IT’S A MANDELBAUM THING

Mensch and Mediation: Formal Dinner with Danielle Jaku-Greenfield

01/10/2024

On the 19th of September, Danielle Jaku-Greenfield returned to University of Sydney grounds, to Mandelbaum House. To the same place where she studied a unit at the Law school, to the same place where her parents…

Law, Leadership, and Lively Discussion: An Evening with Gina Cass-Gottlieb

09/09/2024

We had the pleasure of welcoming Gina Cass-Gottlieb, Chair of the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC), as our guest of honour at our formal dinner. The night began with a respectful Acknowledgement of Country by…

What life looks like in the driver’s seat: An evening with the Chancellor

15/08/2024

With the turn of the calendar comes the anticipation of our much-loved formal dinners. This month we had the honor of hosting Chancellor David Thodey AO FTSE as our guest speaker. We were also joined by…

Stains on the White Lab Coat Collar

07/06/2024

Mandelbaum residents had the honour of listening to Professor Simon Bronitt, Dean of the prestigious University of Sydney Law School at a recent formal dinner. Professor Bronitt’s presentation titled “Responding to the research integrity crisis in…

Celebrating Indigenous Life at Mandelbaum

30/05/2024

This week we celebrate Reconciliation Week in Australia, a time for all Australians to learn about our shared histories, cultures, and achievements, and to explore how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia.…

Transforming One Billion Lives

09/04/2024

For our March formal dinner, we had the honour of meeting and listening to Jude Stern. Jude leads the strategic knowledge agenda for the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness.  The evening started with an…

Breaking Barriers

28/02/2024

As I stepped into our familiar lounge, now beautifully decorated (it went through its Cinderella moment), I found myself on the brink of an adventure- my very first formal dinner. Our guest of honor, Dr. Siupeli…

Mandelbaum House Celebrates Kindness and Community Spirit

08/02/2024

Mandelbaum House is proud to announce Oliver Ergas as the recipient of the 2023 Eddie Jaku OAM Mensch Award. This prestigious award, presented annually since 2018, is voted for by residents and staff. It honours the…

An Evening with the Vice Chancellor

03/11/2023

It’s a new month, and that meant another one of Mandelbaum House’s much-loved formal dinners. This time we were privileged to have the Vice Chancellor Mark Scott AO as our guest speaker. The evening commenced with…

The Voice of the Citizen of 2050

15/09/2023

Our September formal dinner began with resident Ian Yap performing Claire De Lune by Debussy on piano. A very pleasant surprise to find out Ian played the piano, as he took Mandelbaum through as he put…

“Step out from the Curtain -why singing on stage is the best high!”

29/08/2023

On Wednesday night, 2nd of August 2023, Mandelbaum House hosted Associate Professor Narelle Yeo for an event that I now fondly remember. As I was making my way to the formal dinner, I did not know…

Professor Larkum Visits Mandelbaum House

15/05/2023

On the 18th of April, Mandelbaum House welcomed Professor Tony Larkum as a guest speaker at Formal Dinner. The topic of the evening was coral bleaching, a phenomenon that has devastated the world’s coral reefs in…

Creating belonging at Mandelbaum House

31/03/2023

On 21 March, Dr. Lisa Jackson Pulver unveiled a magnificent Indigenous mural on the roof terrace of Mandelbaum House which was gifted to the college by a family of one of the College’s Aboriginal students. Mandelbaum…

How can you improve your wellbeing?

07/03/2023

Dr. Sue Morris has a passion for enhancing students’ success and wellbeing, with an emphasis on positive psychology and resilience. Over 25 years of undergraduate teaching at UNSW, she has focused on developing innovative and engaging…

What Brings People Together?

12/09/2022

Our September Formal Dinner guest speaker was Romy Wolman, a disability advocate and the Founder/Executive Director of One&All, an inclusive, holistic, and creative hub for mixed abilities and mental health. As she spoke, we learned about…

The Impact of Mandelbaum House

08/11/2021

This year Mandelbaum House celebrates its 25th birthday. Hundreds of students from Melbourne to Mozambique have found “a home away from home” at Mandelbaum. As a means to keep alumni connected, Gina Abramowitz (2016 resident, Alumni…

Resident Life in Lockdown

09/08/2021

The impact of COVID is harsh and widespread; suddenly millions of people are in lock down and improvising living life in one spot. What does this mean for students in residence? Mandelbaum House strode ahead to…

