my group, the Main Event, only had 2 weeks to prepare and organize a quality seminar. Given the time constraint, we were forced to meet at least twice a week and brainstorm ideas on how to make the seminar a success. Furthermore, we were the first group to present in a 12 week long course. Hence, the pressure was on us to open the course with a 'BANG' and set the pace for the rest of the groups.
Contribution and collaboration: Being an international student, I had virtually no contacts or guests to offer to the group. Thus, I offered my technical services as a photographer; I was confident in my photography skills enough to have quality photos to be uploaded onto the main Media Industries website. Other than this, I also helped out in preparing refreshments for the seminar in the form of simple tuna sandwiches. Overall, the group had relatively little hiccups and we were able to solve any potential problem with ease. I felt that the group cohesion was solid and we were all united in making the event a success.
Proactive Learning: Perharps the one thing I've learnt in organising for the seminar was the way our stage manager (Clare O Donnell) was able to man-manage us so well. She took initiative in organising meetings and having clear plans of what to do. She even prepared a group list of what our specific tasks were and our contact details, ensuring that no one was 'lost' in the planning of the seminar. I have been through such events organization before, but Clare's leadership skills is definitely something I can follow and put into practice in the future.
Participation: I attended two of three meetings organized as I wanted to keep myself in the know about the planning of the seminar. During our group meetings, I was only able to contribute to a certain extent - this is because of the lack of contacts/guests I had at my disposal. I was unable to have any suggestions on who would make a suitable guest speaker for our seminar and could only offer ideas on how the seminar should pan out on the actual day.
Connections & intersections: I feel that the seminar series is a good opportunity for students, like us, to meet the players in the industry and find out more about our career paths. It allows us to establish connections and seek out invaluable advice from the professionals. However, throughout the seminar series, i do feel that international students have a great disadvantage in seeking a career here. Most of the professionals were honest and said it would be really hard for international students to succeed as the competition is stiff and more priority, unfortunately, is given to local talent. Nevertheless, some seminars content have left me inspired and I would definitely apply it to my future career aspirations.
Overall, our seminar 'the main event' turned out to be a huge success. The content that our three guests gave were excellent. It did help that our emcee was brilliant in keeping a smooth 'flow' of the seminar. Our peers were impressed with the way we managed to pull it off in such a short period of time - the pressure was on them now to replicate our seminar.
