Last month people from all over the world told us what mattered to them by voting in the ‘What Matters’ polls. Have you had your say?

More than 9000 online votes were received for our first five topics, and this month we've added five more. Hear our academics and alumni talk about: 

• Educating tomorrow’s Indigenous leaders
• Keeping politics honest
• Solving climate change for future generations
• Maintaining a healthy diet
• Advancing our relationships with China and the US

Do these issues matter to you?

Join the conversation, follow the polls and tell us what you’re passionate about by voting.

New topics will be added every month.

Two University of Sydney PhD students will continue their research overseas after being awarded Prime Minister's Australia-Asia Awards in the 2012 round of the Endeavour Australia Awards. 

Patrick Neumann (pictured) and Elisabeth Kramer have both received Australia-Asia Outgoing Postgraduate awards from Prime Minister Julia Gillard. The awards aim to promote enduring ties between Australia and our regional neighbours through scholarship programs. Read the full story.

If you’re interested in applying for Endeavour Australia Awards and Fulbright Scholarships for 2013, you can meet representatives from both organisations tomorrow (Thursday):

Event details
When: 11am, Thursday 3 May
Where: The Boardroom, Darlington Centre, Darlington Campus

More information on current scholarships can be found on the Scholarships Office website.

Fudan University is the Confucius Institute’s partner university in China. It offers international students degree and non-degree programs, short Chinese-language programs, other short-credit points courses, and various scholarships to overseas students. Don’t miss this unique opportunity to speak with Fudan representatives in Australia.

Event details
When: 12 to 3pm, Monday 7 May
Where: Foyer, New Law Building, Camperdown Campus
No booking needed

Explore your postgraduate options in the arts and social sciences, education, social work and law.

Applications are still open for postgraduate entry in Semester 2, 2012. The University of Sydney Humanities and Social Sciences Postgraduate Expo provides an opportunity for future postgraduate students to engage with staff from the following areas:

• Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences: Media Practice, Strategic Public Relations, Publishing, Economics, International Studies, Public Policy, Public Administration, Art Curatorship, Museum Studies, Human Rights.
• Faculty of Education and Social Work: Master of Teaching (MTeach), Master of Social Work (Qualifying)
• Sydney Law School: Criminology, International Law, Juris Doctor (JD)

Event details
When: 5.30 to 7pm, Thursday 10 May
Where: St James Campus, 173-175 Phillip Street, Sydney

To register, visit the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences website.

Applications for the UCLA Study Abroad Program close on Monday 7 May. Study at one of the world’s best universities, gain invaluable international experience, receive credit towards your degree at Sydney, live on campus and enjoy the Californian summer.

To apply and for more information, visit the US Studies Centre website.

Researchers in the School of Molecular Bioscience are seeking participants for a study investigating peoples’ attitudes and behaviours around buying and eating vegetables and take-away meals.

The study is open to anyone aged 18 to 39 years, who is in any form of part-time or full-time paid employment.

Participation involves completing an online questionnaire, and you will be reimbursed for your time.

To enquire about participating, please contact Amelia Cook on 9351 4672.

Do you have a close relative who is depressed?

First-degree relatives (parent, brother, sister or child) of people with major depression (unipolar) are needed for this study. Participants must be in good health, aged between 18 and 65, and not have experienced depression themselves.

Participation will involve approximately six hours of voluntary assessments including an MRI scan, EEG recording (both non-invasive brain measures), computer-based activities, questionnaires, and a blood test. You will be reimbursed for your contribution.

For more information, contact Joanne Carpenter on 9845 8179 or visit the Family Depression Study website.

Runners are invited to participate in a study that aims to determine if glutamine supplementation can reduce the risk of heat injury.

If you're a male runner aged 18 to 45 years, who has never experienced heat illness requiring medical attention during a race, and can run continuously for an hour in hot conditions, your participation is sought in this research. This Faculty of Health Sciences study will involve five visits (totalling nine hours) and blood sampling. You’ll also learn more about your current fitness level.

For further information, please contact Marilyn Ong.

Is your weight heading in the wrong direction? Would you like to receive exercise therapy?

The Faculty of Health Sciences and Boden Institute of Obesity, Nutrition and Exercise are conducting a study that aims to compare the benefits of traditional aerobic exercise training with novel exercise therapies.

To participate, you must be aged between 18 and 55 with a body mass index (BMI) of or more than 25. For more information, contact Shelley Keating on 0405 735 200.

