2023

The year has gotten off to a flying start with the transition back in on-campus orientation and a range of activities being planned for the new Academic year. The last month has been a busy time of planning, training and many meetings.

Board Retreat

The USASA Board retreat was held on the 18th and 19th of January. At the board retreat USASA Student Representatives were given an overview of the organisation and their governance responsibilities. The sessions ranged from basic finance for a not-for-profit Board to creating a personal brand using social media and marketing. The Board Retreat was good fun and we learnt a lot. The survey of how the Board Retreat went was also conducted with Cristine taking the results into account for planning next year. At the Board Retreat the first USASA Board Meeting was held with 6 Sub-Committees of the Board being re-established. The six were Governance, Finance, Diversity, Equity & Access (DEA), Clubs, Education and Reconciliation Committees. Board Reps were subsequently appointed as Convenors of these Committees and other Board Reps showed expressed their interest in joining them. Appointments were also made to two external committees being Academic Board and the University’s Academic Enterprise Oversight Committee.

Administrative Matters

Subsequent to the Board Retreat I have been busy contacting the University about appointments to committees and ensuring that everyone is given the relevant licences and approvals to access papers which are relevant to external committees. I have also assisted Cristine as needed as it relates to committee trainings(acknowledgingthat the majority of the work in this area is done by Cristine).

A number of student enquiries have also come through during this period and I have been working to resolve them through a number of meetings, phone calls and via email correspondence.

Recruitment & Staffing

During the months of January and February I helped conduct interviews for a number of staffing roles including a Marketing Officer, Volunteer Program Coordinator and Events Officer. For more information on specific staffing matters please refer to the CEOs report.

Symposium Planning

Additional planning on the USASA symposium has happened after a rescheduling of the event which showcases the work of USASA staff and the departments across the University. A new date has been set and preparation for the event has begun.

Consultation Results

During the month of February I have started analysing the data from the RPNOW Survey and the Student Spaces Survey which made up part of the Ask Isaac pop-up which I trialled in late 2022.Iam currently following up on the results of the survey with staff within the Uni to verify information what the procedures are in specific academic units regarding Online Invigilation (RPNOW). The results will be presented via committees or directly to the board in due course.

Planning for Ask Isaac

Planning for the Ask Isaac pop-up which was trailed in 2022has begun again. This involves the President sitting at a table in a common area where students are able to come up and ask whatever they would like. Usually there is a theme and a survey to go with the chosen theme. When students submit a suggestion to the suggestion box or complete the survey they are entitled to chocolate coin (a penny for your thoughts) and sometimes a free drink.

Attendance at NUS Presidents Summit

From the 1stFeb to the 3rdFeb, I attended the NUS Presidents Summit at the University of Melbourne. This conference included a range of training on how to be President of a student organisation followed by sessions on the NUS’s goals for the year and ensuring they align with the goals of student organisations across the country. One of the biggest benefits of attending the summit is the connections which are made with Presidents and leaders from other campuses. A presentation on the event will be given by me and Riya, the postgraduate representative.

Meetings & Commitments

18 Jan–USASA Board Retreat

19 Jan –USASA Board Retreat

19 Jan–USASA Board Meeting

25Jan–Introductory Meeting with VC and Postgrad Rep

27Jan–Academic Integrity Workshop

30Jan–Volunteering Coordinator Interviews

1Feb–NUS Presidents Summit Day 0

2 Feb–NUS Presidents Summit Day 1

3 Feb–NUS Presidents Summit Day 2

6 Feb–Volunteer Coordinator Interviews

8 Feb–HDR Forum Planning Meeting

8Feb–Meeting with new Executive Dean of Nursing, Tracy Humphrey

8 Feb–Student Voice Initiative Meeting

8 Feb–Student Academic Unit Board Rep Training Meeting

10 Feb–Tour of Enterprise Hub

The Academic year is well and truly underway with O Week and the first week of campus fair now completed, there are many signs of a fantastic year ahead. In saying this the challenges and struggles facing many students are becoming more evident and as a student association we need to maintain our push for a fairer and more compassionate University to all who want an education.

