Research Calendar

Upcoming events at Western Sydney University are listed below.

• Suggest a new event

• Jan 10
  The New Online Zhao Dalu Exhibition: The Lives

  The New Online Zhao Dalu Exhibition: The Lives was overwhelmingly well received when it was opened in May 2021.

  Exhibitions and performances
  staff, students, public
  The New Online Zhao Dalu Exhibition: The Lives was overwhelmingly well received when it was opened in May 2021.

  The New Online Zhao Dalu Exhibition: The Lives was overwhelmingly well received when it was opened in May 2021. Sadly, the subsequent lockdown in greater Sydney cut public access to the exhibition short. To enable a wider audience to view this amazing artist’s great diversity of artworks in a more engaging and creative way, we are now launching the online audio-visual version which includes more artworks. This new version is accompanied by the original music of highly celebrated musicians Nicholas Ng and Julian Wong.

  Mon, 10 Jan 2022 00:00:00 +1100
• May 16
  Explore Western Information Sessions

  Join us at our Explore Western event to find out the best qualifications for your life stage and to receive a recommendation on your options.

  Information sessions; Online Events
  Join us at our Explore Western event to find out the best qualifications for your life stage and to receive a recommendation on your options.

  Join us at our Explore Western event to find out the best qualifications for your life stage and to receive a recommendation on your options. This is your opportunity to ask questions, chat to Academics and current students and find your best course fit.
  
  If you are not sure where to get started, still come along and we can offer some guidance in the right direction and further support.
  As you register, you can also join one of our campus tours, to be guided by a current student exploring student and course specific facilities and where you may be studying in the future.

  Mon, 16 May 2022 00:00:00 +1000
• May 24
  Intersect Online Training: Getting started with NVivo for Mac

  Learn the fundamentals of NVivo for Mac including importing data, creating nodes and producing basic visualisations.

  Training and skill upgrade
  Learn the fundamentals of NVivo for Mac including importing data, creating nodes and producing basic visualisations.

  About this event

  In order to participate in this course, you must be able to access NVivo. For WSU researchers, please contact eResearch Analyst Jeff Wang (Jeff.Wang@westernsydney.edu.au) for help on installing NVivo on your computer. This course is taught using NVivo for Mac users and is NOT suitable for NVivo for Windows users.

  Why do this course?

  Does your research see you working through unstructured and non-numerical data? With the ability to collect, store and analyse different data types all in the one location makes, it’s easy to see why NVivo is becoming the tool of choice for many researchers.

  NVivo allows researchers to simply organise and manage data from a variety of sources including surveys, interviews, articles, video, email, social media and web content, PDFs and images. Coding your data allows you to discover trends and compares themes as they emerge across different sources and data types. Using NVivo memos and visualisations combined with the ability to integrate with popular bibliographic tools you can get your research ready for publication sooner.

  You'll learn:

  • Create and organise a qualitative research project in NVivo
  • Import a range of data sources using NVivo’s integrated tools
  • Code and classify your data
  • Format your data to take advantage of NVivo’s auto-coding ability
  • Use NVivo to discover new themes and trends in research
  • Visualise relationships and trends in your data
  Tue, 24 May 2022 09:30:00 +1000
• May 24
  Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment Seminar Series

  Dr Lena Schmidt, hosted by Dr Kristine Crous. Lena is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Rader Community Ecology lab at University of New England.

  Conferences and seminars; Online Events
  Dr Lena Schmidt, hosted by Dr Kristine Crous. Lena is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Rader Community Ecology lab at University of New England.

  Dr Lena Schmidt, hosted by Dr  Kristine Crous. Lena is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Rader Community Ecology lab at University of New England. She completed her PhD at the Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment under supervision of Professor Sally Power, Dr Amy-Marie Gilpin, Professor James Cook, Dr Paul Rymer and Dr Paul Gibson-Roy.

  Lena’s research is focusing on floral traits and floral resource availability as drivers of plant-insect interactions within disturbed (e.g. burned) or highly transformed (e.g. agriculturally intensified) landscapes. She employs a variety of methods including large-scale manipulative field and glasshouse experiments exploring factors influencing pollinator choice of foraging plants, floral resources use by insects across different seasons and the impact of climate change on floral rewards.

  To find out more about future seminars as part of this series, please view the attachment below.

