Congratulations to Greg Rappo who has been appointed as a Rotary District Judge
Greg Rappo, our Community Services Director, has been appointed to be one of the three Judges for the District 9685 2022 Rotary Emergency Services Community Awards (RESCA) - other Judges are PDG Kalma McLelland and District Vocational Service Chair Ken Broadhead.
RESCA recognises Emergency Service Agency personnel from the following organisations:
· Fire and Rescue NSW
· Marine Rescue NSW
· Surf Life Saving NSW
· VRA Rescue NSW
· NSW Ambulance
· NSW Rural Fire Service
· NSW State Emergency Service
The Awards Presentation is scheduled to be held on Saturday 13 August 2022 at the Bankstown Sports Club. Well done Greg and thank you for your service to Rotary.
Martina Linnenluecke
‘The Impacts of COVID 19 on Australian Higher Education System” via zoom at our 11th May meeting
Martina spoke about how universities have held importance throughout history as enduring institutions of intellectual development. She explained that over the last four decades significant changes have happened in the values and principles of Australian universities.
- A greater focus on globalization and revenue generation
- Reduced funding for programs that do not align with this focus
- More control over academics through management systems (focus on research revenue generated, student numbers etc?)
At the end of 2019 Australian Universities already faced a triple threat
- Over exposure to international students
- Dramatic rise in quality of Chinese Universities
- Shortfall in the funding of domestic student fees
Then came COVID which could not have come at a worse time. It created many personal dramas for students, international students and academics. Only 3% of international students managed to enrol at the universities during the Covid lockdowns. NTEU estimates about 40% of university jobs were lost (1in 5)
Martina explained that this has put enormous and unsustainable pressure on the academics who are already stretched in their workload. Martina reminded us about the importance of research and practical applied work that universities are working on.
Coming up …
18th May Annual Science and Innovation Night’
Meet our NYSF 2022 National Youth Science Forum student Jennifer Riley & Joshua Ross Co-founder of Humanitix Matt Cross has organised our annual youth science and innovation night - Wednesday 18 May 2022 from 6:30pm for 7pm at Avondale Golf Club. We will hear from our 2022 National Youth Science Forum student, Jennifer Riley who will give a presentation on her experience. Joshua Ross, founder of Humanitix, will speak on Humanitix which is a not-for-profit organisation notable for operating an event ticketing platform to raise funds for education projects.
25th May Dr Toni Pearson Zoom meeting at 6.30 Update on Rotary of St Ives’ contribution to Northern Beaches Cancer Care Charity - making a difference to lives of people living with cancer. NBCCC is one of the charities we support. Dr Toni Pearson is Head of Oncology Dept Northern Beaches Hospital. Zoom details: Meeting ID: 746 533 0852 Passcode: Rotary2022Time details: 6.30 to 7.30 pm
28th May Bunnings BBQ Roster to be sent out
1st June Breakfast at JJs at 8 am
1st June Board meeting via zoom at 6.30 pm
12th June Sunday ‘Clean up Australia’ followed by activity based meeting and afterwards a
picnic meeting at St Ives Showground
15th June KNC guest speaker Michelle Bell Zoom meeting
Update on Ku ring gai Neighbourhood Centre (KNC) and their defined needs. KNC is one of the charities we support. Zoom details: Meeting ID: 746 533 0852 Passcode: Rotary2022 Time details: 6.30 to 7.30 pm
22nd June Social dinner TBA
29th June Changeover dinner Dr Bruce Farnsworth starts his Rotary year as Club President for 2022-2023 – let’s celebrate!
Update on St Ives Food and Wine Festival
Now confirmed for 25th September. The planning is well underway and many thanks to Harold Morgan for leading this committee which now includes Di Barnes, Milton Drever, Pip Heath, Christiane Berlioz, Russell Crofts and John Steel.
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I always appreciate feedback so please call me if you would like to discuss something or just for a chat. Keep safe and healthy.
Cheers
President Lyndall