RMIT University: Global Leader in Education & Research, Exercises of Material Science and Technology

Download RMIT University: Global Leader in Education & Research and more Exercises Material Science and Technology in PDF only on Docsity!

1999 Annual Report

<www.rmit.edu.au/About/ar 99 >

Executive Summary

1999 Annual Report

Executive Summary

<www.rmit.edu.au/About/ar 99 >

2 Crabs and 2 Squid by Allan Palm Island Manbarra.

Mission, vision and values

RMIT’s mission is to:

” provide technical and professional education that develops people for leadership and employment; and ” undertake research programs that address real world issues within an international and community context.

The vision of the university is to:

” be a recognised world leader amongst universities that are multi-level, globally focused, diverse, student-centred, industry relevant and client and community responsive; ” deliver programs ranging from certificate level vocational programs through tailored programs for industry and com- munity clients, in Australia and offshore, to diploma, bach- elor, masters degree (coursework and research) and doctor- al research programs; ” have graduates with excellent employment opportunities in areas relevant to the sophisticated global society of the new century, who provide leadership in a rapidly changing global community, have a desire for lifelong learning, and a strong affinity for RMIT; ” have an international reputation for the quality and practi- cal orientation of its courseware, the outcomes of its applied research and development activities, and its contri- butions to community development; ” be the Australian leader in international education, with students from many countries studying at RMIT in Mel- bourne, and in the university’s developing campuses throughout Asia; ” be renowned for forming innovative, creative and flexible partnerships with industry, the community and other edu- cational institutions in teaching and learning, applied and interdisciplinary research programs (especially through the university’s research institutes and centres), international education, and community development;

” be the Australian leader in the use of information and communications technology in the design and flexible delivery of innovative education, training and research pro- grams, and in the provision of quality client-focused man- agement, learning support, administrative and student services; ” be a community of some 55,000 students, including 15,000 offshore, and 3,000 staff drawn from an enormous variety of cultural, racial, linguistic and religious back- grounds who study or work in an environment which: ’ creates challenging learning opportunities that enable students to realise their full potential; ’ supports lifelong learning, creativity, practicality, a global imagination and ongoing professional development; ’ encourages participation in decision making and openness and co-operation in university relations; ’ celebrates diversity, and is stimulating, co-operative, and safe; ” has clearly defined responsibilities and accountabilities for staff and rewards excellent performance; ” comprises a number of local and international campuses, known for their distinctive areas of excellence in teaching and research, and interaction with the environment and the community.

The values that will characterise RMIT as an organisa-

tion, and will be embraced by both staff and students of the university are: ” client focus; ” quality; ” practicality and relevance; ” global imagination; ” cultural diversity; ” fairness to all; ” innovation and enterprise; ” environmental care; ” learning and personal growth; ” ethical behaviour and responsibility; and ” technological/professional orientation.

1999 Annual Report

Executive Summary 4 | 5

Teaching and Learning at RMIT

” RMIT published and implemented its Student Feedback policy which aims to improve the experience of students at RMIT and to ensure that students have a voice in teaching and learning.The student feedback project forms an essen- tial monitoring component in the university’s quality assurance procedures. ” The Australian Technology Network (ATN) group of univer- sities, which includes RMIT, was funded by the Common- wealth Department of Education, Training and Youth Affairs to investigate ways of designing curriculum, learn- ing experiences and assessment to enhance the generic capabilities of university graduates. ” RMIT University has responded to the growing concerns in the academic and wider community of the social and aca- demic pressures of transition to tertiary education by introducing a new program to all its commencing students to help them ease the leap from secondary school. ‘RMIT 101 —An Introduction to Tertiary Learning’ is an orientation and induction program that aims to intro- duce all first year RMIT University Higher Education and TAFE students to the terti- ary environment and assist them with a successful transi- tion to tertiary education. ” Funding was received from the Office of Post-Compulsory Education, Training and Employment for the development and pilot delivery of a new program, the Diploma of Further Education.The Diploma of Further Education is an accredit- ed program designed to facilitate the entry into university and TAFE courses of community learners and those who have experienced difficulties in traditional education or interrupted studies. Students are assisted within a com- munity setting to clarify study goals, select from a range of accredited studies in order to test career options,and devel- op the skills to become independent, lifelong learners with the support of a teacher/mentor. The evaluation of the pilot showed that 82% of students gained entry to a wide range of tertiary education courses of their choice. ” RMIT University was successful in gaining seeding funding from the Office of Post-Compulsory Education,Training and Employment to establish a Learning Network with a range of metropolitan community providers providers located in central, western and northern regions of Melbourne. The purpose of the network was to facilitate the uptake of accredited learning by community learners using flexible modes of delivery including online. The Learning Network ‘brokering’ model has led to other innovative activities and partnerships such as the Hamilton Learning Centre and CISCO Learning Centre in regional Victoria. ” RMIT University established a project to facilitate the inter- pretation and uptake of qualifications linked to the newly accredited Training Packages in the TAFE area. This profes- sional development program was highly successful in sup- porting Program Teams to enhance their skills in designing

