Bernie Curran Oval To Get Female-Friendly Upgrade

 BY IAN CROUCH

The University of Newcastle Rugby Union Club has been successful in securing federal funding for a major upgrade of facilities at Bernie Curran Oval.

The $1.5 million grant comes from the Albanese Government's Play Our Way Program.

It will go towards providing two dedicated female changerooms, parents room, updated officials facilities, accessible ramp and a covered spectator area, with work due to start in late September next year and taking around 15 weeks to complete.

Federal Newcastle MP, Sharon Claydon says it means the local women's rugby union, touch football and cricket teams will have the facilities they need and deserve.

"It's really fit for purpose now. There is absolutely no world in which we should see women changing in their cars (or) down in other sub-standard facilities (or not) have an equal footing in all of our sporting codes." she said.

University of Newcastle Rugby Union Vice President, Liam Wales Brown welcomed the grant, saying it will cover most of the $1.9 million construction cost. He said it will open opportunities for other codes to make use of the facilities once they're completed in 2026.

"It brings schools onto the field and a couple of other competitions we can't do at the moment, so that opportunity is fantastic. I believe cricket are looking at the opportunity to start their own women's side. League, I believe are also looking to expand, so there's a great opportunity here." he said.

Federal Newcastle Mp Sharon Claydon joined Vice Chancellor, Alex Zelinsky, NUsport Chief Executive Deborah Wright and members of the University of Newcastle Rugby Union and Rugby League clubs for the announcement

  

Crews Tackle Noxious Fumes From Furnace Fire At Newcastle Uni

 BY IAN CROUCH

Firefighters have been confronted by foul-smelling fumes after being called to the University of Newcastle overnight.

Crews from Wallsend responded to an automatic fire alarm at the Advanced Technology Centre on the Callaghan Campus at about 7.15pm on Thursday to find thick plumes of smoke in the lower levels of the complex.

Wearing breathing apparatus, they located the source of the smoke coming from a small room containing a furnace operating at temperatures in excess of 500 degrees Celsius.

Inside the furnace were two small pots containing a compost-like substance emitting black smoke from an exhaust pipe.

They isolated the power to the furnace and ventilated the lower levels of the building.

No injuries or damage was reported.      

Researchers Team Up to Fight Ross River Virus

 BY PATRICK ALDERTON 

Researchers from the University of Newcastle have teamed up with the CSIRO, the NSW Department of Health, and the University of Melbourne to tackle the mosquito-borne Ross River Virus. 

The three-year project will use genomic sequencing, aiming to inform suppression strategies for the Aedes Vigilax species in the Hunter, Lake Macquarie and Port Stephens areas. 

The Aedes Vigilax species, originating from coastal wetland areas such as swamps, mangroves and salt marshes, has one of the most widespread populations in Australia, and can fly many kilometres in a lifetime. 

CSIRO researcher Brendan Trewin says the project will be influenced by new advances in genomic sequencing to look at closely related mosquito populations and determine relationships between them. 

"Advances in technology mean we can sequence tiny amounts of DNA to track genetic differences of individual mosquito genomes and find distinct populations" Dr Trewin said. 

The CSIRO has extensive experience working to prevent the spread of mosquito-borne diseases. 

Pictured: Aedes Vigilax mosquito 
Image supplied by CSIRO 

$7.5 million commitment for brain cancer research at the University Of Newcastle

BY JARROD MELMETH 

Brain cancer research will have a dedicated team at the University of Newcastle following a $7.5 million commitment from the Mark Hughes Foundation.

The announcement was made at the official launch of the 2021 NRL Beanie for Brain Cancer Round, and aims to dramatically intensify Australia's brain cancer research efforts.

The five-year philanthropic commitment to the University of Newcastle will support a dedicated brain cancer team to drive critical research, education and health care improvements at a national scale for brain cancer patients, their families and careers, and health professionals. 

Mark Hughes, a former Newcastle Knights NRL player, said the establishment of the team will build on the work of others, including MHF partners at the Hunter Research medical Institute and the Brain Cancer Group, to take the research to the next level.

"This is a commitment to building a bigger team to bring help and hope to people with brain cancer and their families.

