Tag Archives: National

Lots happening at the ASC 2012 AGM – 27 November in Brisbane

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There will be plenty to discuss and decide at the upcoming AGM:

  • I’m stepping down after three busy one-year terms as president so we have to elect a new national president.
  • We will announce the winner of the Unsung Hero of Australian Science Communication for 2012
  • Corporate membership is proposed to be tweaked. There is a motion for a constitutional amendment to enable a single Corporate membership to cover more than 10 representatives at a proportionally higher rate. This won’t affect the one vote per Corporate membership. The motion will be issued for discussion very soon.

This year’s AGM will be hosted by ASC’s SE-Queensland branch. The AGM will be at the Ship Inn from 6.00-7.15pm. The Ship Inn is at the corner of Stanley & Sidon Streets, Southbank Parklands, Brisbane.

After the business is over David Ellyard will present his highly entertaining and always fiercely competitive science trivia quiz. There will be prizes.

The AGM is for financial members only and the quiz will be open to all.

We will be circulating the AGM minutes and other papers imminently.

Jesse Shore
ASC President

National Science Week 2013 grant round open

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Please spread the news that the National Science Week 2013 grant round has just opened.

Inspiring Australia says that grants are available for between $2000 and $25 000. The round is for $500 000, though $50 000 of that has already been decided (because of the two three-year long grants awarded in 2012).

The  grant round will be open until 16:00 AEDT on Monday 26 November.

Find out more at
http://www.innovation.gov.au/Science/InspiringAustralia/NationalScienceWeekGrants/Pages/default.aspx

Jesse Shore
ASC president

sciencerewired – members’ 30% discount extended and freebies for students

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ASC is a supporter of sciencerewired. It has a packed all day program with a focus on digital media, http://sciencerewired.org/adelaideprogramme/. With the members’ discount and student scholarships it becomes even more accessible to gain professional development in this rapidly evolving area.

The discount for ASC members to attend the sciencerewired event has been extended. You can register to attend for only $200, more than a 30% discount. Email office@asc.asn.au to get the promotion code. sciencerewired is on 11 October 2012 at the RiAus in Adelaide.

Free student scholarships
There are a couple of free tickets remaining for ASC student members. Email office@asc.asn.au to get the promotion code. Once these are freebies are the cost to students will be $147.50 incl GST, 50% off the full rate.

The discount and student scholarships are for financial ASC members only. A great incentive to renew now if you need to.

Jesse Shore
National President

ASC 2012 AGM – 27 November in Brisbane

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This is a reminder that this year’s AGM will be hosted by ASC’s SE-Queensland branch. This is fitting as our next national conference will be in Brisbane in 2014.

The AGM will be at the Ship Inn from 6.00-7.15pm. After the business is over David Ellyard will present his highly entertaining and always fiercely competitive science trivia quiz. There will be prizes. The Ship Inn is at the corner of Stanley & Sidon Streets, Southbank Parklands, Brisbane.

The AGM is for financial members only and the quiz will be open to all.

More information about the AGM in late October.

Jesse Shore
ASC President

Unsung Hero Award of Australian Science Communication 2012

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The Australian Science Communicators

is proud to offer the

Unsung Hero Award of Australian Science Communication

The Unsung Hero of Australian Science Communication is an initiative of the Australian Science Communicators. The ASC offers this award to honour a person or group who exemplify science communication.

Nominations are now open for the 2012 Unsung Hero Award of Australian Science Communication.

Click on the following link for full information:
Unsung Hero Award of Science Communication 2012, 29-9-12

Nominations close at 5pm on Friday 2 November 2012.

The award will be presented during the Australian Science Communicators Annual General Meeting, 27 November 2012 in Brisbane.

Jesse Shore
National president

sciencerewired – increased members’ discount and freebies for students

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Breaking news – ASC members can now attend the sciencerewired event for only $200, more than a 30% discount, if you register by 26 September. Email office@asc.asn.au to get the promotion code. sciencerewired is on 11 October 2012 at the RiAus in Adelaide.

