Alumni Focus
How Ashley became Australian
When alumna Ashley Kalagian Blunt (MRes 2017) moved from Canada to Australia, she thought it would be easy to “become Australian”. Her recently published memoir How to be Australian about the pleasures and pitfalls of making Australia home will strike a chord with many of us who have arrived in Australia and tried to navigate a different culture and way of life. From tall poppy syndrome...
Mind over matter
When Brazilian disability advocate and quadriplegic Rodrigo Hübner Mendes became the first to drive an F1 racing car entirely with his mind, Emotiv’s technology was right there with him in the driver’s seat. Emotiv is on the frontier in developing scalable and user-friendly wearable electroencephalography (EEG) technologies for neuroscience, neuromarketing, cognitive perfo...
A silver lining that leads to the Eternal City
The way people work, learn and play across the world has significantly changed as individuals, organisations and governments respond to the outbreak of a global pandemic. The world over, people are wondering what the new normal might look like. There is much uncertainty, the news cycle is relentless and we now talk about pre-COVID-19 times. In 1634, English poet John Milton (1608-74) wrote ...
Banking on the greater good
Imagine a future where every purchase we make, big or small, contributes to a more just and sustainable future. This is the singular vision of Samuel Philipos and Mitchelle Katsande, co-founders of Benevolence Financial Group – a mortgage broker with a fundamental difference. “Whether it’s your morning coffee or buying your dream home, we believe that every transaction can help fight ...
Bill Bowman – a guiding light
With a strong sense of social justice and compassion for those navigating the criminal justice system, alumnus Bill Bowman (MBA 2000) proves life doesn’t stop after retirement – and can be even more fulfilling. Time is a funny thing. It passes before us so slowly as to be almost imperceptible, yet when we look back on certain events, they are like a stake in the ground; a marker that sh...
Shane Fitzsimmons – leading authentically
With his compassionate and level-headed leadership, Macquarie alumnus and RFS Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons (MMgmt 2019) embodies what we need from those at the forefront of our most challenging situations. We uncover how he captivated the nation during one of Australia’s worst bushfire seasons on record. Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons isn’t one to ask of others what he isn’t prepared...