"By partnering with the University of Newcastle we are expanding the support team around every brain cancer patient, not just here, but everywhere around the world.

"We are not starting from scratch either. There’s no time. This is about taking brain cancer research to the next level and quickly," Mr Hughes said.

Each year around 1,600 Australians are diagnosed with brain cancer and around 1,200 die. Formed in 2014 by Mark and Kirralee Hughes, after Mark was diagnosed with a high-grade brain cancer, MHF has played a significant part in addressing chronic underfunding of brain cancer.

University of Newcastle Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Alex Zelinsky says the University is honoured to be given the opportunity to advance brain cancer research and education in the name of the Mark Hughes Foundation and is committed to the urgent pursuit of a cure.

“Working with the Mark Hughes Foundation is a reminder of how deeply personal and urgent this fight is.

“By establishing the Foundation, Mark has drawn attention to how prevalent brain cancer is in our region alone. We’re deeply committed to improving health outcomes in our region but we know that our discoveries and efforts don’t stop with us. What we achieve will have national and global impact," Mr Zelinsky said.

The University of Newcastle brain cancer team will cover the breadth of prevention, early detection, recovery and rehabilitation, and treatments and models of care for all stages of brain cancer. 

Pictured: Mark Hughes. 
Source: Supplies by UON.

Virtual Reality Changing The Way Oral Health Is Taught

BY JARROD MELMETH

The dentist chair may soon be less daunting, with a new simulation technology at the University of Newcastle providing students with the opportunity to practice administering dental injections in a virtual environment.

The initiative, a collaboration between the University's IT Services Innovation Team and the School of Health Sciences, hopes to bridge the gap between the classroom and the clinic to ensure students are confident and capable when administering dental injections.

Utilising an Oculus headset, the wearer is transported to a virtual clinic, where a patient awaits a procedure.

A range of scenarios can be accessed by the student, including procedures requiring palatal injections to the roof of the mouth and interdental injections between the teeth. The program assists the student showing target points as well as a virtual gauge displaying the millilitres being administered.

UON Lecturer in Oral Health and Simulation Coordinator Denise Higgins said the program aims to bridge the gap between the classroom and the clinic.

"The students have the ability to start the simulation, so in this case, the virtual reality program and its scenario and they can stop, they can have a look at where they are up to, look at the statistics the program is giving back to them and then they can restart that program again.

"After using the simulation the students are much more confident to work on patients. They are then able to perform the skills at a level that is safer for patients who come to the clinic and then of course when they graduate, and they are registered practitioners, they are much more employable because they have done this task and have demonstrated that they are able to do it in a confident manner and a safe manner," Ms Higgins said.

UON's Dr. Sarah Pearson named Australia's Innovation Leader

BY SARAH BARONOWSKI

University of Newcastle Pro-Vice Chancellor Industry Engagement and Innovation, Dr. Sarah Pearson has been appointed as Australia's Innovation Leader in the newly formed MIKTA Group.

Dr. Sarah Pearson [Image: UON]

The program brings leaders from Mexico, Indonesia, the Republic of Korea, Turkey and Australia (MIKTA) together to help drive global innovation and strengthen international relations.

MIKTA was first established in 2013 and is led by the Foreign Ministers of member countries who come from diverse backgrounds but share core values.

Dr. Sarah Pearson says she's thrilled to be representing the nation as she joins forces with other leaders to solve complex global problems.

"I think it's really exciting to be linking in with other countries around the world on innovation," she said.

"We've all got a lot to learn. It's sort of a space where we're all trying to grow and do different things so it's wonderful to be a part of Mexico, Indonesia, Korea, Turkey and Australia all trying to do this together."

She says the MIKTA Group has a range of short term and long term goals which support cooperation and growth between member nations.

"Short term is about connectivity so we've got innovation leaders from each of those countries all connecting and then longer term, we're thinking about how to make the most of our similarities and our differences. So, are there big challenges that we can solve together either social or economic or corporate that we can actually solve by putting the brains of all of our countries together?"

"[For instance] if we have some ideas in Australia which we think might work well in one of the other countries, we've now got those strong connections with those countries so [we can] connect those people to the right resources and routes to market."

