ALG Connect Term 1, 2023
Volume 22
Our Student Newsletter aims to provide you with nationwide updates, exciting events and activities around your city, student stories, news and relevant announcements!
This newsletter is for you! If there is anything you’d like to include in the next newsletter or share with the community, just reach out to your campus Student Experience Team 😃
Click below to navigate through the newsletter your own way!
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QUICK POLL!
STUDENT AMBASSADOR PROGRAM
APPLY NOW
Our Australian Learning Group Student Ambassador Program provides current students with the opportunity to be the face of ALG. Our Student Ambassador is a champion for the ALG student community. Bringing your successful experience as an international student studying in Australia, you will participate and in some cases lead activities that help other students achieve the ALG promise of knowing ‘You’re in the right place’. You will also work closely with the ALG Marketing Team to develop content to promote to future students.
Applications Close: Thursday, 22nd February 2023.


INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY 2023
International Women’s Day is a global holiday celebrated annually on March 8 as a focal point in the women’s rights movement, bringing attention to issues such as gender equality, reproductive rights, and violence and abuse against women.
This year’s campaign theme is #EmbraceEquity
Equity isn’t just a nice-to-have, it’s a must-have. A focus on gender equity needs to be part of every society’s DNA.
It’s critical to understand the difference between equity and equality. Read more about this here.
Keep an eye out for our upcoming International Women’s Day celebrations on campus! If you’re in class on Wednesday, 8th March wear purple with us and acknowledge the importance of this day.
Student Wellbeing
Have you heard of the Pomodoro Technique? 🍅
To promote effective concentration and prevent mental fatigue, this popular time management method requires you to alternate ‘pomodoros’ — focused work sessions — with frequent short breaks.
So, what is the Pomodoro Technique?
Francesco Cirillo, an Italian university student, invented the Pomodoro Technique in the late 1980s. Cirillo was having difficulty focusing on his studies and completing assignments (as we all do at some stage!). He asked himself, feeling overwhelmed, to commit to only 10 minutes of focused study time to try and boost his productivity in a short sprint. Motivated by the challenge, he discovered a tomato-shaped kitchen timer (pomodoro in Italian), and the Pomodoro technique was born.
The technique itself is very simple:
1. Get a to-do list and a timer.
2. Set your timer for 25 minutes and focus on a single task until the timer rings.
3. When your session ends, mark off one ‘pomodoro’ and record what you completed.
4. Then enjoy a five-minute break!
5. After four ‘pomodoro’s’, take a longer, more restorative 15-30 minute break, or finish for the day.
The method’s core is the 25-minute work sprints, but a Pomodoro practice also includes three rules for making the most of each interval:
1. Break down larger projects. If a task takes more than four pomodoros (4 x 25 minutes), it should be broken down into smaller, actionable steps. Following this rule will assist you in making clear progress on your projects. Like with your assessments, maybe tackle one or two sections per day, instead of battling through the assessment in one day and frying your brain.
2. Small tasks complement one another. Any tasks that will take less than one Pomodoro should be combined with others that are simple. For instance, “read a required journal article,” “summarise the article,” and “fit summary into assessment” could all be completed in the same session. This also leaves your head clear for the next 25-minute sprint.
3. A pomodoro must ring once it is set. The pomodoro is a time unit that cannot be broken, especially not to check incoming emails, team chats, or text messages. Any new ideas, tasks, or requests should be recorded and revisited later.
The Pomodoro Technique is a quick start way to get your thoughts moving and put your education brain into action. Procrastination can be one of the many things putting your productivity and assessment completion on-hold, and attempting to start from scratch when you’re not feeling up to it can be daunting.
Doing something small in a short period of time is so much easier than trying to tackle that big assessment in one go.
Try out the Pomodoro Technique for the current term’s assessments and tell us how you go!
Meet Krismiati!
Krismiati is our wonderful Aged Care Trainer & Assessor in Sydney and has been part of the ALG community for over 3 years.
Prior to her career in aged care, Kris came from an accounting background. It wasn’t until she stumbled upon an aged care college that she thought about changing her career. She remembered the struggle her parents had experienced and the fact that she was unable to give them the care they needed, so she enrolled and began her journey in the aged care industry. Since then Krismiati has gained many years of experience in the field allowing her to share this experience and knowledge with her students and prepare them for the industry.

Student Support
Moving to a new country and starting a new life as a student must be exciting for some students, but that can be daunting for some students. You might feel lost and alone and need help figuring out where to start to make a network. Do you know that in Australia, there are some student organizations that support international students? If you are still not familiar with that, this international student support below is a welcoming place for you to start a network, find international student events, meet other international students, and access support and advice.
