Alumni Focus
2018 Macquarie University Alumni Awards – Professor Alan Mackay-Sim
CATEGORY: MEDICINE AND HEALTH “My life has been dominated by following my own dreams completely,” says Professor Mackay-Sim, who remains mentally connected to his alma mater – Macquarie. “I have followed its success from a pioneering institution in the early 1970s when I attended to the powerhouse it is today.” At school, Mackay-Sim was interested in how the brain works, so he ...
2018 Macquarie University Alumni Awards – Dr Andrew Scipione AO APM
CATEGORY: PUBLIC AND COMMUNITY SERVICE Servant first, leader second. It may not have been the most popular leadership style, but it was a natural fit for Dr Andrew Scipione – one that he was challenged to define while studying the Master of Management at Macquarie. Prompted to consider what underpinned his management style, Scipione says, “There are different ways of engaging people...
2018 Macquarie University Alumni Awards – Jennifer Star and Shaun Star
CATEGORY: RISING STARS Distinguished alumni Jennifer (Jen) and Shaun Star, who met at Macquarie, are a force for good in the world. They are often reverently referred to as a ‘powerhouse couple’ but ‘rising stars’ reflects their alumni award, their surname and their aspirations to help others. Jen lives in Delhi, India, and runs Tara.Ed, a not-for-profit organisation that promote...
2018 Macquarie University Alumni Awards – Dr Abigail Allwood
CATEGORY: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY Is there life on Mars? It’s a question many ponder, but few are qualified or engaged to answer this timeless question. That is, unless you are Dr Abigail Allwood, first female and one of seven principal science investigators to lead NASA’s next mission to Mars, scheduled for 2020. She will also be the first Australian to lead a NASA team searching for si...
2018 Macquarie University Alumni Awards – Liz Ellis AO
CATEGORY: SPORT Liz Ellis’ reputation as one of Australia’s greatest netball players often precedes her academic achievements and other interests. You may not know that she has a double major in Ancient History and Politics – and is a history buff. “I still love it”, Ellis says. A happy pastime and relic from her time as a student is devouring history books and downloading podc...
The heart of business
Australia’s infatuation with start-up culture is at an all-time high. Last year 20,000 new small businesses were created in New South Wales alone. And according to the latest annual Startup Muster survey, of the 1500 ‘approximately’ new business founders interviewed, 70 per cent were based in co-working spaces. And this, according to Mara, is where the problem lies. The stereotypica...