The MIKTA Innovation Group visited UON's NeW Space City Campus just this week to explore Newcastle's role as a regional innovation ecosystem.

Defence Innovation Hub for Williamtown means a major boost for the Hunter

BY LAUREN FREEMANTLE and JESSICA ROUSE

The new Defence Innovation Hub being established at Williamtown Aerospace Centre is set to be a major boost for the Hunter's defence industry and innovation sector.

The centre comes as a part of the Federal Government's $195 billion spend on defence acquisition and is funded by the government in collaboration with the University of Newcastle's innovation network to encourage research and innovation.

Speaking at the HunterNet Defence Conference yesterday, Parliamentary Secretary for the Hunter Scot MacDonald said the region's defence industry is on the cusp of something special.

"We're announcing the NSW Government is contributing and collaborating with the Defence Innovation Hub. It really is about supporting universities and our smart industries, our research and our development that can be involved in the defence sector and that will be the air force, the navy and the army."

The Hunter has the largest regional defence presence in the state with the sector bringing in $1.3 billion a year and more than 4,000 jobs.

Scot MacDonald said the Defence Innovation hub at Williamtown will attract the expertise of academics, research and development to the region and continue to build on the strong relationship between the region and defence.

"We've always had a strong defence presence and defence industry in NSW but they haven't been talked about and known as well as in some other states. We are really getting on the front foot and making sure that place, particularly the Hunter, becomes much more prominent within the defence space and industry."

Parliamentary Secretary for the Hunter Scot MacDonald.
Image https://www.defenceconnect.com.au/key-enablers/1143-hunter-wins-innovation-hub-williamtown

Rumoured staff outsourcing at University of Newcastle

BY BROOKE HEINZ

After-hours staff tasked with ensuring the welfare of on-campus residents at the University of Newcastle may be outsourced under a new proposal, according to The Newcastle Herald.

There are reports staff were shown plans to replace after-hours student living support officers with what one staff member described as "security guards" under the University's restructure of its Infrastructure and Facilities Services (IFS).

However, a University of Newcastle spokesperson has told 2NURFM staff have not seen a formal consultation paper.

"The formal consultation paper with the proposed changes has not yet been presented to staff," said the spokesperson in a statement. 

The Newcastle Herald also reported environmental and business support officer roles will be cut, along with the downsizing of the department's management.

When asked for further comment, the University of Newcastle spokesperson did not confirm or deny the specific claims published in The Newcastle Herald, but did acknowledge possible upcoming staff changes.

"UON’s Infrastructure and Facilities Services (IFS) will announce proposed staff changes in the coming weeks," their statement read.

"The change proposal will only be finalised following consultation with staff about the proposal and after all feedback is considered."

"The University understands the important role IFS staff play in providing services to students and staff across a range of areas, and this high-quality support and service will continue to remain a priority for the University."

Study Finds Wetlands are in Decline

BY SARAH BARONOWSKI

Researchers at the University of Newcastle have found coastal wetlands, which have existed for thousands of years, may now have the same average life expectancy as humans.

The new study predicted a lifespan of approximately 80 years for wetlands, with the possibility of serious deterioration after 40 years due to the restriction of water flow and sea level rise.

Senior Lecturer, Dr. Jose Rodriguez says attenuation, or the process of man-made structures restricting water flow, is also a prime cause of wetland decay.

"When you build a road across a wetland, the tide is allowed to move in and out to the other side of the road through culverts or bridges instead of freely flowing," he said.

"As a result, it takes more time and energy for the water to reach the other side. Vegetation is very sensitive to that so this is going to result in worse conditions for the vegetation."

But despite indications that the wetlands are decaying far quicker than previously thought, researchers believe there are ways we can still ensure its survival.

"One of the things that we can do is provide space for wetlands to move," said Dr. Rodriguez.

"With sea level rise, the vegetation will adapt and will try to move inland. The problem is sometimes we don't have those buffer zones in the upper area of the vegetation so we need to provide for buffer zones in that area.