HDR Stipends

A major issue which has emerged over the past few months has been whether UniSA will follow Flinders University and the University of Adelaide in raising stipends for Higher Degrees by Research(HDR)students. Myself and Postgraduate Representative, Riya Bhaizada have been talking to many HDR students and holding discussions with relevant University staff to negotiate a rise in the stipend. Current costs of living increases are seeing many HDR students unable to afford the bare minimum, basic requirements like a guarantee of food and accommodation are becoming less certain for these students and it is vital that the stipend is raised. The Federal Government has not increased the funding pool meaning the University would have to draw the funds from elsewhere. Discussions in this space are ongoing and a decision is imminent. I will continue to advocate that the rate be raised as no student should have to go without these things and certainly not because they choose to contribute to valuable research and undertake a PhD.

Growing Student Voice at UniSA

Over the past couple of years the Student Voice has increased significantly at UniSA with opportunities for students to have a say in the everyday functions of the University now becoming commonplace. Academic Integrity cases have also increased dramatically through covid-19 resulting in a higher rate of Formal Inquiry hearings. The Job Ready Graduates package introduced by the Morrison Liberal Government has also meant that the threshold for preclusion has been lowered resulting in an increase in the rate of preclusions. In order to ensure that appointment processes are fair, work has been undertaken to codify the processes of appointment into policy and outlined clear rules and expectations around involvement in formal inquiry and preclusion hearings.

University Accord

During Academic Board the Vice-Chancellor announced that his office would be receiving submissions from around the University to contribute to the University’s submission to the Albanese Labor Government’s University Accord. The final submission would seek approval from Academic Board and attempt to incorporate parts of submissions given to the Vice-Chancellor’s Office. The Accord discussion paper will be presented to the Education Committee for feedback from undergraduate and postgraduate Academic Reps from across all seven units. Further consultation with some University staff and other university students is happening on a meeting by meeting basis. The topic will also be brought to the USASA Board for discussion as any draft for submission to the Vice-Chancellor’s office will need to be approved by the board out of session to enable the submission to be made by the allotted date.

Campus Fair

Campus fair has officially kicked off this month with City West and Mawson Lakes campus fairs being held on the 8thand 9th respectively. Despite bad weather at the City West campus fair a large number of students turned out to see what our Clubs had to offer. At Mawson Lakes on Thursday, a huge number of students attended campus fair, trying out a variety of different activities, signing up for clubs and speaking with USASA Reps and staff.

Academic Issues

In the last month I have received a number of enquiries in relation to Academic issues which students have had. I have made great progress on a number of them, speaking to the units involved and finding resolutions. As expected some issues still remain ongoing. A couple of issues in relation to enrolment have also been received and I am awaiting responses from Campus Central to see how they have been resolved.

RPNow

During late February and early March I have received a high number of enquiries about the previously conducted RPNow survey. A number of students coming back have shared their concerns about the software. As a result I reopened the RPNow survey until 17 March to allow for the extra submissions to be made. The data will be collected and presented to the Education Committee at the next available opportunity after 17 March.

Ask Isaac Pop-Up

As part of a USASA Pop-up during O Week, I hosted an Ask Isaac stall. The stall consisted of the usual chocolate coins and suggestion box with the “Penny for your thoughts” campaign. The pop-up was also accompanied by a qualitative survey about O Week and the start of University to gauge student expectations for the year.

Committee Meetings

All internal USASA Committees will have met at least once at the time of the next Board Meeting. Currently all committees barring Education (which meets on Tuesday 14thMarch) have met for the first time and arrangement of permanent dates are underway.

International Student Welcome

During O Week I briefly attended the International Student Welcome speaking to students as they entered and handing out orientation bags. The International Student Welcome, held across two days is a fantastic event.

University Issues Register

During this month I met with Tania Kanellos, Acting Director of Student Academic Services to discuss the University Lecture and Exams Issues Registers. These came about as stage one of a consultation on Online Lecture and Exam delivery, identifying issues that students have had with these two changes to teaching and learning. While concerns were raised that the consultation would not allow comprehensive feedback on students feelings towards online lectures and exams, I took some comfort from the reassurance that this was separate and first establishing what issues were solvable prior to conducting further consultation(stage 2)around online teaching and learning arrangements which sparked much controversy in mid-2022. The subsequent meeting with Tania was to discuss the final outcomes of the consultation. An email request for the promised reports and an update on when stage two of the consultation would be designed/rolled out has been sent. An update will be presented in my next report.