1. Study Melbourne2. Study NSW3. Study Queensland4. Study Perth5. Council of International Students Australia (CISA)6. Council for International Students of Western Australia
What’s On In Your City!
WHAT'S ON IN BRISBANE
Discover BrisAsia Festival 2023 – Connection through culture
BrisAsia Festival returns to celebrate Lunar New Year! There’s no better way to start your year than to connect with culture at BrisAsia Festival, with something on offer for the whole family.
Over three weeks, audiences can experience the transformative power of live performance, learn and grow through immersive experiences and travel the length and breadth of Asia across the incredibly packed festival program that has something for everyone.
Most events are free but some require tickets so check out the full program of events for further information.
When: 1st -19th February 2023
Where: Various locations around Brisbane CBD.Click here for a full rundown of this festival and events throughout.
WHAT'S ON IN MELBOURNE
The Summer Night Market is back!
This year, more than 125 shops, stalls, and bars will light up the open-air market sheds. You can find locally-sourced and handmade products, including jewellery, art, skincare, books, and homewares.Enjoy the unforgettable night of shopping, eating, drinking, live music, fun, and summer sunset vibes with your friends.
Where: Queen Victoria Market
When: every Wednesday night from 23 November 2022 – 15 March 2023, 5 pm – 10 pm.
Cost: Free entry!Click here to find out more about the Summer Night Market
WHAT'S ON IN PERTH
Save the Children UWA Summer Book Sale 2023.Save the Children is the world’s largest aid and development organisation dedicated to assisting vulnerable children in Western Australia and around the world.The University of Western Australia Summer Book Sale will be held at UWA Hackett Cafe from 18 to 19 February 2023 to raise vital funds for Save the Children. The event is free to attend. Thousands of high-quality used books have been generously donated to Save the Children and will be available for purchase at reasonable prices.All funds raised will benefit children in Australia and around the world.When: Saturday 18th February, 9am-4pm and Sunday 19th February, 9am-2pmWhere: UWA Hackett Cafe, Stirling Highway, CrawleyCost: Free entry!For more information on the event, please see savethechildren.org.au and @SaveTheChildrenAustralia on Facebook. Sculptures by the Sea 2023If you thought you were good at building sandcastles, you’ll be in awe when you see these incredible sculptures created by some of Western Australia’s most talented artists. The Sculptures by the Sea will be on display for only eighteen days, allowing you to enjoy them whenever you want for however long you want!If you’re looking for something to do indoors, especially on hot days, you might be interested in the Sculpture Inside. This exhibition will be held at the Sea View Golf Club in Cottesloe. It is open from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. This is still free, and you can enjoy it before or after you go to the beach.So if you’re on the beach, why not get some lunch or food from one of the nearby restaurants? Alternatively, why not pack a picnic from home? There will be around seventy sculptures to view!When: Friday 3rd March, to Sunday 19th MarchWhere: Cottesloe BeachCost: Free!Click here for more information
WHAT'S ON IN SYDNEY
Disney at The Grounds of Alexandria
The Grounds of Alexandria have created a space dedicated to some of Disney’s most beloved stories and characters to celebrate 100 years of Disney.Special drinks and treats have also been created for the collab, including Cotton Candy Clubhouse drinks at The Potting Shed and a mini-cake called Iridescent Dream.Where: The Grounds of Alexandria (Building 7a, 2 Huntley Street Alexandria 2015)Date: 28 January 2023 – 30 April 2023Click here to find out more!
Writing a Resume
Resume writing is a skill that often needs constant tweaking and mastering. Especially being new to the industry, you can greatly improve your chances of obtaining an interview if you have a strong, professionally produced resume to show your skills and experience!
The following resources will help you generate ideas and inspiration to create and constantly develop your resume:
Indeed Career Advice – The new guide to job search and preparation
Writing your Resume – A comprehensive guide, starting from scratch, to develop your first resume!
10 Steps to a Successful CV – Tips and tricks to help you develop your own personal resume.
Follow us on Instagram and share your story!
We’d love to hear about your experience at ALG or in Australia, your tips to other students about studying, or your business!
Feel free to contact marketing@eduholdings.com.au if you’d like to share anything on our social media accounts.
IMPORTANT LINKS
Acknowledgement of Country
Australian Learning Group acknowledges Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as the traditional custodians of the land in which we meet.
We pay our respects to the Elders of the past, present and future.