In Term 2 2021 the Music Performance Unit will again deliver an online Professional Development Program for students based in Sydney and abroad. 

Starting a career as an international student in a new country can be challenging, which is why the Student and Careers Success (SACS) Team created the Professional Development Program! Explicitly designed for international students, this program covers workplace communication skills, recruitment tips, employer expectations, and provides international students the opportunity to participate in Group Consulting Projects hosted by various units across UNSW. 

Meet the three International students who will be working with us over the next few months.

Why are you doing the Professional Development Program?

Yashvi: Coming from a different cultural background, I saw the Professional Development Program as an opportunity to enhance my Australian workplace-culture knowledge, so that when I join the Australian workforce I do not look like a lost lamb in a pack of wolves (not saying Australians are wolves but considering myself as a lamb). I saw the opportunity to polish my communication and interview skills and grabbed it! The Program has already improved my confidence and has taught me some golden tips about standing out professionally.

Janice:  I think Professional Development Program is a good way for me to know more about the Australian workplace, especially those techniques which are very useful for new comers. All of us can learn how we communicate with colleagues in the real workplace and what we must and must not do in the workplace, this will be very helpful for me.

Faiz: I am joining the Professional Development Program because it allows me to enhance my future career growth. I will have chances to learn new skills, experience professional and personal growth, and be better equipped for career progress.

"The Program has already improved my confidence" - Yashvi 

What are you hoping to learn during the project?

Yashvi: I'm keen to put my knowledge of critical thinking to good use on this project. Also, you meet different personalities on each project and on each project you find out new ways to collaborate with teammates.

Janice: I hope I can learn more about communication in the workplace and how to communicate efficiently with my team, and apply all of these in my future career.

Faiz: I am hoping to grasp as much new knowledge as I can throughout the entire program. We cannot deny that team work is a set of skills that someone has to equip him or herself before entering the corporate world. So, I believe that by having an opportunity to work in a team, I will be able to learn how to be a good team player.

"The diverse cultural background of everyone here really amazes me." - Janice

What have you enjoyed about studying at UNSW so far?

Yashvi: I particularly enjoyed the inclusive culture adapted by UNSW in their studies. The professors are empathetic to your situations which I have personally experienced during COVID times. Though I wish I could have seen the vibrant ongoing activities in the campus more.

Janice: The diverse cultural background of everyone here really amazes me. I think I have learnt a lot from people with different cultures, for example ways to work with people with different habits, different mindset and also different preferences.

Faiz: As I have entered my final year at UNSW, what I enjoyed the most was the opportunity to meet with a lot of unique people that came from different countries. I get to learn the process of cross cultural management when talking with the other international and local friends that I come across.

"I have always enjoyed music and arts when I do have free time" - Faiz

What are your initial impressions of the Music Performance Unit?