QUT News & Events Wrap - February 13 edition

NEWS

Time for a cool change?: Australians love our summer festivals and sport but with this stinking hot weather, it could be time to consider moving large public outdoor events to cooler months, says QUT Professor Hilary Bambrick, a member of the Climate Council.

Melanoma research breakthrough gives hope to treatment: A QUT-driven project has identified the way in which melanoma cells spread, opening up new pathways to treatment via drugs to ‘turn off’ the invasive gene.

Qld Labor will regret bringing full distribution preferential voting back: The decision to revert to non-optional, full distribution preferential voting in April last year is likely to be being regretted by the Queensland Labor Government, QUT politics expert Professor Clive Bean says.

QUT and Commonwealth Bank agree Business Process Management partnership: QUT and Commonwealth Bank of Australia have announced an industry partnership, creating new opportunities for students, academics, and employees in the field of Business Process Management (BPM).

SEEK CEO and Co-Founder to address QUT Business Leaders’ Forum: Andrew Bassat, the CEO and Co-Founder of global jobs site SEEK will address the next QUT Business Leaders’ Forum on Thursday 16 March at the Hilton Brisbane.

QUT hosts reception for Nigeria delegation: More than 15 Justice Fellows from Nigeria were recently welcomed at a reception hosted by the QUT Faculty of Law as part of a fellowship to develop a framework on improved service delivery within Niger State's Ministry of Justice.

CEA backs music tech platform during $525,000 seed round: CEA-backed startup Audience Republic, an online platform that helps music event organisers increase ticket sales, has announced that it has closed a $525,000 seed investment round led by QUT Creative Enterprise Australia’s (CEA) dedicated creative tech Startup Fund, along with Artesian Capital and several Australian angel investors.

Two flagship double degrees available for mid-year entry: QUT's Bachelor of Justice / Bachelor of Laws (Honours) and the Bachelor of Business / Bachelor of Laws (Honours) double degrees will be available for mid-year entry for the first time this year.

EVENTS

Feb 19-24: Orientation Week @ QUT
Now - Feb 23: To Sir with Love: an exhibition of the Dr Wilton WR Love album (free) @ Old Government House
Now - March 1: Living in Aged Care: A photographic exhibition @ State Library Qld
Now - March 5: GLASS: art design architecture (free) @ QUT Art Museum
Now - June 18: William Robinson: Genesis (free) @ William Robinson Gallery
Now - Sept 13: Season 2017 @ Gardens Theatre: Stories that connect  @ Gardens Theatre
Now - Nov 24: STEM for Schools: What's on in  2017 @ QUT
March 10-12: Startup Weekend Brisbane | Creative Tech  @ QUT Creative Industries Precinct
March 26-31: MIT Global Entrepreneurship Bootcamp @ QUT
March 28: Queensland's Chief Entrepreneur at the LPF Breakfast @ QUT
March 31 - April 5: Stones in His Pockets @ Gardens Theatre
April 5-7: 2017 Times Higher Education (THE) Young Universities Summit @ Gardens Point

- Associate Professor Adrian Barnett (pictured) was on Brisbane Times talking about prolonged heatwaves. His comments were also in the Sydney Morning Herald and Essential Baby.
- Prof Barnett and Dr Wendy Miller also spoke to the ABC about keeping homes cool and how good design could help.
- Professor Gerard Fitzgerald was quoted in an AAP story on the heatwave which ran on GWN7 Yahoo and News Corp sites.
- Radio National Breakfast’s Fran Kelly spoke to Associate Professor Mark Lauchs about the death sentence for an Australian man found guilty of kidnapping and murdering a bikie gang member in Thailand.
- Nine News interviewed Associate Professor Gary Mortimer about the overhaul of Queensland’s trading hours.
- Dr Rebecca English spoke to ABC Radio National’s Life Matters about ‘gentle’ parenting in a segment on the so-called ‘spoonfed’ generation.
- Dr Mary Crawford talked to 612 ABC Mornings about the need for big changes at Queensland Rail.
- A Sunday Age and Sun Herald story on share houses quoted research by Dr Chrisann Lee and Dr Laura de Zwaan into young people’s financial literacy.
- Dr Jeff Sommerfeld’s research on the changing face of the average solar consumer was in Sustainability Matters, Energy Source & Distribution and EnvironmentGuru.com.
- Professor Zoran Ristovski told News.com.au cars were at their dirtiest when regularly slowing and speeding up in heavy traffic. The story was also in the UK Daily Mail and Daily Mail Australia.
- Dr Aaron Smith’s research breakthrough which identified the way melanoma cells spread was published widely including in The Australian as well as international sites like The Medical News, eCancer News and United Press International.
- Quest News featured Professor Michael Milford’s Maths Thrills program. He was also on ABC Brisbane Drive talking about how he uses Hollywood blockbuster movies to engage students in maths education.
- A world-first study by researcher Kristi Heesch from QUT’s School of Public Health to determine how taking part in amateur motorsport or driver training impacts on regular driving was in Wheels and the Confederation of Australian Motorsport.
- Associate Professor Mia Woodruff (pictured) spoke to ABC Radio National’s The Science Show about bionic bodies.

