Board of Graduate Research Update, Tracey West HDR representative

The Board of Graduate Research is the senior body within the University which debates and makes recommendations through the Dean, Griffith Graduate Research School, to the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Research), and to Academic Committee on matters concerning the University’s graduate research programs, including matters relating to quality of supervision, graduate research admissions, candidature, examinations, scholarships, and communications procedures and policies.

 Tracey West  was elected in March as HDR Student representative on the Board and we’re very pleased that she has kindly agreed to provide regular updates on the Board’s meetings so as to better inform HDR students on the discussions and decisions that shape your HDR candidature.

To begin, the HDR Student Centre  reported at the 15 May Board of Graduate Research  meeting  that overall thesis progression for this year is higher than at the same time last year. So congratulations to all!

The majority of the meeting addressed mostly technical issues, however some points of interest arose including:

• The need to develop a strategy to attract Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander HDR students;
• The appointment of two Gumurrii Learning Assistance Officers to provide support for indigenous HDR students; and,
• The appointment of a HDR Liaison Officer by Griffith International to assist sponsored HDR applicants, in particular from Middle Eastern countries, to find a supervisor.

The Board of Graduate Research continues to progress on its list of projects and issues related to higher degree education.

In other matters, the impending move to the new Health building on the Gold Coast campus is causing serious concerns for  HDR students there with regard to resources, workspaces and data security; they have been advised that they will have to be ‘hotdesking’.  Professor Sue Berners-Price (Dean of the Griffith Graduate Research School), has  scheduled a  meeting in June  with Professor David Shum (Dean (Research), Health Group) and the respective HDR Student Representatives to explore these issues. Please don’t hesitate to contact your HDR Student Representative if you experience similar circumstances.

The  next Board of Graduate Research meeting is scheduled for 12 June. Please feel free to contact me regarding HDR matters at  t.west@griffith.edu.au.