The week of Monday 9th September provided several exciting opportunities for AINSE’s Managing Director, Michelle Durant, to connect with AINSE Members and AINSE Winter School alumni during a series of visits to Victorian universities and ANSTO’s Australian Synchrotron.
On the morning of Monday 9th, Michelle Durant traveled to Federation University’s main campus in Ballarat to meet with AINSE Councillor A/Prof. Kim Dowling and other academic staff members of Federation University, both in-person and via video link to other Federation University campuses. Michelle Durant presented an overview of AINSE’s scholarships and events before engaging in a series of fruitful conversations with the attendees regarding opportunities for further engagement with AINSE.
Later that afternoon, Michelle Durant visited Deakin University’s Geelong Waurn Ponds campus. After meeting with AINSE Specialist Committee Chair Dr. Ludovic Dumee, Michelle Durant discussed AINSE’s upcoming programs and student opportunities with an audience of academic staff and students from Deakin University.
On Tuesday 10th September, the Australian Synchrotron in Clayton hosted ANSTO’s 2019 New User Symposium, at which services offered at ANSTO’s landmark research facilities were introduced to potential future users. AINSE were proud to sponsor the 2019 New User Symposium by covering the cost of eleven student flights from AINSE Member Organisations, and Michelle Durant addressed the Symposium regarding AINSE funding opportunities that are available to support new users of ANSTO facilities.
Also in attendance at the New User Symposium were a number of AINSE Winter School alumni. This diverse alumni group ranged from students Vivien Heng, Henry West and Jiajia Zhao, who all attended the most recent AINSE Winter School in July 2019, through to Dr. Anton Tadich and Ruth Plathe, who attended some of the first AINSE Winter Schools in the late 1990s and are now key scientific staff members working at ANSTO’s Australian Synchrotron.
AINSE would like to thank A/Prof. Dowling and the staff of Federation University; Dr. Dumee and the staff of Deakin University; and the team at ANSTO’s Australian Synchrotron for their wonderful hospitality throughout the week.