Welcome to QUT's weekly round-up of news and events. For more updates as they happen, join 13,615 followers of @QUTmedia on Twitter. To subscribe to this news wrap, please email media@qut.edu.au.
Child’s play: Australia’s newest roboticists see eye-to-eye with R2-D2: Children from age four can become robot programmers rather than waiting for the higher years in schooling, says QUT's Dr Christina Chalmers, a leading Australian authority on the teaching and application of robotics in classrooms.
QUT designed portable, temporary flood barrier will go into production in Qld: Queensland’s first locally designed and made portable flood barrier system will be developed from a winning design of a QUT industrial design student team chosen by Sydney-based company Flood Solutions Advisory Group (FSAG) for testing and production.
Tests show drivers can’t accurately judge speed of approaching train: Drivers can see trains approaching but cannot accurately judge their speed when proceeding through a passive level crossing, a QUT and Australasian Centre for Rail Innovation collaborative study has found.
QUT partners with the Public Trustee: QUT has partnered with the Public Trustee to deliver a tailored leadership and management program.
App for young boys aims to prevent domestic violence: A concept for an app aimed at engaging boys aged 10 to 15 to teach them respectful relationships with girls has been developed by QUT social marketing expert Professor Rebekah Russell-Bennett as “another part of the jigsaw” to prevent domestic violence against women.
Determined, disadvantaged students awarded scholarships: A cohort of 63 students has been named the 2016 Tim Fairfax AC Learning Potential Fund Scholars, taking the number of lives touched by the QUT Chancellor’s scholarships to more than 100.
Young Maroochydore Filmmakers steal the show at QUT: A group of budding filmmakers from Maroochydore State High School have won the 2016 QUT Student Film Competition, taking home more than $10,000 in cash and prizes.
Now - June 4: National Reconciliation Week events @ QUT
May 25 - June 10: Season of The Absurd (featuring QUT actors) @ The Loft
Now - August 14: Frontier imaginaries: the life of lines (free, pictured) @ QUT Art Museum
May 27-28: Careers & Employment Expo (free) @ Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre
May 29: 3D Printing Revolution talk @ STEMed Festival, RNA Showgrounds
June 3: IFE Grand Challenge Lecture: The Business and Politics of Technology Innovation @ Kindler Theatre
June 4-8: DIS 2016 (ACM SIGCHI Conference on Designing Interactive Systems) @ Gardens Point
June 7-11: Essentially Dance, featuring QUT dance students @ Gardens Theatre
June 9: Queensland Design Policy Summit @ Room Three Sixty
Now - June 17: Inspirations (free) @ William Robinson Gallery
June 29: Free health checks for children @ QUT Caboolture
July 7: MBA and Postgraduate Business Information Evening @ Gardens Point
July 8: Australia's first Saliva Symposium @ Gardens Point
July 16-17: TSXPO (Tertiary Studies Expo) (free) @ Brisbane Showgrounds
July 31: QUT Open Day (free) @ Gardens Point
August 18: Murri-Ailan Way @ QUT
MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS
- Professor Andry Rakotonirainy (pictured) explained CARRS-Q’s involvement in Australia’s first driverless car trials with ABC TV. The Gold Coast Bulletin, Autotalk.com.au, SBS radio, 4ZZZ and AAP also covered the story, which ran widely across Australia, and it was also picked up by international media outlets including Lepetitjournal.com.
- The Courier-Mail and The New Daily sought Dr Gary Mortimer’s comments for articles about a big box retailer eying off Masters’ store. He spoke about shrinking supermarkets with Ch9 and to ABC South Australia about the social media campaign on dairy farmers.
- Distinguished Professor Stuart Cunningham’s research on ‘communitainment’ and the rise of social media entertainment was reported by In.com, Firstpost, Hunt News and Scroll.in.
- Chris Eves spoke to Ch10 about the softening in demand from foreign investors to buy units in south-east Queensland.
- Bloomberg sought Dr Mark McGovern’s expertise for a story on the NAB expecting its dairy clients to seek short-term credit. He also commented on jobless figures for the Townsville Bulletin.
- Professor Kerry Mengersen (pictured) shared her research using mathematics to protect rare species with Robyn Williams on The Science Show.
- Scope explored the technology behind the Cube Studio’s Dino Zoo project with Sean Druitt (at 8:35).
- Professor Gerry Fitzgerald told MJA Insight compliance with the National Emergency Access Target was plateauing.
- Dr Lee Duffield discussed the quality of Australia’s international news coverage on The Wire.
- Teacher magazine spoke to Dr Christina Chalmers about how her Robotics@QUT program supports low SES schools.
- Psychology researcher Hugh Dickson spoke with Sarah Howells on the ABC Evening program about how a healthy lifestyle can help battle against alcohol addiction.
- Cassandra Cross talked with 2SER about online fraud during National Consumer Fraud Awareness Week.
- Dr Amanda Mergler also talked to 2SER on why parents are delaying sending their kids to school.
- Professor Rebekah Russell-Bennett (pictured) and her daughter Charlotte spoke to ABC 612 about ways social media can be incorporated into social marketing campaigns to change behaviour.
- ABC News asked Professor Ben White for his thoughts on the AMA potentially changing its position on voluntary euthanasia.
- Professors Gene Moyle and Graham Kerr’s Dance for Parkinson’s research was reported by Health Times.
- Professor Clive Bean told Quest the election battle for Moreton would be one of the more interesting.
- Dr Maria O’Reilly’s research helping people with dementia negotiate airports was reported by 4ZZZ radio.
- QUT research led by Associate Professor Dale Nyholt showing certain genes increase the chances of giving birth to non-identical twins was reported by Australasian Science.
- Car advice, MSN, MSN NZ and the Bayside Star ran CARRS-Q research about drivers travelling 10km/h faster than they think they should in roadworks zones.
- Jimboomba Times covered Phoebe Cleland’s research showing childcare workers lack the nutritional knowledge to help prevent obesity in youngsters.
- The 2016 QUT Student Film Competition, hosted by the Caboolture campus and won by a team from Maroochydore State High School, was on ABC Radio Sunshine Coast, and in the Caboolture News and the Caboolture Shire Herald.
- The I Quit Sugar blog ran Professor Amanda Lee’s Conversation article about, health diets, junk food and revisiting the dietary guidelines.
- Benzano reported on five QUT students studying Indonesian culture in the University of Surabaya.
- Journalism and business student Jessica Stewart featured in a Courier-Mail CareerOne article about getting a job in the competitive journalism industry.
- CSO reported on Emeritus Professor Bill Caelli receiving an AusCERT award for Individual Excellence in Information Security.
- Dr Rebecca English (pictured) had her Conversation article about what research tells us about popular parenting styles republished by Australian Regional Media news sites, SBS Online, and AsiaOne.
- Professor Brian McNair’s Conversation article explored why Annabel’s Kitchen Cabinet strikes a chord with viewers. He also live-tweeted the election debate for the Conversation, which was republished by Australian Business.
- Katherine Kirkwood’s Conversation article discussed Aussie’s fascination for food trends, from dude foods to superfoods, and was republished by Business Insider.
Release date: Monday, May 30, 2016
Media contact: media@qut.edu.au
QUT is part of a national collaborative group of five major Australian universities that form the ATN (Australian Technology Network of Universities).
