This year’s Convocation Day on March 9 was marked by new beginnings. |
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Chancellor, Dr Diane Smith-Gander AO speaking at Convocation Day |
| Our new Chancellor, Dr Diane Smith-Gander AO attended, spoke of her future plans and chatted informally to members.
We also began planting of a row of stunning blossom trees. We had a guided tour of the newly refurbished Reid Library and there we launched our Reid Library Convocation Creator-in-Residence fundraising appeal. |
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Planting a Convocation tree |
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Convocation members have been getting together since UWA celebrated its centenary in 2013 to mark the first meeting of Convocation in 1913. The trees planted each year to mark the occasion are now scattered across the Crawley Campus. Some stand alone, like an oak tree on the oak lawn. Others are grouped. Like the beautiful row of white jacarandas along the east side of James Oval.
This year the tree planted by the Guild President Nikhita Talluri and me to mark Convocation Day 2025, was the first in a row of cherry plum blossom trees (Prunus blireana) that will stretch along the western boundary of Riley Oval next to the footpath that runs in front of the Arts Building. |
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Warden and Guild President after planting the 12th Convocation Day tree |
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Thanks to our ever-helpful expert Reid librarians, groups of us were then given a tour of the refurbished first floor of the Reid Library. |
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University Librarian Scott Nicholls leading a tour group |
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Many of us who remember searching the high, dimly lit book stacks, were struck by the openness and light, as well as the views over James Oval. There were few books to be seen; students were almost all working on laptops.
Books have not been forgotten; most are now on the second and third floors of the library. Some from the library’s rarely seen Special Collections will be curated and displayed on the two impressive new floor-to-ceiling Reading Walls, their height cleverly enhanced by a mirrored section of ceiling.
These were the focus of our attention when the Reid Library Convocation Creator-in-Residence Program was launched at the Sundowner on the Fini Family Terrace. |
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Our UWA colleagues Keiran Hargreaves, Associate Director Alumni Engagement,
and Juanita Perez, Convocation Officer. |
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Reid Library’s Convocation Creator-in-Residence program |
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Would you like to have your name or the name of a loved one inscribed in perpetuity on a commemorative shelf of the new Reid Library Reading Wall? |
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Reid Library Reading Wall |
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Convocation invites you to support the Convocation Creator-in-Residence Program. By donating, you can be recognised with a name on a commemorative shelf.
We aim to raise $100,000 to establish this initiative for future generations. Every donation, no matter the size, brings our vision closer to reality. Donations are tax-deductible and those of $1,000 or more will be recognised by including your name on a commemorative shelf. Only 100 named shelf opportunities are available. Your donations can be made here.
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Many libraries across the world have programs for writers, poets, historians, artists, film makers and musicians to explore their collections and bring them to public notice.
Creatives bring their own connections to the role. They encourage novel ideas, contribute to new thinking and inject new energy into libraries. Click here for a snapshot of some of the kinds of work creatives have been doing in libraries in Britain and North America from the V&A to the Library of Congress.
Let’s ensure our own Reid Library’s Special Collections, which have been carefully preserved for many years, now become incubators of ideas and innovation inspiring future generations through the work of Convocation Creators-in-Residence. |
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UWA's Convocation Creator-in-Residence |
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Your donations will generate sufficient funds to enable a Creator to be selected for a residency at the Reid Library. Convocation’s Creator will bring the Reading Wall and its setting to life.
Their output could be a scholarly lecture, performance, exhibition, piece of writing, artwork or digital experience. It will showcase a unique historic treasure hitherto hidden within the Special Collections, such as a mediaeval manuscript, rare map, theatre poster or the original manuscript of one of WA’s most celebrated writers. Through their work in exploring such treasures, the Creator will foster a deeper connection to UWA’s rich heritage, inspiring curiosity, engagement, and debate.
