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Filling Australia's 'Digital Black Hole' Eidos Institute, Swinburne University of Technology, National Library of Australia, the National and State Libraries Australasia, the Australian Council for Educational Research and Victoria University to partner on research investigating strategies for access and collection of 'grey literature'. _________________________________________________________________________________ South African launch of Eidos Tertiary Exchange Program Eidos Institute has officially launched its Teritary Exchange program in Cape Town, South Africa on the eve of its Second Annual International Public Policy Congress. _________________________________________________________________________________ Two-Speed Economy Peter Beattie to discuss resources boom and future viability of the Australian economy at Eidos Institute For immediate release Recent figures released by the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics have shown that planned mining and energy investment in Australia has increased to a record $132.9 billion dollars. Amid this climate, the concept of a ‘two-speed economy’ has emerged as a crucial linchpin of a debate which has widespread ramifications for a diverse cross-section of the Australian population. The forum will approach the topic ‘Two Speed Economy: What Australia Needs To Do To Guarantee Its Future’ and will feature intellectual contributions from Mr Dennis Atkins, National Affairs Editor the Courier Mail, Professor Jennelle Kyd, Deputy Vice-Chancellor Central Queensland University and Director of the Newcastle Institute for Energy and Resources Dr. Alan Broadfoot. Special guest and keynote speaker Mr Peter Beattie, Queensland Premier 1998 - 2007 has most recently served as Queensland Trade Commissioner for the Americas and is now working for Universities in Queensland and the United States. Mr Beattie stated that while Australia’s economy might be the envy of the developed world at the moment, there is no room for complacency. As an independent think-tank free of an ideological bent, the Eidos Institute runs a series of events dedicated to facilitating grassroots discussion and public debate around topical issues of public interest. What does Australia need to do to continue to maintain an integrated national economy? What happens when demand for iron ore and coal cools? As a large, geographically and geologically diverse country with a broad range of industries, is Australia always likely to experience a certain amount of economic difference by state and region? ‘Two Speed Economy: What Australia Needs To Do To Guarantee Its Future’ will run on December 13th from 6 – 8PM at Eidos Head Office, 166 Ann Street, Brisbane City. To register please visit www.eidos.org.au All media enquires to be directed to: Sam Dean _________________________________________________________________________________
Eidos and USQ collaborate on collaboration For immediate release As an independent research driven think-tank, the Eidos Institute prides itself on being entirely collaborative at every level. Sustaining Synergies, a new book released by a team of researchers at the University of Southern Queensland examines the concept of research collaborations through a variety of lenses. As an Eidos-member university, USQ enlisted Eidos CEO Professor Bruce Muirhead to contribute a Forward to the collectively authored book, which explores themes of collaborative architecture and team research. Professor Muirhead stated that the themes of the book directly aligned with the Eidos ethos of conceptualising research and intellectual progress as a collaborative endeavour. “Universities, governments, civil society and business are increasingly seeking well-considered and independent work that can underpin policy development, service delivery and evaluation in addressing the hard issues,” he said. Sustaining Synergies was written by members of the Capacity-Building, Pedagogy and Social Justice team in the Faculty of Education. Professor Phil Candy, Deputy Vice Chancellor (Global Learning) at USQ said that he believed the book took a new perspective on collaborative team research. “The authors have courageously turned the spotlight onto themselves and reflected on their own experiences as researchers, authors and colleagues in order to tackle each subject from an innovative perspective,” he said. Co-editor Dr Warren Midgley stated that the strategies within the book could be translated to any workplace where staff are involved in collaborative projects. “The strategies include ideas for topics that generate deep group discussions, and encourage collaborative work within the strategies themselves,” he said. The Eidos Institute takes an innovative approach to collaboration, modelling its organisational structure around a ‘birds-nest’ model of network co-contribution. For more information about Sustaining Synergies, contact the research team at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it For more information about the Eidos Institute please contact Samantha Dean ____________________________________________________________________________________ The Perfect Storm
