Important Notice for Excess Annual Leave

 Sent on behalf of Dr Christine De Nardo, Manager, School of Clinical Scinces at Monash Health

All staff with excess annual leave balance will have received an email from the University outlining their annual leave balance as of 1 June 2022. 

The maximum permissible limit of annual leave at 31 December 2022 has been temporarily increased from 30 to 40 days (pro rata for part-time staff).

Annual leave accrued in excess of your maximum permissible limit of 40 days will be treated as excess annual leave (EAL) by the University for 2022 assuming no change in your full-time fraction. If your annual leave balance does exceed 40 days at 31 December 2022 and you have not applied by 7 January 2023 for annual leave to eliminate your EAL by no later than 30 June 2023, you will (by operation of the Enterprise Agreement) be rostered and deemed to be on annual leave from your first expected working day on or after 7 January 2023.  You will then be liable to remain on rostered and deemed annual leave until your annual leave balance has been reduced to 40 days.

What you need to do

• Regularly check your annual leave balance via ESS to confirm whether you will have more than 40 days accrued as at 31 December 2022.
• All annual leave to be accrued or taken up to 31 December 2022 needs to be taken into account.
• Please note that any change to your current full-time time fraction will affect your maximum permissible leave balance limit and any changes up to 31 December 2022 need to be taken into consideration.
• After checking your annual leave balance:
• If your annual leave balance will be 40 days or less at 31 December 2022, no further action is required to be taken by you at this time; or
• If your annual leave balance will be more than 40 days at 31 December 2022, please speak with your supervisor and agree to a leave plan to maintain your leave balance at or below 40 days to avoid accruing EAL.
• Leave Planning:
• Submit your leave plan via ESS (or if you encounter any issues with applying through ESS then submit an Application for Leave and Special Leave (online) form).
• Your leave plan may include taking your leave only a day or a few days at a time rather than for longer periods if you prefer.
• When preparing your leave plan, you should also take into account annual leave that will accrue up to 31 December 2022.
• If you have EAL as at 31 December 2022, you must submit a leave plan by 7 January 2023 to eliminate your EAL if you are to avoid being rostered and deemed on annual leave.  The elimination of that EAL under your leave plan must be taken by 30 June 2023.

National Day of Mourning Thursday 22 September

Monash University will observe National Day of Mourning (Thursday 22 September) as a one-off public holiday, in line with the Monash University Enterprise Agreement (Academic and Professional Staff) 2019. This will create a four-day weekend, which includes the Grand Final public holiday on Friday 23 September and standard weekend (Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 September). For further details around pay and teaching, please see The Insider. For information about overtime procedures, please consult the After Hours form on the SCS intranet and the University's Policy.

Science and Industry Endowment Fund – Australian Academy of Science Fellowships to the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings

A SIEA - AAS Fellowship is provided to ECR applicants that demonstrate a strong commitment to their principal field of studies, that is in physiology and medical sciences related disciplines, and to interdisciplinary work, for example by double degrees or interdisciplinary projects. 

The registration fee for the 2023 meeting is €2,500 (EUR) per attendee. The Academy’s grant-in-aid will contribute up to $4,000 (AUD) towards this fee for each attendee. The Academy will pay the registration fee at the conclusion of the meeting. If the final figure for the registration fee exceeds $4,000 (AUD) after conversion the attendee must pay the difference to the Academy before 31 July 2023.

As per the guidelines for this scheme, Monash University may only submit a total of one application per department, up to a maximum of two applications across the University.

Final applications are due to the funder via SmartyGrants by 5pm Wednesday 28th of September 2022. The following deadlines are advised to give applicants the maximum amount of time to draft a full application:

• Deadline for submission of EOI to Faculty: 10AM 19th of September 2022
• Reviewing by cross-Faculty panel and notification of outcomes: by the 26th of September 2022
• MRO deadline for compliance check (via Pure): 27th of September 2022
• Deadline for submission of final applications: 5pm 28th of September 2022

The two shortlisted Monash applicants will be advised to proceed with their full application submission and entry of their application into Pure

Monash EOI template.

Further information on this scheme can be found at the followinglink

Please feel free to contact MRO Applications Team in case of any further questions.

