SGSM - Newsletter March 2012
SGSM - A growing network of Success
How easy it is to be caught up in the day to day pursuit of our goals and delivering on our promises, so that we seldom take the time to reflect on our achievements and celebrate our successes.
So we thought we would begin the year by sharing a few of the SGSM Alumni success stories. By celebrating our Alumni's success, we can all learn a little from their journey, but more importantly, take pride that we are all part of a growing network of Success.
We hope you achieve one of your goals in 2012, and we are eager to share it with your fellow Alumni.
- From the Dean’s Desk
- Alumni Visit
- Research Update
- Alumni Snapshot
- Come and say hello!
- SGSM Memorabilia
From the Dean’s Desk
A former colleague of mine once said that he would love to write a case study about business strategy without using the word 'recession'. Never has a statement held so true. We are fortunate in some of our business sectors to be insulated from this, but its also fair to say that many colleagues in many industries in this 'lucky country' are doing it tough. What we must do as UWS alumni and staff is to help each other, provide guidance or at the very least simply listen to colleagues seeking advice.
To our current students at whatever stage of completion, I wish you well in your studies. It is easy, I know (from personal experience), particularly for part-time students, to be overwhelmed by the quantity and complexity of assignments and reading you face in your studies. When combined with the real world of work the effects can be significant. The only answer is ruthless planning, putting, as Stephen Covey suggests 'first things first'. If you do not use or have never used Covey's time management matrix, look it up. Essentially, it requires you to organise first around those things that are important and urgent (As), and important, but not urgent (Bs). The rest is up to you! I use this every day. In a School of 190 plus staff, thousands of students with a multi-million dollar budget it is the only way I survive.
Your School is changing daily. We are looking to continuously improve our offerings and services to you. Combining this with a major University restructure is challenging. However, we are focused on developing the best engaged scholarship (education and research that makes a difference) that we can. The School will transform over this year and coming years. I hope that you can contribute where we ask you to.
Opportunities in business education and research abound. If you are in the world of work and have an issue, ask if your business school can help? If we cannot, we will almost certainly know someone who can. Indeed they may have been a classmate or a teacher!
I wish you well for the next few months.
Clive Smallman PhD FBCS CITP FNZCS ITCP
Professor of Management and Dean
School of Business
Alumni Visit:
We were very fortunate recently to have a visit from one of our highly successful postgraduate alumni from China
We were very fortunate recently to have a visit from one of our highly successful postgraduate alumni from China, Mr Leslie Huang. Leslie is currently National Sales Director of Wrigley China, one of the most successful multi-national companies there.He was in Sydney last week to attend the Wrigley Annual Global Sales Conference and we are very pleased that he took the opportunity to reestablish contact with UWS. Yi-chen Lan, Associate Pro Vice-Chancellor Engagement & International, Sara Denize ,Deputy Dean, Laurel Jackson, Director PG Education and Mabel Han, Senior Regional Manager, UWS International met with Leslie over lunch.
Leslie graduated from the SGSM in May 2001 with a Master of Business – Marketing. He said that he places great store by the benefits he has derived from his studies at UWS. Since returning to China Leslie has worked for four multinational companies and achieved six promotions in the last ten years. Having worked for Coca-cola, Energizer, and Pepsico he now controls a business with $1.4 billion in annual sales and manages a workforce of more than 4,800 located in more than 500 cities throughout China.
He has expressed a keen interest in supporting the University and in particular the new SGSM Alumni Chapter.
We look forward to working more closely with him in the future.
Research Update:
How UWS researchers are making a difference – SGSM academic Dr Maria Estela Varua reports on the UWS team researching groundwater recharge at Village level in India
Dr Maria Estela Varua, Senior Lecturer and Academic Course Advisor for SGSM joined the University in 1995 lecturing in the area of economics and finance. Her areas of expertise include Agricultural and Resource Economics – rural development, water, irrigation; and capacity building – poverty reduction, participatory development and micro-enterprise. This exciting new project is a deserving application of her knowledge and experience.
