Update from ANZAHPE President, Ben Canny

It is a great pleasure to pen this message to ANZAHPE in my interim role.  I would like to start by thanking the ANZAHPE membership, and especially the Committee of Management, for the support I have been given over the last several months.  To me, this speaks to the essential fabric of ANZAHPE as a membership-led, collaborative association, committed to the pursuit of excellence.

The Committee of Management has been working hard about how we can better support the membership in their professional and personal development.  Thanks to all members who took the time to contribute to Membership Survey, which has highlighted the importance of networking and career development in research to the ongoing professional success of our members.  ANZAHPE is determined to develop these aspects of its activities, with the ongoing initiative of ANZAHPE ONLINE forming a critical part of this strategy.  The Committee of Management is open to suggestions from the membership about how we can serve you better.

Preparations for the ANZAHPE Festival are continuing apace.  As you are most probably aware, the theme is “Moving Forward in Ambiguity”, and I thank the membership for tolerating the open-ended nature of some of the organisational aspects.  A fully online Conference/Festival is new to ANZAHPE, as it is for our Professional Conference Organiser (PCO – EventStudio (formerly Plevin and Associates)).  As the program has (is) taken(ing) shape, the technical solutions are being finalised and confirmed.  We aim to have the Festival be as “low tech” as possible, recognising that technical complexity can be a significant inhibitor to engagement and interaction.  We had over 290 abstracts submitted, and all but a small number have been accepted and included in the program (formal notification should slightly precede this Bulletin).  We also have 3 Keynote presentations organised, and a handful of workshops, including engagement from AMEE and IAMSE.  We hope to learn much from an online conference, which will inform future conference organisation.  We look forward to your feedback.

Finally, I would like to encourage members to consider their engagement with ANZAHPE.  Your membership keeps us alive, both academically and financially, and ANZAHPE offers great opportunities for further professional development.  This could be in the form of ANZAHPE Fellowship, being involved with the Mentoring scheme the Fellowship committee is developing, or nominating for election to the Committee of Management.  The Association needs its members involved, and I look forward to its ongoing vitality.

Ben Canny
ANZAHPE President