University Council

The University Council met for the first time this year and had a tour of the UniSA Enterprise Hub. Upon taking the second tour, I was able to learn even more of the building’s fascinating history. During the months of February and March, I presented at both the South Australian Institute of Business and Technology(SAIBT) Orientation and the Research Degrees Committee (RDC) Meeting. Both were extremely beneficial with one being an induction for those entering UniSA through the SAIBT Business program and finding out how we can better engage HDR students with USASA.

Meetings & Commitments

14Feb–Finance Committee Meeting

15Feb–Campus Tours at Magill

15Feb–Adelaide Connected Networking Event (Committee for Adelaide)

16Feb–SAIBT Presentation

20Feb–Retail Meeting with Retail Manager

20Feb–Attendance at City West on-street O Week events with Postgraduate and International Reps

20 Feb–Attendance at International Student Welcome with Postgraduate and International Student Reps

20Feb –Reconciliation Committee Meeting

20Feb–Governance Committee Meeting

20Feb–USASA Board Meeting

21Feb–Student Appeals Committee Hearings

22 Feb–Campus Tours at Magill with International Student Rep

23Feb–Meeting with Reps from Flinders University Student Association

23Feb–Campus Tours at Mawson Lakes with International Student Rep

23Feb –Meeting with Acting CASO, Richard Irons

24 Feb –Academic Board Pre-Meeting

24 Feb –Academic Board Meeting

24 Feb –Attendance at UniVibe event with Mawson Lakes Rep, City West Rep, City East Undergraduate Rep and International Rep

27 Feb –City East Campus Tours with City East Rep

27 Feb –Student Voice Media Brainstorming Session with CMK Staff, USASA Coordinator Governance and Student Leadership and Student Representative Support Officer

28Feb –Meeting with DVC: Research and Enterprise and Dean of Graduate Studies with Postgraduate Representative

28 Feb–President and CEO Meeting

Mar 1 –Meeting with Manager: Student Support and Retention

Mar 1 –Policy Drafting Session with Governance Convenor and Mawson Lakes Rep

Mar 2 –Attendance at Authentic Assessment Project Steering Group Meeting

Mar 2 –Ask Isaac Pop-up

Mar 3 –Meeting with acting Director: SAS re Online Lectures and Exams Issues Registers

Mar 3 –Brief visit to Board Rep Training

Mar 6 –DEA Committee Meeting

Mar 7 –Enterprise Hub Tour and Council Photos

Mar 7 -UniSA Council Meeting

Mar8 –Campus Fair (City West)with Postgraduate Rep

Mar 9 –Presentation at RDC Committee Meeting

Mar 9 –Campus Fair (Mawson Lakes)with Mawson Lakes Reps

Mar 10 –Clubs Committee Meeting

Mar 10 –Attendance and University of South Australia Law Student Association(USALSA)Event

Hi Everyone,

Hope everyone enjoyed their break and are ready to start the new academic year. Listed below are some of the activities I participated in past month and planning to do next month.

18/01/23 – USASA BOARD RETREAT

The event happened last month where all the board reps, various USASA staff members and representatives from UniSA gathered in Hahndorf to prepare us for the coming year. This board retreat was personally very helpful to understand about my role and responsibilities and connect with my fellow representatives.

19/01/23 – FIRST BOARD MEETING

In the first USASA Board Meeting of 2023, I was elected as the convenor for the Education Committee.

25/01/23– MEETING WITH VICE CHANCELLOR

Isaac and I met David Lloyd, Vice Chancellor of UniSA to discuss the upcoming events this year where student voice and representation could be incorporated. It was a great opportunity get his useful insights into my role.

31/01/23– 04/02/23 --NUS PRESIDENT SUMMMIT

Isaac and I had a wonderful opportunity to attend the President’s Summit by NUS in Melbourne.

08/02/2023 –HDR REPRESENTATIVES COMMITTEE (Continuous activity)

Isaac, Cristine, and I had a discussion regarding the mail I received from HDR Representative of Research Degrees Committee. This is to potentially form a group/committee of all the HDR Reps from different academic units to talk about common HDR issues.