  Tue, 24 May 2022 12:00:00 +1000
• May 26
  WCACE Launch Party

  Launch party for the Free Cybersecurity Aid Centre at Western Sydney University, Western CACE.

  academic events; Information sessions; Social events
  Staff, Students, community
  Launch party for the Free Cybersecurity Aid Centre at Western Sydney University, Western CACE.

  Join us for refreshments, drinks and the official opening of  the Cybersecurity Aid Centre at Western Sydney University, Western CACE.

  We are a free security operations centre established to assist small business to respond to cyber incidences through a call centre with a focus on data breach, business email compromise, ransomware, and malware.

  Western CACE has been established with our founding industry partners: Gridware, Emergence, DC Encompass and Secolve through the generous funding from the federal Cyber Connects program and Western Sydney University.

  Time: 6:30pm

  Date: 26 May 2022

  Venue: Room G.17, 169 Macquarie Street, Parramatta (Peter Shergold building).

  Thu, 26 May 2022 18:30:00 +1000
• May 28
  Explore Western Parramatta Precinct Campus Tours

  Join us at our Explore Western events and also join one of our campus tours, to be guided by a current student exploring student and course facilities.

  Information sessions; Online Events
  Join us at our Explore Western events and also join one of our campus tours, to be guided by a current student exploring student and course facilities.

  Join us at our Explore Western event to find out the best qualifications for your life stage and to receive a recommendation on your options. This is your opportunity to ask questions, chat to Academics and current students and find your best course fit.
  
  If you are not sure where to get started, still come along and we can offer some guidance in the right direction and further support.
  
  As you register, you can also join one of our campus tours, to be guided by a current student exploring student and course specific facilities and where you may be studying in the future. Campus tours of our Parramatta Precinct (Parramatta South, Parramatta City & Engineering Innovation Hub) will be available on 28 May.

  Sat, 28 May 2022 00:00:00 +1000
• Jun 1
  Intersect Online Training: Excel for Researchers

  We'll use Microsoft Excel to import, sort, filter, copy, protect, transform, summarise, and visualise data.

  Training and skill upgrade; Online Events
  We'll use Microsoft Excel to import, sort, filter, copy, protect, transform, summarise, and visualise data.

  This course takes place over 2 days. The dates and times are as follows:

  • Day 1: Wednesday, June 1 from 9:30 AM to 12:30 PM AEST
  • Day 2: Thursday, June 2 from 9:30 AM to 12:30 PM AEST

  In order to participate in this course, you must have Excel installed on your computer. For WSU researchers, you can contact Jeff Wang (jeff.wang@westernsydney.edu.au) for help on installing Excel.

  Data rarely comes in the form you require. Often it is messy. Sometimes it is incomplete. And sometimes there’s too much of it. Frequently, it has errors. We’ll use one of the most widespread data wrangling tools, Microsoft Excel, to import, sort, filter, copy, protect, transform, summarise, merge, and visualise research data.

  While aimed at novice Excel users, most attendees will walk away with new tricks to work more efficiently with their research data.

  You'll learn:

  • ‘Clean up’ messy research data
  • Organise, format and name your data
  • Interpret your data (SORTING, FILTERING, CONDITIONAL FORMATTING)
  • Perform calculations on your data using functions (MAX, MIN, AVERAGE)
  • Extract significant findings from your data (PIVOT TABLE, VLOOKUP)
  • Manipulate your data (convert data format, work with DATES and TIMES)
  • Create graphs and charts to visualise your data (CHARTS)
  • Handy tips to speed up your work

  Prerequisites:

  The course has no prerequisites.

  Wed, 01 Jun 2022 09:30:00 +1000
• Jun 9
  Intersect Online Training: Surveying with Qualtrics

  This course will introduce the technical components of Qualtrics from building a survey to analysing the results.

  Training and skill upgrade; Online Events
  This course will introduce the technical components of Qualtrics from building a survey to analysing the results.

  Note:

  In order to participate in this course, you must be able to access a Qualtrics instance. Please confirm that you can sign in to your university's Qualtrics instance before registering for this course. For WSU researchers, please follow this guide to create a Qualtrics account. When signing up for a new account, please just enter your WSU email address and ignore the Access Code. We strongly suggest you log in and confirm that in the project page (default page after login), your "Create new project" button is clickable, not greyed out.

  Why do this course?

  Needing to collect data from people in a structured and intuitive way? Have you thought about using Qualtrics?

