Getting to know... Lindsay John MacDonald

Lindsay John MacDonald

Lindsay John MacDonald

Name: Lindsay John MacDonald
Title: Portfolio Manager
Division: eSolutions
Dept: Student and Education Administrative Systems
Campus: Clayton

How long have you worked at Monash?
Three glorious years.

Where did you work prior to starting at the University?
The secondary education sector (Wesley College).

What do you like best about your role?
The ability to make a difference. Being able to influence decisions and shape the future for administration at Monash creates an opportunity to enable the University to greatly improve its administrative effectiveness and efficiency. 

I hope it will also improve the overall experience and environment for all the students and staff involved.

Why did you choose your current career path? 
I enjoy being able to improve things and help people and organisations achieve their potential - it led me here.

First job? 
Paper round for local newspaper.

Worst job?
Loading carcasses into trucks in an abattoir (I lasted one day).

What projects are you currently working on and what does it involve? 
Lots...

  • Student Placements (an enterprise systems for coordinating the placement of students into external learning environments and workplaces)
  • Curriculum Approval and Publication System (CAPS - for proposing, approving and publishing courses and units)
  • AHEGS (the Australian Higher Education Graduation Statement - building and publishing it)
  • Fees enhancements (improving the systems for managing student fees)
  • Callista Access and Security (improving the monitoring and updating of access to Callista)
  • Callista Upgrade (moving Callista and associated applications onto Linux commodity hardware and upgrading)

We are also looking to start work on implementing a corporate letter system for generation of offer letters, implementing the Callista Connect web module, and making a host of improvements to the way we manage admissions and curriculum information systems.

What is your favourite place in the world and why?
Being on the water, preferably in a sailing boat or kayak. It is calming and fun.

Being on a mountain top somewhere remote runs a very close second. It usually involves a good challenge to get there and is good for the soul.

For a geographic location, I'm a big fan of British Columbia, Canada, as there is so much to do there.

What is your favourite place to eat and why?
I have three young kids, so eating out anywhere is a novelty.

What is the best piece of advice you have received?
"Anything is possible" - because it’s true, you just have to want it to make it happen.

Tell us something about yourself that your colleagues wouldn’t know?
I have a twin brother. Possibly one of us is the evil twin, you will need to guess which one I am.