In this issue I am pleased to announce that David Savage and Bonnie Vogelzang have submitted their PhD theses. Further, Ashley Zamek has completed her Honours thesis.

Both David and Bonny completed their PhDs on spore-trapping related topics, with David looking at the dispersal of spores and Bonnie focussing on their detection. Ashley investigated native parasitic wasps and their use as a new eradication tool for fruit fly incursion management. All three projects contribute significantly to plant biosecurity science and capacity building.

I would like to congratulate two of our PhD students who won prizes at the recent Australasian Plant Pathology Society (WA) Annual Student Symposium. Matt Tan went home with a $400 cash prize for the best presentation, while Steve Coventry, now an honorary sandgroper, took home $250 and a book for the Scientific Endeavour award. The competition was fierce and both should be congratulated on their fantastic presentations.

Enrolments in the Postgraduate Certificate in Plant Biosecurity are now open for 2012. At the moment enrolments in the postgraduate Diploma and the Masters remain closed whilst some alterations are made to these courses. However, candidates can commence the Certificate and progress to the Diploma and/or Masters, as the first semesters of the three courses are identical. Direct enrolment into the Diploma and Masters should be open soon.

If you wish to take a single unit that is offered by the Plant Biosecurity Program, rather than enrol in a whole degree, you can. To enrol in one unit only, you must apply directly to the university teaching the unit. If you are enrolled in a postgraduate course elsewhere you can apply for a ‘cross-institutional enrolment’ in the unit you are interested in.

If you are not enrolled anywhere else but wish to take the unit for your own interest or for professional development, you should apply as a ‘not for award’ student. In both cases you will receive a grade on completion of the unit. Remember you must apply directly to the university that teaches the unit that you are interested in. This applies to people taking single units only.

Enrolments can be made at Murdoch University [1].

Once enrolled you can select the unit(s) you wish to take during the semester. The fees for 2012 are $2600 per unit for domestic students and $2813 for internationals, which is very reasonable for a 12 week unit. Please note that enrolments will close 31 January 2012. Questions regarding any of the courses should be directed to Kirsty Bayliss.

Kirsty Bayliss
Education and Training Program Leader

Back to The Leaflet [2].