On Tuesday 14 February, NASA Deputy Administrator Pamela Melroy joined high school students from Western Sydney who are part of Powerhouse: Future Space to launch their next mission - a student-designed experiment which will be conducted on the International Space Station in 2024.

As part of the Lang Walker Family Academy In-Schools Program, Powerhouse: Future Space in collaboration with Magnitude.io and the NSW Department of Education is in its second year of a three-year program. It has been providing students from Western Sydney and regional areas with ground-breaking technology, advanced educational opportunities, and exposure to international scientists, engineers, and entrepreneurs.

The 2022 mission ‘Carbon Farmer’ used scientific inquiry to teach students about importance of the carbon cycle on Earth and in space. This year, students will use NASA-inspired design thinking techniques to plan their own space and Earth-based experiment between February and August and pitch their ideas to a panel of experts during the 2023 Sydney Science Festival. The winning design will be selected for ground trials and active experiments on the International Space Station in early 2024.

The esteemed guest for the launch event, Melroy was one of only two female commanders of NASA space shuttle missions. She went on three space shuttle assembly missions in 2000, 2002 and 2007 to help build the International Space Station. She is also a pioneer for the Australian Space Agency, having spent a significant amount of time in Australia, inspiring the future of space undertaking. Powerhouse connected 150 students from Hurlstone Agricultural High School, East Hills Girls Technology High School, Arthur Phillip High School, Jamison High School, Seven Hills High School and Casula High School with the distinguished leader to hear her inspiring recollections from an outstanding STEM career. Melroy also offered advice to students on their experiment proposals for the mission, followed by Q&A.

‘We are thrilled to be a participating school in the Powerhouse: Future Space program and supporting the launch of the 2023 mission. It has been a rewarding journey to see Future Space students applying their learnings from the world-class immersive STEM education program to prepare an actual space mission on the International Space Station,’ said Christine Castle, Principal of Hurlstone Agricultural High School.

‘The Lang Walker Family Academy is excited to have Pamela Melroy to launch the next mission for the Powerhouse: Future Space program. Inspiring students in Western Sydney and regional NSW by connecting them with industry experts and providing hands-on experiment opportunities is at the core of the program. It is exciting that this year students can apply their learnings to design their own experiment which will be conducted both on-ground and on the International Space Station,’ said Sophie Poisel, Head of Lang Walker Family Academy.

Ronald McDonald House Charities GWS are hosting a Twilight Golf & BBQ Afternoon on Tuesday, March 21st 2023 at one of Australia's premier courses; The Castle Hill Country Club.

Places are filling fast! Join them for a scenic and relaxing day out that helps sick kids and their families staying at Ronald McDonald House GWS!

Details below - Ticket includes 18 holes of golf, cart hire, 2 drink vouchers each plus a BBQ Dinner.

Date

Tuesday 21st March 2023

Time

12 pm Registration

1 pm Shotgun Start

5:00 pm BBQ Sunset Dinner

Location

Castle Hill Country Club

7 Spurway Drive, Norwest 2153

️Tickets

$180 per player or $700 for a team of 4

To secure your tickets or to discuss sponsorship opportunities, please contact Dave Hagger via email: Dave.Hagger@rmhc.org.au

By Simone Rennocks  |  CEO  |  My Skills Australia  

Marketing is a crucial aspect of any business, and in today's digital age, staying ahead of the curve means utilizing all the tools at your disposal. Enter ChatGPT, the cutting-edge language model developed by OpenAI. ChatGPT has taken the marketing world by storm, and for good reason. In this blog, we'll explore why marketers are turning to ChatGPT and how it can help take your marketing efforts to the next level.

First, let's look at what ChatGPT is and how it works. In simple terms, ChatGPT is an AI-powered language model that can generate human-like text. It has been trained on a massive dataset of diverse text from the internet, allowing it to understand and respond to a wide range of questions and prompts. This means that it can converse with customers, answer queries, and provide information in a way that feels natural and human.

Now, how can this technology help with marketing? The answer is simple: by providing personalized and timely interactions with customers. ChatGPT can be integrated into websites, messaging platforms, and even virtual assistants to provide quick and seamless customer support. This not only helps to improve the customer experience but also provides valuable data and insights into customer behavior.