Next month’s planned activities

Meeting with all the HDR Representatives from different Academic units on 2nd March 2023

Discussion about CAPA affiliation and some background Research about the organisation

First Formal Inquiry on 1st March 2023

International Student Welcome Reception, O week, Campus Tours and Campus Fair

Hi Everyone,

Below is the list of activities I participated in February and March and some events planned for the coming months-

20/02/23 and 21/02/23- INTERNATIONAL STUDENT WELCOME RECEPTION

Alex and I had an amazing opportunity to promote USASA and its services to new international students. We welcomed the new students by giving out free USASA goodies. We got a good response and a lot of students showed interest in knowing more about the association.

24/02/23 –FIRST ACADEMIC BOARD MEETING

Sam, Hayate, Isaac, and I attended the first academic board meeting of the year.

28/02/23 – MEETING WITH DEPUTY VICE CHANCELLOR-Research and Enterprise

Isaac and I met with Marnie Hughes Warrington, the deputy vice chancellor to get some insights about the HDR students and their scholarships. This meeting was essential for gaining knowledge to host the meeting with HDR students to discuss their issues.

01/03/23 – FORMAL INQUIRY

It was my first formal inquiry and let’s just say it was stressful.

06/03/23– CAMPUS TOUR (PART OF INDUCTION TAINING)

As a part of my induction training with the university, I was given a tour of all four campuses and a brief history about each.

07/03/23- COUNCIL MEEETING

Isaac and I attended the first council meeting of the year.

08/03/2023 –CORPORATE INUCTION TRAINING

I was required to attend the corporate induction training as a part of my council member training. It was a brief introduction about the university, how it operates, and the people running different units within the university.

08/03/2023 – CAMPUS FAIR

I attended the city west campus Fair, gave out freebies at the USASA stall and interacted with a lot of new students.

10/03/2023 – CLUBS COMMITTEE

Alex did a wonderful job in chairing the first clubs committee.

15/03/2023 – HDR MEETING AND 17/03/2023 – EDUCATION COMMITTEE MEETING

I will update the board about these two events in the next board report, but these meetings are organised, and all planned out.

Next month’s planned activities

Going to Brisbane for taking the course, “Governance in University Sector” from 11th April to 14th April.

Discussion about CAPA affiliation and some background Research about the organisation. (Which was on hold last month.)

Formal Inquiry on 22nd March

Hi eveyone!

It is a pleasure to once again be a member of the USASA student board for 2023. I hope everyone had a chance to reset over the holiday period and are ready to jump back into their studies!

January was relatively quiet regarding my USASA responsibilities as the year has only just begun, but I am expecting it to ramp up over the next few months.

USASA Board Retreat

This year marks the fourth board retreat I have attended since joining USASA. It's always exciting to see the energy that the new board comes in with and their different ideas and perspectives. This board seems very eager to get started and I am excited to see what they get up to this year.

January Activities

18/01/23 - USASA Board Retreat (day 1)

18/01/23 - Stem Formal Inquiry (1)

18/01/23 - Stem Formal Inquiry (2)

19/01/23 - USASA Board Retreat (Day 2)

19/01/23 - USASA Board Meeting

27/01/23 - Academic Integrity Workshop

February Planned Activities

07/02/23 - ISSP Governance Group

13/02/23 - Enterprise Hub Tour

20/02/23 - USASA Reconciliation Committee Meeting

20/02/23 - USASA Governance Committee Meeting

20/02/23 - USASA Board Meeting

As always, if you want to have a chat or have any ideas or issues that you’d like me to follow up on, please don’t hesitate to get into contact with me

Hi everyone!

I hope you are all having a great start to the year and are jumping into your studies for a successful semester! I don’t really have much of an update for this month as I was wrapping up my summer internship. Now that my internship is over, I’m excited to jump back into my studies and to be back on campus.

If you’re ever around on City-West campus, you can probably find me near the USASA student space in the Student Lounge – come along and say hello!

February Activities

07/02/23 - ISSP Governance Group Meeting

20/02/23 - USASA Board Meeting

March Planned Activities

16/03/23 - Academic Integrity Awareness Campaign Launch

20/03/23 - Reconciliation Committee

20/03/23 - Governance Committee Meeting

20/03/23 - USASA Board Meeting

30/03/23 - USASA Staff Symposium

As always, if you want to have a chat or have any ideas or issues that you’d like me to follow up on, please don’t hesitate to get into contact with me.

