Community life at the NCV

Now that the NCV is in full operation we have been able to turn most of our attention to the building of a strong, vibrant and supportive community. Here are a few highlights of what happened last week and what will happen this week.

Monday Supper

As usual supper took place on every floor of the NCV on Monday night 25th May from 9.00pm-10.00pm. Every week the Senior Residents on each floor host supper. Food is provided by the NCV and SRs share weekly news of events in the life of the building. This is a great time for people to catch up and have as break from study.

NCV Research Seminar

Last Thursday evening (28th May) we heard from Professor Joe Wolf who spoke about his reasons for leaving a quest to become a professional musician to become instead an academic researcher and teacher working on the acoustics of the ear, the vocal tract and musical instruments. His work also covers information processing in auditory signals and cellular thermodynamics. Professor Wolf is well known on campus not just for his research but because of his reputation as a teacher.

Postgraduate Review Night

On Thursday evening our Research Seminar was followed by a seminar for research students that aimed to offer them a practice run at their mid year review. Professor Cairney acted as Chair and offered a critique of each presentation. The audience also gave verbal and written feedback. The diverse topics included the impact of landscape architecture on patients at four key hospitals, the impact of background music on the effectiveness of people's work, the role of political film in West and East Bengal, and the reasons for failure in second year university chemistry.

NCV Barbeque

On Friday evening (29th May) 250 residents turned up in the Central Courtyard for our 6 weekly BBQ. As usual the Senior Residents, the Master and Carmen cooked and the residents ate, talked and had a good time.


NCV Church Service

On Monday evening (1st June) 30 people gathered for the first NCV Church service. This was an encouraging night in which 6 residents played various parts, the Master lead the service, residents lead the music, prayed and read the Bible and Ben Gooley (Unichurch) preached from 1 Thessalonians.

NCV Soccer challenge

On Wednesday night (3rd June) the NCV is playing New College in our first major sporting challenge. This friendly match will determine who has bragging rights in football (soccer).

Sydney Children's Hospital Gold Night Concert

On Saturday evening (6th June) residents will come together for a night of entertainment. Each floor will provide varied entertainment and all proceeds from the night will go towards the annual Children's Hospital Gold Week appeal.

Community life at the NCV

2009 NCV Residents - The Pioneers

Below is the photo that we took in the central courtyard in 2009 to have a record of some of the people who were living in the building at the time. We asked people to rise at 8.00am on the 19th May 2009 for the photo and served a pancake breakfast cooked on the NCV BBQs afterwards.  See how many people you still know.

2009 NCV Residents - The Pioneers

Official Opening of the NCV

Above (Left to Right): Prof Fiona Wood, Vice Chancellor Fred Hilmer, Archbishop Peter Jensen & Prof Trevor Cairney (Master)

Friday 8th May saw the official opening of the New College Village. While some residents have been living in the building since the 5th January and we have been full since early February, as is usually the case the official opening took place four months after we opened for residents.

In all 130 alumni, University staff, donors, board members and representatives of the residential community joined us to share in this big event. Speeches were given by me as the Master, Professor Fiona Wood as a leading scientist, researcher and humanitarian, Archbishop Peter Jensen representing the Church and Vice Chancellor of UNSW, Professor Fred Hilmer. All four speakers offered different perspectives but there were many common themes, including the:

importance of community;
value of diversity in the student population;
place of faith in the university;
role that residential colleges play in contributing to campus life;
importance of support for postgraduate students;
importance of the NCV to the strategic needs of UNSW;
uniqueness of this new community in Australia.

In my comments I also acknowledge the founders of New College and named the group of pioneers who began pursuing their vision for university colleges in 1956.

My Board encouraged me as new Master in 2002 to embark on a refurbishment and development program for the College. We added a floor to New College and are part way through a total refurbishment. The original founders of the College were committed to the development of many colleges like New; they were successful in building two. The NCV is the third residential community that was inspired by the original vision of our founders.

Above: Guests at the Opening in the Central Courtyard

It was a wonderful day to celebrate the opening of this beautiful building and the establishment of a strong postgraduate community that is already developing a rich life of its own. Already, the 315 residents are developing strong relationships and are beginning to challenge one another to pursue goals that will lead to them making a significant contribution to their world.