learning pathways under the new frameworks. In conjunc- tion with this work RMIT was approached by the Office of Post-Compulsory Education, Training and Employment to conduct a series of statewide workshops to increase sys- tem understanding of both the new teaching approaches required by Training Packages and the changes implied to reporting and recording requirements of Institutions.These workshops were highly successful and the resulting Issues Paper informed new policy development, government funding criteria and bureaucratic processes. ” Following a major project which made recommendations on the alignment of information technolo- gy with teaching and learning, significant strategic investment funds were allocated to provide both the infrastructure and staff capability to develop and deliver flexible learning. As part of this initiative, Directors of Information Technology and Learning Technology Mentors were appointed in all faculties to facilitate the development and delivery of flexible courseware. ” Online@RMIT RMIT University has committed itself to developing an online presence for all sub- jects through a comprehensive course and subject renewal initiative. The set of online tools (known as the Distributed Learning System) was used in over 200 subjects through- out 1999 —by over 8000 students and 165 staff across all faculties. The initiative was supported by an extensive pro- fessional development program targeting Learning Tech- nology Mentors in each faculty. ” New Career Connections, a joint project between RMIT University, RMIT Training Pty. Ltd. and Inner Northern and Western Region Group training companies was launched, which is a web-based information service linking job seek- ers with trainee and apprenticeship opportunities. ” RMIT University received an Honourable Mention from the Business/Higher Education Round Table for Outstanding Achievement in Collaboration in Education/Training for its strategic alliance with Morgan and Banks. The alliance brought together the two organisations’ established expertise in education, employment and career manage- ment to provide a comprehensive suite of services to indi- vidual and industry clients as well as RMIT students. ” RMIT lecturer, Associate Professor George Fernandez received the Australian Award for University Teaching (Flex- ible Delivery/Learning). The award was presented by the Federal Minister for Education, Training and Youth Affairs, Dr David Kemp, at Parliament House, Canberra. ” RMIT University was re-certified to ISO 9001 for its quality management system for the design and delivery of award courses and programs up to degree level including the teaching and learning process and related support and monitoring services.

1999 at RMIT

January

Adventurers Eric Phillips, Jon Muir and Peter Hilary make it to the South Pole at 3.17 p.m. (Australian Eastern Standard Time) on 26 January 1999 , after eighty-four gruelling days. State-of-the-art sleds designed by RMIT staff and students supported the explorers. Informit Online, Australia’s largest online collection of research databases on the Internet, was launched at the Darling Harbour Convention Centre in Sydney.An initiative of RMIT Publishing, Informit Online promises to be the major online resource of Australian bibliographic information and specialist databases. Informit Online will provide Internet access to a wide range of research databases from Australia, New Zealand and South-East Asia.

February

RMIT regains the top position in Victoria for the number of first preferences for HECS places. An internal report, based on change of preference applications to the Victorian Tertiary Admissions Centre (VTAC) for 1999 , shows an increase from 1998 to 1999 of 19.6 per cent in first preferences for HECS places at RMIT. RMIT wins a major pilot training contract with China Northern Airlines to train pilots at Point Cook. The $2million training program, for thirty pilots from China Northern, will be conducted jointly by RMIT and Victoria’s largest flying school, General Flying Ser- vices. RMIT and the Australian Army sign a contract worth over $3.5million in the first year for the provision of technical and trades training and associated services (development, RPL, accreditation, student records) at the Army Logistic Training Centre in Wodonga.

