Careers Incursion

Late last term, we were approached by Swinburne University, as one of their 'priority schools', with a myriad of opportunities to engage our students with the University. Our first involvement in the Swinburne University Launch Now! Program was held on Wednesday 24 July, with 14 mentors (University students) visiting our Year 9s to run some activities during the morning.

During Period 1, all students were involved in a workshop about the World of Work, where students looked at enterprise skills and how these skills are invaluable in the everchanging World of Work.  They participated in activities that helped build these skills, such as communication, teamwork and innovative thinking.

During Period 2, students were allocated to either Law, Design or Engineering groups.  The Swinburne mentors went through the different programs and opportunities available at Swinburne University for students interested in these areas.  The students also had the opportunity to get involved with some hands-on activities, relating to the field that they were exploring.

Some words from students:

During the engineering careers incursion, we were tasked with creating the biggest tower using only spaghetti and marshmallows. We learnt that by 2025, 91% of jobs will require post high school education. To end the session students were challenged with making a bionic arm with cardboard, straws, string, and tape, which we used to pick up a paper ball. ~ Coleby Paton

At the careers incursion, the Year 9s participated in a multitude of different activities depending on which group they were in. Being in the "Law" career group, our group was selected to have a re-enactment of a court case, where we debated on certain topics voted on by the group. We also did some team working activities, where we built a tower out of uncooked spaghetti with a marshmallow on top - the winner got a prize. We also participated in some “would you rather?” questions about how the future of jobs will change over time, and learnt about what Swinburne University is like. ~ Ryan Rogerson

For the first 2 periods of the day all year 9s were able to participate in an incursion. There were 3 options to pick design, engineering and law. I picked design! During the first period our mentors listed some courses that we could study for design, and some transferable skills that are useful in many careers. We then collaborated with a group of 4-5 to create a tall structure with a marshmallow and pasta. One strength that my group identified was thinking outside of the box. When thinking outside of the box we won and got the tallest structure! The second period we designed logos. This incursion was a great opportunity to talk to uni students about courses that we would possibly like to do in the future. I highly recommend this incursion for future year 9s :) ~ Dusty Lijnders

Jessie Dennison

Careers Practitioner