Above (left to right): Carmen Cairney, Shelley Bambrook (Senior Resident), Nicky Sutton (guest), Niloufer Johansen (NCV Academic Tutor)

Official Opening of the NCV

Another first for the NCV - Our first Christian service!

It seems like every week there is something new at NCV. We celebrated our first Christian service at Easter. The service was based on an early Christian service called Tenebrae. The name Tenebrae is the Latin word for "darkness" or "shadows." The service involved a series of Bible readings, songs, prayer and some brief comments from me. At the end of the service we enjoyed a supper together of traditional Easter Hot Cross buns. About 45 people came including a contingent from New College.

Above: Just before the service in the Main Common room

Above: Some animated discussion after the service, coffee and Hot Cross buns (yes, Rebecca in the centre made an unexpected appearance, it was good to have her back)

I hope to commence monthly services in the Main Common room on a Monday evening starting in May.

Another first for the NCV - Our first Christian service!

NCV Seminar series under way

One of the many activities that we have planned to encourage dialogue about important matters of research and scholarship is our NCV Seminar series. A seminar is held every 3-4 weeks on a Thursday evening. Our first seminar was held on the 19th March. It was presented by David Loonan, Student Support Services Manager at Arc, the UNSW student organisation, who addressed the topic 'Key issues for postgrad students'.

This week, Dr Ian Pollard will visit us to talk about his new book. Ian Pollard - “Investing in your life’ - your biggest investment opportunities are not necessarily financial." Dr Pollard has been chairman, director or CEO of more than 30 companies. He is an actuary who was a Rhodes Scholar and has written widely on business coaching.

All residents of the NCV are welcome to attend the seminar in the Main Common Room on Thursday 16th April at 6.00pm.

NCV Seminar series under way

Bible Study at the NCV

New College Village welcomes people of all faiths or no faith at all. In the present diverse community with over 50 nationalities we have residents who are Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, Orthodox believers, Catholics and all types of Protestants. However, since the Sydney Diocese of the Anglican Church founded New College, we offer Christian ministry consistent with the Anglican Thirty-Nine Articles of Faith. We choose to say 'Christian' ministry rather than 'Anglican' because we wish to stress that we offer residents the opportunity to find out more about Christianity based on the teachings of the Bible, rather than just Anglicanism.

One of our activities is a Bible Study that Carmen and I run each Monday night. We have 40 people who have registered for this group, with about 25 attending each week. We have been studying the Gospel of Mark, a book in the New Testament that provides the story of Jesus life and teaching. We meet in the Main Common room where we start with supper, I usually give a brief talk, we break into groups to read part of Mark and explore some questions together and to pray, and then I wrap up.

Above: Enjoying a barbecue together on the Rooftop Terrace

Last week we met together first for a barbecue. This was a great chance to get to know each other a little better. Residents of NCV are free to join this group at any time, the only requirement being that they are interested in knowing more about the Bible's teaching.

Above: The Master turns his hand to cooking!

The NCV will be holding its own Easter Service on Thursday 9th April at which we will read passages of Scripture that tell of the last hours of Jesus' life prior to his crucifixion and resurrection, there will be music and I will give a short message. This will be a Tenebrae service. Tenebrae (which is the plural of the Latin word for 'shadows' or 'darkness') is a Christian service celebrated on the eve of Maundy Thursday and sometimes Good Friday and Saturday. Our service will be focussed on the Bible readings that tell of Jesus last hours as he approaches death on the cross.

It has been encouraging to see how many people are interested in knowing more about the Bible's teaching.

Bible Study at the NCV

NCV hosts its first BBQ for the year

Now that all residents have arrived our program of social activities is being introduced. The aim of the various activities is to offer residents the opportunity to meet with one another and form relationships that will enrich their lives. Our 316 residents come from over 50 nations and bring a vast array of lived experiences. Living at the NCV is a once in a lifetime opportunity to be among a diverse, interesting and very talented group of people. Our first BBQ for the year was run on the 27th February and attracted 250 residents. The plan is to have a BBQ for all residents every 4-6 weeks. They are held in the Central Courtyard and Main Common Room. If our first BBQ is any indication these events will be great times to meet and catch up with others.

NCV hosts its first BBQ for the year