The School of Medical Sciences Careers Evening for 2019, “Flexible Futures”, was held on Wednesday 25 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 an introduction to postgraduate pathways by both Academic Director Associate Professor Clare Wall and Postgraduate Director Dr Sue McGlashan. Following this, our invited keynote speaker, Senior Lecturer Dr Julie Lim, took to the stage recounting her journey leading to where she is today.
The event was enthusiastically emceed by our very own MEDSCI students Gaea Galvez and Keira Bright, 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), headed by President Hyeon-Joo Kim, 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: Balaji Jagannathan representing the Clinical Physiology (Renal) pathway; George Ham representing GSK, Courtney Rowse and Olivia Thame representing Auckland Clinical Studies, Shivangi Chandra and Nadine Galbraith representing the Clinical Physiology (Sleep) pathway, and Gabriella Laude representing Healthcare Technology Association NZ.
Present staff representing the internal departments, associations and societies included: Professor Laura Bennett (Physiology); Associate Professor Maurice Curtis (Anatomy); Associate Professor Malcolm Tingle (Pharmacology); Dr Beau Pontré, Shelley Park, Adrienne Young, Tracey Pieterse (Medical Imaging); Liz Barry (Career Development and Employment Services); Dr Monica Kam and Professor Shaun Lott (Biological Sciences); Dr David Welch and Associate Professor Holly Teagle (Audiology); Associate Professors Alan Davidson, Associate Professor Nuala Helsby, Dr Paula Lewis, Dr Veronika Sander (Molecular Medicine and Pathology); Dr Catherine Tsai, Dr William Schierding, Dr Anassuya Ramachandran, Dr Cherie Blenkiron, Dr Haruna Suzuki-Kerr (Postdoctoral Society); Palak Gujral and Ana Spada (FMHS Postgraduate Student Association).
Organised by Professional Teaching Fellows, Anuj Bhargava, Nishani Dayaratne, and PhD Candidate Joseph Chen, the event was a resounding success. The event was well attended with an audience of ca 170 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; amongs 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!
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