The School of Medical Sciences Careers Evening for 2018, “Action your Potential”, was held on Thursday 28 September, 6pm – 8pm. This year, the event aimed to inspire students, create a positive atmosphere, and excite them to action on their potential.
The evening commenced with a welcome from the Head of School, Professor Paul Donaldson along with an introduction to postgraduate pathways by Academic Director Associate Professor Clare Wall. Following this, our invited keynote speaker, Dave Cameron, took to the stage recounting his beguiling experiences as a former teacher and as the founder of LearnCoach which led to numerous bestowed accolades such as the prestigious 2018 Young New Zealander of the Year award and the Sir Peter Blake Leadership award.
The event was enthusiastically emceed by our very own MBiomedSc graduate, Tom Li, who provided seamless transitions throughout the night and facilitated an informative Question and Answer session before inviting all students to partake in the “Networking ‘n Nibbles” session in the Grafton Atrium.
The Student Association for the Medical Sciences (SAMS) provided a host of student volunteers to expedite the networking session between potentially nervous students and invited guests and staff thereby ensuring the smooth running of the night.
Plenty of networking opportunities were provided with invited guests Wendy Emson representing the Anaesthetic Technician pathway; Fredric Doss representing the Clinical Physiology (Renal) pathway; David Waters and Sophie Jones representing Teach First NZ; and Jessica Chiang representing Chiasma.
Present staff representing the different degrees on offer included: Professor Laura Bennet (Physiology), Associate Professor Maurice Curtis (Anatomy), Associate Professor Malcolm Tingle (Pharmacology), Associate Professor Jenny Sim (Medical Imaging), Angela Tsai (Anatomy), Dr Nishani Dayaratne (Physiology), Shelley Park (Medical Imaging), Adrienne Young (Medical Imaging), Liz Barry (Career Development and Employment Services), and Zahra Champion (Bioscience Enterprise).
Organised by Professional Teaching Fellow, Anuj Bhargava, the event was a resounding success. The event was well attended with an audience of ca 80 guests, staff, and students.
Feedback collated from an anonymous form indicated: overwhelming gratitude to the organiser; increased clarity in career pathways; increased sense of belonging to the School of Medical Sciences; and holistically improved motivation to complete their studies; amongst other glowing reviews.
The organising team wish to sincerely thank all the staff, guests, and students involved in creating an amazing night for our valued students!
