Discover your new world
VISITOR GUIDE
THEAGEVCE
4 ANDCAREERS EXPO2014
THE AGE • MONDAY, MAY 5, 2014
INFORMED CHOICES
Discover your new world A visit to the Expo can help clarify your choices, give you new ideas and excite you about the possibilities. By Erin Munro BY now, Year 12 students will be well aware of the deadline looming in November. They’ve chosen their subjects, will often have a blueprint of post-school plans, and are sick to death of being told how important this final year of school is. But visiting the VCE and Careers Expo, which features stalls for 190 exhibitors and 156 seminars on a range of topics, can be a reassuring experience for the soon-to-be school leavers – and it isn’t just for those fast approaching the secondary education finish line. As Tina Tolich from the event organiser Resources for Courses says, “the event is targeted towards Years 10, 11 and 12 students… and there’s three different reasons why three different lots of students would choose to come to this event”. For Year 10 students, there’s the chance to get the glimpse of the wide variety of options available when they complete their schooling. In addition to getting a look at courses and career opportunities they may not have even known about, this weekend’s Expo hosts subject selection seminars for students yet to commence their VCE, IB or VCAL years. For students in Year 11, who have chosen their areas of study but are still bracing themselves for the final units of study, there are seminars on VCE subjects and the chance to consolidate their decisions or consider some new paths. Overwhelmingly though, those attending the VCE and Careers Expo will be Year 12s and their supportive parents. They’ll be able to learn more about their options after VCE from the many exhibitors present, including most of the nation’s universities, TAFEs and private
colleges. And for those not so keen to dive into further study after a rather intensive year of it, there’ll be booths providing information on gap years and overseas working options. It’s not just those students who have a clear idea of what they want to do postschool who can benefit from attending the event. “Students might come in and sit in on a seminar about something they’re mildly interested in, and it will tip them over the edge into knowing that’s what they want to do,” Tolich says. “Or there may be an exhibitor that they’ve never seen and didn’t know existed, and they might discover an area of interest they didn’t know about.” So how best to prepare for attending the Expo? “Get on to the website,” Tolich suggests. “The seminar program is up there, and students can choose which they want to go to and plan ahead.” The current exhibitors list is also published online, and updated every couple of days. And while the decisions you make now by no means have to determine the rest of your life, they can be a step in the right direction of personal fulfillment and happiness.
“It isn’t just for those fast approaching the secondary education finish line.”
PHOTOS: COURTESY OF MONASH UNIVERSITY UNLESS OTHERWISE STATED
SY PHOTO: COURTE
CATHOLIC OF AUSTRALIAN
UNDERSTANDING THE MELBOURNE CURRICULUM Six years ago, the University of Melbourne created controversy when it introduced the Melbourne Curriculum (previously the Melbourne Model), entirely restructuring the way that undergraduate students study and obtain qualifications. So what exactly is the Melbourne Curriculum, and how does it compare to academic programs at other Australian universities? Essentially, the switch transformed Melbourne University’s 96 undergraduate courses into just six degrees, with an emphasis on a broader style of learning rather than professional skills. Often compared to the structure of courses at European and North American universities (although undergraduate courses are only three years, while US courses are typically four), it means that students who wish to study at Melbourne will have to complete a general degree, designed to allow for “developing interests and… more considered choices”, before specialising in a specific field by enrolling in a Masters course upon graduating.
In layman’s terms, if you wish to become a lawyer and study at Melbourne University, you will first need to complete a general degree, with subjects from a number of different fields, before obtaining post-graduate qualifications in law. Whether this method will work for you depends on your personal preferences. If you have some doubts about which area of study you’re most interested in, or what career you’d like to pursue, then a general education which gives you time to make up your mind might suit you best. If, however, you are certain about a specific field you’d like to work in, and the prospect of at least five years of study isn’t appealing, then you might be better off considering a professional undergraduate course at another tertiary institution.
