The inaugural PhD Symposium was held at the Mantra Southbank Hotel in Melbourne on Wednesday 15 June 2011. Eighteen students had a great opportunity to get to know each other and develop relationships within the AMCRC. After opening remarks from Managing Director, Mr Bruce Grey and Research Manager, Dr Gordon Meijs, and table group introductions, they were treated to an inspirational and entertaining talk by Dr Karl Kruszelnicki, AM.
PhD students presented first class talks on their thesis work making the judges task of picking the best presentation difficult. The judges awarded the prize – an autographed copy of Dr Karl’s book – to Adoracion (Dori) Jurado.
Students heard about the structure and objectives and major projects / programs within the CRC and issues such as publication and intellectual property. This was followed by an entertaining collaboration exercise conducted within table groups. Each group presented their findings to the wider audience. The “postgraduate clinic” had interesting presentations from Dr Tim Black (Deakin; AMCRC Program Leader), and Mr Adriano Di Pietro, both of whom related experiences and career opportunities / decisions, arising from their postgraduate study. There was a good discussion on current issues relating to postgraduate study and the group shared some tips with each other.
The day wrapped-up with some networking with refreshments at the Ludlow Formation – a pleasant venue within the Southbank precinct.
Participants commented on the breadth of interesting research being carried out within the Centre and looked forward to a program of short courses and designed following their input.
