Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Julia Gillard New Board Chair at Global Partnership for Education

Julia Gillard New Board Chair at 

Global Partnership for Education

Former Australian Prime Minister takes on new role leading fundraising efforts to provide education to 57 million out-of-school children worldwide.


Washington, D.C. (PRWEB) February 10, 2014

The Global Partnership for Education (GPE), the only multilateral partnership devoted to getting all children in the world's poorest countries into school for a quality education, has appointed former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard to be the new Chair of its Board of Directors.

Julia Gillard New Board Chair at Global Partnership for Education
Julia Gillard New Board Chair at Global Partnership for Education
As Australia’s Prime Minister from 2010 to 2013 and throughout her career in public office, including as Minister of Education, Gillard distinguished herself as a passionate and effective champion for education. In October 2013, she was named Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Center for Universal Education by the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C.

In her new role with the Global Partnership for Education, she will advocate to get out-of-school children in some of the world’s poorest countries in school for a quality education.

“I am delighted to take on this new role with the Global Partnership for Education,” Gillard said. “I believe that with 57 million of the world’s children still lacking access to a basic education and 250 million children unable to read, write or master simple math, there can be no higher priority. I am also alarmed about the recent sharp decline in donor support to education that threatens the progress achieved over the past decade, particularly for girls’ education. The global community must respond generously to the upcoming call for a renewal of multilateral, bilateral and national financing for basic education.”

“The Global Partnership has a proven track record of support and has delivered results in the world’s poorest and most fragile countries,” she added, “and I believe it is uniquely positioned to address the main challenges in global basic education.”
“The international community has a historic opportunity right now to build on the progress we’ve seen in global education over the last decade, and to tackle obstacles that impede countries’ ability to deliver a quality basic education to all of their young people,” Gillard said. “It is an honor to accept the role of Board Chair for the Global Partnership for Education. There is much to do and little time.”
The Chief Executive Officer of the Global Partnership for Education, Alice Albright, welcomed Ms. Gillard’s appointment, calling her “one of the world’s most articulate and effective advocates for improving access and quality of education for children in the poorest countries. She joins the Global Partnership for Education at a pivotal moment as we call on donor nations to increase their contributions at our June replenishment conference. Prime Minister Gillard will help us make the case that a strong commitment to replenishment this year will build on the momentum we’ve seen in global education over the last few years.”
“Prime Minister Gillard follows in the impressive footsteps of our former Board Chair Carol Bellamy and Interim Chair Geeta Rao Gupta,” Albright said. “All of us at the Global Partnership for Education are enormously grateful to them for the hard work, wisdom and powerful contributions to our success thus far.”
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Julia Gillard comes to the Global Partnership for Education after a distinguished career of public service in Australia. She served as Prime Minister of Australia between 2010 and 2013 and successfully managed Australia’s economy during the global economic crises and reformed Australia’s education at every level.
The Global Partnership for Education is made up of nearly 60 developing country governments, as well as donor governments, civil society/non-governmental organizations, teacher organizations, international organizations, and the private sector and foundations, whose joint mission is to galvanize and coordinate a global effort to provide a good quality education to children, prioritizing the poorest and most vulnerable. http://www.globalpartnership.org@GPforEducation.

News Release Source :  Julia Gillard New Board Chair at Global Partnership for Education

Saturday, January 25, 2014

Happy Australia Day!!

Happy Australia Day!!


Hi Mates!
Wishing You All Happy Australia Day!!

Happy Australia Day

With Love
Cool Guy

Innovative Technology at the Australian Open 2014

IBM Rallies Tennis Fans With Innovative Technology at the 

Australian Open 2014

Tennis Australia and IBM use new mobile apps, enhanced data analytics and cloud computing to deliver an engaging experience