March

Former ANZ head Don Mercer was formally installed as RMIT’s third Chancellor. In his speech delivered at the Mel- bourne Town Hall he spoke about funding, technology and the role of an international university in helping its regional neighbours. The Chinese government, with funding from AusAID, focuses significant reform efforts on its vocational education system. RMIT’s Faculty of Education, Language and Commu- nity Services and RMIT International Pty Ltd assist the Min- istry of Education to begin the process of reform.The project is taking place in Chongqing, a mountainous municipality of thirty million people in the south-west of China. Melanie Jones, 1997 World Cup Cricket winner, shared her experiences, challenges and achievements of being on the highly successful Australian Women’s Cricket Team at RMIT Storey Hall. The address, On The Ball, was organised by the Women and Leadership Program as part of RMIT Univer- sity’s International Women’s Day activities.

April

RMIT celebrated its rich past on Heritage Open Day with re-enactment of the Ned Kelly trial in the Old Melbourne Magistrates’ Court, and a host of guest speakers and dis- plays. Over 100 National Youth Science Forum (NYSF) partici- pants from across the nation met at RMIT as part of a pro- gram which fosters their future role in the development of Australian science and technology.

May

RMIT purchased the Capitol Theatre, including the 650 - seat auditorium, foyer and linked upper-level lounge and foyer. One of the best-known works of Wal- ter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Grif- fin, the Capitol Theatre and Capitol House are considered by many architects and his- torians as among the most important twentieth century buildings in Melbourne. RMIT opened its new $600,000 child- care centre in Bundoora with a perform- ance of traditional Aboriginal dances by the Wurundjeri Children’s Dance Group. The centre was named Numdaji Kwei, which means ‘white mate’, to celebrate the friendship between the Wurundjeri people and the new tenants of the site, which is set amongst her- itage-listed Aboriginal ‘scar trees’. RMIT international students launched a gambling awareness campaign for students.The RMIT Association of International Students (RAIS) took the initiative to address issues relating to gambling that is affecting international and local students in Melbourne. RMIT became Australia’s first university to switch to an integrated financial, human resources and assets system to support its operations into the 21 st century. The university selected SAP (Systems Applications Products in Data Pro- cessing) to provide the technology to achieve this goal, at a cost of $ 8 million.

June

The success of RMIT’s activities in Asia was tangible evi- dence of the university’s capacity and strength as an exporter of education services to the region, said RMIT Vice- Chancellor and President Professor David Beanland. He was speaking after the announcement that RMIT won the 1999 Business Asia News Magazine Award for best Australian service activity in Asia. The Ma Kam Ming International Management Centre was opened at Fudan University, China. The centre is a sig- nificant investment by RMIT University in the development and education of current and future business leaders and managers. RMIT has been reviewing its current involvement in country Victoria and plans to extend several dynamic part- nership programs that are already running. The basic prem- ise of the new regional strategy, says its author, Deputy Vice- Chancellor Dr Ruth Dunkin,is that universities must relate to their local communities to be meaningful.

Introduction

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags flew at RMIT’s City campus,commemorating National Reconciliation Week. Professor Joy Murphy, an elder of the Wurundjeri People of the Kulin Nation (Melbourne region), and RMIT Deputy Vice- Chancellor (Education and Training) Professor David Knowles were present for the flag-raising ceremony. Refugees arriving in Australia from Kosovo were able to communicate in their temporary new home with the help of RMIT-trained interpreters. Seventeen people from the local Albanian community worked as language aides in refugee ‘safe havens’ across Australia after com- pleting the university’s Albanian Interpreter Orien- tation Course. Staff at a launch held at Storey Hall welcomed the first group of RMIT student ambassadors. The student ambassador program is an initiative of the alumni office and was established to provide an opportunity for students to become more involved in the uni- versity community. RMIT sponsored two June 1999 performances by the Australian Ballet: Sin- gapore Trilogy , as part of the Singapore Arts Festival, and Don Quixote in Shanghai.

July

RMIT launched its Virtual Reality Centre (the first com- mercial virtual reality centre to be set up in Australia). The $ 3 million centre is located in the Interactive Information Institute (I-Cubed) at RMIT’s City campus. In addition to being available to the RMIT community for education, research and development, the centre will offer small, medi- um and large businesses an opportunity to develop virtual solutions to a range of business processes.

