PAL Program Projects 2012
By
Student Ambassadors and Leaders from the Faculty of Business and Economics at Monash University, Melbourne Australia
Student Development in ACTION
The PAL Program Projects 2012 ebook has been created by students from the Monash University Ambassador Program from within the Faculty of Business and Economics Published by What Really Matters Publishing c/- Organisations That Matter Compiled By Gary Ryan, Facilitator of the Projects Program Level 8, 350 Collins Street Melbourne, Victoria 3166 AUSTRALIA Phone +61 3 8676 0637 E-mail: info@orgsthatmatter.com Copyright Š 2012 Gary Ryan, Organisations That MatterŽ & each of the members of the project teams All effort was made to render this ebook free from error and omission. However, the author, publisher, editor, their employees or agents shall not accept responsibility for injury, loss or damage to any person or body or organisation acting or refraining from such action as a result of material in this book, whether or not such injury, loss or damage is in any way due to any negligent act or omission, breach of duty, or default on the part of the author, publisher, editor or their employees or agents.
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Overview The ebook has been created for the purpose of highlighting the valuable contribution that student Ambassadors and Leaders from the Monash University Faculty of Business and Economics are providing the Monash University and Australian community. As a historical record of the 2012 PAL Program Projects this ebook will also serve as a resource for future student PAL Program projects. Gary Ryan, Director of Organisations That Matter has facilitated the process that the student Ambassadors and Leaders have followed to create and record their community projects. Information regarding the Student Development Program for students and higher education staff offered by Organisations That Matter can be found here.
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Table of Contents OVERVIEW
3
TABLE OF CONTENTS
4
FLASH MOB DANCE
7
Overview
8
Quantitative Goals
9
Qualitative Goals
9
Our Plan
10
The Differences Between Our Plan And What Happened?
13
Recommendations
16
Acknowledgements
17
THE UNIQUELY MELBOURNE EXPERIENCE
19
Team Members
19
Project Overview Goals Quantitative goals Qualitative goals
20 21 21
Our Plan Brainstorming Final Plan
22 22 22
What actually happened
24
The Differences Between Our Plan And What Happened?
25
What We Learned
26
Generic employability skills were also developed in the following areas:
27
Our Recommendations
29
ENROLMENT DAY BBQ
31
Team Members
31
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Overview
32
Goals Quantitative Goals Qualitative Goals
33 33 33
Our Plan
34
The Differences Between Our Plan And What Happened?
40
Our Recommendations
44
Acknowledgements
45
PROJECT SUNSHINE
47
Team Members
47
Overview Quantitative goals Qualitative goals
48 50 50
What Happened
53
The Differences Between Our Plan And What Happened
55
Our Recommendations
65
Acknowledgements
66
SPORTS DAY
67
Team Members
67
Gabriel Wong
67
Overview Quantitative goals Qualitative goals
68 69 69
Action Plan
72
What Happened
74
The Differences Between Our Plan And What Happened?
76
What We Learnt
77
Our Recommendations
79
Acknowledgements
79
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MELBOURNE ZOO DAY TRIP
81
Team Members
81
Overview
81
Goals Quantitative Goals Qualitative Goals
82 82 82
Our Plan
83
What Happened
84
The Differences Between Our Plan And What Happened?
86
What We Learned
87
Our Recommendations
88
Acknowledgements
89
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Flash Mob Dance
Team Members 1. Paula Katigbak 2. Francesca Tsao 3. Grace Gao 4. Rianna Yeung 5. Jessica Frisina 6. Teo Heng Bin 7. Kane Tan 8. MayShan Chan 9. Daniel Garabiles 10. Aalisha Aruliah
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Overview
The Flash Mob project endeavoured to enhance the experience that university students have through different paradigms, including: To enhance student-to-student experience Our team engaged the student body in a spontaneous, organised dance routine, termed as a ‘Flash Mob’. This was primarily targeted at first year students to foster friendships with fellow Caulfield campus students through participating in a fun activity. Furthermore, the event was a great way to welcome and show the first year students what university life is like. To enhance the Monash-University-to-Community experience SEAAC is a youth-oriented not-for-profit organisation, aimed at helping migrant and refugee youths to assimilate into Australian society. Programs that are run by SEAAC include: homework help, awareness programs and counselling for the various issues that they may encounter during the transition period.
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Quantitative Goals 1. Involve 100 students 2. Create awareness for 1 not-for-profit organization 3. Choreograph a 3minute dance routine 4. Include at least 5 Monash Ambassadors into the project
Qualitative Goals 1. Plan a cohesive fun event, while doing something good for the community 2. An opportunity to make friends 3. Create networks for first year students 4. Create a sense of community
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Our Plan •
Coordinate team members’ schedules for meetings
•
Create a Facebook group for discussion purposes
•
Source suitable venues, and get in contact with responsible parties
•
Coordinate with MONSU for audio systems
•
Design and print event posters and flyers
•
Research suitable organisations for our cause
•
Make a decision as to which cause to support - SEAAC was decided
•
Liaise with SEAAC and SEAAC staff to organise staff members and how they wanted to raise awareness on the day of the flash mob
•
Engage Monash Ambassadors during recruitment process
•
Three different approaches to attract participants on campus 1. Set up a discrete booth 2. Approach students at key places in the university and invite them to participate 3. Coordinate with lecturers to allow us to pitch our idea to students during lectures
•
Create a Facebook group, event page and email address to assist with the publicity and promotions
•
Create a database for the contact details of interested participants
•
Contact IT to upload photo and details on to my.monash portal for promotional purposes
•
Format individual songs into a 3-minute track
•
Choreograph the dance routine
•
Book rehearsal space and speakers, microphone, and record the CD
•
Upload YouTube video for extended rehearsal opportunities
•
Update interested participants with news feeds and updates every two or three days as our marketing effort 10 | P a g e
•
Email participants for rehearsal times and other event details e.g. change of meeting venue
•
Meet for weekly for dance rehearsals after students were recruited so that everyone is confident in publicly performing
•
Organise to have a photographer and two videographers
•
Connect with SEAAC staff on the day of the flash mob to promote their cause
•
Guide flash mobbers to the event venue
•
Perform the Flash Mob
•
U pload edited videos and photos onto the Facebook page
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What Happened • Engaged about 50 participants • Successful networking among participants and organisers during the final rehearsal, which was held prior to the flash mob • Changed the venue from the outdoor common lawn to the indoor student lounge due to unfavourable weather conditions. • Set up a table with flyers, manned by SEAAC staff, to raise awareness to the student community. • SEAAC staff were able to connect with the Monash Student Community, offering services to those that may be interested, and recruit sought-after volunteers to help at their programs. • Flash mob team leaders were able to engage with SEAAC staff on a closer level to understand what SEAAC does, thereby acting as advocates for the cause. • Speaker was not loud enough on the day so the effect of attracting pedestrians attention is weakened • Not open up space
12 | P a g e
The Differences Between Our Plan And What Happened? •
Only 50 students participated on the day itself while initially we hoped for 100
•
More than 250 signed up, but only a quarter participated
•
Changed the venue from the outdoor Common lawn to the indoor Student Lounge due to unexpected rainy weather
•
Recruitment in lectures was not undertaken due to limited availabilities of team members.
