Since its pilot in 2014, the Melbourne International Student Conference has steadily gained momentum, growing from a stand-alone annual event to a learning community made up of students committed to bettering their future outcomes, and 2017 is set to promise a two-day conference and more.
Hosted by Meld Community in partnership with the City of Melbourne, the conference will this year be taking place on May 5 and 6 at the City Convention Centre, Victoria University, in Melbourne.
Themed ‘Next Gen Now’, the conference will continue to take a future focus to explore the things that make this generation tick, what a successful career looks like to millennials, and how to get there starting from now.
Topics to be addressed include working with meaning and purpose, cultural diversity and women in leadership, social entrepreneurship, strengths discovery and development, professional networking and mentoring.
Featured speakers
Keynote speakers at this year’s conference are CEO and co-founder of Intersective, Beau Leese, and the founder and chief of Beekeeper Parade, Koky Saly.
Leading a fast growth education technology start-up team of 25 to better connect work and learning, Beau is passionate about innovation, collaboration and skills, and has a track record of positive impact across business, government, universities and tech start-ups. Prior to Intersective, Beau was Head of Strategy, Innovation & International for the CSIRO, Australia’s national R&D Agency, overseeing more than $1bn in public applied R&D investment. He led a major reform program, was the principal architect of CSIRO’s Strategy 2020, ‘Australia’s Innovation Catalyst’, and co-founded CSIRO’s innovation and entrepreneurship program – CSIRO ‘ON’.
Drawing on his experiences, Beau’s day one keynote will be focusing on what’s next for this new generation.
The second day of the conference will feature Beekeeper Parade founder and chief Koky Saly.
Koky was born in a temple converted to a prison for pregnant woman, where they kept his mother. When the war ended, his family escaped Cambodia and sought asylum in Australia.
In his keynote, Koky will be sharing his story about how he turned pain into power, and used that power to create change in the world through his fashion and accessory social business.
Conference highlights
In 2017, the conference will for the first time offer students exclusive access to an online job readiness assessment and learning platform complete with training videos and simulations to help students improve their employability.
Other highlights of the conference include:
- The Working It Out Forum, which invites a diverse panel of international student alumni to share their stories and experiences of “working things out” in different facets of their lives and get students thinking about how they can develop a long-term view on career development;
- The People, Place and Technology Futurecast, which asks the question, ‘How can we use space and technology to encourage diversity in the classroom and at work?’and;
- The Design Your Education workshops, where students and staff work together to design a new education experience.
Returning to the conference this year also are the popular ‘Young Upstarts Business Pitch Competition’, ‘Teach Anything Good’ sessions and ‘Professional Networking Night’.
Registering for MISC 2017
Thanks to support from the City of Melbourne, students paying their own way will be able to access the two-day conference at a student-concession rate of $85.
The conference also invites education institutions to nominate and sponsor their students to attend, as well as staff and stakeholders in the international education sector.
Win a double-pass to MISC 2017
Additionally, Meld Magazine is giving away a double pass for one lucky student to attend the Melbourne International Student Conference with their friend. To win, simply enter the Rafflecopter competition below and you can gain access to MISC and all of its events across both days!