School Manager's Update
Published in the RSAA Lunations
Vol1 Issue32 1–30 September 2022
Hello everyone, together we welcome spring, with the slightly warmer weather.
No doubt the RSAA community is aware, as per the meteorological definition, spring starts on September 1st, but as per the astronomical definition, we will have to wait for a bit longer until the equinox (September 22nd).
RSAA Shared Car – Ford Focus – Free for business use
We are making the use of our trusty Ford Focus free of charge for RSAA-related business use. In fact, while unannounced, we have not charged usage frees for many months now. The regular booking process still applies via our intranet and we encourage everyone to consider this option as a low-cost alternative.
Some months ago, we announced that we would be upgrading the car to an Electric Vehicle to reduce the School’s environmental impacts. Unfortunately, we have not yet been able to secure a replacement due to waitlists and stock shortages. We remain committed and hope that we have something to announce early next year.
Strategic Initiatives
This month a few Committee members had the pleasure of reviewing the 2022 RSAA Strategic Initiative proposals. This was a very enjoyable and eye-opening task, giving us a first-hand opportunity to experience the excellent ideas, contributions and passion for the RSAA community.
The 2022 RSAA Strategic Initiatives scheme offered $250,000 to support projects having goals that advance the mission of the School in research, education or outreach, to support the reforms of the RSAA Culture Action Plan, or to increase and diversify the School’s revenue base. This year we received eight Initiatives proposals asking for $262,000.
The proposals covered a wide range of creative ideas, covering all of the goals listed above. Several proposals requested funds to carry out initiatives linked to RSAA’s Culture Action Plan and, notably, four proposals had a focus on activities related to Indigenous culture, education and outreach. The RSAA Strategic Initiatives committee would like to thank all the proposers for sharing their ideas and ambitions.
Outcomes
The RSAA Strategic Initiatives Committee reviewed all eight proposals against the goals of the Strategic Initiatives program and the guidelines, which emphasised that:
(i) proposals benefitting the whole School or disadvantaged groups would be preferred
(ii) return on investment (interpreted very broadly) would be a significant factor
(iii) high-risk, high-return proposals will not be disfavoured.
In the 2022 round, the Committee awarded two submissions outright as proposed, totalling $50,000. These submissions were deemed to be of ongoing importance and will be funded as an annual program for the coming years.
The remaining six proposals are highly worthy in their own right and the Committee will be working with the applicants on revisions, gathering further information or seeking alternate funding sources. The final outcomes will be announced in the Lunations newsletter at a later date.
Successful proposals
Indigenous Work Experience Program – up to $30,000
Led by: Delese Brewster, Brad Tucker, Karlie Noon, Peter Swanton
This program aims to bring together a small cohort of indigenous students from distant, diverse and disadvantaged communities for five days; to encourage and inspire them to pursue a career in astronomy (or STEM in general) and to advise them on the education pathways available to achieve that goal. This submission aligns with most of the scheme targets including; Indigenous culture, education and outreach and disadvantaged groups. Further to a successful program in 2022, the committee has decided to fund this program on an annual basis for the years to come.
RSAA Student Writing Retreat – up to $20,000
Led by; Radhika Achikanath Chirakkara, Hayden Park
The Writing Retreat is a 4-day program held at the coast where students attend 10 writing sessions including social events and other activities with the aim of developing their academic writing skills and bonding with peers. Further to the success of the 2022 writing retreat, the committee has decided to fund this program on an annual basis.
Congratulations on the first two successful initiatives, and we look forward to announcing more shortly. Thank you to everyone for submitting worthy applications and a shout out to the committee for their assistance.
Please stay safe, and enjoy the warmer weather, but do not forget that Canberra weather can throw us into another cold blast at short notice.
Mat Malzacher