"The other thing that we can do is try to provide adequate hydraulic conditions for the wetland and we can do that with gates and other ways of manipulating the flow within the wetland."

Newcastle University students fight back against fee increases

BY JARROD MELMETH

Newcastle University students have today gathered at the Callaghan campus to protest cuts to education and increases in HECS fees.

Under the latest federal budget released on 10 May, degree costs are set to grow 7.5 percent by 2021 and students will have to start paying back loans as soon as they earn $42,000 a year.

Newcastle University Students Association Welfare Officer, Aesha Awan said the latest budget is a clear attack on students.

"It is once again, trying to chip away at how much we pay and trying to lock out low socioeconomic students from being able to gain a higher education, which we know is one of the easiest ways to start moving up," Ms Awan said.

The protest follows UON's $1 million dollar rebranding announcement which Ms Awan believes goes to show the government's plan towards corporate universities.

"It is getting more and more corporatised and more and more bureaucratized every single day.

"If we look at the rebranding that has just recently happened, that was $1 million spent on rebranding that was unnecessary that we have already seen the student backlash against. 

"We are also seeing this happen while they are also cutting jobs and making the lives of staff harder with performance reviews putting more pressure on.

"The quality of our education is going down, while the university is spending money on things like branding and selling themselves more like a product," Ms Awan said.

Today's protest at the University of Newcastle.

"No cuts to education"

A NEW brand for the University of Newcastle

BY JESSICA ROUSE and ALEX MURRAY

The University of Newcastle has unveiled a powerful new campaign this morning aiming to bring new ideas and new people to the campus.

The World Needs New and New Needs You are the two messages being pushed by the campaign to reflect the university's innovative approach to education and research which doesn't only deliver regionally, but worldwide.

"It is about two things, it's about recognition regionally, nationally and globally of the amazing things that we do at Newcastle. We're Australia's best kept secret and we're very quiet achievers and so that story needs to get out," said Senior Deputy Vice Chancellor of Research and Innovation Kevin Hall.

"The second piece is around recruiting students. It's a very competitive field and we're very interested in getting top leading students to Newcastle."

Researchers behind the rebranding say not only will students be encouraged to come to the university, students already on campus will be encouraged to take part and learn about the research happening right where they're studying.

"What we find is when we do go globally or in fact when we ask around students about what goes on in Newcastle in terms of research, there's a blank stare and so this campaign was tested amongst our student population and they absolutely loved it. They thought it gave them a sense of identity and a sense of pride in what the university has accomplished," said Kevin Hall.

Meanwhile, a small group of protestors have gathered today at the University of Newcastle calling for a 'Zero Carbon Campus', innovating a completely renewable energy efficient campus.

Carbon dioxide is constantly increasing with adverse environmental effects, as a result, the support for sufficient renewable energy plans is also growing.

With other Australian Universities such as Monash, Charles Sturt and Melbourne all decreasing their reliance on fossil fuels, the campaign believes Newcastle should follow. 

A representative from the 'Zero Carbon Campus' campaign, George Parry says the university council needs to consider the possibility of going zero carbon.

"The university has the ability to go one hundred percent renewable over a period of ten years with zero upfront costs with the clean air energy corporation and at the end of the ten years there will be an annual saving of $2 million to the university."

University funding cuts to hit Newcastle hard.

BY RACHEL STORER

Education Minister Simon Birmingham's recent announcement to cut $2.8 billion in university funding has been met with grave concerns from Labor.

The changes to higher education funding were announced on Monday night and include lowering the HECS-loan repayment threshold from $55,000 to a substantially lower $42,000 and increasing student fees by 8%.

Senator Kim Carr, the Shadow Minister for Innovation and Industry said that the University of Newcastle could be one of the "hardest hit" by these proposed changes.

"The university has 31 percent of its population coming from low socio-economic groups ... it's the 8th highest number of students from disadvantaged backgrounds in the country," he said.

"The government's imposition of additional costs will make it more difficult for people to go to university and more difficult for the university to serve the community."

Senator Carr says that the University of Newcastle plays an instrumental role in science and engineering in the Hunter region.

