(Education) Address

The Autumn Session has witnessed an exhilarating whirlwind of activity within the Education Portfolio! From engaging mentoring programs to thoughtprovoking panel discussions, a visit from heartwarming therapy dogs, and even an iconic podcast, the Education Portfolio has been active this Autumn to deliver valuable and fulfilling opportunities for LSS members

Buddy Project

The goal for the 2023 edition of the Buddy Project was to maximise student engagement and build upon the program’s success. Excitingly, a record breaking 300+ signups is a testament to the eagerness of our members to ultimately maximise their university experience We hosted a launch event to enable buddies to meet, mingle, and enjoy some refreshments in what was a successful launch

Peter Markopoulos

This Autumn, we saw the return of the famous Buddy Project Sip and Sing Night, run in conjunction with our Activities (Socials) Team Hosted at SideBar, buddies had the opportunity to mingle and sing the night away, embracing the theme of ‘rhyme without reason’ Stay tuned for our Spring Buddy Event!

Peer Mentoring And Subject Tutoring

The program commenced this Autumn with the workshop focusing on core skills to apply across first year law subjects, particularly Foundations of Law and Ethics Law and Justice

Moving into Spring session, there will be a review of the overall delivery of the workshops, as we seek ways to maximise student engagement and tailor content to complement student learning in the most effective way.

The Subject Tutor Database will be revised over the break and in Spring will undergo an update to reflect new student tutor availability If you have performed well in a UTS Law subject and are interested in offering tutoring services, or require assistance, keep an eye out for more information regarding our tutor database in Spring!

Promoting student wellbeing continues to be a top priority within the Education Portfolio The implementation of ‘Wellbeing Wednesdays’ has been the result of an increased need to assist students by providing weekly engaging wellbeing content via our Instagram story. In Spring, we plan to reinvigorate this initiative to better cater to the varying needs of our members

Wellbeing Publications

We also saw the return of the Smile Project, providing students with the chance to enjoy a free Pizza Lunch, free goodies from The Law Society of NSW, as well as a memorable visit from the Paws Pet Therapy dogs. In collaboration with the Social Justice Portfolio, we successfully facilitated the Equity x Wellbeing panel, with the topic of ‘mental health’ exploring the crucial connection between mental health, equitable access to services, and the legal framework. The Wellbeing Subcommittee will further assist in facilitating our Spring initiatives to ensure we best cater to the needs of our members!

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The Advocates Mentoring Program, has had 17 successful studentbarrister pairings this year, with the welcome breakfast taking place in the Postgraduates Lounge this Autumn

Over the break, we will engage with mentor and mentee feedback in order to evaluate the overall success of the program

With the return of yet another UTS LSS staple event, the first iteration of our annual Speaker Series covered the theme ‘Evolving Human Rights’. This called for a thought-provoking panel exploring the intricacies of various human rights issues, by a highly esteemed panel. Hosted at the Clayton Utz Office, this engaging series of discussion proved to be a great success, with 50 students registered in attendance.

The Law School Manual and Camp Survival Guide were developed and proved to be a success during the orientation period and at camp respectively! Notably, our Full Bench publication is currently undergoing its editing phase and will explore the ‘Uncharted Legal Territories’ existing within our contemporary society. This will be the only edition of the Full Bench this year, and will feature an array of existing student journal work!

The Bar Productions has returned, in a new format with only 6 Episodes per semester. This decision was made to reflect prior trends with student engagement, and the opportunity to best maximise its prospects for success. There has been an upwards of 300% increase in listening numbers on a fortnightly basis of our episodes.

We look forward to maximising student engagement and improving efficiency within the Education Portfolio in the Spring session! Stay tuned, and if you have any questions, please reach out vpe@utslss.com

Vice-President