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What we learned In executing our Flash Mob, all group members learnt an array of skills that demonstrate our willingness to dedicate extra time to benefit Monash University and SEAAC. This experience was invaluable and outlined by the skills listed below:
Team Work •
Tasks performed most efficiently when they are divided amongst team members
•
Delegation must be accepted by the group, and then concessions made to accept the different personalities of team members in order to work collaboratively towards the collective goal.
Communication •
Each team member has to constantly update each other regarding the progress of the delegated task
•
Communicate based on an effective and efficient platform (e.g. Facebook, email, text messages)
Problem Solving •
Learnt the importance of having contingency plans
•
Everyone had different time schedules, so we had to coordinate and set a time and place which was right for everyone
•
On the day, it was raining for the organised time for executing the Flash Mob. Collectively we collaborated ideas and organised the best re-location.
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Leadership •
Coordinating and adjusting the job scopes of team members
•
Team members effectively managing the participant students and
•
Ambassadors to make the event work
Planning & Organisation •
Agenda and minutes to keep meetings on track and help everyone follow up with the progress, especially non-attending participants.
•
Controlling emergencies and pre-planning back up plan.
Lifelong learning •
Being selfless and contributing personal time to teamwork
Self-Management & Personal Vision •
Adhering to pre-set plans of action
•
Establishing a clear goal, and working effectively in striving to achieve it
Initiative & Enterprise •
Stepping out of our comfort zones and doing something that would benefit not only the immediate student community, but also the greater migrant and refugee community of the South Eastern region
Technology •
Learnt to mix and blend music using ‘Garage Band’
•
Benefits of using social networking sites such as Facebook, for advertising and group discussions
•
Utilised YouTube by uploading the video of the choreography
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Service Excellence •
Importance of getting involved in community service
•
Conducting all activities in a professional and friendly manner
Recommendations •
Have a ‘Wet Weather’ program handy just in case weather conditions are unfavourable
•
Seek a balance between the time needed to adequately plan for the event and the amount of weeks the students have to wait before they participate. This helps retain the students’ interests and minimises last minute back outs.
•
Finalise all the details and materials of the event for beginning the recruitment process
•
Have a project timeline with pre-determined checkpoints to gauge progress
•
Face to face meeting is typically preferred over online chat.
•
Set online chat etiquette e.g. sticking to meeting agenda, acknowledging posts by other members, informing others on online availability
•
If a team member misses a meeting, it is his/her responsibility to follow up on the group’s progress.
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Acknowledgements Alison Richardson (Monash PAL Co-ordinator) Gary Ryan (Director of Organisations That Matter) Sally Ryan (SEAAC Co-ordinator) Nhu Ngoc Tran (Homework Program Co-ordinator - SEAAC) Ryan Wang (Photographer) WeiShen Tan (Videographer) Jensen Siow (Videographer) Wennie Chung (Video editor) Mrunal Chavan (Monash PAL Ambassador) Nina Hui (Monash PAL Ambassador) Vuong Linh (Monash PAL Ambassador) Olivia Na (Monash PAL Ambassador) Nicholas Ren (Monash PAL Ambassador) Boris Cheng (Monash PAL Ambassador) Mei Lin Kha (Monash PAL Ambassador) Jeremy Long Nguyen (Monash PAL Ambassador)
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www.otmacademy.com
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The Uniquely Melbourne Experience
Team Members • • • • • • • •
Shehan Dewundege Joshua Knoop Sue Hsien Chong Zhen Hann Leow Marco Zhang Gillian Wang Cuong Ton Adnan Zaman
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Project Overview As part of the BusEco PAL Leaders’ program, our task was to organise a project to enhance the student to student, student to faculty or faculty to community experience. In response to this, we planned a tour around the City of Melbourne, aimed at giving first year students and students new to Melbourne an opportunity to familiarise themselves with the city. We intended to provide a true Melbourne experience, rather than just a regular city tour. As such, we focused on a combination of well-known and lesser known landmarks and sites, showcasing everything from Aboriginal and Australian history to Melbourne’s vibrant multiculturalism, such as art and food. The participants had the opportunity to develop new relationships with fellow students of the same year level, and with those who are in the latter stages of their degrees (the Leaders). Although we did not achieve our ambitious quantitative goal of 20 attendees, we feel that we managed to achieve our qualitative goals In relation to objective requirements, we achieved two, namely the student to student experience, and faculty to community (in a cultural sense) experience.
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Goals Quantitative goals Target of 20 attendees. Target to retain all attendees throughout the tour. Target all 8 Leaders to participate and contribute in the project.
Qualitative goals The attendees to learn more about Melbourne’s history and current culture. Quality interaction among the attendees, as well as between the Leaders and attendees. The attendees to have an enjoyable and meaningful experience.
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Our Plan Brainstorming ● Initially, our plan was to have a Melbourne city tour combined with a
coffee session with Monash alumni in a cafe in the city. The goal behind this idea was to help any first year students who were unfamiliar with Melbourne to explore the city, while at the same time helping them gain some business insights through chatting with Monash alumni.
●
Due to the difficulty in including the alumni coffee session within the time constraints of the day, as well as the fact that other groups were planning to include an alumni session in their projects, we decided it would be best to cancel the alumni coffee session and focus more on the city tour.
Final Plan ●
We changed our plan to make it purely a city tour. We decided to select several interesting sites (comprising of both famous landmarks, as well as hidden gems) around Melbourne city.
● We researched the sites that we had shortlisted. These sites included:
the former Royal Mint, the Chinese Museum in Chinatown, Fitzroy Gardens, Flagstaff Garden, Carlton Garden, The Eureka Skydeck, Federation Square, Queen Victoria Market, Hosier Lane, Birrarung Marr Park, Parliament House, and one of the most popular cafes in Melbourne, the Seven Seeds Cafe. ●
After careful considerations in relation to cost, time constraints, culture, level of potential interest as well as the distance between sites
22 | P a g e
in order to plan our travel route, we selected the following sites to visit: ●
Federation Square
●
Hosier Lane
●
Birrarung Marr
●
Fitzroy Garden
●
Parliament House
●
Queen Victoria Market
●
Seven Seeds cafe (said to have the best coffee in Melbourne)
● The initial delivery date for the project was 21st July 2012. ● We planned to promote the project using social media, our connections
with student societies and clubs, presentations during orientation week (the week before the project day), word of mouth, flyers and posters, as well as the Monash global email (which we identified as the most effective method). ● As we were holding an outdoor event, we were heavily reliant on good
weather and as such, we included alternative indoor sites on our tour, such as the Melbourne Arts Centre, in case of bad weather. ● We contacted the Seven Seeds Cafe in advance, and were told that
they might not be able to take a large group of people and they were not taking reservations due to popular demand during weekends. As a result, we decided to just take away coffee from Seven Seeds if the weather was good, or visit another cafe.
