UWS launches state-of-the-art media studios

The University of Western Sydney will officially launch its $2 million convergent media studios, on Wednesday, June 18. The School of Communication Arts, at the Penrith campus, constructed the facility. The school’s head, Professor Lynette Sheridan, Burns, said the new high-tech facilities would provide students with a learning environment that was very similar to the multimedia workplaces being used in the industry today. "UWS consulted experts from the BBC in London, SBS Television, the Seven Network, the ABC, Global Television, Sony and Ninemsn, to create a studio complex that will provide graduates with cutting-edge knowledge as well as practical industry experience," she said. Students also have access to an outside broadcast (OB) van.

Success in the city

Local businesswomen have another opportunity to make successful contacts in the city through the Parramatta Women’s Network, a branch of the Sydney Women’s Network which operates also in the Hills, Penrith, Parramatta, Blacktown, Ryde, Hawkesbury and Five Dock communities. The network’s primary purpose is to assist its local members to find, exchange qualified business referrals for each other and assist with business growth. It commenced operations in April 2008. The joint business owners are Cindy Steele and Natalie Moutia. The inaugural meeting will be held at the Parramatta Workers Club, at noon, on Friday, June 27.

Call for review to examine childcare fees

Parramatta City Council has urged the federal government to review the impact of the National Competition Policy on councils and their ability to deliver affordable childcare for working families. “Complying with the National Competition Policy is starting to cripple council’s ability to run childcare centres at neutral cost. For the past two years (council’s) childcare centres have not been breaking even. Their income needs to cover their costs and this needs to be rectified to adhere to the competition policy and to maintain good fiscal responsibility,” said the Lord Mayor, Paul Barber. An editorial in The Daily Telegraph yesterday said council “ought to be shamed” for raising fees by $18 to $57 in 2008/09.

Review of high school closure possible

The NSW government has called for submissions regarding a review of the closure of Macquarie Boys Technology High School. In 2007, the minister for education and training announced the proposal to close the school effective from the close of the 2009-year. The school is now a senior high school catering for students in years 11 and 12. The school, established in 1956, was granted technology high school status in 1989. The Lachlan Macquarie College will provide extension programs for secondary students in the area in applied maths and science. UWSCollege will conduct diploma courses at Lachlan Macquarie College, adjacent to the Parramatta campus, and at its Nirimba campus, in Blacktown.

$240,000 for incubator for local dancers

Parramatta City Council, which set up the Parramatta Artists Studios, in Hunter Street, plans another creative initiative, in the CBD, namely, the Connection Artists Place, an arts hub/incubator to be established in the Connection Arcade (near Hungry Jacks). The NSW government has made a grant of $240,000 to cover the costs for the studios for the next three years. The facility will consist of up to five spaces able to be used by individual performing artists and organisations for rehearsals, classes, meetings and creative development demonstrations and showings. “Art facilities in Western Sydney have long lagged behind the Sydney CBD,” said Lord Mayor, Paul Barber, said in The Daily Telegraph.