In the World of University Campus

University Campus Book Club

By Philomena Spicer, Year 9, University Campus

Out of the co-curricular opportunities at University Campus, Book Club is definitely a highlight. It offers opportunities for us to read, think and theorize about the novels we read in a relaxed and collaborative environment. There are even opportunities to develop your own writing and style if you are passionate about improving in that area. It is run by Ms Linke, who manages to organize everything perfectly each month by making sure we always receive the books and organizing meetings with herself and author, Aoife Clifford ahead of time. Aoife is the author of the bestseller, All These Perfect Strangers, winning the ‘Voss Literary Prize’ and ‘Australian Book Industry General Fiction Book of the Year’ in 2017.

In Book Club, Aoife directs the discussion topics with prompts on the novel she has recommended us to read between the months. So far this year we have read and discussed Dear Edward, Looking for Allibrandi, Day of the Triffids, Future Girl, None Shall Sleep and Maus. All of these books have taught us different things as well as widening the scope of the novels we will pick up in the future. For example, in Looking for Allibrandi, we learnt about the beginning of Young Adult Fiction from an Australian author and how it has influenced the now middle between Children’s and Adult’s fiction. Through Day of the Triffids we experienced the start of Dystopian Fiction and in Future Girl, we learnt about the Deaf Rights Movement as well as our society’s current situation surrounding it in a futuristic setting of Melbourne.

So overall, Book Club has been one of my best experiences at University Campus and something that provides too many new opportunities to pass down. In light of this, I would recommend any future or current Year 9’s to seize this opportunity to widen your understanding of the world you live in and how literature has shaped it.

What are Trans-Disciplinary Units?

The Trans-Disciplinary Units at University Campus are designed to transition students between different units of learning stretching across their subjects. The units include; 'Science of Life,' a unit focused on research and self-teaching, 'Globalisation,' which tackles trade and expansion, 'University Incorporated,' that focuses on persuasion and market research, and 'World War I,' intended to teach us about history and how it shapes the world today. Each of these units contribute in different ways to University Campus' philosophy of independence and discovery.

Science of Life

By Dean Fiume, Year 9, University Campus

Being the third group this year to complete Science of Life, we had gathered some intel from our classmates and expected to be bombarded with work and assignments. Of course this assignment was one of the largest, but was actually more enjoyable than I thought. This unit encouraged me to become ‘an expert’ in a specific area, thus broadening my knowledge of today’s society as well as our future.

After our first lecture on ‘Food for Thought’ I was instantly drawn in. I had more questions than any other topic, allowing me to both enjoy my time researching and working on the final assessment, an example of how working on something you are interested in can yield better results. Our group’s topic was “Farming. How will it need to change to accommodate 10 billion people?” and I specifically focused on genetic modification as well as diet.

I found at first that all the research we did before our project was incredibly time consuming, but when I began drafting, it was quite helpful to have all the information I needed already in one document. Another technique that I found particularly useful was citing as I went, which took away the time consuming process of citing everything at the end. Citing was incredibly easy, because I used a chrome extension that cites for you which ended up saving a lot of time.

The skills that I learnt in this topic from both lecturers and researching will make me a more knowledgeable person overall. The various note taking skills and researching skills that come with this unit provided some insight into the ‘University Life’ and the standard that I should be reaching in all areas.

This unit has taught me valuable time management, note taking and teamwork skills. Science of Life helps open our eyes to the world and gives us a global and deeper way of thinking; this will help in all subjects that require analysis as well as our pace of learning in general. Despite the pressure that this Trans-Disciplinary Unit can put on people, there are definitely rewards to be reaped, and will aid in our transition into future years.

Being a Global Citizen in a Global World

By Bonnie Chen, Year 9, University Campus

Students at University Campus have been undergoing a rotation of four different TDU topics throughout the year in place of humanities at our home campuses. One of the TDU’s that I have done so far this year, is globalisation. This topic examines views about globalisation and gains insight into both its positive and negative impacts to the world. Although personally, I found it to be quite a straightforward subject, I still really enjoyed learning about the worldwide interactions between multinational businesses and the advancements in technology throughout the centuries.

