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About Blog Central
Blog Central is a space for RMIT academics and senior staff to blog about their areas of expertise and interests.
The views and opinions expressed by the authors on this blog do not necessarily reflect those of RMIT University.
All are welcome to contribute. If you're interested in blogging, please contact Zoë Kleeborn from University Communications.
Category Archives: Education
Conferring to change the world
Recently I took part in the incredible experience that is Harvard WorldMUN. I came across the application while browsing the RMIT News feed and had no real idea of what it involved, but decided to jump in to try something new. WorldMUN is an annual event, bringing together more than 2,000 university students from more [...]
Also posted in Law, Politics, Social Justice Tagged experience, harvard, Melbourne, model, RMIT, students, UN, United Nations, worldMUN, youth Leave a comment
The lust that dare not speak its name
There are few things more disturbing for many people than human-animal sex. I can still recall the shocked face of a woman in the university cafeteria after reading a paper on zoophilia at the Minding Animals conference in Utrecht in 2012. I asked her if she was all right. “Well, I wasn’t expecting to hear that,” [...]
Also posted in Research, Social Justice, Writing Tagged beastiality, biotechnology, German parliament, Minding Animals Conference, research, writing, Zoophilia Comments closed
The rich multi-cultural tapestry that is RMIT
Academics are caught up in their world of teaching and research. After all, the science of discovery and the transmission of ideas constitutes the DNA of an academic, and is the source of the primary motive behind an earlier decision not to join the “regular” work-force. It has been argued that many academics display mild [...]
Posted in Education Tagged global, international students, multi-cultural, RMIT, students Comments closed
Online learning will change universities by degrees
New technologies and online learning are set to transform universities bringing an era of great change. But as we struggle to understand exactly what and how much disruption we will experience – and how soon – we need to also understand that change won’t be uniform across the sector. With so many different sectors in [...]
Posted in Education Tagged Massive Open Online Courses, MOOC, online courses, online learning, online qualification Comments closed
We cannot be a sage on the stage
A common refrain in academia is “research should inform your teaching”. Research in this context is not educational research. There is no argument that academics need to assimilate and investigate best practice in teaching and learning by keeping abreast and being involved in targeted educational research. Rather, generically, research into the latest and greatest trends [...]
What’s up with universities – Whackademia or just grumpy old academics?
When a friend showed me the blurb for Whackademia: an insider’s account of the troubled university, I immediately left the office to buy a copy, solely on the promise in the title. I read it in just two sittings but finished with conflicted feelings. This book made me angry when I agreed with what it [...]
Also posted in Research, Writing Tagged academia, academics, Richard Hil, Whackademia Comments closed
The auspicious university: What’s an artist to do?
I work with the cool people at the university: artists, designers, architects, social scientists, humanities scholars and educators – all sorts of excellent people. Many of them are professionals in their chosen professions. That is, they are professional artists, designers, architects, poets, writers, etc. Their research is ‘practice-based’ research; they create stuff. The process of [...]
Also posted in Art & Design, Research Tagged arts funding, auspicing agent, funding, practicing artist, research funding, university lecturer Comments closed
Last call
Checked my email and no response from the President yet. The size of the NAFSA conference means it is the networking event par excellence. From an Australian perspective, with partner institutions and agents from all over the world in attendance, the opportunity to meet, negotiate, discuss, manage relationships, develop new partnerships and business and student [...]
Houston – do we have a problem?
This year’s NAFSA conference theme is “Comprehensive Internationalisation: Vision and Practice”. John Hudzik of Michigan State University, a former NAFSA and AIEA president, deserves much of the credit for initiating this discussion, which is now being taken up by commentators around the world. Hudzik sees comprehensive internationalisation (CI) as “an organising paradigm to think holistically [...]
Posted in Education Tagged international education, John Hudzik, NAFSA, Speak Out campaign, ten-gallon hat Comments closed
SYN celebrates 10 years of young people on air