Graduates and postgraduates make extraordinary contributions to the University, local communities and on the international stage. The Faculty of Engineering and Information Technologies' annual Alumni Awards recognise these achievements.

The Faculty's Alumni Awards program complements those awards already established by the University of Sydney. Nominations are now open closing on Friday, 12 October 2012. Click here for full details and the nomination form.

The University of Sydney has again been rated among the world's top 100 universities, rising three places to 93 in the latest Academic Rankings of World Universities.

Sydney is one of only five Australian universities ranked in the top 100, which this year is headed by universities in North America - Harvard University, Stanford University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of California, Berkeley.

Sydney has also ranked highly in a number of individual disciplines - in the world's top 75 in engineering/technology and computer sciences and the world's top 100 in life and agriculture sciences, and in chemistry.

The University of Sydney has been steadily rising in this ranking, moving from 102 in 2006 to 93rd position this year.

The Academic Ranking of World Universities was first published in June 2003 by the Center for World-Class Universities and the Institute of Higher Education of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China, and is updated annually in August.

More than 1000 universities are ranked by ARWU every year, with the top 100 awarded an individual rank and the remainder published in bands of 50.

ARWU uses six key objective indicators to rank world universities, the two major ones being prestigious scientific and mathematics awards and scientific research output and citations.

The ARWU methodology awards 30 percent to each university for alumni and staff who have a Nobel Prize or a Fields Medal. A further 60 percent is attributed to citations and articles in science and social science journals.

Swimming

Three-time Paralympian Prue Watt won bronze in the women's S13 50m freestyle, beaten by just 0.03 seconds for silver. The SUSF Elite Athlete Program (EAP) scholarship holder and Sydney Uni Swim Club (SUSC) High Performance Multiclass swim program representative also finished fifth in the women's S13 100m freestyle.

Athletics

On the track, Angela Ballard secured her third Paralympic medal since beginning her journey at the 2000 Sydney Paralympics, winning bronze in the women's T53 100m. Ballard, a psychology honours student and former SUSF EAP scholarship holder, will now turn her attention to the 800m T53 event on Thursday morning Australia time.

Wheelchair basketball

The Australian women's basketball team, featuring Sarah Stewart and Katie Hill, look to have secured a semi-final spot after upsetting the previously undefeated Netherlands by nine points on Monday morning Australia time. The 58–49 victory was extremely timely, following on from a shock 57–50 loss to Canada just over 24 hours earlier.

The Australian team currently tops their group on seven points, following two earlier victories against Great Britain and Brazil. They will await the results of two further group games before knowing their final standing in Group A.

Goalball

The Australian women's goalball team have endured a tough start to their Paralympic campaign, following 3–1 defeats to Japan and Canada. With two group games still to be played, University of Sydney student and SUSF EAP scholarship holder Jenny Blow and her team still hold a genuine hope of qualifying for the quarter finals.

See our schedule of events to find out when University of Sydney Olympians are competing during the Paralympics.

Ten academically outstanding international students from as far afield as Korea, the Philippines, the United States and Thailand have received Sydney Achievers International Scholarships to study at the University of Sydney.

The students, who join the 18 inaugural recipients of the scholarship from semester one this year, were selected for their exceptional academic results, based on the conversion of their academic record in their home countries into a University of Sydney grade point average (GPA).

The scholarships were announced last year with the aim of attracting more academically high achieving international students to study at Sydney.

Edward Prasetion Hosan recently finished his undergraduate degree at the University of Pelita Harapan in Indonesia, and is studying a Master of Commerce.

"The University of Sydney has a good reputation and connection with employers, which will make it easier for me to find a better job after I graduate. The courses and subjects that the University offers are also really interesting, which makes me even more excited to enrol," says Edward.

Already a successful yoga teacher and life and movement coach in Canada, Erin Tetarenko chose the University of Sydney for its unique Master of Coaching Psychology program.

"The Master of Coaching Psychology immediately resonated with me. I felt that the curriculum, including research, theory and practice of behavioural science, would be the perfect complement to the practical coaching training I studied previously," she says.

Undergraduate Sydney Achievers International scholarship holders receive $10,000 a year for up to three years, while postgraduates receive a one-off award of $10,000 at the commencement of their studies.

The University of Sydney currently has almost 50,000 students, of whom 22 percent are international students, representing 147 countries.

"The University continues to attract exceptional students from a range of countries, adding diversity to its international student population," says Professor Derrick Armstrong, the University's Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education) and Registrar. "By awarding these scholarships, we aim to enable more promising students to come to Sydney and acquire skills which are closely aligned with their own aspirations for personal growth and career development."

Featuring guest speaker and alumnus Sir David Higgins, Chief Executive, Network Rail (United Kingdom) and former Chief Executive of the 2012 London Olympic Delivery Authority.

Sir David Higgins was knighted in 2011 for his work on the biggest construction project in Europe – the Olympic Park in London.  The London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games are credited as the ‘Regeneration Games’, delivering transformational change and leaving a lasting legacy of sports venues, new homes, new transport links, new energy networks and a new urban park in East London.

In this presentation, Sir David Higgins asserts that infrastructure is much more than just a discounted cash flow. It is a national asset.

8 October 2012
The Seymour Centre

Free Sydney Ideas public lecture, please register to secure your seat.