- Professor Clive Bean talked to The Sunday Tasmanian about the influence of world politics on voter behaviour, with the story also running on The Courier-Mail site.
- The Australian Financial Review ran a story on DNR Capital and its CIO, Jamie Nicol, who is a QUT graduate. 
- Research from Stephen Whyte and Professor Benno Torgler that found online daters are less fussy about an intellectual match as they get older was reported by the Fox News network in the USA and South Africa’s Cape Times.
- Dr Matthew Dunbabin and Dr Feras Dayoub’s COTSbot robot was the topic of a question on the podcast You’re the Expert.
- Dr Haydn Rippon spoke to Radio Adelaide about Senator Cory Bernardi quitting the Liberals while Associate Professor Linda Graham discussed the youth welfare payment and child subsidies with ABC Radio Canberra.
- Associate Professor Susan Irvine also discussed proposed changes to childcare subsidies with ABC News which ran on ABC Radio news nationwide.
- ABC News Brisbane featured a story by Jenny Woodward about the glass exhibition at the QUT Art Museum and interviewed Antiques Roadshow glass expert Andy McConnell. It was also in Seniors Newspaper.
- Android Central referenced QUT research that found the Signal app and technology is secure.
- Professor Hilary Bambrick spoke with ABC Radio Breakfast about climate change and the severe weather facing south-east Queensland, which also ran in the Sunshine Coast Daily.
- ABC Radio Brisbane Afternoons spoke to Dr Matthew Rimmer about privacy laws around human genetic information in Australia. He also spoke to BBC Radio about the boxing Mundine v Green copyright fight.
- Emma Potter-Hay spoke the Brisbane Times about community help as a disaster relief tool on Facebook and the story was published widely across the national Fairfax media network.
- Dr Haydn Rippon joined Radio Adelaide to talk about nationalism and popularism in politics.
- The West Australian’s business section quoted research by Associate Professor Anup Basu that warned against investors being dazzled by market hype.
- Top tech HR professional Sian Havard told Business News Australia the QUT Starters society for student startups was a great example of Queensland's entrepreneurial ecosystem.
- Architecture Australia magazine ran a feature on the expansion of the Creative Industries Precinct at Kelvin Grove.
- Associate Professor Gene Moyle (pictured) emphasised the importance of transitional training for dance students in a Dance Australia feature. She was also quoted in a Dance Australia feature on getting back to class after holidays and the critical connections between brain and body.

- QUT lecturer David Foresto appeared in Brisbane News talking about the benefits of creating a tailored vision solution when it comes to exercise.
- US-based Women’s Running magazine ran a story about whether the timing of eating carbs can help ward off colds which featured research from Dr Jonathan Peake and Dr Oliver Neubauer. A story on whether people should train with a cold also ran in Athletics Weekly.
- Women’s Health and Fitness quoted Rachel Christine Colley in a feature on physical activity and fat loss.
- Dr Omniya ElBaghdadi was interviewed by the Pine Rivers Press about the effects of nature in urban areas. Her comments were also mentioned on ABC Brisbane Breakfast.
- Associate Professor Beryl Exley spoke to ABC Brisbane’s Emma Griffith about nationalised tests for Prep children.
- Susan Hetherington discussed a range of family matters during her regular segment with ABC Capricornia.
- ABC iView used its new Grad Season 2017 to showcase original short films by recently graduated Australian film school students, including those from QUT.
- Dr Lee McGowan’s Conversation article discussed the history of women’s soccer in Australia ahead of the W-League grand final. 

Release date: Monday, February 13, 2017
Media contact: media@qut.edu.au