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AB Facey, A Fortunate Life, c.1980, first edition and original manuscript, Australian Literature Special Collection |
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Oriental Memoirs by James Forbes, 1813, Indian Ocean Special Collection |
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Fred Alexander portrait unveiled |
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Professor Fred Alexander CBE, the founding Head of UWA’s Department of History in 1931, was immortalised in a portrait now hanging in the lecture theatre that bears his name. Painted by Elizabeth Blair Barber in the 1960s, it was generously donated by the Bunning family, thanks to an initiative of Convocation Council. It was unveiled by the Warden at the School of Humanities Prize Giving Ceremony on 11 April 2025. |
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Known as ‘Freddie’ to his students, during his 42 years at UWA he wrote eight books, including a history of the University, served as Dean of Arts and then Chair of the Professorial Board. He was a giant in Perth’s post-WWII cultural life. The first to see the immense potential of the Somerville Auditorium, he used it as the venue for evening performances and films in the late 1940s. He was a founder of Perth Festival in 1953 and Chair of the Library Board of WA (1955-82).
The State Library of WA’s building is named after him, as is the Alexander Lecture Theatre in UWA’s Arts Building. He is also commemorated by the Fred Alexander Fellowship in History, which has brought a host of eminent historians to UWA from all over the world since 1992. |
| L-R: Dr Jess Bunning, Catherine Watters (nee Bunning), Jane Blankensee (granddaughter of Fred Alexander) and Bob Bunning (son of the artist) |
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This year’s Autumn General Meeting on 20 March 2025, held in the University Club with a panel on Artificial Intelligence, was attended by nearly 300 members, most in person but also a large number online from all parts of Australia and the world. |
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A word from the Chancellor |
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At the meeting we were privileged to hear from our Chancellor Dr Diane Smith-Gander AO. Speaking of the role of Convocation in providing alumni with the opportunities to sustain a lifelong connection with the University, she also appealed to us to actively contribute to the University’s ongoing development and success. She challenged each and every member of Convocation to find new sustainable ways of connection and engaging with UWA. She also talked of the priority areas in which she expected to play a strong role as Chancellor. |
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At the Autumn General Meeting |
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- First, freedom of speech. Noting that she is an advocate of open debate free from excessive restriction, she spoke of the challenge of the humanitarian crisis in the Middle East. ‘We should all be concerned to see the end of human suffering in Gaza, but anti-Semitic responses will not help achieve that end’. She congratulated UWA’s leadership on its thoughtful and proportionate approach to the issue.
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Second, international students. She argued that ‘providing appropriate housing and employment opportunities during study are areas of focus which this university must solve to earn the right to continue growing international student numbers in ways that serve our purpose of advancing the prosperity and welfare of the people of Western Australia.’
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Thirdly, new technologies. Observing that Artificial Intelligence is transforming our world and the way we work, she argued that UWA must use AI in all facets of its work and ensure our students are well prepared to use AI.
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She lastly observed that UWA is a special place with a special role and that, in all her priority areas, collaboration across the higher education landscape and more broadly is essential. She concluded, ‘I am counting on Convocation to be one of my key collaborators in my time as Chancellor’.
Click here for the full speech, video and transcript of the 2025 Autumn General Meeting. The Chancellor’s speech begins at 17:08. |
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Past and Present Convocation Councillors with our Convocation Officer at the Autumn Meeting |
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Artificial Intelligence panel |
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As well as the formal business of the meeting, we arranged for the expert members of UWA’s Generative AI Think Tank to address members on one of today’s key issues – Artificial Intelligence. It is becoming increasingly relevant to all our lives, whether we are wondering whether to use Chat GPT, wondering how Netflix knows what I’m likely to be interested in watching, marvelling at the results of analysis of big data in science or the life-changing use of AI in health diagnostics.