Shavuot Festivities at Mandelbaum

26/05/2021

Shavuot is a significant festival in the Jewish tradition. This year our residents decided to focus on the universal virtues and values that each of the holiday’s customs can teach us. Of course, we didn’t give…

Vice-Chancellor Garton visits Mandelbaum House

21/05/2021

On Tuesday the 11th of May, Mandelbaum residents were honoured with the presence of Professor Dr Stephen Garton, Vice-Chancellor and principal of the University of Sydney. We were also delighted to welcome back our chairman Associate…

Formal Dinner with a New Year Bonus Celebration

21/05/2021

Mandelbaum House’s second formal dinner for the year was special this time for two reasons: first the date, and second, the guest speaker. Taking place on the 14th of April, the evening was themed in celebration…

Formal Dinners are Back!

09/03/2021

Associate Professor Dr Lilon Bandler, is the Principal Research Fellow for the Leaders in Indigenous Medical Education Network, the chair of the National Patient Blood Management Advisory Committee, a Board member of the Far West Local…

Meet our 2021 Resident Assistants

02/03/2021

Congratulations to our 2021 Resident Assistants (RAs) Andrea Xia, Kacy Zhou and Thomas Winship for their appointments as the Mandelbaum House RAs in 2021. Each have held leadership roles at Mandelbaum over the past few years,…

Five Things to Bring to College

01/02/2021

Fitting your entire life into just a handful of suitcases is no easy feat: Should I bring my posters? What about a pillow? Can I buy snacks close by? Don’t worry, we’ve collated responses from current…

The Journey to Wellbeing

06/03/2020

At our first formal dinner for the year, on the 27th of February, Mandelbaum House warmly welcomed the special guest speaker Michael Stone, CEO of the Holistic Services Group, to share his story that took him…

What’s life without sports?

28/02/2020

Living at Mandelbaum House got me closer to all kinds of sports: basketball Oztag, football (soccer), volleyball, badminton and many more. It was a celebration every time we participated—winning or losing didn’t matter as long as…

Eddie Jaku Mensch Prize 2019

22/12/2019

“How’s Eddie?” is one of the questions I most frequently receive when catching up with Mandelbaum alumni. There is always something interesting to relay about our special friend Eddie, be it the story he shared with…

“I make my own life for myself”.

29/10/2019

On 17 October 2019 Mandelbaum House welcomed Dr. Rob Silberstein as a guest lecturer to our monthly formal dinner. Dr. Silberstein has faced many obstacles that the majority of us have not even considered when embarking…

Beyond the numbers: The importance of social networks

17/10/2019

On Wednesday the 4th of September, Deputy-Vice Chancellor Education AO Pip Pattison joined Mandelbaum House as our special guest for formal dinner. Having completed her PhD in Psychology, Pip has used her expertise as a quantitative…

Ordinary people, Extraordinary lives

03/09/2019

If you don’t ask, you will never find out about the potentially wonderful reward!” was one of the many insightful takeaways from a night of whimsical, comical, and endearing recounts. As we dive into award-winning journalist…

Holocaust survivor Eddie Jaku talking to students

Eddie Jaku Returns to Mandelbaum

20/05/2019

At our mid-semester formal dinner on 1 May 2019, Mandelbaum House hosted my favourite guest: Eddie Jaku, the self-proclaimed ‘World’s happiest man’. Eddie is a Holocaust survivor who lived in Germany throughout World War II. I have…

Creating a Career—An Entrepreneurial Success Story

04/04/2019

A month into classes, students at the University of Sydney have adapted to early mornings, all-nighters and caffeine jitters. With deadlines and mid-semester exams looming, Mandelbaum residents took a night off on March 27 to welcome…

Learning from the Legends of our Past

04/03/2019

Mandelbaum House residents were excited to welcome Professor Lisa Jackson Pulver AM and her husband Mark to the first formal dinner of the new year. A Wiradjuri Jewish woman, she was made a Member of the…

Drawing a Silver Lining amidst the Middle-East Overcast

01/11/2018

“From macromolecules to the Israeli right wing” was Professor Shindler’s recount of his political endeavours. Following a degree in Chemistry, Professor Shindler pursued his passion in the field of Political Studies, and the rest is history.…

Renewable Energy — Fringe and Boring but Now in Public Eye!

11/10/2018

Mark Schneider presented his million dollar budgets, his university life-changing decisions, how his team made a Pygmy Blue-tongue Lizard reserve and how his love for speaking changed his career from an engineering student to a renewables…

Is Your Brain Made of Rubber?

