Adelaide: Why not stay for the weekend

Adelaide is a pretty spectacular city. As a Sydney-sider used to crazy traffic, long commute times, and a large and unwieldy city centre, I love spending time in a city where the public transport is free (the tram is free in the CBD), where you can walk easily between meetings, and there seems to be chocolate shop on every corner!

We thought that as you start to plan your travel to Adelaide, you might like to consider tagging a few days onto the beginning or end of your core conference days. Adelaide city has some great attractions – the Giant Panda’s at Adelaide Zoo are amazing! –  and just outside of the city are some of the best vineyards in Australia, penguin’s and whales, amazing coastline, and a plethora of activities both relaxing and adventure to fill your days.

So whether you are a sports fan who can’t go past a visit to Adelaide Oval, or a foodie who has Maggie Beers Farm Shop and restaurant in your sights, start planning your South Australian experience today.

Maxine McKew set to get to the bottom of Australia’s Future in Global Education, Training and Research

Maxine McKew, one of the most widely recognized identities in Australia, with a career that spans both politics and journalism will facilitate a plenary session on Wednesday afternoon that you won’t want to miss.

We have pulled together a panel of senior industry leaders to discuss the topic “Imagining Australia’s Future in Global Education, Training and Research”.

Given Maxine’s interviewing style, the discussion will be lively and provocative and get us all thinking.

Confirmed on the panel are:

Prof Peter Hoj Vice-Chancellor, University of South Australia
Mr Stephen Connelly IEAA and RMIT
Prof Paul Greenfield Vice-Chancellor, University of Queensland
Prof Fazal Rizvi University of Melbourne
Ms Megan Lilly Director Education and Training, Australian Industry Group
Ms Claire Field CEO ACPET

The draft program is available at http://www.aiec.idp.com/program.aspx

Dr Adam Fraser will help us get more done without having to add more hours to the day

While we know that the main focus of the AIEC is on industry specific learning, we like to give you a break from international education speakers occasionally and provide an opportunity to focus on your own PD. If you are struggling with fitting everything you have to do in just 24 hours, you’re not alone. Dr Adam Fraser’s session will get us thinking about the psychology of performance, tips on how to improve productivity, and provide some great ideas on leadership and the engagement of teams.

Here’s a taste of what Adam will have to say in his session at 1430-1530 Thursday 13th October.

Kirby confirmed as keynote

We are very excited to have had confirmation from Michael Kirby that he will be available to present at the Opening Plenary session on Wednesday 12 Oct. He’s been off on lots of overseas speaking engagements, and as he also sits on a raft of globally important judicial committees, he has had to madly juggle his commitments to fit in our event.  Here’s a glimpse into the man (below)… and we’ll post more detail on the focus of his presentation over coming weeks….

Justice Michael Kirby

The Hon Michael Kirby AC CMG

When he retired from the High Court of Australia on 2 February 2009, Michael Kirby was Australia’s longest serving judge.

He was first appointed in 1975 as a Deputy President of the Australian Conciliation & Arbitration Commission.  Soon after, he was seconded as inaugural Chairman of the Australian Law Reform Commission (1975-84).  Later, he was appointed a judge of the Federal Court of Australia, President of the New South Wales Court of Appeal and, concurrently, the Court of Appeal of Solomon Islands.  His appointment to the High Court came in 1996 and he served thirteen years. In later years, he was Acting Chief Justice of Australia twice.

In addition to his judicial duties, Michael Kirby served on three university governing bodies being elected Chancellor of Macquarie University in Sydney (1984-93).  He also served on many national and international bodies.  Amongst the latter have been service as a member of the World Health Organisation’s Global Commission on AIDS (1988-92); President of the International Commission of Jurists, Geneva (1995-8); as UN Special Representative Human Rights in Cambodia (1993-6); a member of the UNESCO International Bioethics Committee (1995-2005); a member of the High Commissioner for Human Rights’ Judicial Reference Group (2007-) and a member of the UNAIDS Reference Group on HIV and Human Rights (2004-).

Since his judicial retirement, Michael Kirby was elected President of the Institute of Arbitrators & Mediators Australia from 2009-2010. He also serves as Editor-in-Chief of The Laws of Australia.  He has been appointed Honorary Visiting Professor by twelve universities. And he participates regularly in many local and international conferences and meetings.  He has been awarded eighteen honorary doctorates.

In 2010, he was awarded the Gruber Justice Prize.  He is also presently a member of the Eminent Persons Group which is investigating the future of the Commonwealth of Nations; and has been appointed to the UNDP Global Commission of HIV and the Law. In 2010, he was appointed to the Arbitration Panel of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (World Bank).

Welcome to the AIEC Blog

The AIEC team have been busy! Registrations are open and the first early bird deadline is only 3 weeks away (it’s a $200 saving, and that amounts to a lot of coffees!). The program is coming together and we will be announcing some exciting keynote speakers over coming weeks.

We are also finalising arrangements for the social side of the conference. We know how valuable it is to step back and reflect on all the useful information you’ll get from conference sessions, and what better way to do this than over a drink, a coffee, a meal or all three!

The team will be adding to this blog regularly and using it as an opportunity to keep you up to date in a less formal way than the monthly e-updates many of you will get from us by email. So bookmark this page, or even better, subscribe to receive the blog hot off the press via the [email subscribe] button on the right hand panel.

We are looking forward to getting feedback and ideas from you all on all aspects of the conference – from the program to the social events, so don’t be shy! Now… go off and make your institution very happy by registering before 24 June and saving $200.

Don’t forget this super early bird rate finishes on 24 June… so jump on it today! http://www.aiec.idp.com/registration.aspx

Cheers – The AIEC Team