August

Hundreds of people celebrated cultural diversity when they paraded along Melbourne’s Swanston Street to mark the official opening of RMIT’s World Week 6 multicultural festival. Parade participants from community and cultural groups in Victoria (some dressed in colourful national cos- tumes and playing music from around the world) carried flags from seventy-two countries. Contributing more than $900,000 over a three-year peri- od, eighteen RMIT research scholarships are awarded to applicants from the East Gippsland region and across Aus- tralia. The scholarships aim to address issues relating to the sustainability of the East Gippsland Lakes ecosystems,which has become a key factor for the economic survival of the region.

September

The Australian Technology Network (ATN) announced its general support for the principles of reform outlined in the Commonwealth Discussion Paper on Research and Research Training.The group of five technological universities particu- larly supports the philosophical shift the paper advocates for the research activities of universities. However, the ATN also called for more research funding.‘While other universities are now arguing that the gov- ernment should continue to focus on underpinning basic research, the ATN agrees with the Green Paper that there should be a change of direction and a greater focus on the economic output of research,’ said Professor David Beanland, ATN Chair and Vice-Chancellor of RMIT University. RMIT announces plans to make research into e-commerce a priority research area for its busi- ness faculty. Professor Paula Swatman, a world authori- ty on e-commerce, was appointed to lead the new program. Vice-Chancellor Professor David Beanland said that there would be significant gains in concentrating the university’s cross-dis- ciplinary research in e-commerce in its business faculty. Cutting-edge university research projects by final-year students from the university’s Department of Communica- tion and Electronic Engineering and Department of Com- puter Systems Engineering are unveiled at a technology and business conference. Engenius ‘ 99 showcased the best of Australia’s young inventors from RMIT and groundbreaking advancements made in their last year of study. Some of the real-world student projects included a high-tech software system that recognised faces, impulse radars for remote sensing, an Internet call centre, lasers for moon ranging and microwave power amplifiers. RMIT launched its first Postgraduate Week, introduced to meet the information needs of prospective postgraduate students. It featured evening information sessions hosted by all faculties and opportunities for one-to-one discussions with specialist staff. The world’s largest micro-chip maker and leading manu- facturer of computer, networking and communications products, Intel, established its second Australian training centre at RMIT in Melbourne. The Intel Authorised Training Centre is set to assist Victoria in addressing the current IT skill shortage. It is estimated that about 3,000 people will graduate from the Melbourne centre over the next two years.

RMIT centres

” Centre for Advanced Technology in Telecommunications (CATT) ” Centre for Applied Social Research ” Centre for Design ” Centre for International Research on Communication and Information Technologies (CIRCIT) ” Centre for Management Quality Research ” Microelectronics and Materials Technology Centre ” Multimedia Database Systems Group ” Polymer Technology Centre ” Centre for Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Systems ” Rheology and Materials Processing Centre ” Software Engineering Research Centre ” Sir Lawrence Wackett Centre for Aerospace Design Technology ” Transport Research Centre ” Centre for Workplace Culture Change ” Centre for Youth Affairs Research and Development

R&D enterprises

” Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute ” Environment Enterprise Institute ” Interactive Information Institute

Advanced engineering centre

” Advanced Engineering Centre for Manufacturing

Co-operative research centres

” Advanced Composite Structures ” Australian Photonics ” Australian Telecommunications ” Intelligent Manufacturing Systems and Technologies ” Microtechnology ” Polymers ” Water Quality and Treatment

Key centre

” Applied and Nutritional Toxicology

Centres and institutes

RMIT lecturer Harold Freedman’s Legend of Fire mosaic covers the wall of the Eastern Hill fire brigade headquarters and museum in Albert steet, East Melbourne.

Faculty of Applied Science

(Dean: Professor Terry Roberts)

TAFE

” Department of Applied and Environmental Sciences

Higher Education ” Department of Applied Chemistry ” Department of Applied Physics ” Department of Computer Science ” Department of Food Science ” Department of Land Information ” Department of Mathematics ” Department of Psychology and Intellectual Disability Studies

Faculty of Art, Design and

Communication

(Dean: Professor Robin Williams)

TAFE

” Department of Creative Media ” Department of Printing ” RMIT Textiles ” Department of Visual Arts and Display

Higher Education ” Department of Communication Studies ” Department of Fashion and Textile Design ” Department of Fine Art ” Department of Visual Communication

Faculty of Biomedical and Health Sciences and

Nursing

(Dean: Professor David Story)

