Newsworthy &
Interesting
March 2006
CollegeDownUnder is now CampusDownUnder
International students welcomed to Bond
Glitzy film awards head to the Gold Coast
Bond MBA students going for yet another world champ title
Government recognizes Bond medical faculty and grants $4.5 million
Bond Law students judged best in Australia
Bond students to attend simulated United Nations conference in Beijing
World expert on crime to visit Bond
Graduate Success Profile: Antony Szeto
Graduate Success Profile: Brian Jean
INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS WELCOMED TO BOND
Last month, Bond welcomed the arrival of almost 600 international students from
over 20 different countries who have chosen to study abroad, or are on an
exchange program with a partner university.
Students from countries as diverse as Bulgaria, Bolivia, Italy, Greece, Russia, Poland, Denmark and the United States of America were welcomed to the Bond
campus and community at an orientation session, which was as much about having fun and experiencing the Australian culture as it was about preparing for their upcoming programs.
The group first converged on the Cerum Theatre, where the Registrar, Academic
Advisors and members of the Study Abroad team armed them with information on
class attendance and participation, security, respect for the University, cultural misconceptions and opportunities to be involved with various social and sporting activities, and other hints for surviving the semester ahead.
A campus tour followed and finally, the group was treated to some of our tastiest Aussie treats, including Vegemite, ANZAC cookies, lamingtons and a quintessential Australian sausage sizzle.
A performance by a North-Stradbroke Island Aboriginal Dance Group from Kalwun
Development Corporation topped off the afternoon, with the group entertaining
students with their didgeridoo performances, fire-lighting dances and other traditional movements.
GLITZY FILM AWARDS HEAD TO THE GOLD COAST
The glitz and glamour of Hollywood will descend on the Gold Coast when Australia's most prestigious film awards are staged later this year. In a coup for the state, the Lexus Inside Film awards will be held at the Gold Coast Convention Centre on November 17.
The awards, usually held in Sydney, have previously attracted such Australian movie luminaries as Nicole Kidman, Cate Blanchett, Baz Luhrmann and Toni Collette.
Celebrating Australia's diverse film industry - including features, short
films, animation and feature-length documentaries - the awards are based on
scoring by audiences around the country, with more than 43,000 individual
scores received last year.
Bond MBA students going for another world champ title
A Bond University Executive MBA team will represent Australia at the world
renowned International Moot Corp Competition, after their dominating
performance in Australia.
The talented team of four swept the stage at the inaugural John Heine
Entrepreneurial Challenge (JHEC) - Australia's premier business planning
competition (formerly Moot Corp Australia,) being judged Overall Winner in
addition to winning the Academic Advisor's award and the 60-second elevator
pitch competition.
As Overall Winners of the John Heine Entrepreneurial Challenge the team
received $10,000 in seed money to assist in developing the business, as well as
$15,000 to cover the expenses of representing Australia in the International
Moot Corp Competition.
Held annually at the University of Texas in the United States, the Moot Corp
International Challenge attracts entries from 30 of the world's best business
schools. It is touted as the The Super Bowl of World Business-Planning
Competitions and offers the largest guaranteed prize of any student contest in
the world, equivalent to around US$180,000.
This won't be the first time Bond University will represent Australia in the
prestigious contest. The university has a reputation as the most consistent
performer in the international challenge, having previously championed over the
likes of the Harvard, Stanford and UCLA to be record three-time world
champions.
Business Faculty Dean Professor Garry Marchant attributes the success of Bond's
MBA students to the intensely practical nature of the program.
"Too many MBA programs focus on abstract scientific theory at the expense of
actual business practice. Business is not a science." Professor Marchant said.
"The point of difference with Bond's MBA Program is that it focuses on real-life situations and uses experiential learning to build an understanding of the impact management decisions can have on the running of a business. We have designed our MBA to encourage innovation and entrepreneurship in our students, and I think our strong record of success in competitions like the international Moot Corp Challenge signifies that we are doing this well."
GOVERNMENT RECOGNIZES BOND MEDICAL FACULTY AND GRANTS $4.5m
Premier (Australian version of the Governor) of Queensland and Treasurer, The Honourable Dr Peter Beattie, has announced a $4.5 million capital grant to Bond University's Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine, in what he says is an investment in the training of future Australian doctors.
The Premier made the public announcement during a visit to Bond University last
Friday, where he met with medical students in an open forum to discuss issues
facing the Australian health industry.
Bond University Vice-Chancellor Professor Robert Stable said the generous contribution marked the first significant capital grant that Bond University has received from any government.
"The awarding of this grant signifies strong recognition by the State Government of the very significant contribution that Bond is poised to make to the provision of quality healthcare in both Queensland and Australia through the delivery of our new and innovative undergraduate medical program," Professor Stable said.
BOND LAW STUDENTS JUDGED BEST in AUSTRALIA
Bond University's Faculty of Law mooting team has proven itself Australia's best after winning the national round of the internationally renowned Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition in the nations capital - Canberra.
The team of five students will now represent at the world championship rounds
held in Washington, DC in March, where they will compete against the national
champions from 580 other law schools from over 80 countries, in what is the
largest moot court competition in the world.
Teams from Bond University and the University of Queensland competed against
each other in the national final, with each team representing two fictitious
nations, through written and oral advocacy, in a hypothetical dispute before
the International Court of Justice.
