ANU Leadership program

Dr Maria Racionero has been accepted into the ANU Leadership program.

The ANU Leadership program is designed for staff members who currently hold leadership positions and seek to contribute strongly to the future of the University by furthering their leadership skills and experience.

Dr Racionero was selected as part of a competitive process and will participate in a series of workshops coordinated by ANU Human Resources, with some sessions facilitated by ANU Vice-Chancellor, Professor Ian Young.

RSE outreach activities

The RSE researchers recently participated in an international workshop on the theme of “Child Care, Work, and Family: Issues for Australian Policy”, organized by RSE Adjunct Professor Xiaodong Gong on Thursday 19th January 2012 at The National Centre for Social and Economic Modeling (NATSEM). The Research School of Economics co-sponsored the activity.

The keynote presentation was given by Professor Arthur van Soest from the Department of Econometrics and Operational Research at Tilburg University, Netherlands. Other speakers included Professor Patricia Apps (University of Sydney), Professor Alison Booth (ANU), Professor Bob Haveman (University of Wisconsin Madison), Dr. Tom Kornstad (Statistics Norway), Dr. Stephen Whelan (University of Sydney), and Professor Bobbi Wolfe (University of Wisconsin Madison). Discussants included RSE’s Professor Bob Gregory and Ass Prof. Tue Gorgens, as well as Dr. Mario Fiorini (University of Technology at Sydney) and Dr. Peter Siminski (University of Wollongong).

The workshop was attended by over 60 people. It included academics and participants from a range of government agencies, facilitating further opportunities for interaction between academics and policy makers.

Public Sector Linkage Program

Professor Xin Meng has been granted funding by AusAID under the Public Sector Linkages Program 2010-2011 (PSLP).

The grant is to support the new project Study of Rural-Urban Migration in Vietnam with Insights from China and Indonesia, which intends to extend the RUMiCI research in China and Indonesia, and ultimately contribute to capacity building of Vietnamese government agencies. It commenced in November 2011 and will conclude in November 2014.

RSE outreach activity

RSE researchers Alison Booth, Robert Breunig, and Timo Henckel recently spent the afternoon with 40 high school students interested in economics and global inequality at a "Cafe Scientifique" organized by Telopea Park High School.
The RSE researchers each gave a brief presentation on their research, followed by a question and answer session with the high school students.

The RSE researchers were very impressed by the sophistication and depth of questions which the high school students asked. Their questions and the conversation that followed showed an understanding of important economic concepts such as cost-benefit trade-offs, incentives, opportunity cost, and the dynamic nature of economic systems. It was a wonderful opportunity for potential future economists to exchange with top university researchers. Both sides enjoyed the afternoon immensely.

Certificate in Innovation and Entrepreneurship

PhD student Patrick Carvalho has become the first RSE student to graduate and receive the Graduate Certificate in Innovation and Entrepreneurship. The certificate has been designed to develop entrepreneurial, commercial and professional skills in conjunction with the students’ research.
Applications for comencement in semester 1, 2012 close on the 17th of December 2011.

More information can be found on the Graduate Certificate in Innovation and Entrepreneurship page.

Focus on Game Theory

The spring edition of Margin Magazine included a special section highlighting the contributions of RSE researchers to game theory.
ANU game theorists Professor Richard Cornes, Dr José Rodrigues-Neto, Dr Yijuan Chen, Professor Martin Richardson, Dr Tina Kao and Professor Rohan Pitchford were some of the academics that contributed to the special edition. The feature discussed the significance and history of game theory, as well as its modern applications.