TAFE

” Department of Health and Clinical Sciences

Higher Education ” Department of Anatomy and Physiology ” Department of Applied Biology and Biotechnology ” Department of Chiropractic, Osteopathy and Complementary Medicine ” Department of Human Movement Science ” Department of Medical Laboratory Science ” Department of Medical Radiations Science ” Department of Nursing and Public Health

RMIT Business

(Acting Dean: Associate Professor Ray Brooks)

Schools incorporate both TAFE and higher education: ” School of Accounting and Law ” School of Business Information Technology ” School of Economics and Finance ” School of Management ” School of Marketing

Faculty of the Constructed Environment

(Dean: Professor Leon van Schaik)

TAFE

” Department of the Built Environment

Higher Education ” School of Architecture and Design ” Department of Building and Construction Economics ” Department of Landscape, Environment and Planning ” School of Social Science and Social Work

Faculty of Education, Language and

Community Services

(Dean: Professor Mary Kalantzis)

TAFE

” Department of Access and Preparatory Studies ” Department of Social and Community Services

Higher Education ” Department of Hospitality,Tourism and Leisure ” Department of Industry, Professional and Adult Education ” Department of Justice and Youth Studies ” Department of Language and International Studies ” Department of School and Early Childhood Education

Faculty of Engineering

(Dean: Professor Robert Snow)

TAFE

” Training Centre for Telecommunications, Computing and Electrotechnology ” Training Centre for Infrastructure Technology ” Training Centre for Manufacturing, Mechanical and Materials

Higher Education ” Department of Aerospace Engineering ” Department of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering (includes Polymer Technology Centre) ” Department of Civil and Geological Engineering ” Department of Communication and Electronic Engineering ” Department of Computer Systems Engineering ” Department of Electrical Engineering ” Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering

Faculties, schools and departments

RMIT at a glance: facts and figures

Full-time employment level

Australian permanent resident bachelor degree graduates in 1999

......... 85% ......... 84 ......... 83 ......... 82 ......... 81 ......... 80 ......... rmit

graduates

Australian graduates

83.7%

80.8%

Comparative rmit income, 1994 and 1999

Full-time

Part-time

Full-time equivalent

(fte)

2637

576

821

Staffing profile of rmit in September 1999

......... 3000 ......... 2500 ......... 2000 ......... 1500 ......... 1000 ......... 500 ......... Permanent and Contract staff

Casual staff

Government grants 58%

Fees 28%

Business 9%

Research Other 2% 3%

Government grants 68% Fees 16%

Business 9%

Research Other 3% 4%

Research and Development

RMIT’s research and development is characterised by innovative and quality solutions to real world problems, adding value to the community. The university has a strong reputation for its links with industry, with a large portion of its research funds coming from industry sources. The following is a selection of the many research and development projects undertaken at RMIT during 1999:

Award-winning rice hull

project generates

income for markets

An award-winning $ 3 million research part- nership between RMIT and the Ricegrowers’ Cooperative Ltd in NSW will potentially generate hundreds of millions of dollars for local and export markets and reduce envi- ronmental problems asso- ciated with the disposal of rice hulls. The joint project is believed to be the first in the world to produce com- mercially viable extruded materials from this waste. The project won the 1999 Industry Research and Development Board’s national award for Outstanding Achievement in Collabo- rative Research and Development.

Heat pipe heat exchangers

The Energy CARE group in RMIT’s Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering has won sever- al awards for its research and development work on heat pipe heat exchangers. During 1999 Solahart commenced manufacture of a solar hot water system that uses a heat pipe device, devel- oped by our researchers, to regulate the water temperature inside the system and prevent scalding accidents. The heat pipe has been carefully developed to automatically dissipate heat when a certain temperature has been reached. Because it has no moving parts the heat pipe is superior to valves which require regular maintenance.

Geospatial Science Initiative

The RMIT Geospatial Science Initiative (RMIT GSI) (an initiative of RMIT’s Department of Land Information) aims to create business and strategic partnerships, ensure the commercial application of the university’s best R&D in the geospatial sciences, and grow the geospatial science industry in Victoria and nationally. The RMIT GSI has already established commercial part- nerships with the CSIRO, Department of National Resources and Environment (Victoria), the Bureau of Rural Sciences, Department of National Resources (Queensland) and sever- al private companies.

