Staying in the Loop

Keeping our HDR students connected

Welcome to our new monthly newsletter.

Professor Tara Brabazon, Dean of Graduate Research, introduces you to the new monthly newsletter, Staying in the Loop, for Flinders Higher Degree by Research students.

Student News

Learning from Indigenous Voices

The bushfire disaster of the summer of 2019 is possibly the most catastrophic event yet to occur for non-Indigenous peoples of this generation. As the fires burned uncontrollably, some looked to Indigenous communities, already suffering tremendous grief and loss, for leadership and advice on how to manage this seemingly unmanageable situation.

Indigenous communities have valuable insights and experience that would meet the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals 2030 agenda and how we can Close the Gap on the disparity between their human rights compared to those experienced by other Australians

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Flinders HDR Milestones go Digital!

These days everything seems to happen online. We work online, catch up with friends, apply for jobs and even find love online. And why not. It’s convenient and opens up worlds that were never available to us before.

Now even Higher Degrees by Research milestones are happening online. At the end of 2019 two of our HDR students, Elisa Armstrong and Narelle Hunter (pictured) completed their Confirmation of Candidature (CoC) via a live video conference. While the students and supervisors were here on our beautiful Bedford Park campus, the assessors and other students joined in from all over Australia.

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HDR Student Opportunities

Invigilator Recruitment 2020

Want to earn extra $ - Become an Examination Invigilator. Examination Services are currently recruiting casual Examination Invigilators.

Examination Invigilators assist in the effective and efficient operations of examinations, and in particular, the invigilation and supervision of students at examinations. Examination Invigilators also assist with associated processes and tasks in order to ensure compliance with University policy relating to conduct in examinations.

Examinations Dates for 2020:

Semester 1: 20 Jun - 4 Jul and 20 - 25 Jul.

Semester 2: 7 - 21 Nov and 7 -12 Dec.

It is expected that all new invigilation staff are available during the examination dates in 2020. Interviews will be held in early May, as well as a compulsory training session in the second week of June for successful applicants.

Applications are currently open and will close at 11am on Monday 24 Feb. Download the Position Description from here. Applicants must submit a current resume and document addressing the key position capabilities as per the position description.

The Data Incubator's Spring 2020 Data Science Fellowship application is open!

This intensive, 8-week program prepares Masters and PhD students and postdocs in STEM and social science fields for exciting careers as data scientists. We have a limited number of full-tuition scholarships available, so make sure you apply early and put your best foot forward to receive one of these coveted spots.

Who Should Apply - Anyone who already possesses a Masters or PhD degree, or is within one year of graduating with a Masters or PhD degree is encouraged to apply. International students are also welcome to apply.

Locations - You can attend our program in: New York City, San Francisco Bay area, Washington, D.C., Online

Learn More - You can learn more about our graduates who have gone one to work at places like The New York Times, LinkedIn, Amazon, Capital One and more on our blog. https://www.thedataincubator.com/fellowship.html. And check out our Data Science in 30 Minutes podcast and webseries, where we attempt to talk about a hot data science topic in only 30 minutes.

APPLY NOW - https://www.thedataincubator.com/fellowship.html

Session Dates: 2020-04-06 - 2020-05-29; Regular Deadline: 2020-02-11

I look forward to seeing your application! Michael Li, Founder, The Data Incubator, President of Data Sciences, Pragmatic Institute

Communicating Research - COMS9001

COMS9001 is a 12 week topic, assisting HDR students, from all disciplines, to improve their written and oral communication skills within the context of their study. In 2020, the topic is offered online in Semester 1 and on campus in Semester 2. For further information and to enrol, visit https://students.flinders.edu.au/my-course/hdr/development/coms-9001

What's New?

HDR Central - Some of you may have noticed the new fridge and coffee machine in HDR Central. They are available for student use but we need a small group of students to manage this space on behalf of all students. If you would be interested in joining the HDR Central Users Group please email us at HDR.Development@flinders.edu.au.

Free Media Experience - We recently posted a blog about the free media experience available through Braidwood Community Radio. We still have some places available for students who might want to practice their media presentation skills. You can find out more by heading to our Braidwood Community Radio Inspire page.

Thesis Submission Celebration Frame - Completing a thesis is an incredibly rewarding experience, like reaching the summit of a mountain or crossing the finish line of a marathon. When our students submit their thesis we think there should be a huge fanfare. To help you all celebrate we now have the Thesis Submission Celebration Frame. There are 3 frames available to use. One will be located in HDR Central, one in the Exams office on level one of the Registry Building and one in the OGR reception on the ground floor. Our exams team, Bec, Nat and Layla are modelling the frame for us below!

HDR Calendar

We now have all upcoming events and critical dates available in the one place on our HDR calendar. Click on the image of the calendar below to check it out.

Upcoming Events

The Loop - The HDR Student feedback sessions are an opportunity for our team to chat with our students about news and HDR matters. The first session for 2020 has been scheduled for Friday 6th March in the Noel Stockdale Room located in the Central Library. If you are a remote student or you simply can't attend in person we will be streaming The Loop live via Zoom. The link will be available on the HDR Calendar shortly and we will send it out via email the week prior.

Get to know your OGR - Kate Willson

Kate Willson is part of our HDR Progression team. Kate is well known to many of our students as she helps them with all sorts of things that come up during the progression of their candidature. This month we shine the spotlight on Kate:

Kate, can you tell us what you do in the world of Higher Degrees by Research? My role in the OGR is the HDR Progression Support Officer and this means I help our students throughout their candidature from the point they are admitted until they submit their thesis for examination. I provide progression support individually to students, I can assist with milestones, Inspire queries and variations to candidature and I also assist and support academic staff and coordinators with enquiries, reporting and anything relating to HDR matters.

What is the best part of your job? The best part of my job is helping our incredible students, meeting with a student and helping them work through an issue or problem so they leave happier and less stressed is a wonderful feeling. I love seeing these students go on to get amazing exam results and graduate. I also REALLY love that my office is about 25 meters from Grind and Press, because coffee is life.

Do you have a favourite holiday destination? I love to visit my family as often as I can on Kangaroo Island, nothing beats going home for some time on the farm. I also love to travel all over the world, Japan is my most recent destination and it was incredible.

What is your favourite cuisine? Japanese food is probably my favourite and I even learnt to make udon noodles and sushi from scratch whilst in Japan.

Do you have any pets? I have a beautiful 5 year old Blue Merle Australian Shepherd called Kobe. (Awwwww! He is so cute - Ed)

Got News? If you have any exciting news to share with your fellow Flinders HDR community please contact us at gradresearch@flinders.edu.au. We love to feature our amazing students on our blog site HDR students in focus or we can put your good news story in our next 'Staying in the Loop' newsletter.

Need Help? Our staff are available to answer any questions you have about your Higher Degree by Research.

HDR Admissions - Admissions, Enrolments, Change of Supervisor

HDR Progression - Milestones, Intermissions, Candidature Management

HDR Exams - Turnitin, Thesis Submission, Examinations

HDR Development - Skills development, REST, HDR Induction

HDR Cotutelle - All Cotutelle related enquiries