Students as Partners
‘Students as Partners’ is a strong theme underpinning strategic enhancements to the University’s Education Portfolio. Deakin Faculty members have been invited to share our conceptual ‘Students as Partners’ framework at multiple national forums to promote good practice more broadly.
Five Guiding Principles
Add value for students
Acknowledge different perspectives
Be respectful and inclusive
Be flexible
Evaluate and optimise
Put Your Best Foot Forward
In 2019, the Faculty Student Experience Team organised two ‘Best Foot Forward’ events in conjunction with the charity ‘Dress for Success’, offering students free business clothes, styling tips and interview skills. With expert advice provided by members of the Faculty, Dress for Success and DeakinTalent, these popular sessions gave practical support to students looking towards the job market at any stage of their studies.
- Over 50 students attended the sessions.
- $6,000 of clothing vouchers were provided to attendees in 2019, along with all of the clothing and accessories donated by Deakin staff and Dress for Success – any clothing not taken by students was given to Dress for Success to benefit job seekers in the community.
- Feedback from students in the post-event surveys was very positive, with ratings of 85% for event organisation, 92% friendliness of staff and 78% satisfaction overall.
A pack and send service to regional and remote students was also offered.
SDG focused global virtual student consultancy projects
In 2020, 34 students engaged in international consultancy experiences gaining an authentic experience of working as consultants in an international context on SDG focused projects. They developed their skills in liaising with international organisations in order to identify, understand and attempt to resolve real-world business problems, and develop an understanding of the processes and skills required to be a consultant in a business environment. Students teams worked as consultants on impactful SDG focused projects across six different organisations in USA, Japan and India.
Nirbhed Foundation—India
Nirbhed’s projects are focused on empowering the deprived and under privileged people. A strategy with different pathways to identify, connect and work with potential volunteers.
Wake Up Japan—Japan
This organisation specialises in social education. Students developed strategies to increase enrolments in programs to raise awareness of social justice in Japanese society.
Social and Development Research & Action Group (SADRAG)—India
SA DRAG aims to promote equality of life for all. Students developed strategies to create a donor base to procure at least 2000 devices, which will be distributed to underprivileged youth and children to learn online.
Ashinaga Foundation—Japan
The Ashinaga Foundation provides financial support and emotional care to young orphans. Students developed strategies to brand Ashinga as an effective organization supporting students in Africa.
Society of Women Engineers (SWE) Dallas Section—USA
The SWE mission is to stimulate women to achieve their full potential as engineers and leaders. Students developed strategies to promote inclusion, motivation and activation of Dallas SWE ‘ghost members’.
Srujna Charitable Trust—India
Srjuna operates with the aim of increasing workforce participation rates for women. Students created plans to increase brand awareness of Srujna via social media channels.
Women’s Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (West Bengal)—India
The organisation aims to encourage women entrepreneurs by creating a platform for networking, exchange and collaborations with like-minded women. Students developed a report and presentation on Sustainable business and women’s participation. WICCI.
Student led SDG and ERS focused initiatives
Our students are actively contributing as action and thought leaders to advance SDG agenda. For instance, at the 2019 PRME Champions Forum in Melbourne, Beau Arnfield, Shruti Verma and Girish Gupta shared their inspiring stories of having led SDG focused initiatives in the community. Shruti and Girish also contributed to a student-led session at the 2019 PRME ANZ Chapter Forum.
Shruti Verma
Vice-President, Deakin Xi Kappa Chapter, Beta Alpha Psi. (2019-2020)
Volunteer and Auditor, Deakin Green Impact Program (2019)
Participant, Student Voice Australia Symposium (2019)
Non-Executive Director, Pinewood Community Financial Services Ltd, Branch of Bendigo Bank (2019-2021)
Victorian International Education Awards, Top 3 Finalist in category ‘International Student of the Year – Research
Jill Absolom’s Unconventional Path to Business Success
If you met Jill Absolom today, you’d see a business leader and successful marketing consultancy owner with a zest for life and a passion for giving back, but her path to success hasn’t been a straight line.
Struck down by chronic fatigue syndrome in her last year of school, Jill’s dream of university was shelved as she battled to recover.
“I was housebound,” she says. “And there was no way I could study teaching at Deakin as I’d originally planned. I got in, which was amazing, but my circumstances just didn’t allow me to do it.”