23 | P a g e
What actually happened ●
Due to poor marketing implementation, we failed to gain enough interest to hold the tour (only 2 people registered) so we postponed the tour date to give ourselves time to think of an alternative plan.
●
We came up with a few alternatives, but both our group members and Ali did not feel they were feasible. Eventually, we decided to go ahead with the tour proper, but improved on our marketing strategies (see The Differences Between Our Plan
And What Happened?). ●
The tour was held on September 1 2012, and we were lucky enough to enjoy sunny weather. Although some people who registered beforehand were unable to attend, we managed to start without many problems.
●
All the attendees and Leaders interacted well with each other. Overall, the atmosphere was friendly and relaxed, and we successfully visited all the sites as planned.
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The Differences Between Our Plan And What Happened? • During the first round of event promotions, we did not do everything that we had planned to do. We only had two presentations the week before the anticipated tour date, had a few posters around campus, and only handed out flyers to the people present during the presentations. • For our second round of promotions, we utilised all marketing strategies that were mentioned in the plan. We made a Facebook event page, as well as created a registration form using Google Drive. We also handed out flyers during all the first year lectures and sent out a global email to all first year students. • Although we had 20 people signed up for the event, not everybody showed up on the actual day. We contacted the absentees to confirm that they would not be attending, to make sure we wouldn’t leave any latecomers behind.
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What We Learned Our key learning revolved around four project-specific areas: ● Event management (planning and organisation) ○
scheduling - timing and routes
○
registration and managing the participants - making sure all participants are accounted for and effectively registered
○
researching locations to visit
○
contingency planning - alternative locations and routes were determined
● Leadership and team management ○
delegation - allocation of tasks
○
organising and running meetings
○
goal setting i.e. determining key success measures
○
working under time constraints to meet deadlines i.e. printing deadlines, event day deadlines etc.
● Leveraging technology ○
using Google Apps i.e. Drive (Docs), Google+ Hangouts; Facebook Events, my.monash portal events, photo editing software
● Marketing ○
effective physical and digital marketing - flyers, presentations, global email, partnering with clubs and societies to promote, and social media
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Generic employability skills were also developed in the following areas:
● Communication skills ○
preparing proposals, drafting emails, tailoring communication for specific audiences
● Problem solving ○
marketing issues - issues arising from insufficient reach and eventual attendance were resolved by utilising more effective and relevant marketing methods such as more direct marketing (global emails, social media, liaising with clubs and societies) and better physical marketing (flyers)
○
having to postpone the event and re-launch the marketing drive in order to reach goal attendance
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● Initiative & enterprise ○
creative approaches to marketing (word-of-mouth, clubs and societies)
○
created a unique experience for participants in order to make the event more appealing and worthwhile
● Life-long learning ○
post-event evaluation allowed us to identify strengths and weaknesses of the event and the project in general
○
learning about commitment to a project of our own design, and having the drive to follow through with it
○
persevering through initial disappointment with lack of interest from our target audience
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Our Recommendations ●
Be well prepared with advertising to target audience.
●
Always have a contingency plan.
●
Seek necessary permission before posting flyers on campus.
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Acknowledgements ●
Gary Ryan, Director of Organisations that Matter.
●
Alison Richardson, Manager of Student
Development in the Faculty of Business and Economics, Monash University. ●
Clubs and societies that allowed us to advertise through them.
●
Attendees of the tour.
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Enrolment Day BBQ Team Members
Alicia Brand Rebecca Yang Laila Shareef
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Overview As part of the Monash University Faculty of Business and Economics Student Leader Program, our group was tasked with getting first year students to socialise with students from the university, getting familiar with Monash staff, and/or getting the students to be involved in community work. To achieve this, we planned to have a social BBQ as well as an hour game
with
Monash
sports
on
enrolment day - July 11th, 2012. Our main objective was to increase the interaction students
between whilst
first
year
enhancing
their
university experience. At the same time,
we
invited
ambassadors university
to
leaders share
experiences
and
and their give
advice to the new students. On the day, there were ambassadors and leaders who have kindly donated time to share their experiences as students at Monash University, and as part of the Leaders/Ambassadors program. BBQ was provided for the students at the start of the session and at the end of the session. An hour game, in the middle of the event, with Monash Sports enhanced the interaction between students, Ambassadors and Leaders and, at the end of the day, all the new students gained insight into university life by speaking with the Leaders and Ambassadors in a friendly environment. This project was very successful; we had only a few veggie burgers left at the end (gave away approximately 80 sausages and veggie burgers) and feedback from students said it was a ‘great welcome to the university’. 32 | P a g e
Goals Quantitative Goals Objectives
Original Goals
Changed Goals
Participants
50
50
Staff
10
nil
Fund
100
250
Student representatives
10
3
Flyers/Posters
100
20
Emails
200
nil
Qualitative Goals Aims to achieve Fun Great teamwork Helping each other Collaboration within the team and with others Meet new students satisfaction feedback from participants
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Our Plan Our plan was to create a barbeque event that would benefit students on enrolment day
by allowing them
to socialise with fellow students and their local community. This plan was built on and edited in meetings over the course of three months. Below are the minutes for these meetings.
Friday 16th March 2012 Items Discussed: â—?
Day for event: Enrolment day in semester 2, as it's a compulsory day for all first year students and there won't be many other events going on at that time to compete with.
â—?
Emails: Ali is happy to send out emails to the first year students to advertise our event. 34 | P a g e
●
Activities: One hour of culture-based activities could start off the event, followed by one hour of sports activities, and then another hour of culture-activities to finish off the event. Culture theme, everyone dresses up in the traditional clothing of their country. Activities will be based on aspects various cultures, predominantly those of countries of international students at Monash University.
●
Marketing strategy: Bulk emails will be sent via Ali, once plans are finalised. Additional suggestions include flyers (which Ali has said she can print), word of mouth and invitations via Facebook/set up event page on Facebook. Possible decorations, to make the stalls more attractive, has also been discussed.
●
Location: Lawn in the middle of Caulfield Campus is the ideal location for the event. Though, concerns have been raised over the possibility of rain - suggest securing a backup location for bad weather.
Tasks Allocated: ●
Rebecca: about
Talk
to
BBQ
MONSU
(including
possible vegetarian options), tables, etc. Let Simon Daars know that his services will be required. Talk to Ali about enrolment day times. ●
Laila: Marketing strategy draft
email,
flyers
and
Facebook advertisement ●
Team Member 4: Organise receipt of flyers, pamphlets, stalls, decorations, etc. from One World.
●
Alicia: Organise culture based games - plan game timings and resources required.
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Friday 30th March 2012 Items Discussed: ●
Shopping list for BBQ: Sausages, veggie burgers, bread, bread rolls, cheese, onion, lettuce, sauce, drinks and plastic cups, napkins
●
Expected turn up for BBQ: Approximately 150
●
Project theme: It was discussed that running an event for "One World" may not draw much attention, and it has become very complex to plan an event for this organisation. Instead we have discussed the possibility of running the event for a charity (instead of a Non-profit). Further research needs to be done to identify the charity most relevant to university students.
