6A the university daily kansan
news
thursday, march 4,2004
The heat is on in Australia
By Matt Rodriguez
mdrrogiquez@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Australia has turned to a non-traditional import: education.
Students are finding the education there can be one of a kind.
"I got an experience I wouldn't have been able to at KU," said Sandy Rubin, Shawnee senior.
For the second consecutive year, the number of American students receiving credit for studying in Australia increased. The number of American students studying there last year rose 17 percent, according to the Institute of International Education.
Students like Rubin have said they were attracted to Australia's exotic location. Rubin studied at the University of Wollongong from 2002 to 2003 Besides the fact that Australians speak English, what also attracted Rubin was the Australians' attitudes towards Americans.
"They picked up on my accent quick." Rubin said. "I told them I was from Kansas and The Wizard of Oz comments followed me everywhere."
Rubin said they were happy to
"They picked up on my accent quick. I told them I was from Kansas and The Wizard of Oz comments followed me everywhere."
Sandy Rubin
Shawnee senior
Beyond friendliness, the exchange rate also enticed students to go there.
stop and talk to you or even help you answer a question.
When Krista Hund studied at the University of Newcastle two years ago, the American dollar was worth twice as much as the Australian dollar. For the Leavenworth senior, this unbalanced exchange rate allowed her to take her experience to a higher level.
"The amount of money I saved was great," Hund said. "I was able to travel to more places on a tight budget."
Now the exchange rate is not as beneficial to Americans as it used to be. The Australian dollar is worth $0.77 in the U.S.
the American dollar and Rubin, who studied abroad last year, said you can still get more for your dollar there than you would here.
But the rate is still in favor of
Rubin said she knew she couldn't afford a vacation to Australia when she graduated so she decided studying there was the better option.
Students should keep in mind that the cost for studying in Australia is rising because of the increasing exchange rate, said Rene Frias, program coordinator Office of Study Abroad. The cost for studying in Australia has increased for next semester from $5,000 to $6,200.
In addition to the cost of tuition, students have to pay for their flight. A round-trip ticket booked three months in advance would cost about $1,309, according to Student Travel Australia.
Another reason students find Australia appetizing is because students on a visa can work there up to 20 hours part-time.
Neither Hund nor Rubin worked while studying in Australia. They said they would've rather traveled or gone to the beach in their spare time.
-Edited by Ashley Arnold
Students design care unit for at-risk newborn babies
By Matt Rodriguez
mprdrodguez@kansan.com
Kansas writer
Five design students from the University of Kansas are helping to change the look of hospitals all over the world.
The KU group was the only one at the conference comprised of students. Everyone who attended worked for, or in conjunction with, neonatal nursing wards. The students presented their research of a design of a hospital's intensive care nursing area, placing the University's design department in the international spotlight.
Four industrial design students and a December interior design graduate presented their research on an innovative design for neonatal intensive care units to a group of doctors, hospital administrators and architects earlier this month at an international conference on neonatology in Clearwater, Fla. Stormont-Vail HealthCare in Topeka will finish construction on a neonatal intensive care unit using the design in about a year.
For more than a year, the students worked together with administrators at Stormont-Vail and the Harrell Group, an architectural firm based out of Cincinnati.
A neonatal intensive care unit cares for newborn babies born with health risks.
Kent Spreckelmeyer, professor of architecture and project adviser, said traditional neonatal wards are open bays with 25 incubators placed throughout the room.
The collaborative design differed from other neonatal designs because of its shape and its entrances, Spreckelmeyer said. The new design is a circular unit made up of 27 individual rooms surrounding a nurses station. Each room has two entrances on opposite sides. The nurses enter from the inner entrance of the circular unit and the families enter from the outer entrance. The idea is to provide more privacy and a sense of ownership for the families, Spreckelmeyer said.
The students, hospital and architecture firm wanted to present something more than a small-scale model at the conference. After the students gave the Harrell Group their interior design plans, they began a sixth-month process of sketching designs, visiting Stormont-Vail and conducting preliminary research.
Next, the Harrell group worked with Stormont-Vail and the students to create two life-sized prototype rooms at the hospital. The students surveyed 56 Stormont staff members and 25 parents who visited the trial rooms. The five students would sometimes work 10-hour shifts at Stormont-Vail conducting research.
The students are not taking all the credit. They share some of their success with Speckelmeyer.
"His insights and experiences were invaluable to us as we proceeded through this project," Katharine Harris, Olathe senior, said. "By him helping us combine our more artistic ideals with the common practicality, he made the design successful."
Spreckelmeyer said several conference participants commented about the students' proficiency and their innovative research.
"This project was a great experience because it allowed us as students to match academia with professionalism," said Kate Harding, Piqua, Ohio, senior.
The other students who participated were Emily Foelske, Boulder, Colo., senior; Lauren Slaterbeck, Overland Park senior; and Ali Racunas, a recent graduate from Wichita.
Edited by Nikki Nugent and Abby Mills
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