Dr Christine De Nardo appointed as SCS School Manager

Posted on behalf of Acting Head of School, Professor Julian Smith

I am pleased to announce that Dr Christine De Nardo has been appointed as SCS School Manager, effective 5 September 2022.  Christine brings with her more than 10 years of expertise in research and operations management at medical research institutions in Australia and Germany.

Christine obtained a PhD from the Department of Medicine at the University of Melbourne in 2009. Since then she has built a strong foundation in operations management, alliance management, the coordination and management of collaborative academic and commercially-driven research programs, multinational competitive funding applications, technology transfer agreements and research contracts with major industry partners.

She began as Scientific Coordinator of the Molecular Genetics of Cancer Division at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute (WEHI), before taking on Scientific Coordinator and General Manager roles at the University of Bonn in Germany. During this period, she played a key role in the establishment of the ImmunoSensation Cluster of Excellence, securing EUR 28 million from the German Research Foundation. Concurrent with this, Christine managed the PR and Communications strategy for the Life and Medical Sciences Institute in Bonn, Germany. Since returning to Australia, Christine has acted as Scientific Coordinator of the Chemical Biology Division at WEHI, Scientific Coordinator within the Biomedicine Discovery Institute at Monash University, and more recently as General Manager for immuno-oncology biotechnology company, oNKo-innate Pty Ltd.

Christine will be in touch and get to know everyone as she settles into her new role.  Please make her feel welcome.  

Catch up Fridays during September - seeking your support

On behalf of the Dean's Office

To welcome Spring, and give us some uninterrupted working and thinking time, the Faculty is proposing that we implement "Catch-up Fridays" for the month of September.  As we did in 2020 and 2021, we encourage you for this one day a week, to reduce your meetings, hold off sending emails, and carve out some space for concentration and getting to work on tasks on your To Do list.

The Faculty office will undertake not to initiate meetings or emails unless essential.

While there are no rules for "Catch up Fridays", Heads of Schools support staff to:

• Reduce meetings and emails where practical to do so
• Encourage supervisors to reduce meetings and emails where practical to do so
• Schedule non-urgent emails to be sent on Monday
• Recognise that we can't control meetings/calls from Central and external partners, so some meetings may need to proceed
• Update email signatures and/or out-of-office messages to "MNHS is implementing "catch up" Fridays for September 2022, where we reduce meetings and emails. I am available for meetings Monday to Thursday and I will respond to your Friday emails on Monday, unless urgent."
• Schedule an all-day meeting in calendars on Friday 2, 9, 16, 23 and 30 September
• Choose alternative times in the week, in consultation with supervisors, if Friday is not a work day in a part-time role, or if Friday has immovable work commitments.

Channeling Your Voice - IMPACT AND ENGAGEMENT FOR THOUGHT LEADERS

Monash University Marketing, Admissions and Communications invites you to join us for a wide-ranging training opportunity.

'Channeling Your Voice' is designed to further Monash experts' capabilities across traditional and emerging media platforms. It covers numerous topics, including:

• Media training
• Social media training
• Pitching and writing for Lens
• Storytelling
• Podcasting

You're welcome to join us for some, or all, of the modules.

Lunch is provided. A photographer will also be on hand to take professional headshots. 

• Date: Tuesday, 30 August, 9.30am – 4pm
• Venue: Lecture Theatre H126 (Building H), Caulfield campus

Please note there's a workshop fee of $150.

What's on

• 9.30: Inside storytelling
• Stories surround us at Monash. How do you find one, and how do you share it with the world?
• 10am: A look at Lens
• Monash’s home for thought leadership, Lens is your platform. Learn to make the most of it.
• 10.30am: Morning tea
• 10.45am: Media training
• Gain an understanding of the changing media landscape. Learn to hold your own in an interview, stick to your key messages, and find out how the media team can support you.
• 12.30pm: Lunch
• 1pm: Social media training
• Confidently use social media platforms to share your work, build your network and further your career.
• 2.45pm: Content development
• Learn best practices for creating digital content.
• 3pm: Workplace
• Learn best practices for creating digital content.
• 3.30pm: Podcast training
• Considering being a guest on a podcast, or even launching your own? Start here.

REGISTER NOW

Please note, you may need to log into myDevelopment for the registration link to work.

You'll receive a confirmation email when this process is complete. Please register no later than Monday, 22 August.

Please note: This session is contingent upon the Victorian government's COVIDsafe restrictions. We'll update registrants if the situation changes.