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L-R: Associate Professors Wei Liu and Gilles Gignac, Deputy Warden Dr David Griffiths, Warden Emeritus Professor Jenny Gregory AM, Associate Professor Celeste Rodriguez Louro, Associate Pro-Vice Chancellor–Learning and Teaching Andrew Williams, and Professor Zach Aman. |
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Panel members (L-R below) were Moderator Associate Professor Andrew Williams (Associate Pro-Vice Chancellor – Learning and Teaching), Professor Zach Aman (School of Engineering and Chair of UWA’s Think Tank), Associate Professor Wei Liu (Centre for Natural and Technical Language Processing in the Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering and recently appointed to the WA Government’s new AI Advisory Board, Associate Professor Celeste Rodriguez Louro, (Chair of Linguistics in the School of Social Sciences), and Associate Professor Gilles Gignac (School of Psychological Science).
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Please click here for the video and transcript of the 2025 Autumn General Meeting. The panel discussion commences at 27:35. |
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In this issue we focus on two UWA students. One reaping the rewards of an industry internship and the other benefitting from a Convocation Travel Award and on the cusp of graduating from UWA with a PhD. |
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The benefits of undertaking an industry internship |
By Andre Desveaux (final year UWA Mechanical Engineering student) |
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Andre Desveaux working at Environmental Engineers International |
| Over the past year, I’ve been fortunate to work at Environmental Engineers International (EEI), beginning as an intern and later securing a paid staff position.
My first projects involved collaborating with other interns on water treatment research. It was a chance to apply the knowledge I had gained at UWA in a practical, team-focused setting. This hands-on experience helped bridge the gap between academic learning and real-world engineering. |
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Soon, I was trusted with a much more ambitious task: developing an interface that enables clients to easily generate customised Nutrient and Irrigation Management Plans (NIMPs). The goal was to take highly technical environmental data and engineering calculations and translate them into a tool that anyone in the field could use confidently and efficiently. It was a challenge of both logic and design thinking.
Initially, I was hesitant. Coding had always been my least favourite subject during university. But Dr Raj Kurup, my mentor at EEI, encouraged me to take the leap. His support, particularly in guiding both the environmental knowledge behind the tool and its practical application, was invaluable. With his help and the foundation I had from UWA, I created the first working version of the NIMP interface — a tool that continues to be refined and which we hope to commercialise in the near future.
The result was more than a functioning product. It was a pivotal moment in my development. I gained a paid role, renewed confidence, and a clearer sense of direction. My academic performance has improved, and I now feel more capable, motivated, and ready for the challenges of a professional engineering career. |
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The benefits of a Convocation award |
By Ryan Collinson, B Biomedical Science Hons, PhD UWA to be awarded 2025 |
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I travelled to Brisbane in October 2024 to attend the national Blood 2024 conference. Blood 2024 is regarded as the premier national meeting for haematology researchers, clinicians and clinical scientists.
I gave an oral presentation relating to my PhD research, proposing novel tools and cutting-edge approaches to investigate myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN), a group of blood cancers that affects ~25,000 people in Australia. Specifically, I presented on a phenomenon known as “emperipolesis”, that has been observed to occur in bone marrow cells in MPN, and its association with disease progression. |
| Ryan Collinson at Blood 2024 |
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My presentation was attended by seminal researchers and clinician scientists in this field such as A/Prof. Ann Mullaly (Stanford Department of Medicine) and Prof. Steven Lane (QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute). I was fortunate enough to meet A/Prof. Mullaly, who predominately focuses on understanding MPN biology and therapeutic models to improve treatment options. A/Prof. Mullaly’s knowledge in mapping and solving the missing pathways of MPN progression was influential to the completion of my PhD project in December 2024 – particularly in strategising the future directions and possible clinical implications of my research.
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Ryan Collinson in the lab |
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In my research career, I want to improve our understanding of what drives cancer, to improve patient well-being and outcomes. The in-person discussions and presentations at the Blood 2024 conference has improved my understanding on blood cancer diagnosis and new treatments. These experiences are career-defining, and it would not have been possible without the generosity and funding that contributed to my UWA Convocation Post Graduate Travel Research Award. |
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Volunteer opportunities with UWA’s Historical Society |
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Wanted: volunteer participants in the UWA-WWI project
The UWA Historical Society is undertaking a research project to capture the stories of the 150 or so UWA staff, students, early graduates, and founding members of Convocation who participated in the First World War.
