23 January 2012

RMIT Update - No. 03/2012, 23/01/2012

Read about the results of last year’s “Have your say” survey, ITS Training becoming part of Human Resources, TAFE student orientation, performance workplan drop-in labs and more…

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In brief

Have your say – the results are in

Last November, all RMIT staff were encouraged to nominate which IT-related initiatives would make the biggest difference to their job and/or overall working environment.

Thank you to everyone who completed the “Have your say” survey. We received a great response from across the University with more than 300 staff participating. The results have since been analysed and the top four initiatives seen as delivering the biggest improvements were:

1. Single sign-on capability
2. Virtual Desktop Environment (VDE)
3. Staff Portal
4. ICT Service Excellence

The main reason for the selection of these initiatives was to improve productivity and minimise inconvenience. These findings will be taken into consideration by the Vice-Chancellor’s Executive, ICT Strategy Committee and ITS leadership team to finalise the 2012 ITS program of work. These details will be communicated as soon as they are confirmed.

If you have any queries in the interim on the 2012 program of work, please contact the ITS Project Office.

[Source: Brian Clark, Executive Director, Information Technology Services]

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ITS Training joins Human Resources

As part of the Information Technology Services (ITS) organisational restructure, ITS Training recently transitioned to Human Resources (HR).

What has changed?

• The ITS Training team is now part of Human Resources.
• All IT-related training previously delivered by ITS is now managed by the Organisational Development team in Human Resources.

What hasn’t changed?

• IT training courses can still be booked online.
• All current bookings for IT courses remain valid.

What will change?

The location of IT training web pages will soon move to the DevelopMe section of the website.

If you have any queries, please contact the Professional Development team (staff login required).

[Source: Brian Clark, Executive Director, Information Technology Services]

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Web room booking system

The web room booking system is now available. The web room booking system enables staff to make ad-hoc room bookings for teaching. Meeting rooms, however, cannot be booked through the system. Staff should contact their School or Department administration to book venues for meetings. Contact Craig King on 51811 for further information.

[Source: Craig King, Property Services]

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Orientation for TAFE students

Coming up in early February are two welcome breakfasts for TAFE students:

• Brunswick campus on Tuesday, 7 February, from 7.30am to 9am
• City campus on Wednesday, 8 February from 7.30am to 9am

These events are a great opportunity for students to get to know not just each other, but their campus too … and to fuel up for the day. A healthy, tasty breakfast will be provided.

There will also be information on the services available for students across the University, so let your students know what’s happening or point them to the orientation website for more detail.

[Source: Fiona Ellis, Director Student Services and Chair, Orientation Steering Committee]

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Performance workplan drop-in labs

Would you like support using the performance workplan online? Why not come along to one of our drop-in labs (login required) and receive support from HR staff. Drop in to one of our local labs to:

• Ask questions about the new performance workplans online
• Seek advice about any aspect of the workplanning processes
• Build confidence in the system and start to build your workplan
• Gain a better understanding of the resources and support available

[Source: Amanda Cartisano, Human Resources]

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Compliance education – scheduled maintenance of online modules

RMIT University is committed to the health, safety and well-being of staff, students and partners, and compliance education training is provided via a number of online modules completed during induction and every two years as a refresher.

Compliance education at RMIT is undergoing some exciting improvements which will make it easier for staff to access mandatory online training modules. To perform the upgrade works, access to compliance education modules will be unavailable from noon this Friday, 27 January until noon on Monday, 30 January. Please be mindful of this downtime if you are planning to complete any outstanding modules.

[Source: Jasmin Barker, Human Resources]

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Childcare places available

The RMIT City Campus Children’s Centre, a 65-place long day-care service, has a limited number of places available in all rooms. RMIT students and staff are given priority.

The centre runs programs for children up to five years of age, and includes a pre-school program with a qualified kindergarten teacher four days a week. Staff at the centre have formal qualifications in early childhood education and many years of experience working with young children.

Want to know more? Email the centre’s friendly staff, fill out a waitlist form and make an appointment to have a look at the childcare facilities. A non-refundable waitlist fee of $20 is payable. More about the Childcare centre.

[Source: Ursula Gee, Student Services]

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February Postgrad Expo

If you or someone you know is interested in postgraduate study, consider the Postgrad Expo on Wednesday, 1 February. Learn more about RMIT’s sought-after postgraduate programs or contact Info Corner to discuss study options.

[Source: Jacqueline Partridge, Marketing and Communications]

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Volunteers wanted for acupuncture study

The University of Melbourne, in collaboration with RMIT University, is looking for healthy postmenopausal women who have not had acupuncture in the past two years, and who can attend ten free sessions of acupuncture (either real or placebo) as part of a study on acupuncture for hot flushes. Volunteers must be over 40, have regular hot flushes, and are not menopausal as a result of surgery, radio or chemotherapy.

Treatments are provided by experienced acupuncturists located in St Kilda, Bentleigh, Coburg, Rosanna, Mount Waverley, Ringwood, Bundoora and Melton. Treatments last for 30 minutes except for the first treatment which is 45 minutes. View details of the study, email about the study or call 9035 5018. This study has received ethics approval from the University of Melbourne HREC1135293 16/6/11.

[Source: Sandy Ebell, School of Health Sciences]

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How to contribute

Contributions to this newsletter must be sent as an unformatted email message with no attachments to rmit.update@rmit.edu.au before 2pm on Thursday for distribution on Monday. The word limit for contributions is 150 words. Do not send personal items, press releases, items that require uploading to the web or repeat articles. View Writing for RMIT Update guidelines (login required).

Only items that relate to the University's core activities will be published. To ensure RMIT Update is distributed on time, we cannot accept late contributions.

The deadline for the next edition, No.04 2012, is 2pm Wednesday, 25 January, (the University is closed for the Australia Day public holiday on Thursday, 26 January) for distribution on Monday, 30 January.

If you have any comments or queries, please email rmit.update@rmit.edu.au. RMIT Update is produced by Marketing and Communications (login required).

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Feedback

Your feedback about RMIT Update is welcome.

Your thoughts, comments and suggestions will help us provide content that is relevant to you.

Please email your feedback to rmit.update@rmit.edu.au.

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Useful links

Other useful RMIT web sites are available from the staff essentials web page.

More news is available on the news for staff web page.

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