DSC Update February 2020

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[Tania Broadley]

Wominjeka everyone and I hope you've all enjoyed a well-earned break. I know for many, however, it's been a challenging time with the recent bushfire crisis. I hope with time things start to improve for those who were impacted in any way.

It's been wonderful to see RMIT show support for our staff, enrolled students and communities impacted by the Australian bushfires through offering a real commitment to helping them get back on their feet. How rewarding it was to see DSC communities contributing to the cause. A group of our fashion and textiles staff, students and our community more broadly came together to make animal pouches, which help wildlife caught in the fire recover from their injuries. So proactive and with real care for community. Great work everyone involved there.

RMIT is also responding to coronavirus. We're following the advice of relevant health authorities and working hard to keep our students and staff informed and updated, so they can take relevant precautions as the situation evolves. There is coronavirus information on WorkLife, which I encourage you to visit for more details on RMIT's response to the situation.

So, here we are, 2020, the year of the rat and it's a leap year. It's also the fifth and final year of our Ready for Life work strategy, which is all about ensuring RMIT innovates to offer relevant and life changing experiences for our students. In 2020, we're focused on finishing what we started and will combine our efforts under five areas of delivery to embed new practices, processes and systems across the University. You'll be hearing more about our strategy and areas of delivery as our leaders across DSC schedule meetings with their teams with all of you to talk about RMIT strategic priorities for 2020 and what they mean.

Speaking of our leadership team, while there is no update to share on our appointment for the new PVC for our College, I'm confident our DSC exec team will continue to lead to the College brilliantly until we have found the right person. We do have a new appointment that I'd like to mention here though. I'd like to welcome Professor Julia Gaimster who has just started as the new head of School at the School of Communication and Design in Vietnam. Julia was Deputy Head at the School and Head of the Department for Design at RMIT Vietnam. And has worked closely with the leadership team to help establish the School as the leading creative school in Vietnam. I look forward to working with Julia, as we continue to enhance the position of the School as a centre for excellence in Vietnam and the Asian region.

I'd also like to congratulate Professor Harriet Edquist from our Design Archives in the Public Engagement Group. Harriet was recently awarded an Order of Australia for distinguished services to architectural history and design, and to higher education. This is truly fantastic recognition, and a thoroughly well-deserved award. Congratulations Harriet.

And lastly, some exciting news for SCH with the announcement of the new Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Science, Engineering and Health and Vice President Digital Innovation. RMIT will welcome Professor Alex Subic in March. And with that appointment, the Pro Vice-Chancellor title at RMIT is changing to Deputy Vice-Chancellor. This change will create greater consistency across the RMIT executive team.

So, that's the end of my update for this month. I'm excited about the year ahead, as I'm sure you are. And we can get ready to welcome our new and returning students to campus. They are the reason we're here and I know how committed we all are to taking their learning to new levels and preparing them for their future careers. Have a great 2020, all the best for now.

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