For immediate release Recently released figures showing that Australian universities have slipped in global rankings have sparked renewed concern for the ability of the Australian higher education to remain competitive in the global brain race. The controversial ratings published by Times Higher Education magazine were released amidst new predictions that changes to immigration laws will result in the collapse of the market for international students, currently the nations fourth largest export. In partnership with Trade and Investment Queensland Eidos is hosting a forum seeking to dissect the current concerns of the higher education industry within the context of soft diplomacy and economic and social value. Featuring contributions and opinion from a diverse panel which includes Editor of the Higher Education section of The Australian Julie Hare, Director of CQUniversity’s International Education Research Centre Professor Paul Rodan, local Brisbane MP Grace Grace, leading international mediation lawyer Khory McCormick and industry experts, the forum is shaping up as a timely examination of an industry at a cross-roads. Professor Paul Rodan said that Australia needed a share of the ‘best’ international research students, rather than conceding the field to other players. “This is not helped by a ‘one size fits all’ approach to visa administration,” he said. Ms Julie Hare, Editor of the Higher Education sector of The Australian said that the issue had been boiling under the radar for some time. “The rise and rise of international education propelled by ill-informed government policy and then its dramatic fall from grace, also triggered by ill-informed government policy, has been one of the most dramatic stories of the past few years,” she said. “Strangely almost no one in the mainstream noticed – until recently.” Eidos CEO Professor Bruce Muirhead agreed the forum was the product of a larger conversation occurring within the global higher education community. “Throughout the globe we are seeing a number of factors colliding to re-shape higher education,” he said. “The global financial crisis, increased student mobility and the emergence of a competitive, revenue driven university market has radically changed the sort of environment we’re working in”. The forum will run during Trade and Investment Queensland’s Export Week on the 21st of October at Brisbane’s Marriott Hotel. Tickets are priced at $80 for Eidos members and $90 for non-Eidos members. To register please visit www.eidos.org.au For more information about the forum or for further commentary on the issue by Eidos CEO Professor Bruce Muirhead please contact Samantha Dean _____________________________________________________________________________________ Policy skills and innovation Eidos professional development seeking to better equip policy practitioners A term used to describe principles or rules that casino en ligne francais legal are used to guide decisions and achieve rational outcomes within a range of contexts, the word policy has developed significant negative connotation over the past decade. Governments are accused of favouring ‘quick-fix’ policy strategies formulated to reap short-term political gain. To many within both the public and private sector, policy (internal and external) represents a bureaucratic barrier to change. Not so with an innovative and informed approach to policy, says well-known public policy commentator and director of Australian Catholic University’s Public Policy Institute Professor Scott Prasser. “In these challenging times, policy innovation is not a luxury, but a necessity,” he said. “Doing policy requires a range of skills – sound analysis, having a good process, applying the latest evidence, consulting, building support and developing ‘doable’ policies.” In the name of innovative policy formulation and in recognition of the need for well-informed policy practitioners across a broad spectrum of working environments, Eidos is partnering with Policy Solutions to run a series of policy workshops within this space. A workshop entitled Policy Innovation – New ideas to do policy even better will run on Thursday October 7th and will be facilitated by Professor Scott Prasser, running the entire day at a cost of $550.00 p.p. A separate workshop Essential Policy Skills – Easy steps to doing policy will run the following Thursday on October 14th under the facilitation of both Professor Prasser and Dr Gary Johns, former Minister in the Keating government and current Senior Fellow and the Institute of Public Affairs. Professor Prasser stated that he was pleased to partner with the Eidos Institute on what was an important undertaking towards assisting public policy practitioners gain the necessary skills to develop and implement better. “This workshop provides practical ideas and suggestions for thinking, developing and delivering policy in innovative ways.” For more information on either of these exciting opportunities, or to register for the event please visit www.eidos.org.au under ‘Upcoming Events’. Alternatively, you can book by contacting the Eidos Institute office directly through Paula Kennan on 07) 3009 7900 Samantha Dean _____________________________________________________________________________________ Australian High Commissioner to South Africa Visits Eidos Despite the recent success of the 2010 World Cup and the rise of the annual economic growth rate of the South African region to 6 percent, a recent report to the UN Summit on the Millennium Development Goals has concluded