Student Ambassadors attend forum to develop global leadership skills

Our Study Cairns Student ambassadors Freddie Liad (the Philippines) and Sandy Hauser (Germany) travelled to Brisbane this week to attend the International Student Leaders Forum and represent the international students of Cairns.

The International Student Leaders Forum recognises and celebrates the valuable contribution international and domestic students make to Queensland.

Freddie and Sandy were picked up from Brisbane airport and taken to the premium student accommodation quarters of Student One and housed in apartments with amazing views. The night prior to the Forum they attended a networking function to meet with students from all over the state.

Freddie (left) at the networking drinks function

The jam-packed Forum program, themed around “Global Talent, Global Skills, Global Workforce” consisted of workshops and seminars covering topics such as what it means to be a Leader, how to be competitive globally in securing a job, and student health and well-being.

“The international Student Leader Forum was a really great opportunity to come together with industry specialists and discuss studying in Australia and what it means to be a leader with other student leaders and ambassadors. It was a day full of networking, learning and personal development around being a student and, in my case, as an entrepreneur as well”, Sandy said.

Freddie particularly enjoyed the employability related sessions: “My favourite part was hearing from the employers’ perspective what they are looking for. This information is invaluable to land a job as an International student in Queensland,” Freddie said.

“I’ve learned that it’s important to have a set of skills, work experience, ability to learn and to adapt. Also, I loved the session on ‘how to stand out from the rest of applicants’, because we all know how big the competition is when applying for a job. I learnt that it’s best to market yourself well and do your research about the company you’re aiming to become part of.”

MP Michael Healey with Sandy, Carolina (QISAP) and Freddie

Student Ambassadors visited Parliament House and had the opportunity to meet with Ministers and Members of Parliament, including local Member for Cairns, Michael Healy. Sandy loved the opportunity to meet dignitaries and network with Study Queensland representatives.

“Meeting Megan Short, Senior Project Officer of Study Queensland and her team, was an honour, along many other inspiring industry leaders like Mr. Christian Duell”, Sandy said.

Both ambassadors thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Sandy rated the event as highly valuable: “I returned to Cairns with new friends, connections and more knowledge about what it means to become a leader and support other students”, she said.

Freddie, concurs: “It has been an amazing event since day one, full of interesting students, inspiring speakers, and we even met some motivating employers from small and medium-sized enterprises to big businesses.”

Study Cairns, Cairns Student Hub and our ambassadors would like to thank all stakeholders for hosting this event and offering two  international students from Cairns the opportunity to attend.

Sandy (right) in the “big smoke”