We look forward to seeing you there. Please email socialmedia@monash.edu if you have any questions, or if you'd like to attend a future session – we offer them quarterly.

Academic promotion 2022: MNHS internal processes & planning

From: Mairi Rose, Senior Administrative Officer, Academic Performance, Faculty Research Office

It is time to start thinking about the 2022 Academic Promotions round. If you are planning to apply for promotion to Level C, D or E this round, it is time to begin preparing your application.

Please note that the University has yet to finalise the promotion documents for the next round, however, the general structure of the application will remain mostly unchanged.  The 2022 Academic Promotions timeline has not yet been finalised, but applicants should start planning to work on their applications over the next 3 months. 

Further details about information sessions, and university processes will follow on when the round dates are confirmed.

In the meantime, please follow these instructions to get started, noting the specific tasks you must carry out based on your contract type:

Research Only and Teaching & Research Staff

1. Let the MNHS Faculty Research Office know that you intend to apply by emailing medicine.research@monash.edu. We will inform you of your promotion reference period, i.e. the period of activity that will be considered in your application and metrics report. This is usually 3-5 years, depending on your last promotion.  If you have an unusual or complex case, we will refer you to the HR Academic Promotions team. 
2. Request a meeting with Prof James Whisstock, Deputy Dean Research (Level D and E applicants) or Prof Ian Smyth, Associate Dean, Research and Research Infrastructure (Level C applicants) to discuss your case for promotion.  This is highly recommended for all RO and T&R applicants in MNHS. You can discuss your metrics, draft application, and any questions you have about the assessment process at the meeting.   James and Ian will begin meeting with candidates in September.   Please complete this form to request a meeting as soon as possible. 
3. Check your metrics and research activity data via the myPerformance Dashboard. Once your reference period is confirmed, use your myPerformance Dashboard to evaluate your metrics against the MNHS Academic Performance Standards.  You can also use the Dashboard to see if you need to update or correct any of your research activity data in Pure, including grant applications and awards, research income, outputs, and HDR supervision data.  It is your responsibility to ensure your data is correct and up to date. 
4. Make any necessary updates to your research activity data using the Research Activity Guide. This guide provides the contact details for the central teams that manage your data. You can get in touch with these teams directly to request any changes that need to be made.  It may take several weeks for changes to be made, so you should start this process as soon as possible.
5. Update your public profiles.  Make your Google Scholar profile public.  If you have multiple Scopus profiles, please merge them.

Education Focused and Teaching & Research Staff

1. Ensure you have a Summative Peer Review of Teaching report from 2022. You can find out more about how to request a review on the Monash Learning and Teaching Peer Review website.
2. Request your Student Evaluation Record from University Planning and Statistics via their online Google Form.
3. Request a meeting with Prof Wayne Hodgson, Deputy Dean Education, to discuss your education case for promotion. You should bring a draft of your education case to the meeting. Please email Karen Johnson, Prof. Hodgson’s EA, to request a meeting.

Additional resources are available for Education Focused and Teaching & Research staff to help them draft their application. This includes the Monash Education Academy’s Moodle site of resources to help applicants construct an evidence-based education case in their application. The Moodle site can be accessed any time.

Contact Information

The Faculty Research Office manages the academic promotion process in collaboration with the HR Academic Promotions team. We are available to answer your questions, as well as help you with your metrics, research data and myPerformance Dashboard. 

Please email questions about your metrics, research data and MyPerformance Dashboard to the Faculty Research Office at medicine.research@monash.edu

Please email any questions about the Promotion application process to hr.academic-promotion@monash.edu.

Peer2Peer Promotion Support Networking Event for Academic Women in STEMM

The Monash STEMM Women Academic Network is hosting an event on Wednesday 24th August for academic women in STEMM interested in peer-2-peer mentoring for academic promotion.

Event details

• Date: Wednesday 24th August
• Time: 12pm – 2pm: refreshment and networking opportunities available from 11:30am
• Venue: Chancellery room, Chancellery Building, 27 Chancellors Walk, Clayton campus
• Register: medicine.research@monash.edu
• RSVP by 1 August

This event welcomes women in STEMM who are intending to submit an application for academic promotion this year, as well as those considering applying for promotion in the future.

