on the move campusreview. com. au
STRICTLY SPEAKING | OFF-GRIDDER
The phrases off-grid and off-the-grid, in the strict sense of being unconnected to the standard electricity supply, took off in the 1970s when independent sources of energy( i. e. solar power for remote locations) were first under discussion. Several decades later, with soaring electricity prices from the grid, there’ s every incentive to reduce your dependence on it by installing solar panels on the home roof. But the off-gridders who capture urban attention in Britain and North America make it a whole lot tougher for themselves. For them it’ s a lifestyle decision to live remotely and disconnect from all the utilities we take for granted: electricity, gas, water, sewerage, landline and postal deliveries. The rewards would be there in the simpler life – no regular electricity / gas / water supply bills – and you rediscover joys of nature, engage with the seasons, interact with the flora and fauna of the environment, and experience a“ tree change”. Yet for the younger generation, off-the-grid means being“ untraceable through normal means”, because the person is not on a social networking site( Urban Dictionary online). You might as well be in the wilds of Alaska in terms of socialising. Even adults who go offgrid there could find that having only bears for company is rather isolating. So why not trial it first in an“ off-grid holiday” – which gives you an experience of eco-travelling, and shouldn’ t cost much money!
Written by emeritus professor Pam Peters, researcher with Macquarie University’ s Centre for Language Sciences.
FRESH HONOUR FOR ROBERT FRENCH The Honourable Robert French has been appointed the 15th chancellor of the University of Western Australia. French was most recently the chief justice of the High Court of Australia. French will succeed Dr Michael Chaney, who is standing down at the conclusion of his 12-year term at the end of the year.
“ French’ s combination of skills, experience and community standing make him the ideal person to be the next chancellor of the University of Western Australia,” Dr Chaney said.“ He is widely respected by staff, students and the community.”
UTS TAPS UTAS DEAN TO HEAD BUSINESS SCHOOL Professor Chris Earley, currently dean of the Tasmanian School of Business and Economics at the University of Tasmania, will replace professor Roy Green as dean of UTS Business School, effective October 2017.
“ Roy’ s achievements over the past eight years are too numerous to name here, but in particular he has overseen an improvement in the external profile of the school, lifted its research performance and improved its course offering and learning profile,” said UTS provost and senior vice‐president professor Andrew Parfitt.
“ I am confident Chris will continue the good work that Roy has started, given the critical role of the business school in the university’ s strategic goal of becoming a world-leading university of technology.”
BERT ROBERTS EARNS CABAH POST Distinguished professor Richard‘ Bert’ Roberts has been appointed to lead the University of Wollongong’ s new ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage( CABAH), a seven-year, $ 45.7 million“ quest to shed light on Australia’ s iconic biodiversity and Indigenous heritage”.
“ The Turnbull government is proud to back the centre’ s work because it has the potential to add to better environmental understanding and have a positive impact on the lives of Australians,” said education minister Simon Birmingham.
EASTLAND HEADS NORTH Visionary innovator Dr Elizabeth Eastland has been named director entrepreneurship at the University of New South Wales. Eastland joins after seven years at the University of Wollongong’ s talent incubator, iAccelerate.
“ Elizabeth is an original, and deeply innovative thinker, with core strengths in strategy, leadership, new opportunity development and innovation,” said UNSW deputy VC( enterprise) professor Brian Boyle.
Eastland said:“ A great university must be a global leader in discovery, innovation, impact, education and thought leadership. And with that understanding, I believe UNSW has the potential to lead Australia, not just in building the greatest number of startups, but in delivering some of the most impactful and profound innovations in the world.”
FROM USC TO THE UN A USC student who came to Australia 14 years ago after fleeing civil war in Ethiopia has helped other refugees find safe havens while doing an internship with a United Nations agency in Malaysia.
“ I felt very privileged to be seeing both sides of the UN process, going from being a refugee myself, to interviewing refugees,” said Onyongo Agira.
“ I thought the placement would mainly involve observing and learning from the UNHCR staff, but they put me to work as soon as I arrived, which was excellent.
“ I was working in the registration unit of a major refugee camp, assisting with identity verification, interviews, and issuing documents. My Amharic language and my own background really helped in connecting with the refugees.”
UON TACKLES ENVIRONMENTAL CONTAMINATION Professor Ravi Naidu, who is also CEO and managing director of the Cooperative Research Centre for Contamination Assessment and Remediation of the Environment, is the inaugural global innovation chair and director of the University of Newcastle’ s freshly minted Global Centre for Environmental Remediation, a $ 15 million lab facility dedicated to finding better ways to assess, manage, clean up and prevent environmental contamination.
Naidu said he was“ thrilled” to be involved with the initiative.
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