Deakin students called up for Parliament project

A GROUP of Deakin University students has been tasked by state Parliament with researching and developing a way to enhance the 160-year-old political institution’s connection with young Victorians.

The five-person team of Deakin University students will work on a blueprint for parliament’s future engagement with youth through digital channels such as social media.

The cross-disciplinary group – Ana erkalovic (International Studies), Matt Kloszynski (Communication and Media), Abhilash Margasahayam (Business Administration), Ari Moore (Arts) and Sid Sharma (Accounting and International Finance) – is undertaking this project within Deakin’s FreelancingHUB.

The project brief was developed following a series of workshops Parliament ran in 2016 with young Victorians, in association with the Foundation for Young Australians.

Parliamentary leaders from both houses – Legislative Council President Bruce Atkinson and Legislative Assembly Speaker Colin Brooks – signed the partnership agreement with Deakin pro vice-chancellor of graduate employment Professor Dineli Mather last week.

The FreelancinghUB is an initiative of the Deakin Graduate employment Division’s DeakinTALeNT suite of programs and is designed to expand work integrated learning opportunities on campus, and let students share their skills to solve real problems in partnership with students from other disciplines, while being a remote worker in the Gig economy.

FreelancingHUB operations manager Emma Simpfendorfer said the program was dedicated to enhancing student skills in their preparation for the jobs of the future.

“FreelancingHUB students work on real business and community projects offered by real clients, without the need for students to be physically located at the client’s site.

“Hub projects usually span a trimester and allow students from varying disciplines to develop skills in teamwork, self-management, professionalism and project delivery.

“It can be an amazing wake-up call for students to work with a client and gain that exposure to a professional working environment – learning how to act, how to ask the right questions and how to ensure the client is satisfied with the results.”

Professor Mather praised the FreelancingHUB initiative and said she was a strong advocate of partnerships between universities, organisations and employer groups, particularly as a strategy to develop employable graduates.