Jill spent the next few years prioritising her health, as well as working and studying part-time. She even started her own business making coats for her favourite dogs: whippets. But Jill never let go of the idea that she wanted a university degree behind her.
“I’d always wanted to go to university and it was still a big dream of mine,” she says. “When I saw Deakin’s Bachelor of Business, which I could do online, and have the flexibility to do only one or two units at a time – it was amazing. It was that accessibility that drew me to Deakin.”
Jill also liked the fact that she could study across three trimesters, which meant that she could continue to work and get her degree completed more quickly than if she was studying part-time over two semesters a year.
But Jill was unprepared for just how helpful Deakin would be in meeting her needs.
“When I started, I couldn’t have imagined that the accessibility was going to be as incredible as it was,” she says.
“Deakin’s Disability Access Plan and the team were so accommodating. I never felt like I was a burden on the team or never even felt like I was held back, because I was so supported.”
Jill did so well in her degree that in her final year she was awarded Deakin Business School’s prestigious Bowater Trust Medal, which recognises the best all-round undergraduate student completing their degree.
“I was absolutely thrilled to even be on the finalists list,” says Jill. “Deakin has given me so much and I really felt like I was a part of something during my degree. The fact that I was able to do that alongside work meant that I was always implementing what I was learning in real time, which took my work to another level.”
Jill says that she’s grateful to Deakin for allowing her to tread a different path from the traditional school leaver.
“Deakin is the reason I was able to even study a degree, as well as being supported along the way, and having so many experiences that helped me build my confidence. Being the Bowater Trust Medal winner means I get the chance to stand up and speak about all the incredible Deakin initiatives – specifically with entrepreneurship and innovation.”
In Jill’s acceptance speech, she spoke about the challenges of living with chronic illness, and how important it has been to her to have pathways she could follow.
“Winning the award, I felt so seen as someone who had spent a long time battling with chronic illness, doing a lot of my work online and remotely. It felt like in that moment that I’d been seen and heard for what I’ve achieved and also recognised in what I can give back as well.”
Jill acknowledges that she doesn’t feel like the typical Bowater Trust Medal winner, but she’s proud to be carving a path for others who may not consider themselves as traditional university students.
“I think it’s incredible to have that visibility, and it goes to show how Deakin is in helping people realise their best futures.
To those considering mature age studies, or those treading a less traditional path, Jill says a university degree has many benefits.
“I think the more that you invest in yourself and your education, the more confident you are, the better you’ll be at what you do,” she says. And I just don’t think that ever stops.”
These days, Jill’s health is much better, and she is brimming with energy for her burgeoning career, both building her marketing business, Standout Creatives, and her volunteer work helping women from challenging backgrounds to enter the business world.
“That’s definitely come from pursuing my purpose,” she says. “When I’m passionate about what I’m doing and it feels in alignment with me and my values, I have so much more energy. It’s much more fulfilling going after things that are your personal definition of success. That’s what it’s all about.”
Learn more about our Bachelor of Business and the disability support available at Deakin.
Deakin Business School continues to provide non-credit opportunities to develop and showcase responsible future leaders.
Conference Opportunities
Beta Alpha Psi (BAP) Annual Meeting (AM) Las Vegas, United States, August 2023
Dr Xikai Chen, Nathan Notley, Kayur Parshotam. Deakin BAP received “Superior Status” 2022/2023 FY
An international honour organisation accessible to high achieving students in accounting, finance, analytics and information systems.
The AM titled ‘Reimagining the Path Forward’ provided a range of speakers, workshops and activities to challenge students and enable networking.
Faculty adviser Dr Xikai Chen attended with business students Nathan Notley (Deakin BAP President) and Kayur Parshotam (Deakin BAP Partnerships Director).
Project Run With IT was a business challenge to solve issues faced by non-profit organisations in Nevada. Kayur was part of a group who created a tech-savvy solution using AI and VR to help individuals with intellectual disabilities. This hands-on experience cultivated a strong foundation of teamwork and innovation.
Feature article Here
University Scholars Leadership Symposium, UN Centre, Bangkok Thailand, August 2023
Four business students Vanessa White, Ibrahim Doruk, Kai Crosby (UG) and Mirna Arivalagan (PG) were selected to attend where they collaborated with like-minded people from around the world, attended workshops and participated in community projects on sustainable development.