Hi! I haven’t been up to much this January as I was spending time with my family in Malaysia for the holidays. It’s been getting busy again this February as we’re preparing for O-Week! I’m excited to meet students from all over the world and welcoming them to the uni life. As for events, I’ve been thinking of planning a student BBQ. It sounds like so much fun (and free food… I mean). I’m also preparing for my first placement, it’s going to be hectic. That’s all for now, good luck for the semester ahead!

Hello hello,

February was a super busy month! I flew in to Adelaide on the 8th and had to move on the same day…

Moving on to other things, I volunteered for O Week and before that as well! If you saw me around, I was probably in a UniMentor, StudyAdelaide, or USASA shirt. It was so much fun talking to all the international students and informing them of what UniSA and Adelaide has to offer! The International Students Welcome Reception was entertaining as usual, and I’m glad things went smoothly.

Hayate, Jayce, Riya and I are making plans for a City West BBQ! Hopefully all goes well! Kush and I are also looking into planning an event for SP5 O Week, let’s see where that goes. :D

That’s all for Feb!

Hi everyone, and hope you all did enjoy your holiday as much as I did and I am very excited to see you all again during O week  

I am the City Easy Student Representative and on my third year Bachelor of Physiotherapy.

Unfortunately, I was unable to attend the Board Retreat in January as I was in Iran for holiday. It looks like we will have a busy month with O Week and Campus Tours throughout campuses. Now that I am done with my deferred exams, I will be doing O week with Kush the undergraduate representative for city east and we are planning to meet and discuss on important issues and tasks/goals we can set for improving the student Life here at UniSA.   

Me and a couple of other members who missed on Board Retreat will be having our training on 3rd March which I am really looking forward into and hoping to learn more about the USASA and what we can do as a team.  

I am looking forward to the upcoming year and all the wonderful things we can do together.  

Best regards,

Zahra Bayani

I hope you’re all enjoying the start of your semester and have had an amazing break.

I attended the first committee meeting which was the DEA committee meeting on 6th of March. We talked about the Student Poverty and Youth Allowance and how it would affect students' life if there would some changes to the currents law around the students' allowances.

Over the couple of weeks I have been planning an event for the Ramadan month to help students break their fast while they are at uni.

The event has so far been confirmed and I need your generous help to promote and spread the world around the campuses so many students are aware of it.

The Friday Ramadan Treats during the holy month of Ramadan will be on 24th of March at City East, 30th of March at City West and 14th of April at Mawson Lakes.

Here is the current version of the posters you might see around campuses soon! Thanks for the Reps who have been helping on promoting the event.

I also attended the Board Training on 3rd of March which was a whole day training. Board training was really eye opening, informative, and beneficial and now that when I finished the training, I knew more about my role and what was expected of me as a Student Rep here at City East.

I attended O Week along with my fellow City East Undergraduate Rep Kush on 20th, 23rd and 27th of February.

I also attended one of the Campus Fairs at Mawson Lakes and helped the Labor Club with their stall at the day and I am looking forward to the City East Campus Fair which is happening on 15th of March.

Over the past month I caught up with my fellow City East Rep to decide on future events and brainstormed what is needed for city East students and how we can enhance the students Uni life experiences and we are excited to share some of our ideas soon.

I am looking forward to my first Formal Inquiry which is happening on 21st of March and so excited for the Ramadan Treats.

And I cannot wait to see all the Student Reps in person next week at Board Meeting.

Best regards,

Zahra Bayani

Hello everyone!

It’s the time of the year where classes start up once again (for most of us)! Having been overseas over January of 2023, I was unable to attend the USASA Board Retreat. However, I have kept up with the meetings and have planned my involvements in several events and committees.

Over February 2023, I will attend the Finance Committee meeting on 14/02/2023 and take part in O-week as a campus representative. Furthermore, I hope to meet with Zahra, the City East Campus Representative, to discuss potential events we can organise at City East to make it a more exciting and vibrant campus to be at.

I am excited to work with everyone on the Board now that I am back in Adelaide, and I look forward to meeting as many people as I can over O-week and the rest of the year!