For example, imagine you run an e-commerce store and a customer reaches out to you via your website's chatbot. The chatbot, powered by ChatGPT, can ask the customer a series of questions to understand their needs and preferences. Based on this information, the chatbot can make personalized product recommendations, provide relevant information about shipping and returns, and even offer special promotions. This kind of interaction not only helps to convert a potential customer into a sale but also builds brand loyalty, as the customer feels seen and valued.

Another way ChatGPT can help with marketing is by creating high-quality content. With its ability to understand and generate text, ChatGPT can be used to write blog posts, articles, and even social media posts. This saves marketers time and effort and ensures that the content is on-brand and consistent in tone and style. ChatGPT can also analyze and interpret data to provide insights into market trends and customer behavior, allowing marketers to make informed decisions about their content and marketing strategies.

But perhaps one of the most exciting uses of ChatGPT for marketing is its potential for personalization. With its ability to understand and respond to natural language, ChatGPT can be used to create personalized marketing campaigns. For example, a marketer could use ChatGPT to analyze customer data and generate personalized emails or social media posts that are tailored to each customer's interests and preferences. This level of personalization can result in higher engagement rates and increased conversions, as customers feel that the brand is speaking directly to them.

Finally, ChatGPT can help with marketing by automating repetitive tasks and freeing up time for more creative and strategic work. For example, ChatGPT can be used to respond to frequently asked questions, freeing up customer support teams to focus on more complex issues. It can also be used to monitor social media and provide insights into customer sentiment, allowing marketers to respond quickly to any negative comments or concerns.

In conclusion, ChatGPT has the potential to revolutionize the way marketers approach their work. From personalized interactions to high-quality content creation, ChatGPT offers a range of benefits that can help take your marketing efforts to the next level. If you're not already using this cutting-edge technology, now is the time to start exploring its potential for your business. Trust us, you won't regret it!

My Skills Australia is now teaching ChatGPT as part of their Leadership and Management, Marketing and Info Tech Certificate IV courses. Join the AI revolution today and have your team master the emerging technology. 

Click here to find out more.

Commencement

Important changes relating to paid family and domestic violence leave took effect from 1 February 2023 for non-small business employers and will commence on 1 August 2023 for small business employers.

A small business employer is one that has less than 15 employees taking into account the number of employees of associated entities (with most casuals counted).

A non-small business employer is one that has 15 or more employees taking into account the number of employees of associated entities (with most casuals counted).

What Are The Changes?

The changes mean that all employees (including casual and part-time employees) will be entitled to 10 days’ of paid family and domestic violence leave each year, albeit it does not accumulate from year to year and, if not used, is not paid out on cessation of employment.

Are There Any Other Requirements?

Strict record keeping, eligibility and evidentiary requirements apply when taking such leave including:

• the employee must demonstrate that they need to do something to deal with family and domestic violence and that it would be impractical to do so outside of their hours of work (including attending medical or legal appointments)
• an employer can request reasonable proof from an employee about the necessity for taking family and domestic violence leave
• whilst the leave is to be recorded as ordinary hours of work on the employee’s payslip (or another type of leave if the employee requests), the employer must maintain appropriate internal records regarding leave balances and leave taken 

Penalties

Employers and individuals may be subject to penalties for non-compliance with the new changes.

Recommended Actions

We recommend employers:

• update employment agreements and company policies to cater for this new form of leave
• train management staff in how to deal with leave requests (noting their sensitive nature)
• ensure their leave procedures meet the record keeping and evidentiary requirements

Questions/Assistance

If you have any questions in respect of the above or would like any other employment related assistance, please contact our Matthews Folbigg Workplace Solutions employment law team.

Stewart Gough  |  Principal T: (02) 9806 7483 M: 0458 586 444 E: stewartg@matthewsfolbigg.com.au	Peter Doughman  |  Senior Associate T: (02) 9806 7412 M: 0404 020 409 E: pdoughman@matthewsfolbigg.com.au

DISCLAIMER: This article is provided to readers for their general information and on a complimentary basis. It contains a brief summary only and should not be relied upon or used as a definitive or complete statement of the relevant law.

Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation

Calling all seafood lovers, grab your friends and family to indulge in PARKROYAL Parramatta's Summer Seafood Buffet! You’ll receive a complimentary bottle of wine for bookings of 4 adults.

Available from 6pm to 9pm, every second Saturday from 11 February to 25 March 2023.

Enjoy fresh seafood options like our Alaskan Crab Leg and Singaporean Chilli Crab, cold dishes, hot dishes and salads and complete your dining experience with a range of desserts.

Bookings essential, contact +61 2 9685 0377 or dining.prsyp@parkroyalhotels.com.

