President's Report
- Hi all, welcome back and a Happy New Year.
We have already started off the year with the Presidents Lunch on Sunday 21st Jan at The Australian Hotel & Brewery and we had some 35 people attend. It was a very relaxing afternoon, and we were all very pleased to be inside in the Air Conditioning as it was some 40 degrees outside. It was lovely to catchup with everyone.
On Monday night (29th Jan) we had a Vocation Visit to UTS on Broadway. Thank you very much to Kerry and Janelle for organising this and putting on a fantastic night. Janelle showed us around the UTS, we had drinks and nibbles on top of one of the buildings with a great view and then ended up in Spice Alley for dinner and to top it off ice cream on the way back to the bus.
Updates from past month or so: - Visioning: We have had only 21 entries to the Visioning. Thank you everyone who replied. This is a little disappointing, but we will move forward with this data.
- The big news is Hornsby Council has asked us to remove the shipping container from Galston by the end of April 2024. We know this site will be rezoned but Fiona Leatham the new Director Infrastructure & Major Projects wants to start cleaning up the site. We have formed a sub committee consisting of Tony Makin, Bob Davison, Anne Sharpe, Colin Sharpe, Janelle Craig, Kerry Mann, Peter Stanton & myself. I will update the Club on progress here each week.
- Georgia our outgoing Exchange Student flew out on Thursday 18 Jan and is settling in well in Chile. We all wish Georgia a great year.
- We have our Annual Giant Book Sale coming up on 8, 9, 10th March, and the first Book Sort is on this Saturday at the Church starting at 8am. Would love to see you there.
- Janelle and I will be attending the Welcome Home Dinner for Exchange Students on Friday 2 February 2024 at Muirfield Golf Club, North Rocks. Should be a good night.
- Several of us are attending a "All You Can Eat Dosa Night Fundraiser" on Saturday 3 Feb. The fundraiser is to raise awareness for The Rotary Foundation Global Grant projects sponsored by clubs in our district and as you know we have a Global Grant for Flores, Indonesia.
- Iisa is travelling to New Zealand with the Sharpe’s for the next couple of weeks and then off on the District Safari so we will not see her until the beginning of March. Wishing Iisa an enjoyable time.
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That’s it for the week so Let’s look after each other, stay safe and let’s do it.
Remember to check “What’s On” for what’s on. Yours in Rotary Neville Hansen |
Night Report - Vocational Visit to UTS |
29 January 2024 |
Seventeen members and partners attended the UTS vocational visit on Monday Jan 29 evening We were transported by the Cranebrook Minibus driven by Albert (Thank you Kerry) and Savio’s and Neville’s cars. Leaving at Cherrybrook at 4.30pm and back 9.30 pm.
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Janelle proudly showed us around the various architecturally unique buildings The first building we went to was the “crumpled brown paper bag” with its striking stainless steel staircase. The iconic Dr Chau Chak Wing Building was designed by the renowned architect Frank Gehry for the UTS Business School.
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It contains oval lecture theatres where the lecturers are in the centre with students sitting 360 degrees around them. This style of lecturing is somewhat daunting for the lecturer initially.
Janelle explained what is involved in being a lecturer, for example preparation of lectures and marking assignments on time (critical). It‘s a huge commitment of the lecturers’ time during the day and evenings. Many of Janelle’s lectures are held on-line – often in the evening. Joanne Sharpe, a very recent ex-student of Janelle’s was present to support her.
Janelle explained what is involved in being a lecturer, for example preparation of lectures and marking assignments on time (critical). It‘s a huge commitment of the lecturers’ time during the day and evenings. Many of Janelle’s lectures are held on-line – often in the evening. Joanne Sharpe, a very recent ex-student of Janelle’s was present to support her.
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The next building we visited was Building 2 one of the newer campus buildings. It is a student hub and faculty space. It's home to the UTS Library and Reading Room, the Hive Superlab, three world-first large collaborative classrooms, multiple student study areas and a plastic-free food court, as well as the Faculty of Law. It also has a striking double helix staircase.
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The ceilings have an industrial look.
Building 2 stands alongside the original tower block. Building 1 (UTS Tower)– the Brutalist landmark on Broadway where the university’s administrative units are located, along with the Great Hall where graduations and other ceremonies are held. The Tower was designed by then NSW Government Architect Michael Dysart during the 1960s and officially opened in 1979. We were told by Scott a student who experienced being lectured in it that it was a very unpleasant building to be taught in.
Many of the roof tops of the campus buildings have gardens on their roof tops. One is at the top (level 17) of Building 2.
Drinks and nibbles were held in this garden. Nice views of the city from there too. Then on to Spice Alley for Dinner (yummy) followed by a visit to the local Gelato Bar (even more yummy)
Drinks and nibbles were held in this garden. Nice views of the city from there too. Then on to Spice Alley for Dinner (yummy) followed by a visit to the local Gelato Bar (even more yummy)
The other main buildings
Janelle’s Building. Building 10– the old Fairfax building now accommodates the Faculty of Health and Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. An award-winning refurbishment in the early 2000s honoured the building's art deco heritage while introducing a six-level central atrium that floods the building with light.
Building 3– also known as Bon Marche, it accommodates labs for sound and music, media arts and production, video-making and journalism, among other facilities for the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Located on the corner of Broadway and Harris St, it is noted for its distinctive, decorative cupola.
Building 4– the original Faculty of Science building along Harris and Thomas streets consists of various labs and teaching spaces, as well as informal study areas.
Building 5– located at the Haymarket precinct, this old market building with its landmark bell tower was home to the UTS Library and Faculty of Law before their relocation to UTS Central.
Building 6– the Peter Johnson Building, home to the Faculty of Design, Architecture and Building, fronts Harris St next to the ABC. It accommodates of a range of teaching spaces, including creative workshops, as well as the UTS Gallery, a public cafe and two popular courtyards.
Building 7– the Vicki Sara Building is another Faculty of Science facility and connects seamlessly to Building 4. It's known for its 220-seat basement Super Lab, crime scene simulation labs, green theatre with conical-flask-shaped lighting and a striking mosaic-tiled lightwell.
Building 11– the dramatic Faculty of Engineering and IT Building on Broadway. Known as the cheesegrater for its façade of aluminium screens, the building features a large internal atrium with Hogwarts-style stairs. A range of general and specialist teaching and research spaces include a Data Arena, which translates big data into 3D visuals
Building 15– home to the UTS Animal Logic Academy and UTS Startups. Somewhat overshadowed by the glamorous Dr Chau Chak Wing Building next door, this humble former TAFE building is actually a centre of innovation, producing new film animators and entrepreneurs.
Building 20–the UTS Graduate School of Health base spans levels 5 to 10 of the One Hundred Broadway development, across from Building 11. Purpose-designed to prepare the allied healthcare professionals of the future, it houses a range of teaching, consultation and research spaces.