Does a lack of sleep, negative mood or an inability to concentrate disrupt your day?

Researchers from the School of Psychology are looking for healthy people aged between 22 and 50 to participate in a trial on how sound therapy might help manage these issues. Participation involves listening to a customised portable music player for one to three hours per day over a three-month period. It can be done while performing all your normal daily duties. The study also involves two lab consultations and the collection of heart rate data.

Contact Lucy Warhurst to participate. Your contribution will help make a difference to our understanding of the way in which sound therapy works.

Researchers are seeking healthy participants who do not have current back problems, and participants with acute or chronic low back pain.

Participation requires one test at the Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Laboratory, Cumberland Campus, Lidcombe, for 60 to 75 minutes. The researchers will perform several well-established tests to assess your sensory perception of warmth and cold, and offer a reimbursement of $30 for time and travel expenses. Participants from the Cumberland Campus will not receive reimbursement.

For further information please contact Dr Markus Huebscher on 9351 9013.

Is making it in the working world more challenging for women?

Deloitte’s ‘Inspiring Women In Business’ event focuses on helping female students to get ahead in their careers by improving their networking skills.

Students can then practise their networking skills with Deloitte staff over complimentary drinks and canapés at the end of the event. Register on the Careers Centre website.

Get ready for Humanitarian Week and USU elections!

Humanitarian Week
7 to 11 May

Humanitarian Week brings social justice, ethical thinking and humanitarian issues to the fore, with a positive and inspiring twist. This year’s program will feature fun and informative events about the ways we can make positive changes.

USU Elections - Candidates Soapbox
12.45pm, Wednesday 16 May
Manning Bar, Camperdown Campus

Not sure who to vote for? Hear the candidates speak about their policies and ask them the hard questions!

See the postdoctoral fellows from the US Studies Centre present their research from 2011.

When:

Thursday 3 May

• 11am to 12pm: Shawn Treier
• 12.30 to 1.30pm: Carrie Hyde

Friday 4 May

• 9.45 to 10.45am: Marc Palen
• 11am to 12pm: Robert Rakove
• 12.30 to 1.30pm: Nicole Hemmer

Visit the US Studies Centre website for more information. To RSVP, contact Amelia Trial on 9036 5086.

Next in the museums' Cities of the World Saturday afternoon lecture series, Patricia Anderson presents Stones of Paris.

This lecture begins with our Neanderthal cousins then explores the practical nature of Roman Paris. It will show how religious faith shaped stone structures in medieval times, and how Haussemann’s re-configuring of Paris both subtracted from it and added to it. Finally, some very famous assemblers of more contemporary, more glittering stones, will make an appearance.

Event details
When: 2 to 4pm, Saturday 5 May
Where: Nicholson Museum, The Quadrangle, Camperdown Campus
Cost: Free
Contact: Bookings essential, contact Museum Reception on 9351 2812

This symposium will present various ways of reading Beuys today, from performance art to relational aesthetics. Speakers include Thomas Berghuis, Anthony Bond, Donna West Brett, Janet Laurence, Bernice Murphy and Tom Nicholson.

Co-presented by the Power Institute. The symposium will be followed by the opening of the exhibition, Joseph Beuys and the 'Energy Plan', in the University Art Gallery at 4.30pm.

Event details
When: 2 to 4.30pm, Saturday 5 May
Where: Philosophy Room S249, The Quadrangle, Camperdown Campus
Cost: Free

Contact: Gallery Reception on 9351 6883

Shanghai is the largest city in China and one of the largest in the world. Can it also be an exemplar of the interaction between geography, economy, humanism and society?

In this lecture, Professor Yu Hai from the Department of Sociology at Fudan University will offer his observations of Shanghai, and how life is lived there.

Event details
When: 6pm, Monday 7 May
Where: Lecture Theatre 448, Old Teachers College, Camperdown Campus
Cost: Free
RSVP: Confucius Institute

Graduate Anna Rose is the founder of the Australian Youth Climate Coalition, a generation-wide movement aiming to solve the climate crisis.

Do you have a question for Anna?
Why is action on climate change important?
What role can young people play in solving the climate crisis?

Send your questions to what.matters@sydney.edu.au, or post in the comments section of her page, and Anna will answer them during a live online forum on the 'What Matters' website.

Event details
When: 12 to 1pm, Thursday 10 May
Where: What matters website