Short course
Introductory Analysis of Linked Data
22-26 November 2010
Sydney School of Public Health
The University of Sydney

This 5-day short course introduces the topic of the analysis of linked data at an introductory to intermediate level. It acquaints health services researchers, clinical practitioners and managers with the theory and skills needed to analyse linked health data. The modular structure of the course provides participants with a theoretical grounding on each theme, followed by a hands-on practical exercise in our computer lab each day, using de-identified linked NSW data files.

For further details and registration form see prof development/intro-analysis-linked-data

1 June, 2010: BCA Graduates

Congratulations to BCA students who completed their course in 2009. 52 students completed in 2009 (25 (Post)Graduate Certificates, 7 (Post)Graduate Diplomas, 20 Masters Degrees).

Particular congratulations go tor Lindsay Dunlop (Macquarie University), for qualifying as a BCA Star Graduate. A Star Graduate is a graduate from the Masters or Graduate Diploma who has an overall average of at least 85%, and has achieved a mark of 85% or more in all, or all but one, units of study.

Semester 2 begins 26 July, 2010

Make sure you're correctly enrolled for your semester 2 courses! If you're a current student, make sure to enrol through your home university and keep the BCA office up to date on any change in your contact details. Prospective students should check out our future students page for information on how to enrol in a BCA course.

6 April 2010: BCA Awards for Excellence - recipients announced!

Each year the BCA, in conjunction with Roche and Prizer, offers a number of scholarships to high-achieving students who have displayed a dedication to pursuing a career in biostatistics. In 2010, the following students received an award:

BCA Pfizer Award for Excellence 2010 Emma McBryde (The University of Melbourne) Benjamin Cheah (Macquarie University)	BCA Roche Award for Excellence 2010 Peter Butterworth (The University of Sydney) Wei Du Zeng (The University of Sydney)

BCA students are encouraged to apply for 2011 scholarships. For more information and to download application forms, click here.

6 April, 2010: G08 Report signals maths education in decline

A report entitled Review of Education in Mathematics, Data Science and Quantitative Disciplines, compiled by the Group of 8 universities (Go8) and released earlier this month,found that the Australian education system faced a potential 'maths crisis'.

The Go8 found that the state of the mathematical and quantitative sciences in Australia has “deteriorated to a dangerous level, and continues to deteriorate”.

According to a contributor to the Go8’s review, Chief of CSIRO Mathematics, Informatics and Statistics Dr Louise Ryan (pictured), the findings are sobering. “For Australia to be at the forefront of science and business, we need to do more to increase the nation’s output of talented young people in the mathematical sciences.”

Read the Australian on Australia's maths crisis.

8 March, 2010: More BCA Graduation Pics

See some of our happy graduates here...

8 March, 2010: New BCA community page

Click here for information about statistical societies, research and job opportunities.

Professor Annette Dobson named Member of the Order of Australia

Annette Dobson, BCA Program Coordinator at the School of Population Health, University of Queensland, was honoured in the 2010 Australia Day list of honours for her work in public health.

19 January, 2010: Study finds partnererd women gain more weight

A study co-authored by Annette Dobson, which found that women with a partner gained more weight than those without a partner or child, was featured in the New York Times.

The study, which has surveyed more than 6,000 women over a 10 year period, is aimed at assessing factors contributing to weight gain in young women.

Source: The University of Queensland School of Population Health

Read the New York Times article
Read the full paper

11 January, 2010: Statistical Society of Australia Accrediation

The BCA Master and (Post)Graduate Dilpoma programs have been accredited by the Statistical Society of Australia.

SSAI accrediation gives students of accredited programs automatic status as a Graduate Statistician when they apply to the Society. To prospective students, it guarantees that the course they are choosing is recognised across Australia.

Find out more about the Statistical Society of Australia.

June 30, 2009: "Growing our own biostatisticians", The Age, 29 June 2009.

Sue Goss reports on the role of the BCA in training biostatisticians for the workforce.

Download "Growing our own biostatisticians"

June 29, 2009: Biostatistics Demand Survey 2009

In 2009, the BCA commissioned a survey of current and potential employers of biostatisticians in order to assess the demand for biostatisticians in the Australian workforce. Read the results below.

Download the Biostatistics Demand Survey

June 24, 2009: BCA Graduations 2009 (The University of Sydney)

Click here to view images of 2009 BCA / NSW Health Biostatistics Training Program graduate dinner.

April 2009: BCA Student Testimonials

Read about the experiences of BCA graduates and current students.

Scholarships: BCA Awards for Excellence

Click here for information about BCA scholarships

Statistics: the Dream Job!

Presentation by Hal Varian - Chief Economist, Google, to the 2008 Almaden Institute, Innovating with Information.

"... with data in huge supply and statisticians in short supply, being a statistician has to be 'the really sexy job for the 2010s'".

BCA Published Papers

Heller, Gillian Z; Forbe Andrew B; Jobing, Erica; Dear Keith B.G; Biostatistics @ Distance: A Model for Successful Multi-Institutional Delivery, The American Statistician, November 2008, Vol. 62, No. 4.

Although biostatistical work is threaded throughout health research, the health and medical sectors of higher education have not historically provided sufficient support to professional biostatistical training. Many graduates of Master of Public Health programs and Master’s or Graduate Diploma courses in epidemiology acquire the skills to perform a range of statistical analysis, but these skills are necessarily limited to a basic level. In an era of ever-growing complexity of data and of modeling approaches, these generic skills need to be backed up by professional biostatistical expertise.

Download the paper.

Simpson, Judy; Ryan; Philip; Carlin, John; Gurrin, Lyle; Marschner, Ian; Training a New Generation of Biostatisticians: A Successful Consortium Model; Journal of Statistics Education, Volume 17, Number 2 (2009)

In response to the worldwide shortage of biostatisticians, Australia has established a national consortium of eight universities to develop and deliver a Masters program in biostatistics. This article describes our successful innovative multi-institutional training model, which may be of value to other countries. We first present the issues confronting the future of biostatistics in Australia, then relate our experience in establishing a new national consortium-based Masters program, and finally explore the extent to which our initiatives have addressed the current challenges of biostatistics workforce shortages.

Website: www.amstat.org/publications/jse/v17n2/simpson.html

Download the paper

Workshops and conferences

Click here for workshops, conferences and meetings; notices of upcoming events and, where available, presentations from past events.

Associated Links
Links to associated websites and information.

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