The Year is Flashing by – Don’t Blink!
It is hard to believe that it’s April already, and by the end of the month we will be a third of the way through the year!
I feel like I have blinked and the time has passed me by.
I am looking forward to a bit of a break over Easter and hope that will slow things down just a little bit. Then again, the energy and vibe on our campus with the start of the term and all the students fully back is very exciting. The only problem is of course, every year the students get younger and younger, because there is no possibility that I might be getting older, is there? I am sure many of you would agree.
Given that time is passing quickly, this is a good opportunity to talk about things to look forward to for the rest of the year.
First, our new website is about to be launched. Our Executive Officer, Liesha Northover, and Immediate Past President, Dave Marr, have been working with the developers behind the scenes to modernise, update and upgrade the user experience. Spoiler alert! Here is a sample of what you might see.
Check the website over the next couple of weeks and see what has been done and what is new and different on the site. I know Liesha would appreciate feedback and suggestions, so please email your thoughts to her at info@aair.org.au. I certainly want to thank her and Dave for all their hard work in incorporating suggestions from the Executive Committee and feedback from the Website Survey circulated last month, and driving the project to a fantastic conclusion.
Two upcoming events that are always a highlight on the AAIR calendar are the SIG Forum and the Annual Forum. Both events are extremely useful for members and non-members alike to network, and to hear about the latest developments at other institutions and from sponsors. The SIG Forum will be held on 26–27 July at Macquarie University in Sydney, with the theme Creating Connections & Exploring Possibilities. The Call for Abstracts is now open, so please consider contributing a paper. The AAIR Annual Forum will be held at the Alice Springs Convention Centre in Alice Springs, from 31 October to 2 November. I know how hard the organising committees for both events are working to ensure that the programmes are relevant and enlightening. So if you have any ideas please get in touch with our Vice President Don Johnston at don.johnston@scu.edu.au. I look forward to seeing you at one of these events.
Finally, thanks to those who responded to last month’s column about pet peeves. It is obvious I am not the only one who has them. One response resonated with me in particular: “Present data in presentation. Have a senior manager present a contradictory anecdote. Have a group of senior managers nod in agreement. Try your very best to kindly suggest the boss is wrong.” Anonymous contributor, we feel your pain!
Kathie Rabel
AAIR President