Don’t hesitate to contact me, I’m always happy to talk!

Kush

Hello everyone!

I hope all of you have been enjoying the first few weeks of the newly started semester!

A little update on what I’ve been up to over the month of February. My February was packed with events. Starting with being a UniMentor, I was involved in engaging many of the new students and leading campus tours. I was also involved in reaching out to new students and informing them about what USASA is and the services it offers.

I also attended my first Finance Committee Meeting chaired by Jayce on 14/02/23, where I got to learn much about USASA as an organisation and how it plans to continue supporting students as best as they can. I have spoken to fellow City East Rep Zahra about potential events we can plan and execute in the City East campus, which I am excited to be sharing with everyone shortly.

In the coming months, I will attend my USASA Board Rep training session on 3/03/2023. I will also attend my first Clubs Committee Meeting on 10/03/23 and Education Committee Meeting on 17/03/23. I am looking forward to putting my ideas forward to these committees. I also plan to sit on my first Formal Inquiry panel on 20/03/2023.

Cheers,

Kush Modha

Hi all,

I do hope everyone is excited to start the academic year and be involved in the events that are run on campus. Since my last board meeting, I have become interested in ways to keep myself and others motivated to achieve their goals. I look to the newly appointed Australian Rugby Union coach, Eddie Jones, for inspiration to become the best. Since my last board meeting, I have become interested in ways to keep myself and others motivated to achieve their goals. I do hope everyone is excited to start the academic year and be involved in the events that are run on campus.

On to USASA activities for this month, I attended the USASA board retreat and the first Board meeting on the 18th of January and 19th of January to work with other USASA stakeholders to discuss our responsibilities and how to perform our role effectively. On the 27th of January, I attended the academic integrity workshop with other student representatives and USASA staff to discuss the views of how academic integrity should be tackled from the perspective of USASA. On the 3rd of February, I met with the Chief Executive Officer, Daniel Randell to discuss the direction of the Reconciliation Committee for 2023.

As always if you would like to discuss anything with me, please send me an email.

Thanks,

Hayate Yamada

Hi everyone.

I wish everyone to enjoy the first few weeks of semester 2. During this period, we have seen several events go ahead, which include Orientation week, UniVibe and Campus Fair, to name a few. I am excited to attend many more events with you throughout the year. Also, please remember to join the clubs that are at USASA and get involved in leadership opportunities.

Now on to what I did during this period.

21/03/23 – Orientation week student space

Met new UniSA students and introduced USASA about what the USASA Board does to improve students’ life at the university.

24/03/23 – Academic Board and UniVibe event

Attended the first Academic Board of the year and listened to many exciting opportunities at the University. Cristine Dagnoni gave a presentation on the Student Voice project and how the Student Voice can positively impact students.

I attended the UniVibe event at 6:00 pm with several members of the USASA board. I enjoyed talking and listening to many students at the University about what they want from USASA.

28/03/23 – Orientation week student space

Another amazing opportunity to introduce USASA and its services.

06/03/23 – Reconciliation Plan meeting with Daniel Randell

I discussed with USASA CEO, Daniel Randell the short and long-term strategies that the USASA could undertake for the Reconciliation Action Plan.

07/03/23 – Whyalla UniSA campus UniVibe Event

I travelled to the Whyalla campus to help run the UniVibe event. I enjoyed talking to the Whyalla students about becoming a Student Representative and getting involved in the Student Voice project. I wanted to thank everyone who contributed to the event, and I hope to go back there sometime this year!

10/03/23 Meeting with Alex and Jayce

I had a meeting with Alex and Jayce to discuss what events can be run at City West campus. We came up with several great ideas and are excited to run some of the events at the City West campus.

That is all for what I did during this period. This month, I will be attending the Academic Integrity Awareness Campaign Launch – a discussion with Richard Iron and Sheridan Gentili about the Academic Integrity Workshop, Reconciliation Committee and Governance Committee meeting.

As always, if you have any issues or want to talk about anything, please contact me anytime.

Thank you

Hayate Yamada

Hi Everyone

I hope you all are looking forward to the coming academic year. Thus far, as the City West Undergraduate Representative, I have begun to settle into my new role. On 11/12/22, the 11/01/23 and the 10/02/23, I met with my fellow campus representative Hayate Yamada to plan for the year ahead and discuss an upcoming event.

