Hi I'm Giaan, I'm a Bachelor of Arts
student here at UQ, this is one of my lecturers Seb he
lectures in peace and conflict and we're here to answer some of your
questions.
I think I've got the first question for you.
What has been the most unexpected thing you have been happy to discover
at UQ? Probably the interaction between lecturers and students, it's been so
helpful you think that you don't know the relationship the
dynamic there but I mean you're really just there to help us.
What are some of the coolest jobs your former students are doing?
I've been teaching here for nearly 14 years so there's a whole range but it's
fascinating right so like in our field international politics
peace and conflict studies you have people ending up in
government positions advisors to members of parliament leaders in Australia or
worldwide people end up in journalism you've got a lot of students
who go out and go into diplomacy they go into the field
all over the world be this as aid workers
either as development practitioners be it people who
mediate conflicts or resolve conflicts who work as peacekeepers who would take
care of refugees or are concerned with human rights and
gender and women's rights you know like that
sort of really big range is this kind of you
know as if this degree allows you to jump into any of these kinds of
positions relevant to international politics globally.
Well it sounds like i'm studying the right degree so that's good.
What does a day in the life of a humanities arts and
social science student look like? Well I'd have to start,
wake up really early get some coffee into me before attending a lecture
might go study in the library for a bit have a tutorial later in the afternoon
can't forget to hang out in the great court with some friends go to a cafe
and get that extra afternoon coffee keep me keep me alert and awake
often there's enough time and space to play some sport with my friends which is
really great and then we can't forget we cannot forget the red room
in the evening have a drink catch up. What is it about UQ's approach that
makes us the most employable graduates in the state? Well
first of all what you get here because this is
what we call research-led teaching right so this is a research intensive
university that's passionate about teaching but so what you get is like
some of the world's tops top researchers so you get like the cutting edge of
where the knowledge and the understanding is at
right and so I think that's one of the really big pluses that you get here and
of course you get you know a university that has is in the
top 50 in the world you've got a school within
the school of political science and international studies that's considered
to be amongst the top 30 to 40 in the world so you know it
really opens the doors in terms of the skills you get the understanding you
get but also in terms of the brand and where you can go in the future
I mean you've already achieved stuff in your own career and you can teach us how
to do that as well which is great. How does the way you learn at
UQ teach you the skills you need to face an
unknown future? I mean you've really started it off
there haven't you, I guess just having first-hand experience or
people with first-hand experience around you
teaching you how how to achieve and and their strategies and
skills and and that really I guess that's so helpful because we as young
students we haven't got as much experience in
this world of unknowns and you've battled a few of your own you
know one one of the things I find interesting
because you are in my first year, first semester intro course right so you're
just fresh off high school and I find that
while you've heard of some of the topics we're dealing with but every new topic
we do every new week it's kind of an introduction into a whole new world
right so you're entering the kind of unknowns
on a weekly basis and what I love is the enthusiasm you get
with all the new students who come in which is like wow this is amazing right
and so to be able to facilitate that entry
into these worlds is pretty stunning I've never looked at so many concepts
with so many different lenses before it's just intense
but so fascinating like no.
How do you prepare students for the future when we don't know what the
future looks like? That's a tough one right so we don't
know what the future looks like obviously but we know what it is that
you need to navigate that future knowledge is the first one right
understand the facts and what's happening get the understanding which is
different from knowledge right so to be able to grasp something
that is inherently complex sometimes emotionally
difficult to cover to unpack it to make sense of it to critically look at it
so the skill set you get will allow you to kind of
be parachuted into all sorts of scenarios professionally
or geographically or thematically that will allow you to actually
unpack it and make that your home right and have an impact.
Definitely I found myself doing that already first semester, first year, it's been great.
What is the most interesting thing
you've learned that has not been part of your coursework?
I guess it's kind of related but not necessarily a part of it I guess
my own boundaries time management I mean i'm working as well but it's manageable
to balance but you just have to find the balance initially like social
life you know academics as well um i guess
just it is all about balance what what everyone says and it's so difficult to
navigate that but I've already begun the first few steps
which is great because we kind of unlike high school we
leave you in this you know in high school you've got your
timetable you've got contact hours all the time right here we've got relatively
less contact hours and a lot depends on your own motivation
and the work you do outside those contexts of course it's so important the
work you do outside of lectures and tutorials
it's just that's just the foundation and you decide where you take it really. If
you are employing the next arts humanities and social science graduate
who would you be looking for? I'd be looking for someone who
and I think that goes without saying is really on top of the subject that
they're studying right they need to be top-notch students
and coming from a top-notch university which ensures that and
at UQ you would definitely get that kind of
quality right so you're competitive at the top level
globally with others but I also want to see
more than just that right I want to see someone who has been exposed to
a study abroad scheme which you get for UQ it's another exposure
that shows that they are kind of embracing the world that they can
navigate in sometimes difficult and challenging environments
who have practical experience you can do internships as part of your degree
you might have learned an additional language but certainly
that through beside besides the kind of knowledge and understanding you have for
your subject that you're studying that you
have all these skills that you develop that we sometimes
forget about right the kind of ability to
research particular problems to grapple with really challenging
subject areas to to read to craft to write
to collaborate with others in teams but also to work by yourself
so many exciting opportunities out there to achieve such great things like that
yeah and you're just starting out right so you can you still have a few years
today it's all ahead of me yeah totally. What have you learned about
yourself since you began your studies at UQ? That any anything you
study you can tailor to your own interests
which is so fascinating for me because I like to take an alternative
spin and I've learned that about myself and finding new approaches to look at
things and you're taught that but you're also
you're also kind of forced to find it yourself as well
which is all part of how you're going to act in the workplace.
If you could give me one piece of advice that would set me apart as a job
candidate what would that be? Follow your passion.
At high school you have to take subjects you have a bit of choice but you know
you're forced to take them you've decided and chosen to go to
university and to study what is in your interest right and
what you study at university is going to be the platform that's the platform that
allows to jump into a profession that's related to it it's your life
right it's really like you know why would you
choose anything that doesn't drive your inherent interests and
passions so go go with that right and sometimes you
might have doubts about like well if i study
that kind of subject will i be able to get a proper job right in that kind of
field the answer is you know the top students
in these areas all get jobs in these fields right and you're
going to be inherently better as a student if you study something that you
really feel passionate about so go with that and then once you go
with that throw everything that you have at it it's such
an amazing opportunity to be able to study
compared to the rest of the world's population and to study
at such an amazing university that opens these doors
right so it's a matter of like you choosing what you're passionate about
and then basically driving through that door
that's opening for you it sounds like the most rewarding thing.
Honestly I'm really excited to reap the rewards from that.
Good. Thank you for your advice. Thank you as well, I think we are
out of questions. I think we are too