Wissenschaften in Australien

Swinburne scientist Dr Michael Murphy is part of an international team of
astronomers who have discovered fourteen new galaxies located halfway across the Universe. The discovery is a major breakthrough in the field of distant galaxy ‘hunting’ and paves the way for more detailed studies in this area.

Using the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) in
northern Chile, the team – led by Nicolas Bouché from Germany’s Max Planck
Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics – used quasars to find the galaxies.
Quasars are very distant objects of extreme brilliance, which are used as
cosmic beacons to reveal galaxies lying between the quasar and Earth. “We
infer the galaxy's existence from the specific pattern of shadows they
imprint onto the quasar's spectrum”, said Dr Murphy.

Dr Murphy’s role in the team was to use a sophisticated search technique to
pick out the absorption lines that reveal the existence of a galaxy in the
foreground of a quasar.

The research is presented in a paper in press in the Astrophysical Journal.

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Swinburne Hosts Professional Development Program for NUAA

Seven academics from one of Swinburne’s partner institutions, the Nanjing
University of Aeronautics and Astronautics (NUAA), attended a three-week
Professional Development Program at Swinburne recently. Under the
partnership between Swinburne and NUAA, initiated through the Faculty of
Higher Education Lilydale, students articulate from a NUAA Bachelor of
Economics/Finance degree to Swinburne’s Bachelor of Business (E-Commerce) at
Lilydale with advanced standing. They receive two degrees upon successful
completion of the course.

NUAA delegates were individually assigned to various faculties with the
objective to:

• obtain an understanding of Australian teaching styles within their
discipline and an appreciation of diverse teaching approaches

• learn new teaching skills with a view to improving their own teaching
methods upon return to China

• become familiar with Swinburne and the faculty they were assigned to

• encourage two-way discussions with Swinburne staff with similar research
interests

• explore further partnership and development opportunities

At the end of their program, NUAA academics gave presentations on what they
had learned from their time at Swinburne. The academics were impressed by
the openness of the lectures and tutorials, as well as the flexible teaching
methods offered. They also appreciated that Swinburne courses were
structured to focus on thinking skills that helped build student confidence.

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Master of International Accounting (MIntA) Students in Australia

Every year Swinburne’s unique offshore Master of International Accounting
(MIntA) program offers final-year students the opportunity to complete the
final subject of their studies in Melbourne at the Hawthorn campus. Last
month we welcomed 21 students from the program’s seventh intake, who have
begun their studies in the subject of Contemporary Issues in Accounting.

Special lectures were organised for the students to enhance their study
experience, whilst outdoor sight-seeing tours and adventures complemented
their Australian cultural experience. They also participated in organised
activities including field trips to the Australian Stock Exchange and CPA
Australia.

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Swinburne’s TAFE School of Business Wins AusIndustry Tender

Swinburne’s TAFE School of Business has been successful in Round 3 of the
AusIndustry "Building Entrepreneurship in Small Business" Program. The
innovative project, titled “Money Matters for Small Business”, was the
largest-funded project in Australia – A$400,000 over two years.

The main focus of the two-year project is to provide 750 small business
operators/managers with online learning resources and mentor support in
financial management, with the program to be rolled out nationwide in the
second year. This project will also enable the school’s Business Development
Unit to expand the opportunities for small business through the Eastern
Business Network, the Boroondara Business Network and our alliances with the
Shire of Yarra Ranges, City of Stonnington and City of Maroondah.

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