Seeking the assistance of volunteers to examine service records and other online sources, the Society wishes to build upon its successful project which focussed on UWA and the Second World War — a publication which has now entered its second edition and can be found online, The University of Western Australia and the Second War Nominal Roll. By giving similar treatment to the earlier conflict, we hope to create a valuable addition to the University’s historical record.
UWAHS has located the service records of the UWA people and has prepared a spreadsheet summarising each man's personal details and service. The service files contain records of illnesses and woundings, movements in and out of regiments, and numerous interesting snippets in the form of letters to and from the men themselves, their families and officialdom. However, these do not 'tell the story', and this is what we hope volunteer researchers will help us to do. The following sources will be used:
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- The National Archives of Australia (NAA) which holds the service records of all the Australian men and women who served in the First World War. These records have been digitised and are accessible to researchers. If the individual died at war, a search of the Commonwealth War Graves web site and Red Cross Wounded and Missing files can reveal further details.
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Battalion diaries, also digitised, will help to locate where the men served and provide further background to the service records. Charles Bean's monumental account of Australia's participation in the war is also digitised and readily accessible.
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The National Library of Australia's Trove website, which captures the contemporary newspapers, and the Australian Dictionary of Biography which records the life stories of notable Australians, among them, UWA men who went to war.
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The National Archives also holds the Repatriation files of all who returned to Western Australia. These are not digitised, but the files of all the individuals who interacted with the repatriation system have been identified and can be requested and viewed in the NAA centre in Northbridge. These files contain a summary of the individual's war service, medical records and personal letters, and make fascinating and often heartbreaking reading.
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Volunteers will be provided with the outline of an individual's service, as well as other sources that we have already located, instructed in how to access the relevant files and guided towards the outcome we are hoping to achieve. Members of Convocation who are related to one of the men could make an especially valuable contribution to the process. (Disclaimer: the UWAHS will acknowledge the research of all volunteers, but reserves the right to edit material received for eventual publication.)
For further information, please reach out here. |
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In a major initiative for UWA, the University has applied to the University Grants Commission in India to establish multiple branch campuses across India, with its hub in Mumbai. If accepted, UWA will become the first Group of Eight (Go8) universities to establish a campus in India.
There was disappointment in the March Federal Budget for universities. No mention of research or any end to Job Ready Graduates. Universities Australia called it a missed opportunity to build on recent investments in the Universities Accord.
Nevertheless, important measures were included in The Universities Accord (Student Support and Other Measures) Bill 2024 enacted on 26 November 2024. |
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- The one-off 20% student loan (HELP/HECS) reduction will be applied to individual student loans on 1 June 2025. Indexation will then apply only to the remaining loan debt balance.
- The minimum repayment threshold for student loans will be lifted from $54,435 in 2024-25 to $67,000 in 2025-26. This increases the amount graduates must earn, before they are required to start making compulsory repayments on their loan.
- Higher education providers who charge a Student Services and Amenities Fee will be required to allocate 40% of their SSAF revenue to student-led organisations.
- Commonwealth Prac Payments will be made to eligible Bachelors and Masters nursing, midwifery, teaching and social work students doing mandatory placements.
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Extra funding for Fee-Free Uni Ready courses to help more students, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds, build the skills, experience and confidence they need to get into university and to succeed.
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These add to earlier measures to assist disadvantaged students through the establishment of Regional and Suburban University Study Hubs, with which Universities have been encouraged to build mutually beneficial relationships.
Further information can be found here.
In the lead up to the Federal Election, having not long passed The Universities Accord (Student Support and Other Measures) Bill 2024, the ALP Government appears to be standing on its record. On the other hand, the Coalition Opposition announced plans to impose a 25% cap on overseas student enrolments and to increase student visa fees. It argues that these initiatives will ease pressure on housing.
By the time you read this, the Federal election on 3 May 2025 will be done and dusted. |
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