Error correcting codes

A research team in RMIT’s Department of Mathematics have constructed new error-correcting codes which offer superior error correction capacity to existing methods in cer- tain data storage,signals transmission and communications

applications. Information transmitted optically or electroni- cally is coded to ensure data security or to detect and correct transmission errors. In laying the foundation for this work the researchers established a new class of codes, called cocyclic codes, within algebraic coding theory.

Efficient high-precision information retrieval

In this project, a research team from RMIT’s Multimedia Database Systems Group has developed new variants of these efficient indexes and new ways of using these indexes to better identify which documents are likely to be relevant to the user. A particular suc- cess has been the develop- ment of techniques for finding documents based on whether they contain relevant passages, so that it is possible to identify perti- nent pieces of text rather than having to fetch whole documents.

The rise and fall of a full

employment society

A project, conducted by the Centre for Applied Social Research, has explored ordinary people’s ideas about the meaning of work, and about the ways work and gender identity are related. At the core of the research are 200 interviews, half with older men and women of prime working age in the mid- 1950 s, and the other half with men and women in the same posi- tion today. This research has resulted in a detailed descrip- tion of how ordinary people are experiencing profound transformations in Australian society and provides a basis for evaluating government policies in a number of labour market and income security areas.

RMIT and Ericsson launch Open Source server traffic

manager

Eddieware (‘Eddie’) Version 1.0 was released in May 1999 to the global marketplace as an Ericsson-sponsored Open Source effort, which has been developed with RMIT. Eddie provides automatic traffic management and con- figuration of geographically distributed server sites. Eddieware relieves web site administrators of the burden of fine tuning their sites to make optimal use of capacity. Also, Eddie’s inherent reliability will ensure that failed computers are automatically detected and their functions taken over by operational machines.

Influenza studies at RMIT

RMIT’s Professor of Virology, Gregory Tannock, is provid- ing laboratory support for trials of an anti-influenza drug being developed by F. Hoffman La Roche Pty Ltd.The trials are being conducted in Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong. The drug is a tablet treatment for a number of variants of the influenza virus. Four RMIT research students are current- ly doing PhDs on various aspects of influenza.

In 1999 international activities continued to make a strong contribution to RMIT’s goal of creating and sustain- ing a distinctive, world-class university, as well as creating a sense of global understanding and imagination in students, staff and clients. International student numbers exceeded 12,000. At 6,855, the number of international students enrolled in onshore studies is a record figure, and represents a substan- tial growth of 11 per cent over that achieved in 1998. The number of offshore international students studying RMIT courses at

partner institutions in 1999 was 5,270,which rep- resents an increase of two per cent over 1998. RMIT delivered 46 offshore award programs at partner institutions in the Asian region with significant growth occurring in both Singapore and China. Much of the growth in China can be attributed to the successful marketing of course programs coupled with the delivery of services, particularly in the areas of flight training for Chinese aviation personnel; health; TAFE; international trade; and urban planning. Highlights of commercial work in collaboration with Chi- nese partners in 1999 include: ” 94 Chinese pilots and aviation personnel trained at the RMIT Flight Training facility at Point Cook, Melbourne; also in Melbourne, 49 Chinese captains and first officers from China Northern Airlines trained in Pilot English proficiency; and Pilot English training courses delivered to Chinese trainee pilots from Guanghan; ” the first cohort of 23 students graduating from the Master of Business Administration in Aviation Management, a program jointly delivered by RMIT and the Civil Aviation University of China (the program is conducted both onshore in Melbourne and in China); ” activities in the TAFE area included a project in China to demonstrate how the Australian VET system works, as well as designing a project in association with the Overseas Projects Corporation of Victoria to assist the Government of China to improve its VET system. During 1999 RMIT commenced a business studies pro- gram at Wuhan University in China. RMIT has also estab- lished an office in Wuhan to process applications, handle student enquiries and liaise with the Australian embassy in Beijing.