●
Date for event: Settled on July 11th from 11am till 2pm, with the sports activities beginning at 12pm.
●
Discussed supplementary items: Agree that we need to provide some music with a relevant playlist; talk to Bin about speakers; talk to Marco about coming on the day to take photos.
Tasks Allocated: ●
Rebecca: Talk to sports about maximum and minimum numbers for activities, ask about contingency plans, secure date and time. Talk to MONSU about supplies such as the BBQ, tables and chairs.
●
Laila: Research possible relevant charities and circulate for final decision, before beginning marketing campaign.
●
Alicia: Project report; Email Ali and ask: any ideas for charities that are relevant to university students? If our budget for approximately $400 will be suitable?
●
Team Member 4: Create music playlist for BBQ, research cost for purchase of above mentioned 'shopping list' items (assuming we are feeding 200 people), speak with Coles about pre ordering supplies, payments and pick up times.
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Friday 13th April 2012 Items Discussed: ●
Charity ideas: Decision made to proceed with OxFam. Action required: speak to Monash representative RE: funding and support. Following this document, an internet link will be posted, listing possible activities to be run in order to raise funds for this charity.
●
Advertisement: Flyers are near completion and are waiting on confirmation from Ali on specific requirements (i.e. colour), and on day and time to be printed. It was also discussed that a PowerPoint slide should be created, to advertise the event on the day.
●
Food: Concerns about the price of catering for the event. Will be able to confirm prices (and therefore budget) by end of April.
●
Ambassadors: Will advertise need for help from members of the Ambassador's program, via Facebook.
●
Target market: Discussed possibility of advertising the event to personal friends and members of the leader's program, to boost funding and attendance. Advertisements should be done via the Leader's Facebook page.
Tasks Allocated ●
Rebecca: Talk to MONSU regarding BBQ facilities and speakers for music. Talk to Coles regarding food prices.
●
Alicia: Email Ali regarding flyers (colour, time and amount that can be printed) as well as our ability to add a PowerPoint slide to the end of the enrolment day seminar. Post up activities, and begin planning once activities have been decided on. Project Status Report prior to May 1st (2012).
●
Laila: Complete flyers. Create PowerPoint slide. Advertise positions to help in the event for ambassadors.
●
Team Member 4: Meet with OxFam rep, discuss support and advice they may be able to give us. Create playlist for event.
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Thursday 31st May 2012 Items Discussed: ●
Oxfam: Need to ask Ali if she has contacts within Oxfam, and can help us get in contact with someone and get answers soon (RE: willing to participate, provide pamphlets/stall, whether they have any contacts/are able to get donations/discounts for activity prizes)
●
Posters and PowerPoint slide: Waiting on confirmation of Oxfam to print.
●
BBQ: Gas has to be paid for, for the BBQ - about $30
●
Budget: BBQ supplies, food, decorations, sports booking, prizes = no more than $400
●
If can't get in contact with Oxfam, consider leaving charity idea and move
towards
MONSU
and
international
student
association
involvement. ●
Need to hear back from activity officer, to make sure activity officer will be there on the day.
Tasks Allocated ●
Rebecca: Talk to MONSU regarding
BBQ
facilities,
activity officer and student associations. ●
Laila:
Talk
associations, poster
and
to
student complete
PowerPoint
when possible ●
Alicia: Email Ali regarding Oxfam
and
budget.
Research further activities when possible.
38 | P a g e
Wednesday 27th July 2012 Items discussed ●
Charity/Theme:
It’s
become
too
difficult
to
arrange
charity
involvement, instead we will make the BBQ free, with the sole purpose of welcoming students and giving them the opportunity to socialise. ●
Budget:$250 for gas, sausages, veggie burgers, bread, napkins, plates, sauce, soft drink
●
Poster: Ali will print out for us to collect and distribute the morning of the event
●
Team Member 4: Taking into consideration the lack of involvement of this member (having not completed any of the tasks allocated to them, and only participated in one of the group meetings), as well as the warnings and chances provided to the member, it has been decided to no longer include the member in the event. This has meant that the members’ tasks have been reallocated. Rebecca has volunteered to take care of music and speakers
Tasks Allocated ●
Laila: Complete poster and email to Ali
●
Alicia: Email budget to Ali
●
Rebecca:
Organise
music and speakers
39 | P a g e
The Differences Between Our Plan And What Happened? Our Plan
What Happened
How did we solve it?
We were planning to Due to the limit in
Monash Sports was able to
have
arrange an hour team game
culturally time and human
themed games from resources, we were countries unable to arrange
different such
for the event
as
Malaysia,
China, our own culturally India, themed games
Singapore We were planning to
However, we
We adjusted the project
hold the event in
needed more time
date to 11th July,
either week 5 or week to deliver a well-
compulsory enrolment day
6 of the first semester planned BBQ
for semester 2 2012
As part of the ‘student We were unable to
We decided to hold the
to community’
find a suitable
event without any
socialisation goal, our
charity for the event participation from a NGO or
group aimed to hold
due to time frame
the event by
and lack of
charity
promoting a charity to participation from a the students.
group member.
40 | P a g e
Our Plan
What Happened
How did we solve it?
We failed to apply to
We were going to
Fortunately, our group was
get access to the
be unable to use
early on the day of the BBQ
electricity for the
the speakers, as we
event to find out the
speakers, as we
had no electrical
problem and we were able
assumed it is already
source for them
to follow the correct
booked at the time we
procedures to get
made the booking for
permission and the
the BBQ pits
resources to use electrical equipment on the day of the project
41 | P a g e
What We Learned ●
Teamwork and collaboration: Our team met regularly. During these meetings we discussed aspects of the project, always starting off with reiterating the key objectives of the project. Our team members were always prepared for the meetings, contributed ideas as well as constructive criticism, and collaborated to make the right decisions for the group. After meetings, minutes were uploaded and shared so all members could review the decisions and prepare for the next scheduled meeting.
●
Rules and Boundaries: We learned that it is necessary to have rules and limits of acceptable behaviour for members of a team, in order to reach the project objectives. At the beginning of this project, rules for unacceptable behaviour were discussed and agreed upon, as were the actions to be taken if a team member fails to meet the set requirements. During the project these rules and guidelines did come into use, as ‘Team Member 4’ failed to displayed our agreed behaviour (attending scheduled meetings, completing
tasks
assigned,
and
contributing
to
the
project
discussion). The team’s agreed actions were taken, and Team Member 4 was spoken to twice before an email was sent to the Project Coordinator (Alison Richardson), and final contact was attempted before it was agreed by the remaining team members that Team Member 4 should be excluded from the project. ●
Leadership: Our team learned that commitment and devotion is important for successful planning and implementation of a project; and having a leader to delegate tasks allows a team to reach their required objectives in a timely and organised fashion. Our team only had one leader for the course of project, however the main role of the leader was to keep tabs on all team members, ensure 42 | P a g e
constant communication within the group, provide extra assistance to
individuals
where
needed,
make
sure
agreed
rules
and
behaviours were adhered to, and to make final decisions where no consensus could be reached. However, most of the decisions made during the project were agreed upon by all team members, and all team members provided healthy debate to project meetings by contributing equally to discussions; and each team member had their own responsibilities that they completed quickly and to a high quality.
