Welcome to QUT's latest round-up of news and events. For more updates as they happen, join more than 7500 followers of @QUTmedia on Twitter.
World-first open online robotics courses for the masses: Love robots? Enjoy maths? Then this online course DOES compute
Queensland has a cash flow problem but is not going broke: A leading Queensland economist says the state is not going broke, but has a cash-flow problem.
Tom Cochrane named in Australia Day Honours: QUT warmly congratulates Emeritus Professor Tom Cochrane, a former Deputy Vice-Chancellor, on his Australia Day Honours award as a Member in the General Division of the Order of Australia (AM).
The ABCs of healthy school lunch box preparation: With the 2015 school year starting today for most Queensland children, school lunches are once again on the agenda and a QUT expert has some timely advice for parents on how to make them both healthy and enticing.
Social media traffic fuels Hottest 100 Hypometer: The Hottest 100 Hypometer is the latest social media tracking tool created by QUT's Social Media Research Group - and managed to successfully predict the number one song (Talk is Cheap) six days earlier.
Major party plans won't stop state drowning in debt: Both major parties in Queensland have "unexplained black holes" in their budget plans for tackling the state's spiralling debt, a QUT economist has warned.
Top journalism schools explore new ways of working: A partnership between QUT, RMIT and Fairfax Media is set to take next generation journalists into unexplored territory and prepare them for journalism's still-fluid future.
Take action on bikie crime & domestic violence but keep penalties fair - Qld voters: Queenslanders do not support extra penalties for bikies who commit crimes just because they are bikies.
Break cycle of fear to put more bikes on the road: The number of cyclists using bikeshare programs like Brisbane's CityCycle will not significantly increase unless substantial steps are taken to improve rider safety, QUT research has found.
Parents seek school readiness tests for children: Do children have the self-help, social-emotional and cognitive skills to cope with the school year ahead?
February 13: Law Capstone Experience Forum @ QUT Gardens Point
Feb 15-20: O-Week @ QUT
Feb 16: Official Welcome Party, featuring Cub Sport @ QUT Gardens Point
Now - March 1: Performance Now exhibition (free) @ QUT Art Museum
Now - July 2015: William Robinson: Infinite sphere (free) @ William Robinson Gallery
MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS
- Vice-Chancellor Professor Peter Coaldrake spoke to ABC Radio National about the cost of studying at university and said all universities should be concerned by reports of students being deterred.
- The Australian's IT section, 4BC, Tech World and CIO featured Professor Peter Corke and his world-first robotics MOOCs. Prof Corke also joined a panel discussion on 774 ABC Melbourne which posed the question 'will robots and AI take over our jobs?'.
- Dr Mark McGovern spoke to ABC 612 about the "black holes" he identified in the budget plans of both the state LNP and ALP. His piece for The Conversation was also republished by the Brisbane Times and The Age.
- The Guardian Australia interviewed Professor Clive Bean for a video about the the Ashgrove electorate in the lead up to the Queensland election. Prof Bean also told the Brisbane Times removing compulsory voting in Queensland would cause voter confusion.
- Dr Edwina Luck told ABC TV the major parties in Queensland were using personal information to target voters in the crucial seat of Ashgrove.
- The Age, Sydney Morning Herald, Brisbane Times and APN newspapers reported on the Hottest 100 Hypometer developed by Katie Prowd and Dr Darryl Woodford.
- Dr Elliot Fishman's research showing fear and frustration was holding back Brisbane's CityCycle program gained coverage including Brisbane Times.
- ABC TV and statewide radio reported on the free back to school checks at the QUT Health Clinics.
- Discover Magazine ranked Dr Andrew Baker's Black-tailed Antechinus find among the top 5 new species of 2014.
- Dr Paul Cunningham's research on bee wars in Brisbane backyards made Scientific American.
- Professor Axel Bruns published his latest Australian Twitter News Index to The Conversation. The story was picked up by Australian Business.
- Associate Professor Adrian Barnett told The Australian that the time medical researchers spent on preparing grant applications was more than 600 years in 2014.
- The Fairfax network sought Dr Jason Steinberg's views for its widely reported story on its new partnership with QUT and RMIT. The story also ran in AdNews, mUmBRELLA and 4-Traders.
- Dr Malcolm Smith spoke to Brisbane Times about gender dysphoria cases going through the courts and the legal situation in Queensland.
- The Sunday Mail and the Courier-Mail online featured Dr Helen Vidgen in a story advising parents about what not to pack in school lunchboxes. She was also interviewed by ABC Gold Coast about the PEACH child health program starting locally.
- A QUT study into diabetic peripheral neuropathy was highlighted on the diabetes.co.uk website - a global health information and patient-support network.
- Chelsea Bond wrote that Australia Day was the day she didn't feel Australian in a piece for The Conversation which was republished by SBS.
Media contacts: media@qut.edu.au (after hours: Rose Trapnell, 0407 585 901)