  Qualtrics in a powerful cloud-based survey tool, ideal for social scientists from all disciplines. This course will introduce the technical components of the whole research workflow from building a survey to analysing the results using Qualtrics. We will discover the numerous design elements available in order to get the most useful results and make life as easy as can be for your respondents.

  If your institution has a licence to Qualtrics, then this course is right for you.

  You'll learn:

  • Format a sample survey using the Qualtrics online platform
  • Configure the survey using a range of design features to improve user experience
  • Decide which distribution channel is right for your needs
  • Understand the available data analysis and export options in Qualtrics

  Prerequisites:

  You must have access to a Qualtrics instance, such as through your university license.

  Thu, 09 Jun 2022 09:30:00 +1000
• Jun 15
  Research Hour

  Informal session for researchers to connect with research support staff from ITDS/Library/Research Services/Intersect; share ideas and ask questions.

  academic events; Online Events
  All Western Sydney University researchers
  Informal session for researchers to connect with research support staff from ITDS/Library/Research Services/Intersect; share ideas and ask questions.

  Researchers from across Western are invited to join us for ‘Research Hour’; hosted by ITDS, Research Services, Intersect and the Library. If you have any questions about any aspect of your research project, plans, or implementation then Research Hour is the place for you. We have a range of experts on hand from across the University to discuss any queries you might have, help you problem solve, or point you to resources and services that could be of benefit to you as you carry out your research. No question is too big or too small – we want to hear from you, and to make sure you have all the support you need to carry out your research successfully. Bring your lunch and drop in, stay for 6 or 60 mins! Research Hour is open to Western Sydney University researchers from any discipline and at any level of their career.... everyone is welcome. This is a participatory discussion session, not a presentation – bring your questions and come along prepared to engage.

  Wed, 15 Jun 2022 12:00:00 +1000
• Jun 17
  Intersect Online Training: Introduction to Research Data Management at Western Sydney: Online

  This workshop is ideal for researchers who want to know how research data management can support project success.

  Training and skill upgrade; Online Events
  This workshop is ideal for researchers who want to know how research data management can support project success.

  It is increasingly acknowledged that publication and re-usability of research data brings great benefits to researchers, institutions, and the scientific community at large. Therefore the management of your valuable research data becomes an important task. In fact, WSU’s Research Data Management Policy requires all researchers to have a data management plan (DMP) in place at the beginning of their research project. This workshop is ideal for researchers who want to know how research data management can support project success and are interested in research data management services and support available at their institution. We will step you through the process of creating a comprehensive DMP within our Researcher Dashboard, and along the way we will discuss:

  - How to manage research data according to legal, statutory, ethical, funding body and university requirements.

  - Approaches to planning, collecting, organising, managing, storing, backing up, preserving, and sharing your data.

  - Services supporting research data at your institution.

  Co-presented by: Library, Intersect, ITDS

  Fri, 17 Jun 2022 10:00:00 +1000
• Jun 28
  NICM HRI WEBINAR: Ayahuasca - From the Jungle to the Lab (28 June)

  Join guest webinar speaker Dr Simon Ruffell as he discusses his latest research into the psychedelic plant brew ayahuasca.

  Conferences and seminars; Online Events
  Open to anyone with an interest ayahuasca and mental health
  Join guest webinar speaker Dr Simon Ruffell as he discusses his latest research into the psychedelic plant brew ayahuasca.

  NICM Health Research Institute presents Dr Simon Ruffell, Psychiatrist and Senior Research Fellow specialising in ayahuasca at Psychae Institute, Melbourne.

  Join guest webinar speaker Dr Simon Ruffell as he discusses his latest research into the psychedelic plant brew ayahuasca.

  Dr Ruffell studied medicine at the University of Sheffield before specialising in psychiatry. He completed his core psychiatric training at The Maudsley Hospital in London and worked at King’s College London as a Senior Research Associate investigating the use of psilocybin for treatment resistant depression.

  Dr Ruffell has a keen interest in transcultural psychiatry and has worked for a variety of charities overseas.

  Since 2016 he has conducted research into the traditional psychedelic brew ayahuasca and its effects on mental health based in the Peruvian Amazon and is currently completing his PhD in this based at Goldsmiths, University of London. As a Senior Research Fellow at Psychae Institute, Dr Ruffell is currently conducting randomised controlled trials investigating the potential therapeutic application of ayahuasca.