â—?
Planning and Organizing: Our team found planning and organising essential to the success of our project. While we did have an initial vision and plan for our project, we realised that circumstances can change and problems can arise. Our original plan was constantly being modified and altered, depending on findings from research and discussions during meetings, and ideas that started out one way were found to be the opposite by the end of the project - for example, while we had originally planned for the event to be a fundraising activity, our final project resulted in a free barbeque for students. 43 | P a g e
Our Recommendations ●
From the positive comments of the participants, having a barbeque on enrolment day was a good idea and would be welcomed by students if it were done again next year
●
Set deadlines for tasks, and stick to these deadlines, to avoid damaging delays
●
Choose a project that will maintain the interest of the group members, so they will be more willing to take part
●
Be realistic in planning budgets and goals
●
Be prepared to take initiative
44 | P a g e
Acknowledgements Alison Richardson Gary Ryan Marco Zhang Derrick Koh Gillian Wang Samuel Kwok MONSU
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www.otmacademy.com
46 | P a g e
Project Sunshine Team Members
Daphne Foong Jane Zhang Sean Lim Louise Prossor Debra Vo
47 | P a g e
Overview Enhancing the Faculty to community experience As students representing the Business and Economics Faculty, the Project Sunshine team took the time and effort to plan and participate in a community event.
The selected event was “Fashion + Aid,�
an annual charity event that aims to raise money for the Lighthouse Foundation.
Guests are invited to enjoy a Gala
dinner, a runway show and live entertainment featuring performances from Shannon Noll and Rickie Lee. This event is organised by Trumpet Events. The
Lighthouse Foundation
provides assistance and
support to young homeless people. On the night, funds are raised for the organisation through live and silent auctions, pledges and raffle tickets. Volunteers were allocated various roles to assist with the event. Some roles included selling raffle tickets to guests and raise proceeds for the organisation, while other roles included assisting in setting up the event and managing proceeds and finance raised from the event.
Enhancing student to student experience Prior to the Fashion + Aid event, the majority of the volunteers did not know one another. Project Sunshine, therefore, provided a platform for the volunteers to get to know one another and to work and have fun together. The majority of volunteers met at the one location and travelled together to Crown Casino, where the event was held. During the trip, all Project Sunshine team members engaged in enthusiastic conversations and socialised well with one another given the short transportation time. 48 | P a g e
All the team members also had a lovely dinner together and helped each other out on the night with their individual responsibilities.
Enhancing the student to Faculty experience It was through the
Program
Business and Economics Leaders
that provided the opportunity for the implementation of
Project Sunshine. The Faculty provided huge support throughout the planning processes of the Project. It also kept the team in check and monitored the Project’s progress. The team was required to liaise and obtain approval from the Faculty on various matters including funding for transportation to and from the Crown Casino where Fashion + Aid was to be held. Alison Richardson was the group’s main contact.
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Goals Quantitative goals 1. 15 - 20 students involved 2. Budget - $20 per student (travel and meals) for a one day event,
funded by Monash University
Qualitative goals â—?
To get first year students involved in a community volunteering event
â—?
To allow the students to bond with each other and build networks
â—?
To provide the students with an opportunity to learn more about the Ambassador and Leaders programs
50 | P a g e
Our Plan April - May ●
Begin research
●
Every member researches 2-3 different organisations - looking at events only being held during August/September
●
Each member contacts respective organisations to express interests and to see if the group is eligible to volunteer for the events
●
Meet every fortnight to update each other on our respective progresses
June ●
Once the organisation is decided upon, draw up advertisement for volunteers
●
Post advertisement on various different mediums
●
Monitor volume of application and responses
July ●
Review applications
●
Finalise list of volunteers
●
Brief the organisation on current progress with volunteers
August ●
Plan logistics (transport and meals) for event - liaise with Alison
●
Pre-event briefing to volunteers
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August/September ●
Date of event
●
Follow up with volunteers and Alison after event
52 | P a g e
What Happened When the project was launched, the Project Sunshine team members decided from the first meeting that each team member would research various charity organisations. After the research and liaising with several charities, the
Salvation Army
was deemed a suitable
charity for the project. Unfortunately, the team did not build a strong enough relationship with the Salvation Army and subsequently could not find an appropriate event, given the time constraints of the project. As a result, more research was needed to be done. This time around, the team members found other relevant events such as Walk in the Park, Monash Megaswim and Ride to Conquer. After contacting each of the event coordinators, positive feedback was received from all of organisations. However, most of their events were still in their planning stages and could not guarantee that the group could volunteer for those events. The team ensured that there was regular communication with the organisation, in order to build a strong relationship and increase the chances of securing volunteering positions if any opportunities were to arise. However, most of these opportunities fell through as those organisations found it very difficult to accommodate large groups of volunteers. Recruitment has not yet been conducted at this time and organisations found it hard to deal with uncertain number of volunteers. As it was July already, the team was getting anxious on meeting the deadline for this Project. The team quickly picked up the pace and searched for more organisations. Soon after, the team came across Fashion + Aid event. After much discussion and communication, the coordinator
of
The Lighthouse Foundation
-
charity
organisation for Fashion Aid - accepted the group as volunteers of the event. The team promised Lighthouse Foundation that the volunteers will be recruited and finalised as soon as possible to meet its own recruitment 53 | P a g e
deadlines. Thus, this put additional pressure on the team to plan on how to recruit volunteers and to implement the plan immediately. The team decided to advertise for volunteers through the following channels: Project Sunshine’s Facebook page, the my.monash portal, flyers throughout Monash Clayton and Caulfield campuses and in lecture halls (with permission of lecturers). As a result, around 30 students expressed their interest in volunteering for the Fashion + Aid event. The team gathered their CVs and sent out a brief summary with information about the Lighthouse Foundation and the event itself. The list of students was then passed onto the Lighthouse Foundation, where they assessed the eligibility and qualifications of all students. They then shortlisted the volunteers and conducted a brief interview with them. Not all volunteers got through the interview but the team was fortunate enough to have a sufficient amount of volunteers that went through in order for the project to progress. All the volunteers were then required by Crown Casino to complete an online induction for Occupational Health and Safety. At the same time, the team was also trying to organise the logistics with Alison to ensure that all volunteers could travel to and from Crown Palladium safely. In the end, the team organised a taxi cab to take all students to and from Crown Casino from Monash University in Clayton. The event went smoothly on the night. After a briefing session by the event coordinator and dinner buffet, all the volunteers delved into their roles for the night and had a great time.