On the 18/01/23I attended the USASA board retreat where I learned more about my responsibilities. It was a great experience and I particularly enjoyed connecting with the other reps. On the 19/01/23 we had our first board meeting. There, I became a member of the Governance Committee, and was elected the convenor of the Finance Committee.

Since then, I have prepared to chair my first finance meeting, which will be held on the 14/02/23. I had a meeting with General Manager (CEO) Daniel Randell and the board’s financial advisor Kaveeta Magandram, and had a meeting on 10/02/23 with the convenors of other committees, to ensure that I am prepared for the role.

I look forward to the year ahead, and to meeting as many students as I can during O-week.

Jayce

Hi Everyone,

I hope you all have enjoyed the beginning of the semester and are settling into the new academic year well.

On the 14/02/23, I chaired my first finance committee meeting. This went very well, and I am excited for the year ahead. I am currently preparing to chair my next meeting which will be held 14/03/23.

On the 20/02/23, I attended my first Governance committee meeting, and my second board meeting. Again, these went well and we had some strong discussions about policies and the year to come.

This month I sat on two formal inquiry panels, and I have three scheduled for the following month.

On the 24/02/23, I had a meeting with fellow campus representative Hayate Yamada, followed by another meeting on the 02/03/23 about an upcoming event that we are planning. I had another meeting with Hayate, as well as the International Representative Alex Felicia-Joe to begin planning another event.

On 02/03/23, I spoke to students with USASA President Isaac Solomon, and Hayate, at the “Ask Isaac” pop up. Here, I was able to meet many students, and discuss issues affecting students. It was great to meet so many people, and I am looking forward to meeting more people over the following year.

Jayce

Hey everyone!

It’s always exciting to start a new year but I’m especially keen to step into the new role of Magill rep for 2023.

I was lucky enough to attend USASA Board retreat which was a great opportunity to both get some training on the role but also to formulate goals for the year. I’m really looking forward to seeing what I can do to both support and advocate for students this year. I’m also excited to work with Lucy to do some great things at Magill.

Please reach out if you need any anything this year.

Thank you,

Oliver

Hey Everyone!

Hope people are settling back into Uni and haven’t had too much trouble finding tutorials and getting back in the swing of it. I know personally I always find it too be a bit a shock after such a long break.

I was really excited to start working on lots of the projects which will start to pan out over the next couple of months. It was great to have a chat with Lucy and brainstorm some great ideas for events at Magill and also create some plans to push for lots of positive change around campus. It was also great to chair the first Governance Committee Meeting of the year and from that work to create better policy around lots of the great work USASA Student Representatives do on University Committees.

It was also awesome to see some many people out around campus and through tours. If you ever do need anything or even see me around Magill please don’t be afraid to say hello.

Once again if anyone has any questions or ideas you can contact me.

Have a great month everyone!

Hey Hey!

I am very excited for this year and the month ahead, being able to work with you all.

So far this year I have been able to attend the USASA board retreat which was an amazing experience to meet and connect with everyone there. I found it was also a valuable opportunity to narrow down my goals for the year and what I would like to achieve while learning about myself and my leadership style.

I am excited to work with each of you and seeing what we can complete as a team and individually.

In February, I hope to meet with Oliver more and start to create some plans and ideas for what we can do together throughout the year to make an impact and exciting environment at Magill.

Always here for a chat and would love to talk to all you throughout the year. 

Thank you,

Lucy

Hey Everyone!

Hope everyone is have a good time back at Uni and being on campus!

This month Oliver and I had a chat about the different projects we wanted to work on throughout the year. With some key events surrounding the campus and a positive campus atmosphere.

I also chaired the first Diverse, Equity and Access (DEA) Committee meeting where we discussed some key ideas around how we can support the NUS report on Student Poverty and Youth Allowance.

I am very excited for the Campus Fair on Thursday the 16th of March and to get out and talk to more students on campus and see how Oliver and I can help support them and bring a positive vibe to the campus throughout the year.

It has been so good to be back on campus and being back amongst everything over the past month.

Can’t wait to keep working with you all this year!