We encourage you to forward this invitation to other potential candidates who may be interested in this promotion support. Please find further details below.

On behalf of the STEMM Women Academic Network, we are very excited to invite you to the annual Peer2Peer Promotion Support Networking Event sponsored by the Monash Data Futures Institute.

Target group

This event is for academic women in STEMM who are interested in peer-2-peer mentoring for academic promotion (regardless of whether you intend to submit for promotion this year or in the future).

We are also seeking mentors with previous experience on promotion committees who are available to come along to the event and willing to share their insights and wisdom with potential candidates.

The event is a fantastic opportunity to meet and connect with women from various STEMM faculties and departments at Monash and talk to an experienced mentor about preparing for academic promotion.  It is never too early to start thinking of your promotion so we encourage women of all career stages to avail yourself of this opportunity, regardless of your intention to apply for promotion this year. With this initiative we hope to enable you to prepare better and earlier for promotion and maximise your chance for success.

The STEMM Women Academic Network is a gender initiative of the Athena SWAN Committee aimed at supporting the retention and success of academic women in STEMM disciplines at Monash University. We seek to support career development and success of academic women at Monash, while driving and growing a cultural shift.

Please feel free to join the Network: Become a Member.

We would also greatly appreciate if you could forward this email to other potential candidates who may be interested in the promotion support.  

Hope you can join us!

MNHS Research Town Hall

Sent on behalf of  Professor James Whisstock, Deputy Dean, Research

This month's Research Town Hall will be held on Thursday 21 July from 12:00 - 1:00 PM. We will provide updates relating to research, research infrastructure, and research training. There will also be an opportunity to ask us questions about any research-related matters, including travel, platforms, HDR students, upcoming and open funding schemes, etc. The Agenda for the upcoming session is attached.

Please note that recently appointed MNHS Senior and Bridging Postdoctoral Fellows will be invited to give a presentation on their work at these sessions throughout the year. This month's speaker is Dr Romana Stark from the Biomedicine Discovery Institute, who will present, "Understanding how the olfactory system affects behaviour and metabolism."

The session will be hosted by:

• Prof James Whisstock, Deputy Dean (Research)
• Prof Ian Smyth, Associate Dean (Research and Research Infrastructure)

Please join us via Zoom

All MNHS staff are welcome to attend, so please distribute this throughout your relevant areas.

We hope that you will join us. 

Important information for upcoming promotion round 2022

Teaching & Research and Education Focused staff who apply for promotion to Level C, D or E in the upcoming Academic Promotion round will be required to include a 2022 Summative Peer Review of Teaching in their promotion application.

Prospective applicants are advised to plan their teaching schedules and submit their requests in PeerView.monash as soon as possible, allowing sufficient time to assign available reviewers.

Peer reviews can be undertaken on synchronous (face to face and online) and asynchronous (recorded) teaching. The process is detailed in the Monash Learning and Teaching Peer Review website. 

Monash Biomedical Imaging Zoom Webinar

• Date: Wednesday, 3 August 2022
• Time: 12:30pm - 1:15pm
• Title: Learning with less labels for medical image segmentation
• Speaker: Dr. Mehrtash Harandi, Department of Electrical and Computer Systems Engineering, Monash University
• Register here

Abstract

Accurate segmentation of medical images is a key step in developing Computer-Aided Diagnosis (CAD) and automating various clinical tasks such as image-guided interventions.

The success of state-of-the-art methods for medical image segmentation is heavily reliant upon the availability of a sizable amount of labelled data. If the required quantity of labelled data for learning cannot be reached, the technology turns out to be fragile.  

The principle of consensus tells us that as humans, when we are uncertain how to act in a situation, we tend to look to others to determine how to respond. In this webinar, Dr Mehrtash Harandi will show how to model the principle of consensus to learn to segment medical data with limited labelled data. In doing so, we design multiple segmentation models that collaborate with each other to learn from labelled and unlabelled data collectively.

Biography

Dr Mehrtash Harandi is a senior lecturer in the Department of Electrical and Computer Systems Engineering (ECSE) at Monash University and a contributing research scientist at the Machine Learning Research Group (MLRG - Data61-CSIRO). His research spans various aspects of machine learning, computer vision and signal processing, developing algorithms and mathematical models to equip machines with intelligence.