Dean of Bond University's Faculty of Law, Professor Duncan Bentley, said the
team's win was an outstanding result and demonstrated the high standard of the
students' legal skills.
"It is a tribute to the student team and testament to our innovative and
practical teaching methods," he said.
"This achievement cements our place as the top-ranking Law School in Australia
and will strengthen our reputation both nationally and world-wide," Professor
Bentley said.
Bond has a history of success in the Jessup Moot competition, with this win marking their third national championship. A Bond team won the Australian title and advanced to the semi finals of the world championships in Washington DC in 1999 and 2001, and also claimed the title of the World's Best Written Submissions in 2003.
BOND STUDENTS TO ATTEND SIMULATED UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE
Four students from Bond University have been selected to represent in the 2006
Harvard World Model United Nations (World MUN) conference in March.
The conference is hosted in a different international location each year, where
approximately 1000 delegates representing over 50 different countries gather to
discuss the issues facing the international community.
The conference is being hosted by Peking University in Beijing, from 27 - 31 March, 2006 and is described as the world's most fun and realistic simulation of the United Nations.
Bond University is the largest contingent in the Australian delegation, with "Bondies" representing four of the 18 delegates selected from 9 universities throughout Australia.
The committee will simulate two cases pending before the International Criminal
Court.
WORLD EXPERT ON SITUATIONAL CRIME PREVENTION TO VISIT BOND
Professor, Ronald V Clarke will be visiting the Faculty of Humanities of Social
Sciences during March. Ron Clarke is recognised as a world expert on situational crime prevention. Formerly Head of the Home Office Research and Planning Unit (the British Government's criminological research department), Ron is now a Professor at Rutgers University after serving twelve years as Dean.
As an expert in the application of crime prevention techniques in a variety of settings, Ron has consulted with United Nations, Europol, the European Union, and various policing organisations.
He is one of the most published and quoted criminologists in the world. He has recently co-authored a book on the application of these techniques in the field of terrorism.
Working closely with Paul Wilson and Helene Wells, Ron will provide research assistance and guidance over the next few weeks as a visiting Professor to the Criminology Department.
GRADUATE Success PROFILE: ANTONY SZETO, film maker
Antony Szeto is the first Bond University graduate ever to direct a feature film. Antony's film, Dragon Blade, is the first 3-D computer-generated animated feature film wholly produced in Hong Kong, and the first ever movie of its kind anywhere in the world.
Currently living in Hong Kong, Antony completed a Bachelor of Commerce at Bond
with a double major in finance and media productions. During his time at Bond,
Antony was awarded with the Excellence in Student Film Direction Award and Best
Overall Achievement in Video Production.
Antony is a martial arts specialist and starred in some Australian television and film productions in the late 1990's including the cult classic Singapore Sling.
Dragon Blade was Antony's directorial debut and was recently nominated for the
prestigious 2005 Golden Horse Award.
Asian Cult Cinema says of Dragon Blade; "The most amazing thing about this film
is the martial arts. Directed by Australian martial-artist/stuntman Szeto, the film recreates the intricacies of Wushu. Several fighting styles are visualised, carefully rendered in a way that purists will feel vindicated, yet non-experts will be entertained."
Antony is now in pre-production to direct his first live action feature film, Jessica Caught on Tape, which will centre on the story of an overseas French-Chinese Eurasian girl, and her dream of becoming a star in Hong Kong.
GRADUATE success PROFILE: Brian Jean, Canadian parliament
Brian Jean was one of the first students to attend and graduate from Bond University. He was the first ever Bond Student Council President, the first Canadian to graduate with a Bond degree, and now he has become the first Bond Alumnus to be appointed Parliamentary Secretary.
Whilst travelling in Australia in 1989, Brian was impressed with the location,
design and quality of Bond University and the strong qualifications of the Professors. He applied for, and was accepted into the MBA program. Upon graduating with his MBA he stayed on at Bond to complete a Bachelor of Laws.
During his time at Bond, Brian was heavily involved in student life. He lived on campus for two semesters and was elected as the inaugural Bond University Student Council President. Brian was also involved in creating the university's
Student Constitution and was a member of the JESSUP Moot team.
He says, "Bond University changed my life. I took the hard work ethic I learnt from my family and learnt how to focus that work ethic while attending Bond."
After completing his studies, Brian returned to Canada and articled with a Fort
McMurray law firm, becoming a partner and practicing for 11 years. During that
time, he also bought his family's printing and sign shop, (his family launched the first town newspaper in Fort McMurray). On top of that, he purchased land, built one of Alberta's most successful carwash businesses and opened a Quizno's Sub shop, which continues to post Canada's top ten sales figures.
"Our net worth as a family has gone up ten times in the last ten years - from
$2 million to $20 million," Brian said.
Running for government for the first time in 2004 as a member of The Conservative Party of Canada, Brian was successfully elected with a 60 percent majority. In his new role as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, Brian may be facing his biggest challenge yet.
"My Constituance has serious transportation and infrastructure issues and I am glad that I will now be in a position to work constructively on these challenges," he said.
A proud Bondy, Brian is pleased to see the university is still thriving and prospering.
"My time at Bond was a very special time in my life and one that I remember fondly. I still keep in contact with most of my close friends and look forward to one day revisiting the beautiful campus," he said.
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