  Abstract:
  ------------
  This webinar will draw on and discuss Dr Ruffell’s research into the psychedelic plant brew ayahuasca. He will provide an overview of his research surrounding the ceremonial use of Amazonian ayahuasca and its effect on mental health outcomes, epigenetics and psychotherapeutic processes. Dr Ruffell will then introduce his current research conducting randomised controlled trials with the Psychae Institute into ayahuasca and the potential benefits and challenges associated with the use of plant medicines in a clinical setting.

  Keywords: psychedelics; ayahuasca; mental health; ethics; ceremony.

  Details:
  ----------
  Date: Tuesday 28 June 2022
  Time: 10.00am - 11.00am AEST
  Location: Online - Zoom webinar
  Cost: Free and open to all
  Register: Registration for this event closes 5pm, AEST, Monday 27 June 2022.

  Please register via: https://uws.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_k0XWo5X8QmWw9w2SZ4Jhag

  Tue, 28 Jun 2022 10:00:00 +1000
• Jun 29
  Intersect Online Training: Longitudinal Trials with REDCap

  Learn how to run longitudinal data collection, such as surveys with post-intervention and follow-up questionnaires using REDCap.

  Training and skill upgrade; Online Events
  Learn how to run longitudinal data collection, such as surveys with post-intervention and follow-up questionnaires using REDCap.

  Note:

  In order to participate in this course, you must be able to access a REDCap instance. Please confirm that you can sign in to your university's REDCap instance before registering for this course. For WSU researchers, please follow this guide to create a REDCap account.

  Why do this course?

  REDCap is a powerful and extensible application for managing and running longitiudinal data collection activities. With powerful features such as organising data collections instruments into predefined events, you can shephard your participants through a complex survey at various time points with very little configuration.

  This course will introduce some of REDCap’s more advanced features for running longitudinal studies, and builds on the foundational material taught in REDCAP101 – Managing Data Capture and Surveys with REDCap.

  You'll learn:

  • Build a longitudinal project
  • Manage participants throughout multiple events
  • Configure and use Automated Survey Invitations
  • Use Smart Variables to add powerful features to your logic
  • Take advantage of high-granularity permissions for your collaborators
  • Understand the data structure of a longitudinal project

  Prerequisites:

  This course requires the participant to have a fairly good basic knowledge of REDCap. To come up to speed, consider taking our course REDCAP101: Data Capture and Surveys with REDCap.

  Wed, 29 Jun 2022 09:30:00 +1000
• Jul 6
  Development Studies Association Australia (DSAA) Virtual Conference 2022

  Development Studies Association Australia (DSAA) Virtual Conference 2022, hosted by Western Sydney University

  academic events; Conferences and seminars; Meetings
  All Welcome
  Development Studies Association Australia (DSAA) Virtual Conference 2022, hosted by Western Sydney University

  ‘Un/Doing Development’ signifies both the practice or ‘doing’ of development and the many different ways in which we can think about development being or coming ‘undone’, including decolonising development. Our conference theme allows DSAA members and guests to consider the various ways in which development occurs and is contested.

  Conference Dates: The DSAA conference will be held online 7-8 July 2022, with a HDR Research Day to be held on 6 July, 2022.

  Conference information: https://www.developmentstudies.asn.au/dsaa-2022-conference/

  Call for papers: https://www.developmentstudies.asn.au/call-for-papers/

  Conference Registration: https://www.developmentstudies.asn.au/conference-registration/

  Wed, 06 Jul 2022 09:00:00 +1000
• Jul 20
  Research Hour

  Informal session for researchers to connect with research support staff from ITDS/Library/Research Services/Intersect; share ideas and ask questions.

  All WSU researchers
  Informal session for researchers to connect with research support staff from ITDS/Library/Research Services/Intersect; share ideas and ask questions.

  Researchers from across Western are invited to join us for ‘Research Hour’; hosted by ITDS, Research Services, Intersect and the Library. If you have any questions about any aspect of your research project, plans, or implementation then Research Hour is the place for you. We have a range of experts on hand from across the University to discuss any queries you might have, help you problem solve, or point you to resources and services that could be of benefit to you as you carry out your research. No question is too big or too small – we want to hear from you, and to make sure you have all the support you need to carry out your research successfully. Bring your lunch and drop in, stay for 6 or 60 mins! Research Hour is open to Western Sydney University researchers from any discipline and at any level of their career.... everyone is welcome. This is a participatory discussion session, not a presentation – bring your questions and come along prepared to engage.