that the majority of Southern Africans remain amongst the poorest people in the world. In a recent visit to public policy think-tank the Eidos Institute, Australian High Commissioner to South Africa Ms Ann Harrap said that while she remained realistic about the challenges South Africa faced, she said there were many opportunities for Australian business, both in South Africa and through the South African gateway to the rest of the continent. “The potential for growth in the Australia-South Africa relationship is significant and both countries have much to gain by engaging more at the political and commercial level,” she said. Addressing a roundtable of industry and educational leaders, Ms Harrap facilitated discussion and took questions from a delegation which included clients of Trade and Investment Queensland. Eidos CEO Professor Bruce Muirhead stated that the roundtable was relevant to the work and engagement currently being undertaken by the Eidos Institute in South Africa. “With the establishment of Eidos South Africa in 2011 we hope to assist South Africa in its quest to boost education levels amongst its citizens and promote research collaboration between our two countries,” he said. For more information about the Eidos Institute and the work it is undertaking in South Africa please contact: _______________________________________________________________________________
Innovative organisational structures such as ‘birds nest’ and ‘starfish’ models of organisation have the potential to replace traditional pyramid hierarchies currently in place within major corporations and organisations, says Eidos CEO Professor Bruce Muirhead. In a speech delivered to Queensland urban planning company Urbis today, Professor Muirhead outlined a number of mega-trends set to globally affect the future of our state, market and civil society for years to come. “Our current conditions of increasingly boundaryless, structureless, free-flowing communication, trade and mobility have a number of implications for our everyday quality of life”, he said. “For many, they provide the tools for a free-wheeling, mobile lifestyle that allows them to live and work anywhere they want. For others, they provide challenges such as natural and man-made disasters which force them to uproot from traditional homes”. Along with Professor John Daley of the Grattan Institute, Professor Muirhead presented to Urbis, an Eidos industry partner as part of a two-day annual Directors Conference which ran under the theme “Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow” Professor Muirhead told the crowd that decentralisation and innovative networking had “well and truly unleashed its powerful force upon both the public and private sector,” influencing the way we respond to and receive communication and paving the way for "radical changes within industry and governmental sectors". A starfish model of organisation promotes a decentralised style of governance which promotes freedom of expression, creativity and a radical re-thinking of ridged business models. The Eidos Institute itself, a progressive think-tank with a network spanning ten member universities is an adherent to the principles of innovative networking. With a small core staff and an extensive research network, Eidos has been praised for its work in pushing the boundaries of collaboration between the private and public sector in the name of social enterprise. Professor Muirhead stated that collaborative culture was changing the way which many people approached aspects of their lives. “The next decade will be all about light and dynamic networks,” he said. Professor Muirhead recently delivered a keynote speech at the 2010 e-Skills summit in South Africa. For more details about Eidos or Professor Muirhead's availability for keynote speeches and presentations please contact: Samantha Dean ________________________________________________________________________________________
The Australian Business Award for Innovation recognises organisations that have made significant contributions to their industry through research and development resulting in the introduction of a new idea, method, technology, process or application of social, environmental and/or economic benefit. Commenting on their win, Eidos CEO Bruce Muirhead said “this award is a recognition of the commitment of our entire network of universities and industry partners to collaborative partnership and the spirit of innovation”. The Eidos Institute links previously disparate and freestanding universities, industry partners and governmental departments in the name of collaborative research. Tara Johnston, Program Director of the Australian Business Awards, commended the achievements of all Winners saying: “The standard of entries for 2010 has underpinned the strength of the Australian economy and provides a welcome opportunity for organisations committed to business and product excellence to receive the recognition they deserve”. For more information about the Eidos Institute, please contact: Samantha Dean _________________________________________________________________________________________ Gillard kicks off election campaign at Eidos Institute The Hon. Prime Minister Julia Gillard yesterday launched her election campaign in front of a full house gathered at the offices of public policy think-tank the Eidos Institute. |
