If
you haven't already done so - Create a study schedule.
It's very important to set aside adequate time for study, so make
sure you look closely at your schedule - when do you have free time?
At what time of day do you study the best? Work out a
timetable in which you clearly state times of study, and allocate
appropriate chunks of study material to each section - if you know
exactly what you have to study, it will increase your focus, and make
your study time more productive.
I am lucky to be able to
pursue my service interests through my involvement within the
Faculty of Business Community of Practice and the Faculty of
Education Post Graduate and Early Researchers group. These are
two outstanding professional networks that offer participants
lots of opportunities and encouragement for professional
development and research. My research has to date primarily
been in the area of business education and my most recent
publication was titled “Changing in text referencing from the
suppository of good scholarship into the condom of good
scholarship”. Leadership in the business context is also an
area of research interest.
I have
recently been appointed Education Manager for the Insolvency
Practitioners Association of Australia (IPA). To briefly introduce
the IPA it has approximately 1500 members and represents professionals
and academics in the field of business reconstruction and corporate and
personal insolvency. 
workshops that have experience in a variety of Australian business
sectors.
With the shortfall of IT graduates projected
to increase over the next few years, Heritage Building
Society is working with the University of Southern
Queensland (USQ) to ensure a continued supply of
high-quality IT staff.
The strong record of supply and demand means both organisations are looking to continue and strengthen the relationship.
General Manager of Technology and Payment Systems at Heritage John Williams said USQ is usually his first port of call when looking to fill positions within the IT department.
'Usually I will approach the Business and Science Faculties and seek their help to see if they have people to fit a particular profile,' Mr Williams said.
'At the moment we are recruiting two programming graduates. We give the faculties a profile requesting GPA’s above a certain level, and specifying the certain skills we require.'
Associates within the IT industry have noticed the increasing difficulty in filling positions for graduates, he said.
'I talk quite frequently with other counterparts within the finance and IT industries. There is a high demand for IT staff and graduates.
'With the low unemployment rate and high demand for positions it can be difficult to get well qualified people. We are looking at ways to work more closely with USQ.'
The large IT staff at Heritage requires an ongoing supply of graduates to fill positions, he said.
'Outside of the University, Heritage is the largest employer of IT graduates in Toowoomba.
'We have 48 staff in our IT division, more than half of them would have qualifications from USQ.
'Our most recent USQ recruit is a second year student. He did work experience with us for two weeks and is now working for us. We have a study assistance program as well so he can continue studying while receiving a full time salary with us.
'If we are looking at second year students I think that is testament to the demand for IT graduates.'
The two organisations have enjoyed working together for some time, Mr Williams said.
'We work reasonably closely with USQ on a corporate level,' he said.
'Heritage offers various scholarships; there is one for IT. We also do guest lecturing for USQ and provide assistance to advisory boards in IT.'
Having a reliable source of skilled potential employees has been important to the organisation Mr Williams said.
'It is really important to get high quality, well skilled graduates. As a banking society there is not much that doesn’t involve IT at Heritage.'
Faculty
of Science staff at USQ Fraser Coast got into the spirit of Pink
Ribbon Day by wearing brightly-coloured shirts to uni on Monday
22 October 2007. Lecturers and general staff donned the shirts
to help raise money and raise awareness of breast cancer. The
outfits also raised a few eyebrows among students. Leah Jacket,
pictured centre, wore a casual pink and white number, while her
colleagues pictured from left to right, Angela Ratsch, Associate
Professor Trudy Yuginovich, Julie Harris and Helen Ison, chose
the bold and bright pink camouflage style.
The
review has identified the need for the University to cut the
number of programs it offers in order to maximise flexibility
for students and enhance its competitiveness in the sector.