  Wed, 20 Jul 2022 12:00:00 +1000
• Aug 17
  Research Hour

  Informal session for researchers to connect with research support staff from ITDS/Library/Research Services/Intersect; share ideas and ask questions.

  academic events; Online Events
  All Western Sydney University researchers
  Informal session for researchers to connect with research support staff from ITDS/Library/Research Services/Intersect; share ideas and ask questions.

  Researchers from across Western are invited to join us for ‘Research Hour’; hosted by ITDS, Research Services, Intersect and the Library. If you have any questions about any aspect of your research project, plans, or implementation then Research Hour is the place for you. We have a range of experts on hand from across the University to discuss any queries you might have, help you problem solve, or point you to resources and services that could be of benefit to you as you carry out your research. No question is too big or too small – we want to hear from you, and to make sure you have all the support you need to carry out your research successfully. Bring your lunch and drop in, stay for 6 or 60 mins! Research Hour is open to Western Sydney University researchers from any discipline and at any level of their career.... everyone is welcome. This is a participatory discussion session, not a presentation – bring your questions and come along prepared to engage.

  Wed, 17 Aug 2022 12:00:00 +1000
• Sep 21
  Research Hour

  Informal session for researchers to connect with research support staff from ITDS/Library/Research Services/Intersect; share ideas and ask questions.

  academic events; Online Events
  All Western Sydney University researchers
  Informal session for researchers to connect with research support staff from ITDS/Library/Research Services/Intersect; share ideas and ask questions.

  Researchers from across Western are invited to join us for ‘Research Hour’; hosted by ITDS, Research Services, Intersect and the Library. If you have any questions about any aspect of your research project, plans, or implementation then Research Hour is the place for you. We have a range of experts on hand from across the University to discuss any queries you might have, help you problem solve, or point you to resources and services that could be of benefit to you as you carry out your research. No question is too big or too small – we want to hear from you, and to make sure you have all the support you need to carry out your research successfully. Bring your lunch and drop in, stay for 6 or 60 mins! Research Hour is open to Western Sydney University researchers from any discipline and at any level of their career.... everyone is welcome. This is a participatory discussion session, not a presentation – bring your questions and come along prepared to engage.

  Wed, 21 Sep 2022 12:00:00 +1000
• Oct 19
  Research Hour

  Informal session for researchers to connect with research support staff from ITDS/Library/Research Services/Intersect; share ideas and ask questions.

  academic events; Online Events
  All Western Sydney University researchers
  Informal session for researchers to connect with research support staff from ITDS/Library/Research Services/Intersect; share ideas and ask questions.

  Researchers from across Western are invited to join us for ‘Research Hour’; hosted by ITDS, Research Services, Intersect and the Library. If you have any questions about any aspect of your research project, plans, or implementation then Research Hour is the place for you. We have a range of experts on hand from across the University to discuss any queries you might have, help you problem solve, or point you to resources and services that could be of benefit to you as you carry out your research. No question is too big or too small – we want to hear from you, and to make sure you have all the support you need to carry out your research successfully. Bring your lunch and drop in, stay for 6 or 60 mins! Research Hour is open to Western Sydney University researchers from any discipline and at any level of their career.... everyone is welcome. This is a participatory discussion session, not a presentation – bring your questions and come along prepared to engage.

  Wed, 19 Oct 2022 12:00:00 +1100
• Nov 16
  Research Hour

  Informal session for researchers to connect with research support staff from ITDS/Library/Research Services/Intersect; share ideas and ask questions.

  academic events; Online Events
  All Western Sydney University researchers
  Informal session for researchers to connect with research support staff from ITDS/Library/Research Services/Intersect; share ideas and ask questions.

  Researchers from across Western are invited to join us for ‘Research Hour’; hosted by ITDS, Research Services, Intersect and the Library. If you have any questions about any aspect of your research project, plans, or implementation then Research Hour is the place for you. We have a range of experts on hand from across the University to discuss any queries you might have, help you problem solve, or point you to resources and services that could be of benefit to you as you carry out your research. No question is too big or too small – we want to hear from you, and to make sure you have all the support you need to carry out your research successfully. Bring your lunch and drop in, stay for 6 or 60 mins! Research Hour is open to Western Sydney University researchers from any discipline and at any level of their career.... everyone is welcome. This is a participatory discussion session, not a presentation – bring your questions and come along prepared to engage.

  Wed, 16 Nov 2022 12:00:00 +1100