The General Manager – International, Brett Walker and myself have just this week returned from an extremely positive trip to the Middle East and Singapore.

In particular, our meetings in Saudi Arabia, which followed up on correspondence and a visit by Brett, have resulted in up to 70 full-time, undergraduate scholarships per annum being committed for Bond University by the Government.

In May 2007, Bond University’s Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine will introduce Australia’s first entry-level Doctor of Physiotherapy degree.

The two year program has been developed in response to the critical shortage of qualified practitioners identified by the Australian Physiotherapy Association and various State and Commonwealth health authorities.

It confirms the value of CCTV in detecting crime and providing good evidence of criminal acts but raises important questions about its value in preventing crime and public disorder from occurring.

The careerone website currently lists over 3000 positions vacant in the Education and Childcare field. A quick scan of the teaching vacancies reveals openings in every state, as well as opportunities for Australian-trained teachers to work in the UK, Hong Kong and other overseas destinations.

Currently studying a Master of Educational Practice, Bond University student Gabriela Pereira (pictured) has first-hand experience of the demand for teachers – she secured a position at one of the Gold Coast’s leading private high schools a good two months before completing her degree.

In this regular column we celebrate the many and varied successes of Bond University staff, students and Alumni.

This month we recognise the achievements of former Bond University Chancellor Elizabeth Nosworthy AO, Associate Professor of Marketing Dr Sudhir Kale, Associate Dean of Research and Innovation Dr Michael Rees and Professor of Law John Wade.

If you know of a good success story, please share it with us by emailing kristie_robinson@bond.edu.au.

I am delighted at this time of the year to wish all of the Academic and General Staff, Alumni, Students and our Friends of Bond best wishes for the upcoming Festive Season.

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NEVER IN HIS WILDEST DREAMS

For Bond Alumnus David Gould, a career in computer graphics and animation has taken him not just around the world, but around several worlds.

Since graduating from Bond University with a Bachelor of Computer Science in 1992, the former Palm Beach Currumbin High student has worked in Paris, London, New York, Los Angeles and New Zealand while roaming at will through the make-believe worlds of JRR Tolkein’s Isengard, King Kong’s Skull Island and Disney’s Dinosaur domain of Pangaea.

In what surely must the ultimate ‘wildest dream’ for any cartoon-crazy youngster, David has combined his artistic talents and technical computer software know-how to forge a career working for some of the most renowned visual effects specialists in the movie industry.

David got his start right here in his own backyard, scoring a job with Addison-Wesley Publishing at Robina before he even left university, thanks to a referral from one of his Bond professors.

With a couple of years work experience under his belt, he then moved to Paris, operating remotely as a programmer while he taught himself French by watching television and reading. When he finally felt confident enough to go out and apply for jobs, he secured a position as a Technical Director and, eventually, Computer Graphics Supervisor with Digital Studios.

"It was really a baptism of fire since my French wasn’t very good and we were working on medical films that involved really complex cytology topics," says David.

Modeling and animating technically accurate structures found inside human cells, David’s participation in two award-winning scientific films – Voyage Inside the Cell and The DNA Story – led to further work with studios in London, New York and Luxembourg.

In addition to using his artistic talents as an animator, David’s advanced knowledge of computer software saw him equally involved with the research and development of new technical production systems, as well as developing numerous commercial software packages and writing several books.

At the Walt Disney studios in Burbank, California, for instance, he played an integral role in the design and implementation of their next generation muscle and skin system while working on the animated feature, Dinosaur.

This in turn led to a series of diverse roles at New Zealand’s world famous Weta Workshop where he was involved with R&D, shader writing, lighting and effects animation on Peter Jackson’s epic productions of The Lord of the Rings trilogy and King Kong.

"At Weta Digital, I teamed up with a lot of talented Australian artists and thought it was unfortunate that they had to go to New Zealand to find work," says David.

"So after 14 years working all over the world, I decided to come home to the Gold Coast and set up my own studios that will allow our world-class artists to be involved in cutting edge projects right here in Australia."

The first project for David Gould Studios is Awaken – a 3D computer-animated short film, scripted by David with the support of the Australian Film Commission.

"The aim of David Gould Studios is to produce high calibre live action and animated films with a focus on compelling story telling," he says.

"We have a slate of projects in the works with plans for long-term growth and I’m hoping that this will give me the chance to give something back to the university where it all started for me.

"After all these years away from the campus, it’s great to see that the level of enthusiasm at Bond hasn’t waned since the very early days when I was a student.

"The film school is going great guns with the support of Simon Hunter and I’m looking at future partnerships to help them train the next crop of amazing Australian artists."