"Industry in the region looks to the university to assist in developing new ideas, new technologies and new ways of thinking... and the government has said nothing about helping universities deal with the research [funding] problem," he said.

He believes that the government is completely overlooking the high cost of running a university and that this will seriously impact the Hunter community and the industrial needs of the region.

Senator Kim Carr. Image: senatorkimcarr.com

The University of Newcastle Tight-Lipped about Sexual Assault

BY RACHEL STORER

UON slammed about 'bare minimum' of sexual assault reports. Image: theherald.com.au

The University of Newcastle is being criticised by advocacy group End Rape on Campus (EROC) Australia for a lack of transparency about complaints of sexual assault and harassment and a poor resolution model for victims.

The report stems from Channel Seven's freedom of information investigation last year, of all 39 universities in Australia,

UON is being slammed as tight-lipped in relation to their 14 cases of sexual complaints from 2014 to 2016 in comparison to other universities such as the University of New England. UON provided "the absolute bare minimum" of information to the investigation said Nina Funnel, co-author of the EROC Australia report.

"[The University of Newcastle] provided some very vague summary data but didn't provide anywhere near the level of detail other universities were willing to provide," said Ms Funnel.

There are also great concerns regarding the University's "one-size-fits-all" resolution model for dealing with incidents of sexual assault and harassment.

Ms Funnel says the most disturbing step of the complaint process was the recommendation of informal mediation.

"Expecting a rape victim to sit down and have a cup of tea with the person who raped them and trying to resolve the matter is highly inappropriate."

The Women's Convener at the Newcastle University Students Association, Lucinda Iacono, also shares concerns about the current handling of sexual assaults and harassment on campus.

"It's out there now. [The University] needs to start taking this seriously and treating it as a real issue rather than something they can sweep under the carpet", she said.

Ms Iacono doubts the 14 reported cases represent the real issue on campus saying "we've had at least eight people in the last year come to us to report sexual assault because of the way the University has reportedly handled things".

"Mediation might be appropriate in the case of bullying but that is wholly inappropriate for sexual assault cases", Ms Iacono said.

Ms Funnel who is also an anti-violence advocate is also concerned about the lack of sexual assault prevention training being implemented by residential universities such as UON. Last year a survey was issued to residential colleges asking what training would be implemented in 2017.

"None. And I mean none of the colleges attached to the University of Newcastle were willing to answer that question and I think that raises concerns", said Ms Funnel.

The overall consensus from Ms Funnel is that UON needs an update of policy.

Urban Revitalisation of Newcastle stepping things up

BY TYLER FARDELL

In a major win for the revitalisation of the Newcastle city centre, NSW Premier Mike Baird has today announced big plans which will transform the CBD.

The University of Newcastle has secured two hectares of land at Honeysuckle and the adjoining former heavy-rail corridor and will work to expand its world-class research and industry facilities.

"This agreement is a game-changer for the Hunter. Not only will it significantly enhance Newcastle's CBD, it will greatly contribute to the massive construction jobs boom in the city-centre" Mr Baird said.

The developments, along with the new campus and innovation hub will ensure Newcastle becomes a highly developed and connected city.

Also announced by the Premier was a new and improved public transport network for the city, with a new time-tabling system that will link bus, ferry and light-rail timetables to ensure the best services for customers.

"Newcastle transport will guarantee better and more frequent transport options, giving Novacastrians the world-class transport they deserve".

Premier Mike Baird with Minister for Transport Andrew Constance and UON vice-chancellor Catherine McMillan

Talks On Greater University CBD Presence

BY MICHAEL LANGHAM

Proposed Development areas. Photo Courtesy Newcastle Herald

Direct negotiations between the University of Newcastle, Hunter Development, UrbanGrowth NSW and the NSW Government have begun to assess opportunities to expand the Universities presence in Newcastle's CBD.

The focus of development negotiations are parcels of land in the Honeysuckle area and a section of the heavy rail corridor in the Civic precinct.

The direct dealing builds upon the relationship established under the Memorandum of Understanding, agreed in 2015.

Planning Minister ROB STOKES says"the NSW Government sees compelling benefit in having a greater university presence in the city centre as a key influencer in the city's renewal."