Hi everyone,

Welcome back! It’s once again board report time from your friendly neighbourhood Mawson Lakes Student Representative!

18/01/23 - USASA Board Retreat

I once again visited the Adelaide Hills Convention centre for a 2 day long intensive retreat to train up the new board on all in the ins and outs of being a student representative, Myself, Hayate, Isaac and Rhys as returning member did our best to impart our knowledge to new representatives.

19/01/23 - First Board Meeting

The last event for our training retreat was the First Board Meeting of the year! We went through all the usual processes and appointments to various committees. This year I will be supporting students through our academic advisory group and academic board!

I am very excited to meet you all during O Week!

As always, please feel free to reach out.

Sam Bhattacharjee

Mawson Lakes Student Representative

Hi all,

Over the last four weeks I have been out and all around campus! To start off myself and the Mawson Lakes Undergraduate Representative helped out at our student spaces for campus tours during O Week, this was an amazing opportunity to meet all of you guys who are just starting out for the year, I hope your first couple weeks at university so far have been amazing!

After O week I had the great pleasure of attending UniVibe hosted by the University at both Lion Arts Studio at City West and also in Mount Gambier! It was an excellent time, and I was so happy to meet and connect with so many new students, it was a great time!

As mentioned earlier, I was lucky enough to accompany the USASA Coordinator: Governance and Leadership as well as the Student Representative Support Officer to Mount Gambier to wrestle up some drive to fill our currently vacant Mount Gambier Representative position. It was a beautiful campus with amazing facilities! If you are passionate about representing your fellow students at Mount Gambier, please nominate soon!!

Otherwise, everything else went along as usual, I attended the monthly Board Meeting along with the Governance Committee and Reconciliation Committee and I attended the Academic board and SAPAG.

Thank you for your time and I hope to see you around,

Sam Bhattacharjee

Hello everyone, 

This month had been quite busy for me as I engaged in various activities that were focused on improving my skills and knowledge in different areas. I started with attending the Campus Fair at UniSA where I had the opportunity to interact with new students and inform them about USASA and the range of events and services we offer. This experience enabled me to share my expertise with others and make a positive impact on their college experience.

In addition to this, I also took part in Board Rep Training, which equipped me with the necessary skills to perform my new role. The training was comprehensive, and I feel well-prepared to take on the challenges that come with the position. I also brainstormed ideas with Sam about hosting a "Meet Mawson Lakes Reps" event, which could bring students together and create a sense of community and help introduce ourselves to the students on our campus. I plan on discussing this further with Lucy and Sam on hosting an event with Magill Campus since both campuses share common students.

Overall, it has been a productive month for me, and I am excited to see what the future holds.

Jeel

Hey all, I hope you've all had a great start of the year.

Being an online student, classes for me had started even before the January Board Retreat–which was a fantastic way to get everyone up to speed on the role of Board Member as well as catch up personally–so my studies are well underway already and I wish you all luck with the start of your own.

The start of the year has been incredibly busy for me professionally, leaving little room for me to get on top of some of the tasks I wanted to begin with, such as meeting and collaborating with the Online Student Advisory Group and introducing myself and USASA to online students. These I will action before my next report. Whilst I can do that, my full-time work schedule loosens up around May and I will be able to engage in Formal Inquiry meetings. If I can get time off earlier for ad-hoc events such as these, I will. Fully aware of my tight timeframe at the start of the year, I did not elect to join any board committees.

With that, I wish the rest of the board success in the restart of their studies this year.

Brendan Ritter

Hi all,

To the online students, good luck with your SP1 exams that will commence shortly. To the campus students, I hope you’re happy and excited to begin your SP2 courses.

This month I have contacted the Online Student Advisory Group and am planning to meet up with their leadership team shortly when our schedules align. I spoke briefly to some of them in November at an Online student event and opening a channel of discussion was suggested, which I strongly agree with and will facilitate shortly, which I expect to bring value to both groups.

Over the past two months most of the students I spoke with – both online and on-campus –have admitted to not knowing about the student services provided to them by both the University and USASA. With the start of SP3 approaching for Online students, I am drafting a communication email to online students advising of these services, which I hope will assist some students in their study that were previously unaware of these services at their disposal.

This is all from this month

Cheers,

Brendan Ritter