Dear {Contact_First_Name},
Today is Remembrance Day and earlier, many of us in Australia and around the world stopped for a minute of silence to remember those who died during wars, conflicts and peacekeeping operations, as well as those who returned home injured or ill, and those who bravely serve our country today.
More than 60,000 Australians lost their lives by the time the guns fell silent on the Western Front 103 years ago. Close to 40,000 Australians died during World War II.
According to the website of the Australian War Memorial, between 1885 and today, 102,949 Australians died as a result of service with Australian units. Find the detailed statistics here.
Today, and every day, let us thank those who have served and protected this country and helped to keep us safe in the past and those who do so now.
Warm wishes to our members and their families on this Remembrance Day.
Lest we forget.
Marie-Louise Rankin
SSA Executive Officer
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Notice The SSA office will be closed until Monday, 22 November 2021 while the Executive Officer is on leave. For any event related enquiries, please contact SSA's event coordinator,
Jodi Phillips. |
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ABS Media Release: Life expectancy hits a new high! Good news came out of the Australian Bureau of Statistics last Thursday, with an announcement that life expectancy for Australians has hit a new high! According to the latest figures, males can expect to live to 81.2 and females to 85.3.
This puts Australia ahead of New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the USA.
Within Australia, the people counted in the ACT have the longest life expectancy and those in the NT the lowest, though the figures there have improved since the 1990ies.
So what are we going to do with all this extra time? We’d better start planning. |
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Scientists don’t think like scientists when it comes to funding
Adrian Barnett, "The Brilliant", 3 November 2021
Do you ever get frustrated about seemingly random distribution of research funding? You are not alone. In his article "Scientists don’t think like scientists when it comes to funding" SSA member and former president Adrian Barnett explores why it seems so difficult to create a fair, efficient and sensible system for allocating funds.
"Systems for funding research are often designed by eminent professors, the same professors who have thrived in the system and so design similar systems to reward people like them.", Adrian writes. There is no incentive to apply statistical methods to design better systems. |
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SSA Mentoring Program The SSA is excited to invite you to participate in the 2022 mentoring program!
Open to all members of the Society, the program will connect early and mid-career statisticians with experienced mentors to provide them with career guidance and share their experiences to help them achieve their professional goals.
To find out if you are eligible or for more information, please visit the SSA Mentoring Program webpage.
To register your interest please complete this following form by Sunday 12th December: |
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Two SSA members elected as Academy Fellows of the Academy of the Social Sciences
This week, a select group of Australia’s leading economists, lawyers, psychologists, philosophers and other social scientists were elected as Fellows of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia. Among the 37 researchers elected are renowned social justice leader Professor Rosemary Sheehan AM along with Aboriginal research leader Professor Yin Paradies and former head of the Australian Bureau of Statistics Adjunct Professor David Kalisch.
At SSA we are proud to have some of our own in this special cohort: Congratulations to SSA members Adrian Barnett and Ray Chambers! |
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Calling on all political parties to pledge to invest in research and discovery to spur a STEM-led economic recovery
The SSA recently co-signed a statement led by Science & Technology Australia calling on all political parties to pledge to invest in research and discovery to spur a STEM-led economic recovery. Among other things, this statement urges all political parties to tackle the broken system of insecure work tied to competitive research grants: fix the broken research funding system. |
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Statistics in the Capital: Knibbs Lecture with David Steel Tuesday 30th November; 5:45-7:00pm AEDT.
Save the date! SSA Canberra invites you to attend this year's Knibbs lecture, which will be presented by Prof David Steel (UoW), as he talks about something awesome in official statistics and/or sampling!
We are hoping to have the Knibbs lecture take place in hybrid format, with the physical lecture taking place at the ABS Knibbs Theatre while being streamed live on Zoom. More details about the above, as well as a potential dinner after the Knibbs lecture, will be announced closer to the date of the event. In the meantime, you can RSVP and receive the Zoom link to attend virtually at this link. |
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StatChat is back!
Wednesday 1st December 2021, 12pm-1pm AEDT, via Zoom
Have some statistical Qs you’d like to discuss with others? Or just want to learn what people are wrestling with and contribute your thoughts? Come to StatChat, a relaxed session where your questions can be answered! Come to ask, answer or listen! At least one senior statistician will be present each time, and this session will feature Lyle Gurrin.
Open to SSA members only. |
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SSA NSW Branch: Early Career and Student Statisticians Career Event 2021
1 Dec 2021, from 6pm AEDT
The New South Wales branch of the Statistical Society of Australia warmly invites all undergraduate, postgraduate and early career statisticians and data scientists to attend our annual event for Early Career and Student Statisticians. The event will take place at The Occidental (43 York St, Sydney NSW 2000), near Wynyard Station.
We have spectacular speakers from several industry sectors and academic backgrounds. They will share stories from their careers and provide insights into their professions. For example, have you wondered what you can do after doing a statistics degree, what it is like to transition from mathematics to statistics, or what other statistics professions are like? Then this event is for you! |
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AMSI Summer School 2022
10 January – 4 February Hybrid event hosted by UTS
Study up to two of our eight honours-level mathematical science subjects with specialist lecturers from around Australia. You can even take a subject for credit! Deepen your knowledge, explore a new branch of mathematics or get a fresh perspective on your research.
With program extras including social events, special lectures and a Careers Day featuring potential employers, there has never been a better time to expand your mathematical world. We welcome all honours and postgraduate students, and early career researchers in the mathematical sciences and cognate disciplines to join us. Scholarships available.
SSA is a proud sponsor of this event. |
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If you have news from the Australian statistical community to share in Stats Matters and Events, please get in touch with us! We love getting feedback too.
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Statistical Society of Australia | PO Box 213 Belconnen ACT 2616 Australia 02 6251 3647 | www.statsoc.org.au |
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