The University of Melbourne’s Dookie College has thrown open its doors, for its annual Open Day.
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Visitors were able to experience the Dookie campus and the latest developments in research, learning and teaching in soil, plant and animal health, farming, food and agribusiness.
Future students were also be able to learn about courses in agriculture, veterinary medicine and food science.
Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences Dean Professor John Fazakerley said Dookie Day show cased some of the agricultural, food and veterinary science teaching, research and engagement being undertaken on the campus.
“Dookie Day included the official opening of $3 million upgrades to living and study spaces to accommodate our growing student numbers.”
These upgrades were initiated to accommodate the 80-plus students based full time at the campus in Semester 2, 2017.
These include students in the Diploma in General Studies and students in the second year of the new Bachelor of Agriculture curriculum.
“Currently there are over 80 students based at the campus studying in the Bachelor of Agriculture and Diploma of General Studies programs,” Professor Fazakerley said.
“This is the highest number of students based at the campus over the last ten years.”
Research staff and PhD students use the 2,440 hectare campus to study improvements in soil quality and crop yields, smart use of pesticides, fertilizers and water, crop trials and technological advances in livestock productivity and crop management.
Dookie Day highlights included:
- Drones that monitor plant health
- Weed control with microwaves instead of pesticides
- Robotic dairy - researchers able to monitor individual cow productivity and health. Cows choose when they will be milked, and automatic rotation between pastures
- Sensory science - how the latest technology measures biometric responses to food and helps us to understand why people like the food they like.
- Research students presented their work and showed how their projects contributed to agricultural productivity, animal and human health.
- Beer and winemaking on campus - Dookie has one of the oldest working wineries in Victoria, allowing students to make a wine vintage each year.
- Animal health seminars and research presentations
The day also featured free seminars from leading agricultural and veterinary science researchers.