54 | P a g e
The Differences Between Our Plan And What Happened One of the main differences between the team’s plan and what happened was the expected and actual time commitment needed to research and contact charity organisations. When the project first begun, the group did not have any contingency plan in place and the group was subsequently pushed back in time when the Salvation Army was no longer viable for the project. The team then learned to frequently follow up with their respective organisations in order to build strong relationships. This is to ensure that the project will not be out of volunteering options and that organisations do not back out on their support for the project. The plan to recruit volunteers was also different from the actual recruitment. Initially, the team planned on advertising aggressively through lecture bashes, with a focus on first year lectures, and via the team’s Facebook page. However, the team did not gain as much coverage as expected. As a result, an advertisement was also placed on the My Monash Portal as well as flyers around Monash Clayton and Caulfield campuses (with the assistance of Alison for printing the flyers). From the different modes of communication, 30 students expressed interest in volunteering. There was a also slight change in plan with regards to the transportation of volunteers and the team Monash University Clayton and Crown Palladium. A minibus was requested from the Faculty to travel between the campus and the venue. However, a taxi cab was later determined to be more cost effective.
55 | P a g e
It was not expected either that Fashion + Aid would conduct an extra interview for the team and the student volunteers. As a result, it was rather unfortunate that not all of the volunteers were eligible to volunteer for event. Luckily however, there were sufficient volunteers that passed the interview. In addition to that, an online induction was also requested, taking more of the student volunteer’s time and efforts. At the beginning of the project, the team had planned to have a meeting every fortnight to discuss the progress with the project and any other issues. However, due to various unexpected issues arising and the time constraints, the team met every week instead in order to resolve issues and to allow all members to be better updated on the progress of the project.
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What We Learned There are several lessons that the team has learned through this project. All the team members have displayed and gained new skills and experiences.
Lesson 1: Planning/Organisation One of the key objectives of the leadership program was to devise and implement a community project involving first year students within a certain time frame and budget. Time and resources, therefore, had to be allocated effectively to address all our issues including communicating with third parties, recruiting students and liaising with the faculty.
57 | P a g e
In order to complete everything on time, weekly meetings were held, with the team staying in touch with each other regularly. During each meeting, new goals were developed for the week and progress was evaluated for the past week. Each team member was delegated different tasks to improve the team’s efficiency. It was effective in the sense that each member was responsible for one task at one time rather than several. For example, one team member was responsible for communicating with Alison from the faculty, and only two team members were responsible for recruitment and interacting with students. Getting each team member to communicate with different charities was also very effective as the team members were able to contact more charities. This also meant that the team was able to stay organised and keep in constant contact with all charities. Additionally, this form of organisation ultimately led to the team finding a final community organisation such as the Lighthouse Foundation that suited our project’s needs and objectives. Throughout this project, the team was very aware of the time and resource constraints and constantly adapted the plan to overcome those obstacles. Apart from the program deadline, the team also encountered further time constraints with the actual dates of the charity events. This required all the recruitment to be done prior to the finalisation of volunteers on the part of the organisations themselves. To address this, all the team members were personally willing to undertake additional work such as contacting more organisations as back-ups to try and open up new opportunities in case previous arrangements fell through. In the end, the team was able to successfully complete the project on time and to meet all the goals and objectives. It was difficult for the team to plan and stay organised as there were third party charities involved that resulted in communication delays within the team and the faculty. However, the team learnt that creating an effective plan and 58 | P a g e
constant
evaluation
and
adaptation
to
changing
circumstances
is
extremely useful in meeting deadlines and achieving our objectives.
Lesson 2: Communication Strong communication skills was required on the part of all team members for the project to run smoothly. The team needed to communicate effectively with various audiences such as third party organisations, the Faculty and the student volunteers. One of the main issues in terms of communication was the communication between the team and the organisations. In the research, the team expressed its interest to the organisation, but would not follow up as often as it should have. Furthermore, communication with the coordinator of the organisation was via email, which did not give an adequate response rate. As a result, the relationships established with the organisations were rather weak. 59 | P a g e
The team’s mode of communication was altered and it was determined that a more effective way to contact the co-ordinator of the organisations was via phone. It made it easier for the team to express our goals and align it with the organisation’s goals for the particular event. It was also evident that by communicating via telephone, the response time improved as well as the team’s relationship with the organisation. This resulted in the team being able to establish a solid relationship both professionally and personally with Georgie Stayches, the coordinator for the Fashion + Aid event from The Lighthouse Foundation. It was important from the team’s perspective to keep in contact with Georgie and to continually update her with the team’s progress in order to sort through any current issues and avoid future issues. This made the process of working with The Lighthouse Foundation run more smoothly and the whole experience more enjoyable. At the end of the event, Georgie approached the team and said that she appreciated the fact that it was possible for a large group to volunteer at such an event - a great result for both parties.
60 | P a g e
Lesson 3: Service Excellence and Marketing As part of the Fashion + Aid event, the organisers, Lighthouse Foundation in cooperation with Trumpet Events, allocated fundraising responsibilities to some of the team members. The task for these particular team members were to sell as many raffle tickets as possible to the guests of Fashion + Aid. Tickets were priced at $50 each or alternatively $100 if three tickets were purchased in one transaction. Team members were required to approach guests in a courteous and friendly manner and encourage them to purchase the tickets for a good cause - raising money to support homeless individuals. The team helped to successfully raise a few hundred dollars in selling the raffle tickets for the Lighthouse Foundation. Even though it was challenging to sell the tickets to guests, as many declined to purchase our tickets, the group’s
61 | P a g e
combined efforts, working together as a group, led to positive results in fundraising money on behalf of the Lighthouse Foundation.
Lesson 4: Teamwork As indicated above, the team was divided into various roles at Fashion + Aid. One role specifically required volunteers to process transactions for the purchases of raffle tickets using EFTPOS facilities where guests opted to pay for the tickets using a credit or debit card.
Volunteers of the team who were given this specific task were allocated various tables according to instructions given by Lighthouse Foundation organisers. However, it was found that during the night it was not always possible to focus on processing transactions for guests who were seated only on the tables that volunteers had been allocated to. For 62 | P a g e
example, all guests of a table of 12 in total may have decided to purchase tickets using their credit cards. With one EFTPOS facility allocated to that table, it would have been inefficient for the volunteer responsible for that table to process all 12 transactions, given that there were a limited number of EFTPOS facilities. To ensure that raffle ticket transactions could be processed efficiently without guests needing to wait for prolonged periods of time, another member of the team would assist the other volunteer. With their combined efforts, the 12 transactions could be processed more efficiently. Another example of effective teamwork was when teams of two were
allocated
to
look
after
6-8
tables
of
guests.
Each
team
collaboratively effectively to greet the guests, sell the raffle tickets, collect pledges, oversee the live auctions and to answer any queries from the guests. Overall, all the volunteers on the night cooperated together efficiently that allowed the event to be a success. Each member focused on their specific roles and helped others when needed. The team did an effective job in setting up, greeting guests and packing down and allowed for the night to run smoothly. All the volunteers were happy to be part of the team and to participate in such a wonderful event.