Enquiries

T: +61 3 9905 0100 | E: enquiries.mbi@monash.edu

Upcoming Wellbeing Events - July & August

Please see below Monash Wellbeing events and activities occurring in the month of July and August.

Free university health checks with BUPA

As part of its commitment to improving the health and wellbeing of its staff, Monash is offering FREE Work Health Checks for up to 1400 staff across Victorian campuses.

We understand that when communications went out last week that many places are now at full capacity. If you would like to organise additional health checks for your staff, these can be arranged at the full price of $59 per person by contacting us directly at wellbeing@monash.edu

Dry July 

Monash University is committing to supporting the Dry July campaign and raising funds for Cancer Council. Staff and students who wish to join the challenge in the month of July can join the Monash University team and go dry this July. 

People and environments around us influence the way we drink alcohol, and the workplace is one area where shared understandings and activities among co-workers can influence drinking. Work environments can also have an impact on wellbeing, highlighting the importance of cultivating healthy work environments. 

Session details

• Time: 12 - 1pm
• Date: 7 July 2022
• Please register for the Hospo Drinking Cultures event at Mydevelopment

Call for assistance for upcoming events

In the month of September, we are hosting THRIVE month at Monash and we will have a range of activities to showcase THRIVE but more importantly, we are looking for volunteers who would like to be involved in the month and provide insight and input in the planning stages and on the day itself for your campus/site.

Activities include with many more still to be discussed

• Steptember
• R U OK Day
• Womens' Health Week
• Monash Walk and Fun Run
• THRIVE breakfast
• Catering showcase

If you would like to volunteer and be part of the day at your campus/site please send an email to wellbeing@monash.edu

Visit the Monash Wellbeing Events Calendar web page for all upcoming events.

Monash Health and Climate Centre Introductory Workshop

The Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences is working to establish a multidisciplinary and collaborative Faculty-based Centre for Health and Climate, which will focus on the effects of climate on human health and healthcare systems. The Centre is proposed to:

• generate evidence of the impact of climate on human health;
• create scalable and readily-implementable preventive solutions and mitigations that strengthen the resilience of individuals, communities and health systems;
•  inform evidence-based, cost-effective change to policies and practice; and
• undertake education and training.

Critically, the Centre will work on solutions that close health equity gaps for vulnerable populations.

It is intended that the Centre will include members from other Faculties, Centres and Institutes of Monash University, and will collaborate with many groups to achieve maximum impact.

Please join us at the Monash Health and Climate Centre Introductory Workshop. This is a hybrid event, so you can join either in person or via Zoom. The workshop will provide an overview of the vision, mission and scope of the proposed Centre for Health and Climate. The Workshop will also showcase examples of Health and Climate capability from within the Faculty of Medicine Nursing and Health Sciences and across the University.

• Date: Monday 4 July 2022
• Time: 9:30am – 12:00 noon
• Location:  Room 101, Learning & Teaching Building (LTB), 19 Ancora Imparo Way, Clayton Campus (Zoom available)

Workshop agenda

• 9:30: Welcome and Introduction - The Need for a Centre for Health and Climate
• Prof Christina Mitchell AO: Dean, MNHS
• 9:40: Overview of Monash Health and Climate capability
• Prof James Whisstock: Deputy Dean, Research, MNHS
• 10:15: Draft Centre for Health and Climate Proposition
• Prof Karin Leder: Planetary Health Lead, SPHPM, MNHS
• 10:35: Examples of Health and Climate Capability Across Monash University
• Guest Speakers from across Monash University
• 10:50: Group Discussion and Feedback
• Workshop participants
• 11:50: Workshop Summary
• Tessa Jones: Director, External Relations, MNHS
• 12:00: Light Refreshments and Networking
• Workshop participants

Please register here to attend in person or via Zoom.  You will receive a calendar invite with the location and Zoom details.  The workshop will be recorded for those who are unable to join us.

For more information, please contact Dr Amanda Walmsley, Senior Proposal Development Manager, at amanda.walmsley@monash.edu.

SCS Staff meeting (virtual) - Friday 15 July 2022, 12 - 1PM

 

All SCS staff and HDR students welcome to attend.

• Date: Friday 15 July 2022
• Time: 12 to 1:00 PM
• Venue: via Zoom
• Quiet Achiever Award nominations: Please submit HERE.

