Project Activities

These are intended activities suggested by the facilitator in compliance with the project and strategies. These activities are to be discussed on the blog discussion page to better accommodate every one in the network.

1. Create a network of UQ postgraduates:

-         Utilizing blog and facebook to recruit members and through blog to inform about the aim of the project, strategies and processes of action plan.

-         Opening up discussions to facilitate sharing and interacting with other members as well as to mobilize ideas of how to implement activities and call for participation in activities.

2. Expand the network:

-         Recruiting more members through the group members’ friend lists

-         Advertise UQ mates and the new network of postgraduates at market days and any big day where have a chance of catching up with many students to talk about the project and the network, especially to new students.

3. Strengthen the network:

-         Facilitate conversations online based on theme discussions interested to students for sharing everything about life and study concerning them. Themes of discussion can be posted by members on facebook, which automatically linked to the blog as well. Theses online discussions and sharing will save time for postgraduates while they still can release stress and build up their relationships with who share the same concerns or interest.

-         Having fun and promoting diversity are of the strategies to link people together by organizing common activities, informal gathers like a regular Food Dishes Gather outdoor (every 2 weeks), which invites students from different countries to bring their own dishes to share. Food sharing is naturally a traditionally relaxing way to share culture and lifestyle. Other active activities might be interesting to students like sports, picnics, film screenings at someone’s house together, ect.

-         Employ “Fluid phases” by Andrews, which allow more interaction with the subjects in community development practice. First, taking advantages of breaking time in academic calendar cycles of break and study to organize outdoor activities. Second, celebration like birthday parties of members or public celebration to gather for free talks over a meal, a drink. Third, crisis of study workload, homesick are when postgraduates need interacting with others for study supports with input ideas, study materials and spiritual encouraging. Forth, chances for advertising the network and linking the group with other UQ groups like market days, orientation week.

4. Activities to collaborate with UQ services, UQ mates and student associations for improving interaction among postgraduates:

-         Calling for voluntary passionate members within the network to represent to the group to go meeting with UQ services for discussing collaborative activities.

-         Referring and guiding new postgraduates with specific needs to appropriate UQ services

-         Negotiating with UQ mates to have their update activities, events via its member email list, via students’ associations email lists and on the group site for ease of updating more students (especially new coming postgraduates) with up coming activities.

-         Negotiating with UQ mates to get them build a Buddy Preference Seeking Form in assisting students to find a study mate, language exchange mate or activity mates in sports, dancing and other entertainment activities, and later find students their match. This would be very helpful in increasing interaction between international students and domestic students, especially in language exchange.

-         Collaborating with students’ associations and UQmates to organize social and culture events together, for example, gatherings for sharing food, music and culture talks, so there would be more students from different countries to join.