>More info learningandteaching.unimelb.edu.au/ curriculum/curriculum
CAMBRIDGE
CHECKPOINTS
2014
UNIVERSITY
VCE STUDY GUIDES
NOW OFFERING DIGITAL SUPPOR T WITH
QUIZME MORE! Optional digital companions to the Checkpoints printed guides offer a host of additional auto and self-marking questions to help you prepare for your VCE exams. Available from all good bookstores.
www.cambridge.edu.au/vcecheckpoints
THEAGEVCE
4 ANDCAREERS EXPO2014
THE AGE • MONDAY, MAY 5, 2014
INFORMED CHOICES
Discover your new world A visit to the Expo can help clarify your choices, give you new ideas and excite you about the possibilities. By Erin Munro BY now, Year 12 students will be well aware of the deadline looming in November. They’ve chosen their subjects, will often have a blueprint of post-school plans, and are sick to death of being told how important this final year of school is. But visiting the VCE and Careers Expo, which features stalls for 190 exhibitors and 156 seminars on a range of topics, can be a reassuring experience for the soon-to-be school leavers – and it isn’t just for those fast approaching the secondary education finish line. As Tina Tolich from the event organiser Resources for Courses says, “the event is targeted towards Years 10, 11 and 12 students… and there’s three different reasons why three different lots of students would choose to come to this event”. For Year 10 students, there’s the chance to get the glimpse of the wide variety of options available when they complete their schooling. In addition to getting a look at courses and career opportunities they may not have even known about, this weekend’s Expo hosts subject selection seminars for students yet to commence their VCE, IB or VCAL years. For students in Year 11, who have chosen their areas of study but are still bracing themselves for the final units of study, there are seminars on VCE subjects and the chance to consolidate their decisions or consider some new paths. Overwhelmingly though, those attending the VCE and Careers Expo will be Year 12s and their supportive parents. They’ll be able to learn more about their options after VCE from the many exhibitors present, including most of the nation’s universities, TAFEs and private
colleges. And for those not so keen to dive into further study after a rather intensive year of it, there’ll be booths providing information on gap years and overseas working options. It’s not just those students who have a clear idea of what they want to do postschool who can benefit from attending the event. “Students might come in and sit in on a seminar about something they’re mildly interested in, and it will tip them over the edge into knowing that’s what they want to do,” Tolich says. “Or there may be an exhibitor that they’ve never seen and didn’t know existed, and they might discover an area of interest they didn’t know about.” So how best to prepare for attending the Expo? “Get on to the website,” Tolich suggests. “The seminar program is up there, and students can choose which they want to go to and plan ahead.” The current exhibitors list is also published online, and updated every couple of days. And while the decisions you make now by no means have to determine the rest of your life, they can be a step in the right direction of personal fulfillment and happiness.
“It isn’t just for those fast approaching the secondary education finish line.”
PHOTOS: COURTESY OF MONASH UNIVERSITY UNLESS OTHERWISE STATED
SY PHOTO: COURTE
CATHOLIC OF AUSTRALIAN
UNDERSTANDING THE MELBOURNE CURRICULUM Six years ago, the University of Melbourne created controversy when it introduced the Melbourne Curriculum (previously the Melbourne Model), entirely restructuring the way that undergraduate students study and obtain qualifications. So what exactly is the Melbourne Curriculum, and how does it compare to academic programs at other Australian universities? Essentially, the switch transformed Melbourne University’s 96 undergraduate courses into just six degrees, with an emphasis on a broader style of learning rather than professional skills. Often compared to the structure of courses at European and North American universities (although undergraduate courses are only three years, while US courses are typically four), it means that students who wish to study at Melbourne will have to complete a general degree, designed to allow for “developing interests and… more considered choices”, before specialising in a specific field by enrolling in a Masters course upon graduating.
In layman’s terms, if you wish to become a lawyer and study at Melbourne University, you will first need to complete a general degree, with subjects from a number of different fields, before obtaining post-graduate qualifications in law. Whether this method will work for you depends on your personal preferences. If you have some doubts about which area of study you’re most interested in, or what career you’d like to pursue, then a general education which gives you time to make up your mind might suit you best. If, however, you are certain about a specific field you’d like to work in, and the prospect of at least five years of study isn’t appealing, then you might be better off considering a professional undergraduate course at another tertiary institution.
>More info learningandteaching.unimelb.edu.au/ curriculum/curriculum
CAMBRIDGE
CHECKPOINTS
2014
UNIVERSITY
VCE STUDY GUIDES
NOW OFFERING DIGITAL SUPPOR T WITH
QUIZME MORE! Optional digital companions to the Checkpoints printed guides offer a host of additional auto and self-marking questions to help you prepare for your VCE exams. Available from all good bookstores.
www.cambridge.edu.au/vcecheckpoints