Lesson 5: Leadership The team had five leaders who worked collaboratively to ensure that the launch of the project would encourage students of the Faculty of Business and Economics to volunteer at a charitable event - in accordance with the objectives of enhancing the student to community experience, student to faculty experience as well as the student to student experiences as highlighted in the overview above. As soon as the project was first formed, it was a challenge in deciding how the project was to be 63 | P a g e
run and managed by five individuals who shared the same passion of supporting good causes. It was decided that the team would have one leader, Daphne, who predominantly liaised with the Faculty and overall monitored the progress of the project. The other leaders: Jane, Louise, Debra and Sean, also held important roles in the team as they focused on tasks that were necessary to ensure that the project could be carried out. For example, these leaders researched and regularly contacted organisations to convey our interests in supporting their causes and eventually reported their findings to one another in weekly team meetings. It was found to be effective for one member in the team to perform oversight function over the project while others took the initiative and assisted in other matters that were very essential to ensure the project was a success.
64 | P a g e
Our Recommendations • Start contacting organisations early • Keep in regular contact • Stay focused and on task • Select an effective leader to keep everyone in check • Delegate and spread out responsibilities within the team • Being constantly aware of time and resource constraints
65 | P a g e
Acknowledgements Special mentions: ●
Alison Richardson- Faculty liaison
●
Gary Ryan - Leadership coach/mentor
Event organisers: ●
Georgie Stayches - Lighthouse Foundation
●
Gillian Essery - Trumpet Events
Our Project Sunshine team: ●
Natalie Nguyen
●
Mervyn Low
●
Brendon Aplin
●
Sean Shin
●
Princy Mathew
●
Hema Seenuth
●
Phoebe Zhu
●
Clarissa Dimitroff
66 | P a g e
Sports Day Team Members Gabriel Wong Kai-Lee Looi Laurinda Grieve Shivo Arivalakan
67 | P a g e
Overview As part of our PAL Leadership program, we had to create and host an event involving the university community, through enhancing student to student experiences.
We chose to conduct a sports afternoon targeting international and first year students.
We
aimed to provide an opportunity to promote friendship with other Monash students,
encouraging
interaction
and
communication
through
fun
activities.
68 | P a g e
Goals Quantitative goals - To have at least 20 students attend our sports afternoon.
Qualitative goals - Have diverse range of students attend - Have high levels of enthusiasm and interaction - Foster a positive and encouraging atmosphere
69 | P a g e
Our Plan
Our original ideas
Choosing the topic of our project We brainstormed a variety of different ideas below: 3. Omelettes with Omelas 4. Shuttle Adventure 5. Menzies Lawn Sports 6. Bike Riding Journey 7. Sports Day
In the end, we decided on the theme of our project to include sports as it offers a different method of interacting with individuals, overcoming the difficulty for international students to communicate and forge new friendships. 70 | P a g e
Developing our idea We developed a strategic plan based on the predicted outcome of two scenarios. Initially we planned to have two to four different sports depending on the turnout. The first scenario was for if around 10 - 20 students came. We would have three sports going - basketball, soccer and dodgeball. The second scenario catered for if we have more than 20 students. We aimed to have a larger variety of sports - basketball, soccer, dodgeball, table tennis and tug-of-war. We wanted to choose sports that didn’t need a extensive amount skill for and were to participate and organise. We decided to split the court by allocating half to soccer, a quarter for half-court basketball and the remaining quarter for dodgeball. Table tennis would be held in a different area, inside squash rooms where people could also spectate matches if they wished. We agreed on hosting a game of tug-of-war towards the end of the afternoon.
To get everyone involved in the sports, we had a fixture based on a rotational system. We divided the afternoon into half hour games commencing from 3pm, and grouped students into six even groups, so each team could have a taste of each different sport, as well as being exposed to interacting with different people. We predicted that it would take an hour at a maximum for people to settle down and to form groups.
71 | P a g e
Action Plan We nominated Shivo to be the leader and spokesman of the group.
Action
Who
When
Result
Email Alison with our
Shivo
February
Idea approved -
project idea to get
change of date
approval
suggested for second semester
Contact Monash Sports to
Shivo
March
Opportunity given to
book the venue and
contact Michael Jones
discuss potential dates to
who’s the director of
run the event in the
Sport at the Monash
second semester as
Sports Centre
suggested by Allison Develop our strategy for
Everyone April
Planned what sports to
the actual day, what
play and anticipated
sports, facilities and
the numbers we could
support we would
expect.
potentially need for the event. Contacted Michael to pitch idea to him
Shivo
May
Michael was supportive of the idea
72 | P a g e
Action
Who
Meet with Michael to seek
Everyone End of
advice and coordinate with
When
June
Result He suggested to run it on the last day of o-
semester 2 orientation
week on Friday the
week.
20th July, Monash Sports Day. He gave us a rough indication of the numbers expected which ranged from 10 to 100 students.
Promoting the event
Everyone July
Michael indicated that Monash Sports would advertise the event for us.
Running the event
Everyone July 20th See below
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What Happened The event was scheduled to start at 2pm with dodgeball. 2pm Initially the afternoon was relatively slow moving, as predicted earlier. Therefore we played dodgeball amongst ourselves to create a fun atmosphere and appear inviting. 2.30pm A
group
of
students came at this time
and
were
interested in playing soccer. So we divided them up into 2 teams and
supervised
the
game.
3pm Another group of students arrived so we switched the sport to basketball. We
decided
to
get
involved to mix the teams up.
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4pm Another group of students joined in on the basketball game, so us leaders retired from the game and supervised instead and provided some excellent commentary! 5pm Although
the
sports
day started slowly, we ended with 30 students attending the
event
afternoon.
throughout Students
the were
engaged and getting along well and everyone was able to meet some new people including
the
Leaders.
It
turned out to be a fun and therefore successful project!
75 | P a g e
The Differences Between Our Plan And What Happened? Initially we have a very timed and detailed plan, expecting people to arrive all at the same time. However, on the day, the students turned up in stages throughout the day. As a result, we had adapt and be more flexible with our planning and what sports people wanted to play,
to
create
a
more
fun
and
inviting
environment. We
were
perhaps
too
focussed
on
the
potential turnout rather than catering for the actual turnout. So we decided to help create a relaxed
and
encouraging
atmosphere,
we
played music, sang and danced around.
76 | P a g e
What We Learnt Employability
Notes
Skills Teamwork
●
Working together
We leveraged the skills of each team member to best benefit the project. Example Gabriel has sporting knowledge so he was in charge of refereeing the games. Communication
●
Planning phase
We used social media tools to aid in timely communication between team members ●
Event day
We discussed unanimously on decisions that had to be made on the day, and ensured that everyone agreed before executing our decision Problem Solving
●
Adaptability
We learnt to be more flexible with our event by responding to what the participants wanted and not what we had specifically planned to do. Leadership
●
Public Speaking
We learnt to take charge of situations that required leadership and that people respond to confidence. Planning & Organisation
●
Strategy
We regularly held meetings to assist in forming an effective plan that we could rely on on the event day 77 | P a g e
Life-long learning
●
Initiative and investment in personal development
We learnt to appreciate that if we are willing to put in the time and effort to improve our skills such as leadership, we can achieve greater results in the long term. ●
Time management
As this was an extracurricular activity, we had to be very conscious of everyone’s timetables, assignments and work commitments, so we used time wisely. Self-management & personal vision
●
Enhancement of leadership skills
We learnt a great deal about the soft skills required to be a great leader.