One of the main assignments for this unit, was to create a text in groups, about a product of our choice by researching what occurs during its supply chain, learning about the impacts on the people who make it, the environmental impacts it creates, all while linking it back to the idea of globalisation. The product my group chose for this project was chocolate.

We were also required to make a poster showing the process of the supply chain, going through the stages of raw materials, product manufacturing, distribution and retail, consumer use, and finally disposal and recycling. We would then display our poster and bits of our work at the Expo that usually takes place at Latrobe University, which was unfortunately cancelled due to the circumstances of COVID-19 at the time.

Despite not being able to showcase anything at the Expo, my group had envisioned that we would set up a table with a few of the raw materials used in our product, and a PowerPoint presentation playing to allow visitors to admire our work, and it could also allow them to read some behind the scenes stories on some large corporations.

Overall, my group and I really enjoyed this unit, and we would like to thank all the teachers for putting forward their time and effort in organising these events, though in the end coronavirus didn’t let any of them to happen.

Shark Tank Pitches?

By Tharinie Uruththiran, Year 9, University Campus

Before Uni Inc I was very excited. I was eager to partake in this TDU specifically because of the amount of freedom and self-taught learning we did. While doing this project I had learned a lot about my skills and found one or two interests that I might try pursuing later in life. When presenting our pitch deck live in front of the shark and our class, I felt passionate about what we were doing which allowed me to confidently speak – and gain an interest in public speaking as well! The learning environment for Uni Inc was amazing. The class was filled with markings and notes all over the whiteboards and pinboards. It was a motivating and comforting environment. However, proceeding into online learning during the last stages of Uni Inc didn’t affect our determination and interest in creating something ‘pitch perfect’.

Our group managed time well. We would have a plan for each lesson and it was very organised. There were no last minute add on which resulted in us breezing through the work. I don’t think I would change the way we organised our time – it was very structured, and we were all well prepared for the workload.

Out of all the things we did, I think we created an excellent pitch deck and in that deck our marketing strategies as well as competitor pages were very well thought out and specific as to our product. The prototype as well was very professional and even the minor details such as the hexagonal patterns and material were very well thought out for the most beneficial results for the consumer.

From Uni Inc I learnt about the small, yet significant factors that we needed to research in order to have a basic structural foundation to build our business off. This included the payrolls and cost of appliances. I believe the entire class learnt to adapt to change whether for better or for worse. Our teacher leaving was an emotional occurrence but from that loss we gained Ms. Greaves who, even in this short amount of time, has turned out to be a fun and happy teacher to be around. Lastly, I learned more about how to contribute to a group and whilst evenly splitting work, helping each other as well for a cohesive and unique project.

My overall experience with completing the TDU of Uni inc was a positive one. Aside from going into lockdown I was able to interact with more members of my class as well as pursue a business based on what we liked. The freedom and liberty we were given were very empowering and allowed us to complete our project with ease. If I ever had a chance to do this again I would do it for the amazing experience.

Into the Trenches of World War I

By Sarah Fang, Year 9, University Campus

World War 1 was one of the four TDU subjects that University Campus has offered. It spanned across a period of eight weeks and we focused on learning about the Great War. The classes were all very engaging as we learned through a variety of different mediums, such as PowerPoints, documentaries, and our textbooks. In particular, I enjoyed ‘The War That Changed Us’ documentary series, which explored the lives of people who went through the war, whether it be the soldiers, nurses, family back at home, or activists fighting for change. Each episode was interesting to watch as we delved deeper into how individuals felt during the war. 

One of the assessments for World War 1 was to create a collage that conveyed some sort of message relating to the war. I was especially interested in this assignment as it allowed us to express our learnings creatively, rather than an essay, informative poster or PowerPoint as we did in other classes. I chose to create a collage that reflected the extreme patriotism from soldiers and how it affected them mentally through PTSD or Shell Shock. This also enabled me to link it towards the topic that we were learning in English, which was war poetry. The crossover between the two classes helped me to enjoy World War 1 more as I spent two subjects exploring more about the war. This was definitely one of my favourite subjects that we had at University Campus, and even with the tough restrictions that online learning came with, it was still very enjoyable and was a very memorable experience.