TILS Quinquennial Review
In 2008 the Division will be undergoing a Corporate Review. Corporate reviews are a core part of the University’s planning and quality assurance (QA) frameworks. The recommendations that flow from them provide valuable input into future strategic planning exercises and give the Division time to reflect on their effectiveness as a service provider within the university context.
A timetable has been released by Finance and Resource Planning which details the events leading up to the review and the required documentation. The division needs to complete its submission in early March and the panel of reviewers will be coming to QUT for the week commencing Monday April, 28. During this time you may be asked to participate in some activities that will aid the Divisional Office in the activities associated with the Review.
More Information about Corporate Reviews can be found at: www.mopp.qut.edu.au/A/A_02_03.jsp
Orientation Update
TILS has made a significant contribution to the University's new and extended approach to Orientation in 2008. This involvement, coordinated via TILS Events team in close partnership with the TILS Communications team, has involved the management and implementation of a range of student-facing and student-support activities within the period now designated as "Orientation" - i.e. from letter of offer through to first census date (Week 4). These activities include:
- providing seminars, workshops and tours (study skills, computing and Library) in the weeks leading up to and including O Week (and continuing throughout the semester);
- staffing and operation of two Enquiries Desks - at GP and KG for O Week and Wk 1 (GP);
- promotion of TILS learning support services via the development and distribution of essential info publications, such as study skills planners and postcards;
- staffing of the TILS counter in the University's student support tents in O Week.
TILS will be actively involved in the University's ongoing evaluation and review of Orientation through participation in the governing committees (i.e.: Orientation and Transition Committee and Orientation Organising Committee) to ensure that the services and support offered by the Division remain relevant to students.
For a complete list of TILS Orientation activities and all the publications distributed, please go to the TILS Events Team webpage.
Reminder to complete online Equity Training
QUT is committed to creating a positive environment in which all students and staff are treated fairly and equitably.
EO Online: fair play on campus is a new resource in the Equity Training and Development program to address discrimination and harassment in the workplace. It is a self-paced online equal opportunity training program for higher education employees, containing many real life examples and employs interactive learning techniques.
This program aims to assist with this goal by providing information on:
- dealing with and preventing discrimination and harassment in the workplace
- understanding your legal rights and responsibilities to achieve a discrimination and harassment free campus
- increasing your awareness of equity policies, issues and strategies in your university
- having a reference for dealing with grievances.
The package consists of two modules - the first is for all staff and takes about 30-40 minutes to complete and the second module is aimed at supervisors and managers and takes about 45 minutes to complete. All staff are expected to complete this training package.
The package is now available through the Equity Training and Development Program.
For further information please contact
Lilijana Simic (phone:
3138 5601 | email: l.simic@qut.edu.au).
BSI Web Support Update
The Business Service Improvement Program (BSI) Web Support has been established to review web development, administration and client support across the organisation. The review is progressing, with interviews to collect staff and client feedback which are currently underway. In addition to interviews with individual web support staff, the team will also be inviting specific stakeholder groups for their feedback to the review by email.
Once this information gathering has been completed the team will develop a set of recommendations. These recommendations will be finalised during April 2008. Faculties and Divisions will be asked to comment on the recommendations before they are submitted for ratification. The review recommendations are expected to be approved by July 2008, in which case a Change Manager will be appointed to coordinate the change process.
If you have any questions regarding this review please email the team at: webbsi@qut.edu.au
Library wins QUT Equity Award
The annual Equity Awards recognise initiatives to improve equity for students and staff. In 2007 the Division received two Equity Awards for implementing:
- Jaws software for the Course Materials Database to assist the visually impaired
- The New Parent Room at Kelvin Grove Library with toys, play area and a networked PC
The QUT Equity Committee is maintaining an ongoing programme of awareness of equity issues in all aspects of university life including disabled students and staff, disadvantaged students and employment.
High Performance Computing (HPC) farewells Sirius and welcomes Lyra & Vega
Sirius is a server name that has been associated with High performance Computing (HPC) at QUT for over 12 years. With over 650 users, generations of PhD, Masters and Undergraduate students as well as research staff have made use of Sirius, from the initial 60 processor version back in June 2001 through to the final 128 processor configuration.
As HPC farewells Sirius they welcome the latest hosts Lyra and Vega which have been available to QUT researchers from January 2008. Lyra and Vega are a new generation High Performance Computing at QUT, with a combined computational power of 10 to 12 times that of Sirius.
While Sirius’ computational capacity is still quite significant, the system architecture is now over 6 years old, which is a long time in computing technology, and could no longer be extended with another upgrade.