In most semi-arid parts of India, farmers face significant water shortages and risk of crop failure even with a slightly abnormal decline or delay in monsoonal rains. With advances in pumping technology and its easy affordability, groundwater exploitation for irrigation by small-holder farmers across India has undergone massive expansion. To some extent this has enabled farmers to manage deficiencies in monsoonal rainfall, and even allow dry-season irrigation, thus contributing to poverty alleviation.
There has been rapid population increases however, and groundwater use in the past three decades in many parts of India has resulted in the exploitation of groundwater at a rate far greater than the natural recharge.
The presence of over 20 million wells has meant that groundwater is over extracted and groundwater levels are declining - raising serious questions from a hydrological, ecological, agricultural and community point of view. The management of groundwater recharge by deliberately directing surface waters to aquifers is one means of reducing the over-exploitation of groundwater.
A range of on-ground works to recharge groundwater are being implemented at village level throughout India as a part of the Government of India’s ‘National Rural Employment Guarantee Act’ (NREGA) to enhance livelihood opportunities while developing a durable asset base. The investment through NREGA is massive (over $10 billion per year with no upper limit) and is involving and benefitting rural people directly through employment. More than half of this investment is for enhancing long-term, local water security by on-ground structures such as check dams, percolation tanks, surface spreading basins, pits, recharge shafts and sub-surface dykes. A key motivation of these works is to recharge the local groundwater. The type, location and the level of investment in relation to the on-ground works is based on a range of considerations but often they are not implemented with adequate technical scrutiny. This need will be addressed by this project and there are great opportunities for adoption of research outputs by feeding into the implementation activities of NREGA.
The overall aim of this project is to improve the security of irrigation water supplies and enhance livelihood opportunities for rural communities. Specifically, the project will focus on assessing the effectiveness of current rainwater harvesting and groundwater recharge structures and demand management strategies at village level. The project aims to develop or adapt suitable best practice guidelines and modelling and assessment tools that can be applied with easily available local information.
In this project, systemic analysis of the groundwater situation and livelihood opportunities will be carried out through an approach involving agricultural, environmental, social and economic considerations. The focus of the research is at village level (micro catchment) to analyse and understand the current situation and ground truth methods, as well as to provide measures and tests to upscale strategies and benefits to watershed, regional and state levels. The project will derive lessons from northern Gujarat where groundwater development is extensive. It will extend and develop knowledge on aquifer management into southern Rajasthan and link with related ACIAR project in Jharkhand.
A range of hydrologic, agronomic, economic, social and cultural data at selected clusters of villages will be collected over a period of four years. Bio-physical and socio-economic tools and models will be developed or adapted to evaluate the current issues of surface water and groundwater management, identify options and strategies that will improve the long-term access to groundwater, provide a scientific and evidenced-based input to enhance watershed development policies, and regenerate the natural resource base in irrigated farming systems.
The guidelines and tools developed will assist in capacity building of implementing agencies, NGOs and communities at a local level and help analyse tangible economic, social and environmental benefits through managed aquifer recharge (MAR) activities. Further, the project will help in guiding improved planning and implementation of rainwater harvesting and groundwater recharge works, and enable policies to deliver better value for investments.
The project will have significant community impacts through identifying where and under what conditions managed aquifer recharge (MAR) will actually improve water availability and livelihood opportunities within a given area, while not reducing availability of water for other users (including the environment). The research in this project will be transdisciplinary and will directly involve local farmers and communities and other stakeholders in some aspects of data collection, thus ensuring holistic solutions and wider ownership and adoption of the research outcomes.
The University of Western Sydney’s team is composed of Professor Basant Maheshwari, Dr. Maria Estela Varua, Dr. Harsharn Grewal, Associate Professor Bruce Simmons and Dr. Roger Packham. The team was successful in being awarded an Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) grant. The grant is worth over $1.2 million for four (4) years.
Other Australian project partners include CSIRO Land & Water. Partners in India include the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), M.P. University of Agriculture and Technology, Vidhya Bhawan Krishi Vigyan Kendra and Development Support Centre (DSC).
If you would like to read more regarding this research project please go to http://aciar.gov.au/project/LWR/2010/015 (opens in a new window)
Project Title: Groundwater recharge at village scale: developing best practice design and management strategies to enhance security of irrigation water supplies and livelihood opportunities in semi-arid India
Alumni Snapshot:
SGSM Alumnus, Denise Hanlon, shares with us a snapshot of her life and work
What course did you do with SGSM?