Technology
●
Facebook, Whatsapp & Google Docs
We used these social media tools to aid in communication between team members which kept us regularly updated with the progress of our project, and helped us in organising meetings Service excellence
●
Verbal feedback
To keep a relaxed atmosphere, we regularly asked them what sports they wanted to play or what they wanted to do next
78 | P a g e
Our Recommendations ●
Have a flexible plan in the event of unexpected turnout
●
Utilise all available technology to aid in communicating with team members
●
noting that we have a relatively small group, it may be difficult for larger groups to communicate effectively on their decision making process, therefore they should establish a planned structure on how to resolve conflicting ideas
●
leverage strengths of each team member
Acknowledgements ●
Gary Ryan, Director of Organisations That Matter
●
Alison Richardson, Director of PAL Leadership Program, Monash University
●
Michael Jones, Director of Sports, Monash Sports Centre
●
Marco Zhang, Participant in PAL Leadership Program
●
Jess Phengramsy, Ambassador from PAL Program
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www.otmacademy.com
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Melbourne Zoo Day Trip Team Members ●
Bharath Srinivasan
●
Cheryl Law
●
Darren Ma
●
Demi Patras
●
Fergie Ly
●
Jacquie Howard
●
Natalie Tyrer
●
Paolo Tarray
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Overview The broad scope of the projects is that they MUST target 1st year students (Peers) and focus on: ·
Enhancing student the student to student experience
·
Enhancing the student to Faculty experience
·
Enhancing the Faculty to community experience
Goals Quantitative Goals ●
To get an attendance of approximately 30 students.
●
Price minimization when pricing tickets.
Qualitative Goals ●
Enhance the international student experience at Monash.
●
Promote teamwork and communication amongst unfamiliar faces.
●
Make new friends.
●
To have a great day out!
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Our Plan ●
Initial project idea was to go to Sovereign Hill.
●
Sovereign
Hill
plan
included
task
development
such
as
transportation and ticket prices. ●
Rethink of project to change to day trip to Melbourne Zoo.
●
Developed and allocated tasks to team members. This included food, transportation, contacting the zoo, marketing and ticket pricing.
●
Promote our event in o-week
●
Call the zoo up and see if we can get cheaper group tickets, with the hope of donating proceeds to Zoo charity.
●
Create Facebook event to reach students through social media.
●
Create activities to promote collaboration and group communication between the students.
●
Food on the day - given sunny weather, we were going to have a barbeque and if the weather was wet then pizza in a sheltered area.
●
We also planned to donate part of the proceeds from tickets sale to charity we also thought about adopting a zoo animal
●
Transport - considered different means including bus, train or meeting at the zoo
●
Price tickets to be fair and affordable for international and new students
●
Meet consistently to ensure efficient communication between the leaders and update the group as the project developed.
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What Happened During Planning ●
Formulated Facebook group to ensure smooth communication within the group
●
Each individual team member was assigned to work on a specific task, as follows:
●
We consistently scheduled meetings on Facebook to update the group on each member’s progress
●
We researched food prices and options to cater for the planned barbeque on the day. Furthermore, we researched pizza prices and covered locations in the case of bad weather.
●
We researched possible charity contribution
●
Discussed ticket prices, whether to use public transport and get students to purchase their own transport to lower costs, food costs, charity costs and entry to the zoo.
Organising ●
Determined the ticket prices - to charge a lower price we excluded charity, transport and food from the price in order to increase affordability for students
●
We contacted the zoo to enquire about discounted group ticket prices, however they did not offer this.
●
We created tickets and fliers for marketing and promotion.
●
Spoke to the new international students during orientation at Caulfield and Clayton campus and signed up interested students.
●
Created a Facebook page for the event, to reach students through social media, setting up points of contact for students to easily reach leaders and purchase tickets
●
Set up ticket sales during weekly barbeque event on Caulfield campus
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●
Formulated activities for the students to complete on the day, to increase teamwork and bonding
●
Due to small numbers we decided to buy lunch at the Zoo and not do the barbeque
●
we designed our own event tickets
On the Actual Day ●
Met
all
the
participants
at
Caulfield campus then we caught a train to the zoo ●
We bought our tickets ourselves since we thought it was easier
●
Met
at
Caulfield
campus
and
transport
to
planned to meet ●
Caught
public
Melbourne Zoo ●
Distributed
scavenger
hunt
activity sheet ●
Split up into two groups and ran the activities with the students, while walking around the zoo
●
Stopped for lunch during the tour of the zoo as a group, which promoted integration between the groups
●
Had an award ceremony at the end of the day for participating students.
●
Travelled back to Caulfield campus as a group, where we finished the day.
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The Differences Between Our Plan And What Happened? ●
Had an awards ceremony at the zoo for participating students
●
Did not have a barbeque but instead had an intimate group lunch which allowed for greater interaction between the students and formed friendships
●
Did not give to charity in order to lower ticket pricing for students
●
Had a lower attendance of students than planned, however this proved to be more manageable for the leaders
●
We had planned to start selling tickets earlier however we left it too late and therefore did not maximise ticket sales
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What We Learned Teamwork and Communication ●
How to tailor your communication style to appeal to certain people.
●
How to communicate effectively to people from different cultural and ethnic backgrounds.
●
Influencing others is a lot harder than it seems and demands the individual to try alternate means.
●
How to resolve group disputes using an open forum which allowed people to voice their opinions.
●
How essential Facebook is in communicating with people with busy schedules.
●
Finding a way to balance group members outside commitments with the groups commitments and task
●
Development of Public speaking as some members of our team promoted the event during orientation
Problem Solving ●
Adjusting plans to deal with conflicts and issues that arise on the day effectively- weather, group size etc.
●
Coming up with alternatives and plans when faced with problems and difficulties- Change from sovereign hill to Melbourne zoo due to the travel, time and cost restraints
Leadership ●
Effectively delivering ideas and plans to the participates in a fun and non-controlling way
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Our Recommendations ●
Make a plan and stick with it.
●
Use different methods to recruit potential participants - don’t just rely on social media and posters.
●
Get started as early as possible - every day will count leading up to your event.
●
Have contingency plans - in our case, the weather or what to do when you don’t achieve the numbers you expected.
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Have a more detailed plan on what is happening on the day, so you know what is happening, when it is happening and where it is happening.
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Find a common day to meet and commit to it. Having group meetings whether in person or online all together was essential in ensuring that everyone was on the same page.
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Make the group size appropriate for the event - we feel that 8 people were too large when coordinating plans and meetings.
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Acknowledgements ● Ali Richardson from Monash University ● Gary Ryan from Organisations That Matter ● The friendly staff at Melbourne Zoo ● Fellow leaders as they provided advice
Thank You!!!
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