GSP courses at the Australian National University
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Artificial Intelligence
23 July – 8 August 2008
Australian National University, Canberra
Location: ANU Campus
Course Description
The ANU is home to some of the world-leading researchers in Artificial Intelligence (AI) each of which is a recognised expert in a different sub-area of AI. In this intensive course, a selection of our top researchers gives an introduction to their own area of expertise. In addition to a concise introduction to Artificial Intelligence in general, this covers areas such as Automated Reasoning, Planning, Machine Learning, Knowledge Compilation, Spatial and Temporal Reasoning, and Universal AI. The course gives a comprehensive introduction to these areas and focuses on current trends and research questions. The lectures will be complemented by lab sessions and small working groups which will give students the opportunity for hands on experience.
Mode of delivery: This is an intensive course over 2.5 weeks full time, which will consist of up to four hours of lectures per day and up to four hours of lab and group sessions per day.
Assessment: Due to the intensive nature of the course, students will be assessed based only on assignments completed during the course.
Course tuition fee:AU$2800
Accommodation: AU$1080-$2160
Further enquiries: Dr Jochen Renz, E-mail jochen.renz@anu.edu.au
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Business Project Planning and Management
7 July - 8 August 2008
Australian National University, Canberra
Location: ANU Campus, Canberra
Notes: Postgraduate Students Only
Course Description
The principle that “A project is successful if it delivers all of its outputs, fit-for-purpose, on time and within budget” appears in almost every textbook on project management. Not only is it part of accepted wisdom, but it is (provably) wrong! This is one of the many (sometimes startling) conclusions that emerge from the rigorous theoretical models that we explore in Business Project Planning and Management.
Conventional wisdom in project management is based on a rich and fascinating collage of: analytical techniques, accepted practice, proprietary products, agreed standards, common sense, regularised procedures, anecdotal evidence, folklore, professional ritual, assertions, strongly-held beliefs, sloppy thinking and methodological zealotry.
For some years the lecturer has been engaged in a major program that seeks to make project management a more rigorous discipline by underpinning all this with reliable theoretical foundations. Business Project Planning and Management is work-in-progress from this endeavour.
While we refer to accepted project management practice, this course is based on an exploration of rigorous management principles - it is not a training program in any particular methodology.
Mode of delivery: Classes will be a mixture of lectures, mini-tutorials and workshops. There will be a heavy emphasis on exercises to be undertaken by students between lectures. Output from this work will take the form of preparatory papers.
Assessment: Participation in classes and submission of prepatory papers (approx 25%), a minor term paper (approx 25%), an operations improvement project (approx 50%).
Course tuition fee:AUD 2800
Accommodation: AUD 2040-4080
Further enquiries: Mr John Smyrk Email: john.smyrk@anu.edu.au
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Great Power Politics in Asia
7 July - 8 August 2008
Australian National University, Canberra
Location: ANU Campus, Canberra
Course Description
Those who watch the news will hear reports about the ‘security situation’ in a certain country, or perhaps comments by politicians that ‘national security is the first priority of government’. Other reports will talk about the ‘strategic implications’ of a decision by a government or about the ‘destabilising impact’ of a weapons purchase. On other occasions - often away from the mainstream media - people will argue that environmental issues or the spread of crime are security issues. So what is security? What is regional stability? And how do the most powerful players in Asia perceive their security and their strategic environment? These are questions that are of vital importance to a range of academic fields such as international relations, political science, and history; and of more than passing interest to those who consider questions of law, economics, the environment, psychology or even applied science.
This innovative course introduces students to the methods and concepts of security analysis in the area of great power politics. In this course, emphasis will be placed on the linkages between power-politics, military operations, cultural conflict and trade interests in Asia. The course will examine some key questions. These are; what makes a state a great power? To what extent has the power balance in Asia altered in recent years? What is the overall nature of strategic relations between the great powers in the region and how do these contribute to regional stability?
The primary objective is to provide students with a solid foundation on the great power strategies that craft the security architecture of Asia. The key characteristics of this course are the unique range of lecturers engaged in teaching, many of whom are leading authorities on individual topics, and the practical advice students will receive on studying security and great power strategy in Asia. Students will be strongly encouraged to ask questions of each lecturer so they may expand their understanding of both the concepts and the issues.
Mode of delivery: On-campus intensive delivery.
Assessment: Research paper (4,000 words) 50%, Seminar and Web CT Participation - 10%, Seminar Presentation - 10%, and Review Essay (2,500 words) 30%.
Course tuition fee:AUD 2800
Accommodation: AUD 2040-4080
Further enquiries: Dr Bina D’Costa E-mail bina.dcosta@anu.edu.au
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Energy Resources and Renewable Technologies
7–22 July 2008
Australian National University, Canberra
Location: ANU Campus in Canberra
Course Description
This course is dedicated to the global aspects of energy production and demand, with particular attention to the environmental and social aspects of energy usage, including climate change, and introduces the suite of renewable energy technologies available to partially fulfill these demands. The energy resource and consumption patterns of selected countries are specifically addressed. Various mainstream renewable energy technologies are studied in some detail: biomass, geothermal, hydroelectric, solar thermal, photovoltaic, and wind. Technical, social and economical issues are explored. Experts in different aspects of energy production and use will give invited lectures on selected topics. Objectives of the unit include gaining reliable information on available energy resources and their associated environmental and climatological impacts, and to understand the potential and limitations of renewable energy technologies.
