea of the width and depth of activity at the University, from amplifying youth activism to handling that first day of teaching prac to cybercrime careers and how much reading you actually have to do in an Honours year. 

Season 3 is launching soon at Term 1 Orientation, but you can catch up on your listening at the SCU Buzz podcast on Soundcloud, or search for SCU Buzz on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Listen here.