Archive for November 2011
Australian University Rankings – A Comparison
What are the top ten Australian Universities? There is no official government ranking of universities in Australia. However there is a number of university league tables produced every year by relevant bodies such as the Melbourne Institute, The Australian Newspaper, The Good Universities Guide, THES and Shanghai Jiao Tong University’s academic ranking of world universities.
The Melbourne Institute (operated by the University of Melbourne) has produced its own ranking of the international standing of Australian universities. This ranking is based on a number of performance indicators such as international standing of staff, views of Deans and CEOs, resources, undergraduate programs, undergraduate intake and graduate programs.
According to Melbourne Institute 2007 the top ten Australian Universities (in order of ranking) are: Australian National University (ANU), University of Melbourne, University of Sydney, University of Queensland, University of New South Wales (UNSW), Monash University, University of Western Australia (UWA), University of Adelaide, Macquarie University and Queensland University of Technology. From this ranking ANU was the number one Australian university in terms of international standing and reputation, followed by Melbourne and Sydney. Is this result representative? Here we will analyze and compare it with the other two famous international league tables – THES and Academic ranking of world universities (ARWU).
Ranking Comparison:
- The list of top four universities produced by the Melbourne Institute are the same in ranking order as THES and ARWU 2007. We are confident to say that they are the Best Four – ANU, Melbourne, Sydney and Queensland.
- Group of Eight (Go8) Universities are among the top 8 universities as ranked by the three different league tables. These include the Best Four and the rest of the group – UNSW, Monash, UWA and Adelaide.
- Macquarie and QUT are among the top ten list (after Go8) in the Melbourne Institute and THES league tables.
University Technology Transfer – Opportunities and Benefits
The practice of technology transfer can greatly benefit an organization. What is technology transfer? It is the sharing of technology between two or more organizations. Usually, one organisation has developed a new technology and licenses it to the other organization, whose goal is to commercialize that technology. For instance, a university who has developed a new technology may license that technology to businesses so that the businesses can develop the new technology into a product, process, application, or service.
Who are the organizations who are involved in technology transfer? Universities and other primary research organisations regularly license their technologies to businesses. Also, businesses involved in different fields may benefit from this sharing.
Parties on both sides of an agreement benefit. The researchers who developed the technology earn licensing fees, and the organisation who has licensed it can develop and manufacture it into a patented product or service to be sold, while avoiding rising research and development costs.
Many opportunities have emerged because of tech transfer. Fields like biotechnology and diagnostics, pharmaceutical drug discovery, energy and engineering, and microelectronics and optoelectronics are all making use of technology transfer. Researchers can now develop a technology, and then license it out so that organisations with other specialized skill sets can take it further. Researchers may be looking for organisations who can further develop the technology. These organisations may have superior manufacturing, marketing, and distribution capabilities.
Tech transfer also occurs so that the technology can be applied in different fields than what is was designed as well. The researchers may have developed and been able to use the technology in one field, but license it out for use in other fields. For instance, the developer of the technology might be capable of exploiting the technology in diagnostic applications, but might not have the capability to exploit it in therapeutic applications, so they could license it out to a therapeutic application focused organisation. Finding available tech transfer opportunities and capitalising on them may be just what your organisation needs to develop that new product or service that you’ve been searching for.
Kids’ Science – Fun With Magnets
If you’re short on kids’ science activities, pick up some small magnets from your local hardware store. They’re inexpensive and lots of fun. In addition to keeping your child’s full attention, magnets also:
Arouse a sense of wonder Expose your child to science and scientific laws of nature Stimulate self-motivated desire to explore and experiment Raise questions and generate discussion Provide a means to additional activities such as counting and grouping
Here are some basic magnet activities to get you started. Be prepared–during the course of these activities, your child may suddenly decide to go around the house pressing a magnet against things, or may empty and pick up a box of staples five times in a row. Be flexible. Allow for this kind of variation. Your child is conducting research at her own level. Try these activities for starters:
-Fill your kitchen sink with water. Drop nuts, bolts and paper clips into the water. Make a fishing pole: tie a string to a stick. Attach a small (donut hole) magnet to the end of the string. Let your child go fishing. Have your child place the items into groups as she catches them. (Advanced: play the part of a purchaser from the market. Tell your child you only purchase items in groups of three. Let your child arrange the items into groups of three for purchase.)
-Fill a glass with water and drop a paper clip into it. Have your child try to take the paper clip out of the glass using a magnet (along the side of the glass). Repeat the activity with a tall vase with a narrow neck. (Use an inexpensive one from a thrift or dollar store.) The vase should be dark in color so the contents cannot be seen. Your child will love the challenge of navigating the unseen paper clip to the top of the vase. (Advanced: count five paper clips with your child. Drop them into the vase. Now let your child retrieve the paper clips with the magnet. Continue the activity until all five are retrieved.)
-Cut out construction paper fish with your child (colors should vary). Tape a magnet onto each fish. Place the fish on the living room floor and let your child go fishing with her magnetic fishing pole. This time have her group the fish by color. (Advanced: group the fish by size or fin type.)
-Take a poster board (or large sheet of paper) and make an line down the middle using a marker. Make small dots in pairs on either side of the line. Place magnets on the dots. Have your child use her finger or a Popsicle stick to try to push a magnet along the line without attracting any of the magnet pairs. Repeat the activity with a wiggly line instead of a straight line. (Advanced: have your child make the line and then allow her to mark where the magnet pairs will go. Let her set up the course the way she’s planned it. Allow her to predict whether you’ll be able to navigate the course she’s made. Allow her to adjust her strategy as a game maker by creating a new course. Continue to play on her terms. Put a check mark on the courses you navigate successfully. When you’re finished, review the results.)
-Of course, there’s also the time honored favorite: let your child use a magnet under the table to move objects on top of the table. This is a great starter activity and provides ample opportunity for your child to amaze mom or dad, or a neighbor with the seemingly magical properties of magnets.
Magnets are a great way to introduce your child to the world of science. They’re inexpensive, easy to get out and clean up, and provide enough variation to stimulate your child’s curiosity for years to come. Consider supplementing magnet activities with easy to read, age appropriate books on the subject. Don’t overshoot the mark with complex material explaining the properties and significance of electrons. It’s enough that your child is exposed to the wonders of magnets and has fun playing with and exploring their unique characteristics. Enjoy!