Indolent update

As you have noticed I have been away from blogging for sometime. I apologise for leaving opened ended without an explanation. Here is somewhat of an explanation.

I’ve been busy. Very busy. The last time I blogged was about 2 weeks before I finished working full-time at ASC to return to uni after the summer break. They were a tiring 2 weeks as I chased up loose ends, wrote a presentation and handed over my ongoing work to the new graduate. I’m still working once a week on Thursdays but in a different department.

It was also the time when my final year engineering project got cranking. This meant some hours at uni after work, looking at team structures, deliverable deadlines but most importantly at that stage marketing and sponsorship.

The project is the Design & Build of a Hybrid Solar Electric Vehicle (HSEV) to be completed by the end of October. We don’t have a massive uni grant for the project so have to gain our own sponsorship from business. I took on the role of Managing Director of the project which includes 9 Mech Eng & 4 Elec Eng with 3 supervisors. This takes up most of my time at the moment as we arrange sponsorship proposals, a project launch and I prepare presentations for the launch and a special do with Engineers Australia. It’s terribly exciting and the prospects for success should be rewarding.

I’ve also accepted a new position at the university. You may recall that I’m the student member of the University’s governing council, and from that I was invited on to the University’s finance committee for 12 months. It’s an exciting time and should be another useful experience. (Council meeting the other day went for 6 hours though…)

And then of course there is ACSA. Once uni returns for the year we all know it’s time to really get the conference plans cranking, and we are yet to secure any large donations. Speakers are beginning to be locked in and the line-up is looking just about as wished (so far).

So with such a busy year ahead – I stayed in on the Saturday night of Week 1 – I probably won’t be blogging terribly much at all… so please accept my apologies and absence.

Now here is some good news

From the ABC News website:

Uni to vote on church's demand for stem cell research ban

The University of Sydney is considering complying with a church request to ban a new medical research centre from conducting embryonic stem cell research.

The university wants to buy land from the Catholic Church to build the Institute of Health and Medical Research.

The church's deed on the land stipulates there should be no foetal stem cell research or procedures involving the termination of human life or artificial creation of it.

The president of the Student Representative Council, Angus McFarland, says it is outrageous a health and medical research facility would be banned from such research.

"I'm really concerned that is going to be compromising academic freedom," he said.

"To build a medical research centre on land where you are not allowed to ever, ever engage in human stem cell research or any sort of research that involves the artificial creation or termination of life - I think it's a very limiting thing for the university to do."

The university's Senate will vote tonight on whether to accept the conditions.

I sit on the equivalent of the Senate at the University of Adelaide. The choice is simple - comply or don't buy, and they would be silly not to buy!

I'm still trying to get my head around the new Blogger. So please forgive the messiness of the blog at the moment.
Work has been very busy over the last two weeks but rewarding nonetheless. My performance review on Monday went well and it that means that I'll all but guarenteed a full-time job there when I graduate at the end of this year.

This also signals that there is only 3 weeks left until uni resumes. My final year and all engineering subjects. But there are some interesting ones there such as Engineering Management and Professional Practice along with Finance for Engineers. I can't wait to finish and get out.