Five free student scholarships
sciencerewired is also offering five free tickets on a first come basis to any ASC student member! After the five tickets are gone they offer a 50% discount to student members who are not as quick to register, bringing the cost to $147.50 incl GST. Email office@asc.asn.au to get the promotion code.

The discount and student scholarships are for financial ASC members only. A great incentive to renew now if you need to.

ASC is a supporter of sciencerewired. It has a packed all day program with a focus on digital media, http://sciencerewired.org/adelaideprogramme/. With the members’ discount and scholarships it becomes even more accessible to gain professional development in this rapidly evolving area.

Jesse Shore
National president

Inspiring Australia update: Fringe Science? And is it effective?

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This IA update for ASC readers is focused on arts based science projects and asks us for measures of how these activities engage Australians with science. Better sharpen up your evaluation skills.

Some of these IA funded projects are attracting other investment partners and that in itself is worthy of ASC members’ comments.

An IA grant is supporting an October event in Melbourne and several more IA funded arts-science activities are in the pipeline. Read on for the IA team’s article about this interesting tact in science engagement.

Fringe Science?

The Melbourne Fringe Festival is home to any number of unusual performance pieces, but perhaps one of the stranger artistic efforts this year is all the more left-field for its focus on science.

Art, Science and Schizophrenia is an event exploring the science and history of schizophrenia, drawing on the art and experiences of those living with this particular mental illness. Developed and produced by the Cooperative Research Centre for Mental Health in conjunction with the Dax Centre, the event is also one of Inspiring Australia’s 63 Unlocking Australia’s Potential projects.

Inspiring Australia has funded a number of arts-based science projects through the Unlocking Australia grant round, National Science Week and other Government funding. This investment has attracted others to co-contribute, and to build interest in further exploring the art-science dynamic.

But are these art-science events having the desired effect? Are they opening up clear lines of communication to everyday Australians? Are they providing an avenue for scientists to engage with new audiences and if so, what has been the effect on those audiences?

Projects like this can have some great outcomes, such as the photo book on Tasmanian Seaweed and the poetry books from Science Made Marvellous supported through National Science Week. One would expect there is an overall positive effect in its relation to promoting science engagement, but it would be great to hear of some stories of tangible impacts of art-science events.

In addition to Art, Science and Schizophrenia, other Inspiring Australia supported arts-based science projects include:

  • Insight Radical, where artists and scientists in Melbourne are combining their knowledge and skills to produce artworks reflecting the science of free radicals;
  • The Science of Ageing, a theatrical event touring regional South Australia in 2013, focussing on the processes and impacts of ageing;
  • Fact or Fiction Road Show, which asks what in popular sci-fi really is science-fiction and what is science reality. Fact or Fiction will be touring nationally in 2013;
  • Dream of the Thylacine, a live show based on the thylacine using puppetry and addressing themes of ecology and biology, to be held as part of the Tasmanian Ten Days on the Island festival; and
  • Harvesting Traditional Knowledge, a series of workshops held across the Northern Territory to build understanding and skills in cultural conservation.

The Inspiring Australia strategy is continually being developed and updated to help support the best practice and the best outcomes for science communication in Australia. Why don’t you get along to some of these activities or others you know about and let us know how effective you think they are?

Art, Science and Schizophrenia will be showing at The Dax Centre on 10and 12 October at 6:30pm. Admission is free.

For more information on Inspiring Australia or Unlocking Australia’s Potential projects, contact the team at inspiring.australia@innovation.gov.au or on (02) 6270 2912.

National Science Week success

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Thanks to Rona Sakko and Brian Haddy for their time in providing this round-up of events. 

National Science Week 2012 in South Australia was a big one this year. The biggest, according to the State Coordinator, Rona Sakko.

She was thrilled there were so many new events this year and that there was so much variety in the type of events. They ranged from the University of Adelaide’s inaugural Microscopy Open Day, to ancient DNA talks from the South Australian branch of the Australian and New Zealand Forensic Science Society.  The CSIRO played a significant role again, and this year, the association with Questacon proved a huge success.