Mode of delivery: This intensive 2.5 week course will be delivered Mon to Fri, 9am - 5 pm and will consist of a mix of lectures and tutorial, invited talks from various ANU experts, small group research assignments and student presentations. Some visits to local renewable energy sites of interest will be included.
Assessment: Short assignments plus a final written examination paper.
Course tuition fee:AUD 2800
Accommodation: AUD 960-1920
Further enquiries: Dr Evan Franklin, E-mail evan.franklin@anu.edu.au
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International Environmental Policy
23 July – 8 August 2008
Australian National University, Canberra
Location: ANU Campus, Kioloa Field Station
Course Description
International Environmental Policy focuses on the dynamic and rapidly expanding field of international environmental policy. International environmental policy has grown rapidly and dramatically over the last three decades, driven by concern over unprecedented and large-scale global environmental change, including climate change, biodiversity loss, deforestation, marine degradation, and expanding trade and consumption.
International environmental policy now directly and indirectly affects the behaviour and decisions of governments, corporations, NGOs, local communities and individuals.
This course will incorporate lectures, panel discussions, debates and workshops. The emphasis is on understanding the real-world dynamics of policy formation and debate. Lectures will include external speakers from contexts such as NGOs and government.
The course will cover the nature of IEP; its development over recent decades; the actors and institutions which form and influence it; and the conflicts which shape it. The course will introduce and examine key areas of debate within IEP, such as tensions between conservation and development; conflicts around knowledge, science, and uncertainty; and reliance on "command and control" vs market-based approaches. Cross-cutting issues include gender, the fight against poverty, and the role of corporations.
These debates and issues will be explored through analysis of topical case studies, such as equity and climate change; biodiversity and livelihoods; biofuels and deforestation; and genetically modified organisms and international trade. The course takes an interdisciplinary approach, drawing insights from areas including ecology, law, economics, international relations and politics.
Assessment: Learning portfolio, essay, and oral presentation.
Course tuition fee:AUD 2800
Field-study costs: Approx AUD 450
Accommodation: AUD 780-1560
Further enquiries: Dr Rosie Cooney, E-mail rosie.cooney@gmail.com
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Southeast Asian Frontiers
30 June - 27 July 2008
Australian National University
Location: ANU Campus in Canberra, and fieldwork in Thailand
Course Description
As the nation-state system arrived and consolidated through colonial processes in Southeast Asia, Burma and Thailand emerged as two major nation-states. Pre-modern and colonial political dynamics have informed the nation-building approaches of both these ethnically diverse states, leading to contrasting outcomes. The implications for human and state security are evident in contemporary phenomenon of forced migration, including protracted refugee situations, uneven development and emerging forms of political agency. Burma’s relative isolation since 1962 and historically ambivalent relations between the two countries means few people have knowledge of both countries.
Attempting to addresses this knowledge gap, this four week intensive, in-country course is structured in three parts, with one week’s preparation on ANU campus and three weeks first-hand experience in Thailand and the Thai-Burma border. Parts one and two involve intensive Thai and Burmese language and culture components to develop and improve student’s conversation and cross-cultural engagement. Part three explores political issues including Thai and Burmese national politics, bilateral relations and interstate borderland dynamics. We also focus on some ethnic groups across whose communities the modern interstate border is imposed, including Shan and Karen and a special focus on Mon.
Mode of Delivery: Intensive over four weeks: on-campus 1 week and in-country (Thailand) 3 weeks.
Assessment: Assessment will be divided into three comonents: communicative skills in Thai (30%), communicative skills in Burmese (30%), and a 3000 word research paper (30%). Attendance and participation in in-country study activites will total 10% of the final result.
Course tuition fee:AUD 2800
Field-study costs: Approx. AUD 1700
Accommodation: AUD 360-720 (For on-campus component)
Further enquiries: Ma Khin Mar Mar Kyi, E-mail mar.khin@anu.edu.au
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Sustainability Down Under
6–22 July 2008
Australian National University, Canberra
Location: ANU Campus, Tumut forest area, Kioloa Field Station
Course Description
This course explores the key issues Australia must address to arrest the range of serious “environmental” problems the nation/continent faces. Non-sustainable patterns of resource use in both urban and rural settings are explored through an innovative combination of fieldwork, classroom lectures and discussions and group based peer learning. The fact that “environmental” problems are in fact problems in managing human behaviour will be highlighted. The course will start with a week’s field trip in the high-country forests west of Canberra where issues related to the management of both natural and plantation forests will be examined. The course will then spend a week based in Canberra exploring the ‘footprint’ of Australia’s national capital. The last four days of the course will be spent at Kioloa, the coastal campus of the ANU. This will allow students to explore sustainability issues in a region of spectacular coastal forests and beaches.
Course tuition fee:AUD 2800
Field-study costs: Approx AUD 650
Accommodation: AUD 600-1200 (For on-campus component)
Further enquiries: Associate Professor Richard Baker, E-mail richard.baker@anu.edu.au
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