ALG Connect Term 1, 2023

QUICK POLL!

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!

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 Melbourne
2. Study NSW
3. Study Queensland
4. Study Perth
5. Council of International Students Australia (CISA)
6. Council for International Students of Western Australia

What’s On In Your City!

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.