Take advantage of PARKROYAL Parramatta's Feb Frenzy offer and receive a complimentary $200 AV Voucher!

Meeting rate: From $79 per person

Inclusions:

• Room Hire (09:00-17:00)
• Welcome tea and coffee with complimentary fruit bowl
• Morning tea (freshly brewed coffee, tea selection, orange juice, two gourmet food items
• Selection of gourmet lunch platters served in Table 30 Restaurant (subject to availability) OR selection of working lunch buffet, served in your pre function area
• Afternoon tea (freshly brewed coffee, tea selection, orange juice, two gourmet food items)
• Facilitator toolkit featuring stationary essentials
• Notepads, pencils, mints and iced water
• Standard Audio-visual equipment – 1 x flipchart, 1 x whiteboard & 1 x drop down canvas screen

To book, contact +61 2 9685 0309 or email events.prsyp@parkroyalhotels.com.

Terms and conditions:

• For new bookings only
• Minimum of 20 delegates
• Valid for new events booked in February
• Events must be held between
• February 2023 to April 2023.

If the past few years have taught us anything, it’s that the future is uncertain and difficult to plan for. It’s not a very reassuring thought for those in Years 10-12 thinking about the first steps in their career. Our youth are entering adulthood to find a brutal job market, uncertainty over university funding and an ongoing housing affordability crisis. As parents and in business, we need to provide all the resources necessary to make the transition from school to job as less complicated and easy to access as possible.

At Cook’s Plumbing Supplies we recognise this, and have created a Traineeship Program that engages our youth to consider various career pathways within our business. With a strong presence in Western Sydney - and as a leader in the industry with over 50 years’ experience - we are investing in our future generation.

Within this Traineeship Program, externally recognised Cert III Business qualifications via on-line correspondence will be obtained. In addition, there is regular in-store training, using both external training providers, along with a wealth of experienced staff to guide and mentor individuals looking for a career in the industry.

If you know of anyone who would be interested and keen to pursue this opportunity further, more information can be found here. 

Children’s Medical Research Institute is pleased to announce that senior scientist, Dr Noa Lamm-Shalem, will establish and lead a new cancer research laboratory at CMRI in Westmead.

After many years working in CMRI’s Genome Integrity Unit, Dr Lamm a talented researcher who has led major discoveries published in prestigious scientific journals, has been selected to found and lead the Nuclear Dynamics Group.

CMRI’s Director Professor Roger Reddel announced that Dr Lamm would start her new lab with two researchers.

“Noa has done an absolutely wonderful job during her time at CMRI and we were very keen to offer this opportunity to become a research leader and play an important future role at the Institute,’’ Professor Reddel said.

Dr Lamm is delighted to share her excitement.

“I feel extremely fortunate for this opportunity to start the Nuclear Dynamics Group,’’ she said.

“My group has a specific focus on the nuclei of cancer cells. A nucleus stores a cell’s DNA – the instruction manual that guides a cell’s growth and biological activities. When cells divide, they copy this DNA in a complex and carefully orchestrated process. The complexity of this ‘DNA replication’ means that even normal dividing cells are prone to replication errors (which leads to mistakes in the DNA). Cancer cells, which grow and divide uncontrollably, are even more prone to this ‘replication stress’.

“DNA replication in a cancer cell is like an old car travelling at its top speed – it frequently breaks down and must be restarted. Cancer chemotherapy exploits this weakness in cancer cells by making the process break down even more frequently to destroy them.

“The problem is that these cells have developed a resistance to chemotherapy.

“What I’m interested in is understanding this response and what is happening inside the nucleus of cancer cells and using this information to find vulnerabilities that can become targets for new cancer treatments,’’ Dr Lamm said.

Part of Dr Lamm’s motivation to become a cancer researcher arose from her own personal story: when she was young, her mother died of cancer.

“It was extremely hard, especially as a kid, to watch the person you love and depend upon the most, dying – and there was nothing you could do about it.’’

Dr Lamm completed her PhD and post-doctoral training at the Hebrew University, Israel before relocating to CMRI five years ago. She earned several prestigious awards and competitive grants including Hebrew University’s "Woman in Science" award and an Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) project grant. She was an ICRF (Israel Cancer Research Fund) post-doctoral fellow and Cancer Institute NSW Early Career Fellow.

If you would like to donate to support this new lab, visit the CMRI website: https://www.cmrijeansforgenes.org.au/