by: Dianne Van Eck
Hello again friends and colleagues,
Today I recalled that when I last prepared this article in July, I was about to go on 2 weeks holiday to the Kimberly. It seems like such a long time ago now! I travelled with an ex UniSA colleague and friend, Dr Judy Szekeres (some of you may know Judy 😊) from Adelaide to Darwin on the Ghan. That was my first time travelling such a distance by rail and I enjoyed it, particularly the twice daily visits to the dining carriage! The food and service were excellent.
SWe had half day side trips in Alice Springs and Katherine, both which showcased the magnificence of the Australian landscape. After one night in Darwin, we spent 10 days with 75 other visitors from across Australia cruising from Darwin to Broome. We explored the amazing northern Australian coastline, visiting rock caves with ancient aboriginal art, spotted crocodiles, tortoises, sharks, dolphins, whales, birds and amazing flora. The photos do not do this scenery justice. This is a trip well worth doing, particularly if you are celebrating that ‘special’ birthday, which we were doing!
Placements in higher education
Our placement work in the sector has been extensive. We know placements well. We are currently working on a project to improve education placements in a university. This is a highly complex and manual work and staff face a relentless list of challenges. I recently organised a Community of Practice discussion around education placements. This was well received, and attendees wish to continue meeting. Our next CoP will be around Health placements, and a third will focus on other disciplines. You will find more detail in Community of Practice summary.
Conferences
As I write this the ATEM 2024 conference has ended. This year it was held in Brisbane with the main theme of ‘Purpose’ to ‘Discover. Connect. Inspire’. I look forward to hearing from colleagues about the presentations and learnings. The team that put this together work hard to deliver a high-quality experience for attendees. Last year I delivered my ‘Reducing the 8 Wastes in Higher Education’ training which was very well received. If you would like to know more about this training, or any other training requirements, please contact me.
Campus Visits
Next month I am excited to be travelling to Queensland once again to visit colleagues at the University of Queensland and University of the Sunshine Coast, as well as deliver some training sessions. It’s been a number of years since my last visit to Qld and I am looking forward to the warmer weather. 😊
I will also be visiting Melbourne colleagues in October where we have some projects being delivered. If you are in either state and have time for a coffee and chat let me know. I’d love to catch up.
Project Lessons Learned
Last month I facilitated two retrospective workshops for a university. These were great sessions bringing together key program staff from different business units, program leaders, and end-users including students and academic staff. One was to review the implementation of a learning management system. The participants were able to discuss what went well, what could be improved and how a future activity would be undertaken. Each person brought a unique but equally valuable perspective to the discussion.
The other workshop was for the development of a new campus precinct. Again, many valuable learnings which will inform future activities. If you need any support in reviewing large or small scale projects, please call me on 0412 417774. The lessons learned from such projects are invaluable for future projects.
Tommy has turned two!
Where did that time go? It’s been a wonderful experience being a grandmother (Oma in Dutch) and I am so lucky to spend so much time with him and Jo. His birthday party was held with friends at a local park, where he enjoyed eating the cake decorations, playing in the playground and running around have a wonderful time. We also spent a half day at our local safari park, Monarto, where Tommy could talk to giraffes and Tasmanian tigers, see bison for the first time and enjoy the lions playing with each other. He loves to help with everything including grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning up. His main loves, which he always has nearby either at home or day care, are trucks and diggers.
Thanks for taking the time to stay connected. If you would like to catch up for an online or in person coffee at any time, please contact me on 0412 417774.