I completed an MBA with SGSM in 2003. A glutton for punishment - together ith a very attractive 50% recognition of prior learning - I came back to complete a Masters of Finance in 2009
How do you think postgraduate study has helped your career?
I believe that postgraduate study augments a career - it's not a substitute. So, after 15 years in the workforce, my MBA was anchored in practical experience. Five years later, my Masters of Finance has given me even more insight into business and my chosen profession.
Where are you working now and what is the best thing about your job?
I am working at ING DIRECT as the Head of Learning and Organisational Development. I love the culture of ING DIRECT, the people, the work and the laughs. It's a great place to spend a big slab of your life.
What did you want to be when you grew up?
My Dad was an accountant, I was good at Maths and Economics, so an 'Accountant' was as romantic as my career aspirations became when I was 18 and about to finish school. Needless to say, after 2 years of a Bachelor of Commerce I left screaming! 20 years later, I completed a Masters in Finance
and work in Human Resources. Funny heh?
What was your first job?
It was Newcastle (where I was born) in the late 80's and a 'huge' new supermarket was about to open. There was a call for 'staff' in the local paper. My Mum insisted I apply - something about, you can't live here for free...blah blah blah. So, I did apply. It was a heady process of numerical,
alphabetical and intelligence testing. A few weeks later, I received a letter offering me a weekend job as - a meatpacker! Start at 6.30am; work in fridge-like conditions; wrap/price and pack meat. I loved it!
What has been your greatest success?
In my early years, I kept the various parts of my life quite separate - personal, professional, creative and sporting. At this stage of my life, I feel like they are all starting to work in support of each other. It's a nebulous answer I know....but when you can truly be yourself wherever you are - then I think that is real success. I think I'm nearly there!
When you’re not at work, what would we find you doing?
I work, I sing, I perform stand-up comedy, I play hockey and golf, I am on a NFP Board, I volunteer at Monika's Doggie Rescue - but the most special time of all is with my partner of 8 years, Sue and my beautiful Maltese 'Charley'. Life doesn't get any better than that!
What is your favourite book, movie and/or music?
Favourite Book - I love biographies and one of my favourites is 'Pearl - Janis Joplin'
Favourite Movie - Steel Magnolias (I love a tear jerker)
Favourite Music - anything by the one and only Aretha Franklin. Also quite loving Bruno Mars at the moment.
If you could invite anyone to dinner who would it be and why?
I'm not discriminatory - I'll take either of Bette Midler, Lisa Minelli or Judith Lucy. Funny, irreverent females who are good for a chat, good on the tooth and don't mind a vino!
Come and say hello!
UWS International has been very active in the past few months attending exhibitions and events around the world to speak to students about the prospect of studying at UWS.
UWS International has recently visited India, Nepal, Bangladesh and the Philippines and a delightful highlight is seeing members of the extended UWS family – our alumni – coming and saying hello to us. It is always exciting to hear about the successes and achievements of our graduates after their life at UWS!
This month we will be visiting China, Taiwan, Turkey, Vietnam and next month the Middle East, Pakistan and Iran.
If you are interested in knowing what events we are attending every month in your home country or you have family or friends wanting to speak to a UWS staff member, visit the UWS coming to you website at www.uws.edu.au/international/uws_coming_to_you.
UWS International is also looking forwarded to welcoming new students at the SGSM orientation session on the 28 March 2012. It’s wonderful to see the students we speak to from our travels, finally arrive at UWS!
SGSM has a fantastic range of memorabilia available for purchase. Save in our end of Summer Sale
SGSM has a fantastic range of memorabilia available for purchase. The collection includes:
- Hoodies - with and without zips, these comfortable fleece sweatshirts are great quality, made in Australia items representing great value at only $22.00
- Men's and women's polo shirts – made from quality, breathable fabric and available in white or navy these stylish shirts are now only $11.00
- Baseball cap – heavy brushed cotton in navy and white with adjustable velcro strap $9.00
- Umbrella – large golf style umbrellas in blue and white $16.00