An all-encompassing emphasis across the State saw country communities encouraged to participate, with events in many regional areas.

Two of the major events for SA were the Science Alive event in Adelaide and the SciWorld Sunday event in Mount Gambier.

According to Brian Haddy, coordinator of these events and SciWorld General Manager, both had better than expected attendance. The Science Alive event saw an astonishing 20,000 people attend over just one weekend and 2,500 high school students during the week. Mount Gambier, for its small population had a turnout of over 3,000 people – incredible!

The Science Alive event in Adelaide is Australia’s largest science expo event and is realised through a partnership with Inspiring Australia and a new association with Questacon.

Sixteen circus stars from Questacon’s Science Circus performed shows every half hour. On the main stage there were plenty of shows including Chemistry, Native Animals and Magic shows. Professor Rob Morrison and Doctor Deane Hutton even reprised their roles in live ‘Curiosity Show’ performances.

The Mount Gambier event, SciWorld Sunday, was partly funded by a National Science Week grant and was supported by Uni SA and the City of Mount Gambier. It was held at the new main corner development and also offered a variety of attractions including Questacon, shows on native animals, robotic workshops, showcases of bugs and slugs and plenty of aquariums. The incredible attendance might have been aided by the TV advertisement produced and run 210 times by the local WIN TV station.

Well done to everyone who helped make all of these events a huge success.

ASC supports sciencerewired – Adelaide, 11 October 2012

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The ASC is now a supporter of the sciencerewired event. This full day event, on 11 October 2012 at the RiAus in Adelaide, offers a great program with a focus on digital media, http://sciencerewired.org/adelaideprogramme/. It sounds perfect for gaining professional development in this rapidly evolving area. sciencerewired is organised by media140 and their inaugural event in Brisbane last year was very well received.

Member’s discount
Early bird registration expires 31 August and after that sciencerewired is offering ASC members a healthy 20% discount off the full registration price of $295 including GST. The ASC member’s price will be $236 incl GST.

Contact office@asc.asn.au for the promotion code to get the 20% discount when registering. This discount is for financial ASC members only.

FREE tickets (2)
We also have FREE tickets to offer to two lucky ASC members. To apply for a freebie, describe in no more than 50 words your current role or project which would benefit from social media enhancement, and send to office@asc.asn.au by Monday 17 September.

I’ll select two of the entries for free admission. Winners will be required to write a short article for the ASC web site within a month of the event briefly describing their current role or project, what it aims to accomplish, and how sciencerewired contributed to their social media skills, knowledge and/or intentions for future. Good luck!

Scholarship opportunity (2)
sciencerewired is happy to offer two scholarships to ASC student members who are currently enrolled in tertiary science communication courses. sciencerewired is offering a whopping 50% off the full registration bringing the cost to $147.50 incl GST.

To apply for the scholarship describe in no more than 50 words how you anticipate to benefit by attending sciencerewired, include a brief endorsement from your lecturer, and send to office@asc.asn.au by Monday 17 September.

The ASC Executive will select the scholarship winners. After the event the students will write comments for the ASC website about their standout sciencerewired experiences or outcomes.

Jesse Shore
National President

ASC2014 will be at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre

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We have selected one of the best convention centres in the world as the venue for our next national conference. The Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre’s new wing on Grey Street has a 400 seat auditorium, breakout rooms, a large foyer for displays, meals and networking, and easy access to the cultural precinct of Brisbane’s South Bank.

Overall the BCEC is an amazing venue. It’s huge in scale yet welcoming, with superb design and the latest in conference facilities. It has excellent catering facilities and is centrally located. The new wing of the centre will suit the scale of our conference perfectly.

We are starting to get ideas for the program and will be inviting your contribution soon.

Book in the dates 3-5 February 2014 for ASC2014. See you in Brisbane.

Jesse Shore
ASC President