In 1999 , RMIT was granted a provisional investment licence by the Government of Vietnam to establish a fully foreign-owned private university in Ho Chi Minh City. New offshore programs that commenced in 1999 include the Bachelor of Applied Science partnership with Informatics Holdings, Singapore; and the Bachelor of Busi- ness (Business Administration) and the Bachelor of Business (Economics and Finance) in partnership with the Hong Kong Management Association. The university also con- tinued its commitment to offshore graduations, offer- ing its international stu-

dents the opportunity to graduate in Melbourne, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Tokyo, Hong Kong SAR and Wuhan. New contracts were signed with a number of major off- shore partners including the Singapore Institute of Manage- ment and the Vietnam National University, Hanoi. Contracts were also signed with International Education Programs (LP 3 I) Indonesia to commence the Diploma of Applied Sci- ence in March 2000 and with the Hong Kong Management Association to commence the Bachelor of Business Accoun- tancy and the Master of Business Accountancy in March

The Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Interna- tional Trade program was consolidated and extended. This program is offered in collaboration with the Singapore Insti- tute of Management, the Hong Kong Management Associa- tion, and the Australian Institute of Management. In more established markets RMIT sought to consolidate its offshore program links to focus on building business with existing partners rather than increase the number of pro- grams in a particular country. In 1999 links were strength- ened with the Singapore Institute of Management, LaSalle- SIA College of the Arts (Singapore), Malaysian Institute of Management, Metropolitan College (Malaysia), and Hong Kong Management Association. The development of ongoing relations with internation- al alumni continued to be of strategic focus. In 1999 major events for international alumni in Asia were held in Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong SAR, Singapore,Thailand and Hanoi. RMIT maintains a number of agreements ranging from student and staff exchange, to those of research co-opera- tion. These totalled over 150 in 1999. In 1999 , RMIT had over 450 students participating in education abroad activities worldwide, including exchange and study abroad programs, study tours and international work placements.

International activities

1999 Annual Report

Executive Summary 16 | 17

Higher Education (HE) and TAFE student enrolments by gender

HE

Female 12,908 13,408 13,947 14,462 15, Male 13,398 13,823 14,193 14,734 15, Sub-total 26,306 27,231 28,140 29,196 30,

TAFE Female 5,597 6,428 6,494 8,415 9, Male 9,832 10,091 9,505 10,841 12, Sub-total 16,339 16,339 15,999 19,526 22,

Total 42,645 43,570 44,139 48,722 53,

Consolidated operating revenue 1998 – 1999

Government grants 241,159 226, Research grants and contracts 11,015 9, Fees and charges 118,528 96, Commercial activities 40,184 32, Investment income 4,706 3, Donations and bequests 2,206 2, Sale of property, plant and equip. 1,375 1, Deferred income 4,721 - Other 2,328 2, Total operating revenue 426,222 375,

Consolidated operating expenses 1998 – 1999

Salaries 186,259 176, Salary related expenses 57,131 52, Consumable materials 13,466 9, Minor equipment 9,292 9, Depreciation 26,576 25, Administrative expenses 37,893 38, Occupancy expenses 17,975 21, Grants to other institutions 2,602 5, Other 29,288 16, Total operating expenses 380,482 356,

Salaries

Salary related expenses

Consumable materialsMinor equipment

Depreciation

Administrative expenses Occupancy expenses Grants to other institutions

Other

49%

15%

3% (^) 2%

7%

10% 5% 1%

8%

Consolidated operating expenses 1999

...... 60% ...... 50 ...... 40 ...... 30 ...... 20 ...... 10 ......

1999 Annual Report

Executive Summary 18 | 19

Senior officers in 1999

Vice-Chancellor and President

Professor David Beanland

Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President

Dr Ruth Dunkin

Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Resources)

Professor John Jackson

Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education and Training)

Professor David Knowles

Pro Vice-Chancellor (Teaching and Learning) and

Director (TAFE)

Professor Helen Praetz

Pro Vice-Chancellor (Academic Services and Equity)

Associate Professor Robert Gray

Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research and Development)

Professor Neil Furlong

Pro Vice-Chancellor (International)

Professor Fazal Rizvi

Executive Director Major Projects

Professor David Wilmoth

Untitled study by Nick Mourtzakis. Photo courtesy Art Gallery of New South Wales.

Balloon lights designed by Nicholas Rennie. With a special university grant, lecturer Kjell Grant took the furniture designs of nine 1999 graduates to be showcased at the cutting-edge Milan Furniture Fair 2000 in April.

Introduction

Published by the Corporate Affairs Group of rmit University in July 2000. Postal address: GPO 2476 V, Melbourne, 3001 , Victoria, Australia. <www.rmit.edu.au> issn 1444-