08/08/2018

Dr. Sue Morris strides across the room, engaging us with her quick wit and lively lecturing style as she regales the tale of Liam. A hypothetical individual who illustrates the concept of suboptimal thinking, Liam has…

Study Desk

Location! Location! Location!

13/07/2018

‘Location! Location! Location!’ is a mantra repeated so often when finding a new place to live. Mandelbaum House goes above and beyond in meeting these expectations as we are in a prime location of Darlington which…

2018 Archibald Finalist Bares All

25/05/2018

Two time Archibald Prize Finalist Loribelle Spirovski graces Mandelbaum House with her presence for our second last formal dinner of the semester. Earlier this year, Spirovski displayed a Solo show of her art at Guy Hepner…

The World’s Happiest Man- Eddie Jaku

24/04/2018

On the night of the 11th of April, a very special person joined Mandelbaum House for Formal Dinner. This special person is Eddie Jaku, a man filled with wisdom, with a very important story to tell:…

The Chancellor Visits Mandelbaum House

20/03/2018

Last week saw the beginning of classes at the University of Sydney and the return of early mornings and all-nighters for about 60,000 students. In the midst of the whirlwind that is the new semester, residents…

Talented Tedeschi Shines

11/09/2017

Mandelbaum House had the immense pleasure of hosting world renowned concert pianist Simon Tedeschi and Loribelle Spirovski, Archibald Prize finalist (2017) and fiancé of Tedeschi at our second formal dinner of semester two. Tedeschi took the…

My Other Home…

29/08/2017

They say home is where the heart is. That special place full of memories, laughs and warmth. Somewhere where we can return and feel comfortable, a place where we belong. I always thought that there can…

One word to strive towards, one word to limit

07/08/2017

The residents of Mandelbaum House had the privilege of listening to a highly motivational, witty yet genuinely modest speech by “character” Thomas Whalan at the first formal dinner of Semester 2, 2017. Thomas Whalan is renowned…

Vice Chancellor Visits Mandelbaum

30/05/2017

On Wednesday 3rd of May, Mandelbaum House hosted its third formal dinner of Semester One 2017. As  residents slowly ushered into the dining area that evening, a sense of anticipation could be felt in the room…

‘Grandchild of a slave and child of a refugee’

14/03/2017

One of the highlights in the Mandelbaum calendar is the monthly Formal Dinner. We were delighted to welcome back A/Professor Lilon Bandler to be our guest speaker for our first 2017 dinner. The evening began with…

Study Abroad made easy!

14/12/2016

Are you coming to Sydney for one semester on a Study Abroad or Exchange programme? Make the most of your experience and live with Aussies and other Internationals with the convenience of a friendly community, and…

Best Kept Travel Secret

29/09/2016

Everyone has their ‘go to’ starting point when searching for travel accommodation. Some keep it simple and shoot an email to their trusted travel agent. Others go on the hunt, which today goes way beyond the…

The Final Frontier – Needs You!

12/09/2016

The second formal dinner of semester two started off with a beautiful rendition by resident Darron Ho of Adele’s Rolling in the Deep on his Chinese Violin, or Erhu. As guest speaker for the night we…

Returning Home

22/08/2016

Walking into Mandelbaum House for its latest reunion on Thursday night brought back so many memories for me. I remember arriving as a 19-year-old from California who had never been to Australia, getting out of the…

On The Temple Trail

03/08/2016

Semester 2 at Mandelbaum House started in style with a seamless blend of intellectual conversation, music and banter at our welcome dinner. Having been here for only over a week, I’m fascinated by how quickly Mandelbaum…

Mandelbaum is more than just a house … It’s my home

19/07/2016

What’s the difference between a ‘house’ and a ‘home’? A house is a building or structure that someone resides in, whereas a home is a place where a person not only lives but also feels a…

A welcoming and warm place immersed in cultural diversity,
great memories and friends for life!

Audrey, New Caledonia

It is wonderful to have a spacious and fully furnished bedroom
to which I can retreat to after a busy day of classes!

Julio, Colombia

I love that I always have a healthy option
at every meal that is also delicious!

Rebecca, USA

When you go to uni with 60,000 people,
it’s nice to come back to a family of 40 at the end of the day.

Michael, Australia

Mandelbaum House has been the most diverse,
welcoming, active society I have ever been involved in.

Alex, USA