Latest News
Swinburne Centenary 8 July 2008
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| Swinburne celebrates its centenary in 2008 |
In 2008, Swinburne is celebrating 100 years since it was founded by local politician George Swinburne.
The Eastern Suburbs Technical College was established on 8July 1908, and 80 young men enrolled in its first term.
Today, Swinburne has grown to around 26,000 students and 2,000 staff and has five campuses in Melbourne and one in Malaysia.
George Swinburne's firm belief in self-improvement and the broader social benefits of an educated populace have underpinned the university's approach to education throughout the century of its operation.
To commemorate this milestone, Swinburne is holding various centenary celebrations throughout the year in Australia and overseas, including:
- Offshore celebrations held in Vietnam, Singapore, India and Thailand. In the later half of the year, further celebrations are planned in Malaysia, China and Hong Kong.
- In May, the world's first female private space explorer, and current Swinburne online astronomy student, Anousheh Ansari, visited the university for the first time to deliver the inaugural Chancellor's Centenary Lecture.
- Sir Rod Eddington will give the second Chancellor's Centenary Lecture on 13 November 2008.
- On 8 July, staff from each of Swinburne's campuses gathered to celebrate Swinburne's 100th birthday with a morning tea of champagne and cupcakes.
- On 14 July, a Centenary Gala Dinner was held for more than 250 guests including descendants of George Swinburne, alumni, staff and representatives from offshore partner institutions.
For more information about Swinburne's centenary and upcoming celebrations visit the Swinburne Centenary website.
Contact: Marisa Furno on (03) 9214 8240 or mfurno@swin.edu.au
Swinburne opens up to the world with iTunes U
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| Dr Lisa Germany with Swinburne on iTunesU in the background |
Swinburne is one of seven universities in Australia and New Zealand to make their teaching and research available for free to a global audience through Apple’s content distribution system, iTunes U on the iTunes Store.
Existing students and new audiences can discover Swinburne's key areas of expertise and access content wherever and whenever it’s convenient for them.
"You don't have to be a student to access university knowledge. Through iTunes U, Swinburne can reach beyond the classroom, allowing the global community at large, to extend their learning, explore interests and engage in education," said Dr Lisa Germany, Educational Coordinator with Swinburne's Digital Learning Initiative.
Users can download the content to their Mac or PC, transfer the information to their iPod or MP3 player and listen to or view it anytime, anywhere.
Initially, Swinburne's presence on iTunes U features cutting-edge research conducted at the university, short films produced by students from Swinburne's Film and Television school, previews of stereoscopic 3D movies produced by the Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing and introductory lectures in public relations writing.
The university plans to expand its presence on iTunes U by adding guest speakers and allowing the public to study complete lecture series. It will also showcase its unique departments, alumni and the facilities and services offered to students and staff at the university.
 Visit Swinburne on iTunes U
Download the free iTunes software
Contact: Lea Kivivali on (03) 9214 5428 or lkivivali@swin.edu.au
Swinburne to build state-of-the-art technology research and teaching centre
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| Swinburne's Advanced Technology Centre, scheduled for completion in time for the 2011 academic year |
Swinburne is set to begin the development of our new Advanced Technology Centre (ATC) which will provide state-of-the-art research and teaching spaces and attract world class researchers, both nationally and internationally.
In the second half of 2008, two Swinburne buildings on Burwood Road will be demolished to make room for the centre which is scheduled to be complete in readiness for the 2011 academic year.
The ATC aims to be one of the first 5 star green buildings in an Australian university. It will include many sustainable features such as energy-efficient lighting, escalators and air conditioning and the use of recycled water throughout the building.
It will be home to some of Swinburne's key research facilities including:
- Swinburne Nanophotonic Applications Facility
- Centre for Aging: Measurement and Design Suite
- Microfabrication and Microanalytical Facility
- Advanced Molecular and Proteomics Facility
- Brain Sciences Institute
- Strong Structures Laboratory
- High Temperature Processing Laboratory.
The ATC will enable Swinburne to deliver courses that produce graduates qualified in areas of recognised skills shortages in order to meet specific needs within Victoria and Australia.
If you would like more information or are interested in offering your support to the development of the Advanced Technology Centre in any form, please contact Dr Michael Thorne on (03) 9214 8171 or mthorne@swin.edu.au.
Business innovators punch it out in the ring
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| At the Pitch Club, business innovators step into a boxing ring and get 90 seconds to pitch their best ideas to a room full of peers |
Budding entrepreneurs can now find out if their business idea packs a good punch.
Through an innovative networking event, Pitch Club, entrepreneurs across Australia are invited to step into a miniature boxing ring to sell their business concept to a room full of peers.
The club started in 2004 as a pizza and wine night for graduates of Swinburne's Master of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, where potential business ideas were thrown around the table.
Since then, Pitch Club has evolved into a full-scale networking event that attracts business innovators from across the country.
During a typical Pitch Club night, nine entrepreneurs are given 90 seconds to pitch their idea. The audience, which consists of up to 150 business owners, advisers and investors, gets to vote for their favourite.
Three finalists advance to the next round, where they are given a further two minutes to pitch their idea, followed by three minutes to field questions from the audience.
The winner walks away with a bottle of wine, but more importantly the opportunity to showcase their business endeavour and test its viability.
Peter Christo, founder of the event, encourages anybody with a business idea to come to a Pitch Club night, regardless of their level of experience. "Some people come to Pitch Club with just a concept. Others are high quality professionals with fully developed ideas. It's always interesting to see which ones get up."
Past events have showcased a diverse range of business ideas including companies that would produce wind power, fire retardant materials, lighting concepts and even children's story books.
Pitch Club: 1300 733 926 or www.pitchclub.biz
Babies in the classroom: VCAL program opens doors to young mums
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| Identical twins, Swarna and Raji Vaduganathan commence their research careers at Swinburne |
Babies are a familiar and welcome sight in the classroom in the Young Mums class at Swinburne's Croydon campus.
As part of a unique program teaching childcare and parenting skills, eight young mums and mothers-to-be are keeping up their education while learning hands-on childcare skills alongside their peers.
Offered as part of the Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning (VCAL) program, the Young Mums class allows girls aged 16-19, who have been unable to continue their schooling when they became pregnant, to keep their babies with them in childcare and personal development classes.
Sixteen students are enrolled in the class, eight of whom have young babies or are currently pregnant. The flexible program allows these students to take time off to give birth and return to the classroom when they are ready.
Completing the program counts towards a Certificate III in Children's Services.
VCAL teacher Louise Schilling said the program is very valuable to the young women.
"While there are other programs for young mums, we believe this is one of a few that actually welcomes babies in the classroom. It provides an opportunity for the girls to learn how to care for their baby’s health, nutrition and emergency care as well as how to play with them whilst studying their VCAL.
"These girls want to be good mothers. Education can make an enormous difference to the chance for them and their children to have a brighter future," she said.
Contact: Katherine Carragher on (03) 9726 1649 or kcarragher@swin.edu.au
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