SCS staff acknowledged in recent Monash University promotions

Congratulations to all School of Clinical Sciences at Monash Health  staff who were successful in the recent Monash University academic promotions round!  This round, we add one Associate Professor and two Senior Lecturers to our group.

Associate Professor Kirsten Palmer is a clinician researcher. She is a maternal fetal medicine sub-specialist and heads the Maternal Fetal Medicine unit at Monash Medical Centre, Monash Health; an incredible team of people that provide care for some of the most complex pregnancies in Victoria. She is also a Senior Lecturer with the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Monash University where she heads the Maternal and Perinatal Medicine Translational Research group. Her clinical and research interests closely align with a strong focus on improving outcomes for women and babies impacted by pregnancy complications. She has a particular focus on disorders of placentation, which lead to pregnancy complications such as preeclampsia and fetal growth restriction. She currently leads a world-first large, multicentre clinical trial exploring the use of melatonin for fetal neuroprotection in pregnancies complicated by fetal growth restriction.

Find out more about Associate Professor Kirsten Palmer

Senior Lecturer Aimee Dordevic is a Registered Nutritionist with both the Nutrition Society of Australia and the Association for Nutrition (UK). She works in the Department of Nutrition, Dietetics & Food, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences at Monash University as a Nutrition Science Lecturer and Researcher.

Aimee began at Monash University in January 2013 as a Research Fellow investigating weight managment for adolescents after completion of her PhD at Deakin University where she studied human molecular nutrition in health and chronic disease.

Aimee's PhD titled the 'Investigation of the acute nutrigenomic response of adipose tissue' examined the effect of macronutrients on inflammatory and metabolic signalling in human serum and adipose tissue. The project involved treatment of cultured cells with different types of fatty acids as well as collection and subsequent molecular analysis of human tissue samples in the hours immediately following meals that varied in macronutrient composition.

Find out more about Dr Aimee Dordevic

Senior Lecturer Barbara R Cardoso is a nutritional biochemist with a Masters and a PhD from the University of Sao Paulo (Brazil) and international experience attained from research appointments in Brazil and Spain. She has developed breakthrough studies that combine her skills in nutrition, clinical trials, analytical chemistry, proteomics and molecular biology to unravel the biochemistry of selenium and its implications in age-associated cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s disease. She also has an interest in investigating the intake of nuts as a dietary strategy to slow age-associated cognitive decline.  

Dr Barbara R Cardoso is the unit coordinator for NUT3008 - Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Nutrition; and co-coordinator for the unit NUT2104 - Nutritional Biochemistry in the Nutrition Science course. 

Find out more about Dr Barbara R Cardoso

Planetary Health - June 2022

This June, the Health and Wellbeing Team invites you to join in the range of activities to learn more about Planetary Health, and take action to create a healthy planet and people for a healthier future. 

Planetary Health recognises the relationship between human health and the health of the planet, and climate change is the single biggest global challenge humanity is facing. 

Check out all the activities below: 

• Join Monash's Planetary Health research leads, Professor Jane Fisher AO and Professor Karin Leder to explore the concepts of planetary health, the intersection between planetary health and mental health and the relevance of this framing for human health and wellbeing. Register here.
• Join Chief Medical Officer A/Prof Vicki Ashton, Sustainable Development Planner Dr Kendra Wasiluk and Sustainability Coordinator Shane French to take a closer look at what Monash is doing to respond to climate change and foster thriving communities. Register here.
• Join Dr Rosemary Stanton OAM to explore how our dietary choices can affect planetary health, the dietary changes needed and the need to tackle those who oppose change. Register now.
• Take part in the “Meat” Me Halfway Challenge and pledge to go meat-free for at least 2 days each week. Join now.
• Tips and resources on Workplace

Check out the programs, resources, podcasts and previous webinar recordings on our Planetary Health website. If you’re participating in Green Impact, check out your toolkit for additional wellbeing actions that you can adopt! 

New academic appointment in Surgery - Adjunct Clinical Professor Eugene Ek

Professor Julian Smith is delighted to announce the appointment of Adjunct Clinical Professor Eugene Ek to the Department of Surgery.  Prof Ek is an academic Orthopaedic Surgeon who specialises in hand, elbow and shoulder surgery, with a particular interest in complex reconstructive surgery of the upper extremity and arthroscopic surgery.  He has been a member of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at Dandenong Hospital, Monash Health since 2013 and is actively involved in teaching medical students, orthopaedic registrars and hand surgery fellows from all around the world. His main research interests are in hand and wrist biomechanics, treatment of scaphoid fractures, elbow arthroscopy and management of rotator cuff pathology. As part of the Department of Surgery/SCS, he hopes to continue to contribute to the research output of the academic department and also train and mentor future academic surgeons.