ARMONK, N.Y., Jan. 20, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- IBM (NYSE: IBM) is bringing tennis fans even closer to the Australian Open 2014, with new ways to access and interact with the latest tournament news and courtside action from the Grand Slam as it happens.
Through the use of innovative and interactive technology, IBM is providing fans a rich, immersive experience during the international tennis tournament. The official mobile apps for the Australian Open deliver easy functionality with real-time scores and schedules, comprehensive match and player analysis and Twitter feeds. New this year is a free iPad app which is the ultimate digital destination enabling fans to follow their favorite players, tweet messages of support from a player's profile and track player popularity online using IBM social media analytics.
IBM Rallies Tennis Fans With Innovative Technology at the Australian Open 2014
Another new technology is IBM ReturnServe, which enables tennis fans to experience what it's like to face the world's top tennis players. Based on live match data analyzed by IBM at Rod Laver Arena, fans can face each serve at home, using their computer or at virtual reality locations in Sydney and Melbourne. The aim of the game is to return serves at the same speed as the world's best players. IBM ReturnServe is hosted on IBM SoftLayer, the company's robust and scalable cloud computing platform.
"We are seeing increased demand from fans around the world for more access and real-time event content. Over the two weeks of the Australian Open last year, more than 15.5 million unique users connected with the tournament online, and almost half of the website views were from mobile devices.  Each year we aim to enhance the event experience and this year we have worked with our technology partner, IBM, to develop a new iPad app, improve the website and smartphone apps, as well as advance the technology infrastructure behind the scenes," said Samir Mahir, CIO, Tennis Australia. 
Today's tennis fans also seek a deeper experience that goes beyond live scores and updates. Insights and visualisations provided by IBM SlamTracker on the Australian Open website analyse more than eight years of Grand Slam data to identify patterns in player style. New features to SlamTracker for 2014 include streamlined analysis of more fan friendly key turning points in a match, such as aces and winning shots, and a social media sentiment feed that measures the percentage of positive tweets. 
"During the Australian Open each year we transform almost overnight from a medium sized business to a global enterprise that must service millions of fans, players, media and officials from around the globe," continued Samir Mahir. "Using IBM predictive analytics and cloud computing technologies ensures we can meet this demand uninterrupted."
IBM predictive cloud provisioning analyses multiple data sources in real-time, such as tournament schedule, player popularity, historical data and social media conversations, to predict and automatically allocate the computing power required by theAustralian Open website.
"Our 21-year history with Australian Open has been about making the event and the sport of tennis more engaging and enjoyable.  This latest focus on the omni-channel experience is no exception. With new digital technologies like the iPad app and virtual reality IBM ReturnServe, the Australian Open is a leading example of the way of cloud computing, data analytics, social and mobile technologies to help better connect Tennis Australia with its target audiences," said Glen Thomas, Vice President of Marketing and Communications, IBM Australia.
For more information about IBM visit ibm.com/australianopen or join the conversation on Twitter at #IBMsports #ausopen #ibmreturnserve
For more information:
Chris Andrews
IBM External Relations
914-499-4045
candrews@us.ibm.com
Katie Burford
External Relations ANZ
Phone: 61450-333-600
kburford@au1.ibm.com
Sandra McMullan
External Relations ANZ
Phone: 61416-049-409
smullan@au1.ibm.com
SOURCE IBM

News Release Source : IBM Rallies Tennis Fans With Innovative Technology at the Australian Open 2014

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Physicist honored by the Australian Academy of Science

Physicist honored by the Australian Academy of Science

The 2014 Pawsey Medal has been awarded to professor Geoff Pryde from Griffith University's Centre for Quantum Dynamics

Professor Geoff Pryde from Griffith University's Centre for Quantum Dynamics has been awarded the 2014 Pawsey Medal by The Australian Academy of Science.

Physicist, Professor Geoff Pryde honored by the Australian Academy of Science
The Pawsey Medal is awarded each year to an outstanding Australian scientist in the field of physics who has held their PhD for fewer than 15 years.

Professor Pryde is Deputy Director of Griffith University's Centre for Quantum Dynamics where he has been a key researcher since 2006. He is presently an Australian Research Council Future Fellow and a Program Manager in the ARC Centre of Excellence for Quantum Computation and Communication Technology.

The prestigious annual Australian Academy of Science awards honour career researchers for life-long achievements as well as recognising outstanding early-career researchers.

In addition, the Academy gives a number of awards for research and travel support.
Academy President, Professor Suzanne Cory, warmly congratulated each recipient for their remarkable achievements in science.

"It is the Academy's privilege to recognise excellence in diverse fields of science," Academy President, Professor Suzanne Cory said.

Pro Vice Chancellor of Griffith Sciences, Professor Debra Henly said she was delighted by the Professor Pryde's award.

"Professor Pryde's contributions to the field of quantum physics are now being applied in the pursuit of world-changing new technologies, in particular optical quantum computing," Professor Henly said.
Professor Pryde's research achievements over the last decade have included the first measurements scaling at the absolute quantum limit of precision; the first entangling optical quantum computer logic gate; the lowest-noise quantum amplifier; fundamental experimental studies of quantum entanglement, and pioneering techniques for measuring and controlling quantum systems.

Professor Pryde said the he was very pleased to have been recognised by the Academy of Science in this way.

"This is welcome acknowledgement, not only of my work, but also all of the great research bring done at the Centre for Quantum Dynamics in the field of quantum information science," Professor Pryde said.
"I also feel very privileged to be part of the world-leading research collaboration which takes place at the ARC Centre of Excellence for Quantum Computation Communication Technology.

"And I would particularly like to take this opportunity to thank my postgraduate students who work so tirelessly in the Quantum Optics and Information Lab here at Griffith. They are making a major contribution to expanding knowledge in this critical field."
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