2nd AgEd Symposium

Closing date for Teaching award is 27th November

Tuesday 3 - Wednesday 4 December 2019.

The University of New England (UNE) is proud to host the 2nd AgEd Symposium for Agricultural Educators at the University of New England Armidale.

The University of New England is located in the picturesque city of Armidale one hour flight from either Sydney or Brisbane. A wide range of accommodation is available in Armidale. Registration will open at 8 am on Tuesday 3 December, with a filled day of presentations, an Awards Dinner and conclude on the afternoon of Wednesday 4 at 12.50pm, allowing delegates time to make connecting flights. The symposium brings together the agricultural academic community at Australian tertiary and VET institutions.

The symposium will explore and showcase best practice agricultural education in the tertiary sector.

Themes

  • Pathways and lifelong learning in agriculture
  • Future of residential colleges in agricultural education
  • Engaging students as partners
  • Embedding technology in agriculture education
  • Any other issue facing agricultural education

Click here for program

Australian University Agriculture Education Award for Excellence in Teaching 2019

  • Please find details regarding the award here.
  • Download the award template for your award application here.
  • Closes midnight  (EST) Wednesday 20th November,  2019 submit to Professor Amanda Able - amanda.able@adelaide.edu.au

Panel discussion – secondary/tertiary education nexus

Participants from last year’s AgEd symposium wished for more interaction with secondary teachers. We have coincided our symposium with the Agricultural Teacher Professional Development course. This session will feature a panel discussion highlighting the most important issues affecting student success in university agriculture courses.

It will enable a two-way conversation and allow each group to learn from each other. Panellists from both secondary and tertiary education will address the barriers and opportunities for secondary school students transitioning to tertiary education in agriculture-related disciplines; interstate differences in prerequisites and assumed knowledge; student preparedness in mathematics, chemistry and English; alternative pathways to university study, and how universities can better communicate their expectations of freshers to high school students.

There will also be time for a brief Q&A session for delegates to pose questions to the panel, prior to a joint lunch.

Featured Plenary Session

Professor Jim Pratley, Agricultural Education Rebooted

We are proud to welcome Professor Jim Pratley as a keynote speaker at the event, delivering a session on ‘Agricultural Education Rebooted’.

Jim is Research Professor of Agriculture at Charles Sturt University. He graduated with BSc and PhD degrees from the University of NSW and took up an academic position at Wagga Wagga where he has been since 1972. He was Foundation Dean of Science and Agriculture at Charles Sturt University from 1990 until 2006 when he was accorded Emeritus Professor of the University. Jim has taught courses in agronomy and related areas and has published four books and more than 100 journal papers in conservation farming, weed management, herbicide resistance, self-weeding crops and agricultural education. He completed a Ministerial Review into Agricultural Education and Training in NSW (2012-13).

Jim is a former President of the Australian Society of Agronomy and former Vice President of the International Allelopathy Society. He has served on the Boards of the Cooperative Research Centres of Viticulture, Sustainable Rice Production, Weed Management Systems and Plant Based Management of Dryland Salinity. From these past accomplishments and contribution, Jim is currently a member of the Research Advisory Committee of the Australian Farm Institute; the National Council for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food of the Australian Academy of Science; and is Secretary of the Australian Council of Deans of Agriculture.

He is a Fellow of the Australian Society of Agronomy, a recipient of the CAWS Medal (Leadership in weed science) and recipient of the international Molisch Award for continued excellence in allelopathy research, and was awarded Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in 2019 for services to agricultural education, research and advisory.

Dr Erica Smith, Flipping Chemistry

Dr Erica Smith holds a Bachelor of Science with Honours from the University of Sydney, a Master of Science with Distinction from the University of Greenwich (UK), and a Doctorate in Theoretical and Computational Chemistry from the University of Houston (USA). She was an Associate Professor of Chemistry at Lonestar College (USA) before returning to Australia to take up a Postdoctoral Research Fellowship at the CSIRO, where she worked on computational animal genetics for livestock breeding. She is currently a Senior Lecturer in Chemistry at the University of New England (UNE). Dr Smith’s scientific research utilises computer simulations to gain atomic level understanding of biological and industrial systems, with a focus on processes that occur at interfaces.

Dr Smith is a passionate and dedicated educator. She has extensive experience with school outreach programs, including leadership of two programs designed to inspire students and create equity within Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines. She has received a UNE Excellence in Teaching Award, an Australian Awards for University Teaching Citation for Outstanding Contribution to Student Learning and is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (UK).

Registrations

  • Early Bird Special (Available until 11th November): $125 per person, dinner included
  • Standard Booking (Available 12th November to 27th November): $150 per person, dinner included
  • Late Booking (Available 28th November to 3rd December): $175 per person, dinner included

To book online, please follow the link below: https://une.onestopsecure.com/onestopweb/AgEd2019

Please note accommodation is not included and must be booked separately, or by using the Accommodation Portal outlined above if you wish to stay at the residential colleges on-campus at UNE.

Accommodation

Accommodation is available at the residential colleges on UNE campus. A standard Single room with shared bathroom facilities is available for $64 per person, including linen. This price does not include meals.

Guests are invited to book through the Accommodation Portal by selecting the ‘casual bookings’ then follow the prompts.  If you wish to be grouped with fellow guests attending the symposium, please enter ‘AgEd’ in the special needs area of the booking form.  Accommodation is subject to availability at the time of submitting a booking request online.

Register your interest

The proposed key dates for abstract administration and registration are as follows

  • 1st June 2019 - Launch and Release of Call for Abstracts
  • 26th August 2019 – Registration Open
  • 26th August 2019 - Australian University Agriculture Education Award for Excellence in Teaching 2019 Open
  • 19th September Closing of Call for Abstract
  • 30th September 2019 - Review Feedback of Abstracts
  • 20th November 2019 - Australian University Agriculture Education Award for Excellence in Teaching 2019 Close
  • 27th November 2019 – Standard registration closes
  • 3rd December at 9am - late registration closes.
  • 3rd – 4th December Symposium

For any queries please contact Janelle Wilkes and Skye Creevey at rsnr@une.edu.au

Abstracts

Abstract submissions are now closed.