Several Members of the BABS Technical Staff took the opportunity to update their skills.

The School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences was pleased to support technical staff members to attend the National Techtrain Conference, which was held in Adelaide during the 1st and 2nd of July this year.

Talks were presented by Kate Kennedy (2nd from left), Laboratory Manager of Microbiology, and Technical Officer of Microbiology, Ghada Hanna (3rd from left). It was the first time that either of them had presented at a National level and both talks were well-received by the audience, with plenty of positive feedback. Ghada achieved her goal of sharing important concepts with the audience as well as gaining valuble experience in public speaking. In attending the conference, Ghada realised that technicians across the country share common goals and face the same issues. Her take-home message from the conference is: "get out of your lab or office and look beyond what you see every day. You will be surprised at what you can learn through communicating with others!"

Steve Gouras (1st from left), Technical Officer of Microbiology found the conference enlightening, with common themes emerging from many of the talks. Steve was impressed by the TechNet concept because it provides a platform that can be used for lobbying important issues. He says that more people should get involved.
Laboratory Assistant of Microbiology, Li Zhang (4th from left) was also enthusiastic about attending the conference. Not only did she update her skills and chat with collegues about shared work experiences, she made new friends and had an altogether wonderful time!