Planned evacuation drills - MMC areas

On Tuesday 31 May, the following areas will undergo a planned evacuation drill. Staff are expected to participate in these, or notify in advance if their work does not allow them to leave their workplace during the drill.

• 9:30 AM
• Bld 261, 262 & TRF warden briefing - under the MHRP Bridge  
• 10:45 AM
• MIMR Building (Hudson / 261) - all floors (Fire panel: Rod E)
• 11:15 AM
• MHRP Building & Bridge (262) (Fire panel: Rod E
• 2:30 PM
• TRF Building, Levels 4-7 (Fire panel: Rod E or silent drill) 
• 3:00 PM
• E block, Levels 3 - 5 (Fire panel: silent drill)

In all areas, the wardens will do a sweep to evacuate staff and students from the area, in a mock emergency. The "silent drills" will not have any announcements or tones over the PA system to communicate with staff about the drill. 

If you have any questions or concerns, please email scs.ohs@monash.edu

SCS WiSDoM event - Design Thinking Clinic Workshop

Finding a solution to a complex problem such as we encounter in medicine and research is difficult but we have good tools which business use to do it better. Design thinking is an iterative process where the discovery step involving empathy, observation and understanding of the users and stakeholders is 50% - so different to what we do currently in research and medicine.  This allows us to better understand and define the problem, focus on the user (patient) then design a solution and pilot it.

See 6 May 2022 Design thinking clinic workshop presentation HERE

SCS WiSDoM Committee would like to run the next longer workshop with researchers at all levels (including managers) and make it more practical around what we need to solve. If you have a complex problem in medicine, research or management please email vanalysa.ly@monash.edu the idea. We have already have one proposal - How can we collaborate better across the school, faculty and university but keen to have 3 topics for the workshop.

Please email vanalysa.ly@monash.edu if you are interested to participate and/or provide a topic for the workshop.

Find out more about the SCS WiSDoM Committee

University-related staff travel

From Mr Peter Marshall AM, Chief Operating Officer and Senior Vice-President, and Mr Leigh Petschel, Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice-President

Following communications in late 2021 regarding the progressive reinstatement of University-related business travel for staff and HDR students, we are pleased to share that the new online staff travel approval system (Nutrip) is live and ready for use.

Nutrip will ensure ease in seeking and approving travel for our staff community for all domestic and international travel and will be an important tool in managing the University’s staff travel program. 

The new system replaces the temporary form and process to manage travel requests, and maintain a register of approved travel for staff. To support the enhanced approvals, this form and process will continue for HDR students only (managed by the Monash Graduate Research Office).

Approving travel requests

The system will workflow a staff member’s request to their Travel Approver in the first instance. For academic staff, this is the head of the organisational unit (typically school or department); for professional staff, this is their supervisor.

If the travel is deemed high-risk (DFAT level 3 or 4) it will automatically workflow to the Director, Global Security and Crisis Response, for review and consideration.

The recent updates to the enhanced travel settings approved by VCEC last month have been built into this system:

• Domestic travel: Travel Approver only
• International low-risk travel: Travel Approver, followed by Dean/Portfolio Head (VCG member)
• International high-risk travel: Travel Approver, followed by Director, Global Security and Crisis Response, followed by Dean/Portfolio Head (VCG member)

Training opportunities and support

A number of training sessions have been made available for those looking to delve deeper into the functionality within the platform. For more information, visit the Monash Travel Page.

• For enquiries and support with the new system, please contact the Monash Service Desk on 03 9905 1777.
• For specific travel enquiries, please contact the Travel Manager.
• For insurance enquiries, please contact Insurance Services
• For booking and ticketing enquiries, please contact Corporate Travel Management

Looking ahead

The related Staff and Student Travel Policy and associated procedures are being developed and will be made available next quarter. 

As previously communicated, enhanced approval requirements will continue throughout 2022 and the University will keep you informed as conditions evolve over the next few months.