Organisation: QUT
Job Title: Study Abroad Officer, – QUT Business School
Location: Gardens Point Campus
Demonstrated experience in devising, implementing, monitoring and reviewing complex student- centred and internationally focused experiences
Experienced in project design and delivery, I possess a demonstrated capacity to implement successful student-focused experiences, including in an international context. In my current role as Senior Course and Curriculum Officer within the Teaching and Learning department of QUT’s Science and Engineering Faculty, I have been engaged in devising and implementing a new subject area B in the Bachelor of Engineering program. This new subject area B is targeted at international students, and features a four-unit Communications minor, two units of which will be exempted for students who have completed the Diploma of Engineering through the QUT International College.
In devising this new program, I conducted research and enquiry into the career paths of international students graduating from the Bachelor of Engineering degree, and found that they were more likely than other graduates to work in cross-cultural contexts. For this reason, I developed the opportunity for students to gain cross-cultural communication skills through a Communications minor within their degree. Throughout the process of developing the new program, I developed and maintained an understanding of the needs, strengths, preferences and career ambitions of the international students to whom it was targeted. In this way, I have ensured that a student focus in maintained, and that the faculty will be delivering a study experience that meets the needs of international students.
Having written the curriculum change statement and curriculum plan in support of this new program, the addition of this new minor will go to the next Faculty Academic Board for approval. I am hopeful that implementation can occur from Semester 2 of 2016. The monitoring and review of the program after implementation are provided for in the curriculum change statement that I have prepared, ensuring that the program remains reactive to emerging priorities and student needs.
Another project I have been involved in which demonstrates my capacity to deliver student‑centred and internationally focused experiences, is a project to increase the uptake of study abroad opportunities by students within the faculty through simplifying the process. Currently, in order to have a study abroad plan approved, students must submit a proposal of the units they wish to undertake at the host university, which must then be matched up with potentially equivalent units in their QUT degree and approved by the unit coordinator. This is a time consuming and complex process.
In order to simplify this, I am coordinating a consultation process aimed at developing a precedent list of cross-approved units. Under this proposal, professional staff will be able to provide approval to undertake subjects for which approval has previously been granted by the unit coordinator. For students, this will mean that instead of devising a study plan and hoping for approval, they will be able to select their overseas units from a precedent list. In addition, this will reduce the workload of both academic and professional staff in undertaking the approval process with each study abroad application. Having coordinated a meeting of the relevant stakeholders, I have led this project through a successful consultation phase and it is currently in the formal planning stage.
Experience in working effectively in a changing, demanding and flexible environment, including the supervision of staff, workload management and performance feedback
The pending addition of the Communications minor option for international students to the Bachelor of Engineering program has led to a phase of transition and change, with challenges and demands emerging throughout the various stages of the project. For example, as students are articulated from the International College in to the Bachelor of Engineering program, some have undertaken the Communications units for which they will be granted an exemption towards the Communications minor when this new program is introduced. As Senior Course and Curriculum Officer, I must devise the best program for them on an individual basis and find personalised solutions to the challenge of mixing old and new program requirements. I perform this role effectively to ensure that I contribute towards every student I encounter having a positive study experience at QUT.
Able to respond effectively to competing priorities in an environment of emerging challenges, I have undertaken the project to introduce the new Communications minor to the Bachelor of Engineering alongside a host of other projects and duties of varying urgency and significance. I manage my workload through planning of tasks, maintaining action lists and progress notes, and through ongoing communication with my work team. On a weekly basis, I meet with the Course and Curriculum Coordinator, the Course and Curriculum Officer and a fellow Senior Course and Curriculum Officer in order to allocate tasks, discuss progress of projects and discuss newly emerging priorities. On a daily basis, I communicate with the Course and Curriculum Officer regarding progress on action items and any issues arising, and clarify task allocations to prevent double handling and crossover. Planning of my workload and maintaining an awareness of upcoming deadlines and tasks allows me to respond flexibly to changing environments while ensuring that my allocated responsibilities are met.
I have in the past, been responsible for the supervision of more junior staff. In a previous role at QUT as a Development Assistant within the Alumni Development Office, I coordinated the preparation of certain alumni events. Where the event required it, I would request the assistance of the two Alumni Assistants who worked for the office on a casual basis. Where these casual staff assisted me in the preparations for an event, I would allocate workloads and priorities and supervise them in the performance of their duties. Prior to this, as a Student Ambassador I took on a leadership role in guiding new Ambassadors in the performance of their duties, introducing them to relevant stakeholders and assisting them with any difficulties or enquiries. Assessing their performance in the role, I would note particular skills held by new Ambassadors and recommend that they be allocated tasks that called on these skills.
Demonstrated proactive time management and organisational skills including the ability to plan and coordinate workload and the ability to manage a range of competing work demands to achieve specified objectives within agreed timelines with limited supervision
Possessing strong organisational skills, I am able to manage a large workload of competing priorities while adhering to strict deadlines. As a Project Officer within the Teaching and Learning Portfolio of QUT’s Science and Engineering Faculty, I had carriage of the project to manage the mapping of the Bachelor and Master of Information Technology programs at a key juncture in the accreditation process. The Australian Computer Society panel was due to assess documents for the accreditation process during October of 2015, and when the assigned Project Manager went on a period of leave, I was handed the accreditation preparation project to manage over the course of June and July of 2015. Upon receiving handover of this project, it was behind schedule with critical deadlines looming.
Acting with limited supervision, I was required to guide and monitor my own progress and develop my own solutions to challenges that arose. In order to plan and coordinate my workload, I broke tasks down into their components and developed a timeline for task completion. Coordinating meetings with the relevant academic staff, I ensured that tasks were clearly allocated to the responsible parties and used tools such as Dropbox, sharing the timeline spreadsheet to ensure that everyone was aware of the relevant deadlines and their required input. When the original Project Manager returned from leave, I was able to hand the project back with all required action completed and the entire project brought back well within schedule. I was formally recognised for my high-quality contribution to this project, with a letter of thanks from the Academic Program Manager. The Australian Computing Society has undertaking its panel assessment and reviewed the documentation which I prepared, and has indicated that no further action will be required in order to secure accreditation.
Demonstrating my capacity to manage a range of competing work demands, at the same time as I was undertaking the program accreditation project, I was also performing a range of other project and routine duties. One of the projects that I was also working on at this time, was the development of written processes for the timetabling procedure within the faculty. Before I developed these procedures, there was little knowledge of the timetabling role outside of the dedicated timetabling team. This meant that it was difficult for anyone to provide cover in the event of staff leave or absence, as the role was complex and difficult to learn.
In order to create written procedures for the role, I liaised with timetabling staff to obtain information as required, and met with the Project Supervisor on a fortnightly basis in order to provide progress updates. Where I encountered any difficulties, I developed solutions in order to achieve my objectives. As a result of my work, I was able to deliver a complete set of procedures for the role within the agreed timeframe.
