Tourism student wins Young Achiever Award
Flinders University Tourism student Isabel Nietschke won the prestigious Young Achiever Award at the 2023 South Australian Tourism Awards. The judging panel noted that Isabel has demonstrated exceptional potential through her industry engagement and impact, along with her academic pursuits. “She chooses to work and volunteer in diverse roles and locations across regional South Australia and is willing to go well above and beyond,” they remarked. Isabel was recognised along with 31 category winners, four Hall of Fame entrants, plus silver and bronze medallists at the SA Tourism Gala Dinner on Friday 3 November.
Congratulations to Professor Courtney Ryder, Associate Professor Tamara Mackean and PhD student Amandi Hiyare for their recent recognition at the Public Health Association of Australia SA Conference, with awards presented to them by South Australian Minister for Health and Wellbeing, Chris Picton.
Professor Ryder was awarded the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Award which recognises an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander person who has made a significant contribution to public and community health. Associate Professor Mackean was the recipient of the Basil Hetzel Award and Amandi was a well-deserved recipient of the Konrad Jamrozik scholarship.
Flinders expert is a Pioneer
Professor Paul Arbon AM, Director of the Torrens Resilience Initiative in the College of Nursing and Health Sciences, recently attended the 5th International Conference on Mass Gatherings Medicine in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and received the Pioneer Award for Mass Gathering Medicine for his leadership and contribution to mass gathering medicine.
The award noted Professor Arbon’s work that commenced in 2001 to establish key concepts and modelling of health demand, developing theoretical and conceptual models to guide research, contributing to the development of data dictionaries and key definitions and terms, mentoring emerging researchers in the field and most recently in leading the Flinders University World Health Organisation Collaborating Centre for Mass Gatherings and Global Health Security. Details of the Flinders WHOCC are at: https://www.flinders.edu.au/torrens-resilience-initiative/about-us/world-health-organisation–who–collaborating-centre-for-mass-ga
The conference theme “Legacy in Global Health Security” recognised that mass gathering events such as the Hadj (attended by 1.8 million people in 2023) and World Cup Football severely stress the capacity of public health and medical systems. The conference drew on global expertise to address the present and future needs for effective health care at mass gatherings. Further details on the conference can be found at: https://5thicmgm.com/
Providing expert advice on legal reforms
Flinders University law academics Associate Professor Vivienne Brand and Adjunct Research Associate Jordan Tutton gave expert evidence to a Senate committee inquiry in Canberra on November 1 about the performance of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. The committee expressed appreciation for the Flinders duo’s evidence on the role of corporate whistleblowers, which outlined possible reforms to incentivise the whistleblowing activity and detect corporate misconduct.
Helping Australia age well
Professor Stacey George has been awarded funding as part of ‘Innovations in Ageing Well’ grant round from The Hospital Research Foundation. Alongside five others, Professor George will share in almost $1 million in funding over two years.
Professor George’s project – “Reducing impact of non-medical factors” – will co-design and implement a program to connect older people to services and supports to reduce these factors, resulting in improved health and wellbeing and lessen demand on the healthcare system. Read more about the grant recipients here.