The symposium nurtured networking and confidence to lead sustainable development projects (More details here ) Ibrahim was selected as a “Group Leader” following a selection process that included 650+ attendees
Feature article Here
National Leadership Conference, Canberra Australia, August 2023
Held at Australia Parliament House, this enabled students to hear from parliamentarians, executives, and local community leaders about what leadership means to them. Two business students Tahlia Lane and Shen Gonzalez were selected.
Student Experience & Engagement Committee
(SEEC) Membership comprises Business and Law academic and professional staff, student cohort representatives and student society executive to understand issues and concerns to enhance the student experience. A focus on sustainability with the inclusion of PRME student representatives to ensure student societies imbed sustainable initiatives in 2024. SEEC is co-chaired by an academic and student to provide a forum that fosters openness.
Recent Competitions
CASE IT Canada February 2024
Prof Rens Scheepers led a team of business students; Bhavya Bagaria, Hudson Williams, Alannah Petering, and Kaylie Carbis in our first year participating in the week long competition in Vancouver. Deakin placed within 5th to 8th overall and outperformed top USA and Canadian Universities in the 20th year of the competition. Feature here
Deakin Bowater Business Challenge
T1 2023 Postgraduate Challenge:
“OMI Group – a successful chain of premium Asian cuisine looking at growth of customer segments in Australia”.
T2 2023 Undergraduate Challenge:
“Fully Promoted: Customise or Standardise?”
T1 2024 Postgraduate Challenge: “Optimise climate comfort at Bounce Inc. locations to enhance customer satisfaction while achieving cost efficiencies and sustainability goals.”
Students are invited to apply as individuals or as teams. Industry partner alongside key academics present content at a Briefing Session to all teams. Approximately 10-16 Teams compete at a preliminary round to a judging panel comprising Deakin academics. Four finalist teams are selected and assigned an academic mentor and attend site visit to further understand challenge. Finalist teams present to audience of staff, students, industry and guests. Themes have a focus on sustainability.
The Bowater Trust kindly sponsors the prize pool for each challenge. Each 2024 prize pool is $7500.
IIBD: International Case Competition
Riley Pitcher, Aryaman Paul, Anisha Arora (UG) and Ashima Jain (PG) were selected to represent Deakin Business School to address “Technology for a Sustainable Future” and were among 42 applications across 38 universities world-wide but unfortunately did not progress to the final.
Singapore Airlines: SIA Challenge
Three teams of business students were supported by Dr Adnan Yusaf to explore ways to improve global travel.
Team 1: Bhavya Bagaria, Adyant Modi, Lara Oana, Vansh Arora,
Team 2: Quoc Bao Phan,
Team 3: Julian Duyst, Quoc Hung Nguyen, Tanisha Blake.
Hult Prize
The Hult Prize offers US$1Million to the winning team to transform an idea to reality. It is an annual social entrepreneurship competition led by students for students that challenges university students to develop innovative solutions to pressing global issues. Business student Lara Oana in her capacity as Deakin Campus Director volunteered her time alongside the Hult Student Committee which comprised further business students to facilitate a Deakin Campus Final in February 2024. The Hult Student Committee was supported by Deakin academic and professional staff, industry mentors and judges while Bendigo Bank provided a prize pool of $4,500. The Campus Final required at least 5 teams to compete in order for Deakin’s top performing team to automatically progress to the next round. The Campus round created a platform for all Deakin student teams to compete with health students FoodProtect winning the campus round. Student teams were assigned academic/industry mentors while finalist teams delivered presentations to an audience at Burwood Corporate Centre and a panel of external industry judges. The competition would not have been possible without the dedication of the business students who comprised the Hult Student Committee.
Feature article on winning team FoodProtect Here,
Business and Law Mentor Program
Business and Law students volunteer their time to support commencing students to transition to Deakin successfully in the first 5 weeks of each trimester.
The Faculty Volunteer Peer Mentor Support Scheme has now seen its first round of $700 grants distributed to eligible students in 2023 with funding continuing in 2024. This is an equity initiative funded by a Commonwealth Government grant via HEPPP. The scheme aims to help increase participation of domestic undergraduate students from low socio-economic status (SES) backgrounds, persons from regional areas and remote areas, and Indigenous persons who may otherwise not become mentors due to financial hardship.
