Some of Our Parts

International Student Careers Summit Kicks Off Next Week!

This program is designed to help international students make their mark in the employment market.

From Monday 3 April to Thursday 6 April Career Connect will bring together a series of workshops and online keynotes to maximise our students’ competitive employability and prepare them for the transition into the workforce.

• The full program can be found here.

Students can register via UniHub here: monash.edu/careers-summit.

Inclusive Bookshelves Championed at Vision Australia’s Children’s Book Launch

Vison Australia has launched the first book in a series championing underrepresented role models with blindness and low vision has been launched at the Melbourne Museum last week.

Surfing in the Dark, a fully integrated braille and illustrated children’s book, chronicles the story of Matt Formston, a pro blind surfer who ignored naysayers to tackles waves bigger than a five-storey building.

“The world has told me and my family you can’t, you shouldn’t, because you have a disability it’s not an option for you,” Matt said.

“But my life experience has been that I can.”

The highlight of the day designed to start a bigger conversation about diversity and inclusion in the books we read was when 11-year-old Ethan Bradley got to interview his role model Matt Formston.

Ethan has vision loss himself and stole the show by asking some tough questions to the fearless surfer, who said it was the best interview he had all year.

The book is the first of three to be released this year from Vision Australia’s ground breaking Big Visions book series.

A series written and published with the ambition to highlight positive role models and inspire inclusivity and acceptance in all Australians.

The Remembering Stella Young Project

“I am not a snowflake. I am not a sweet, infantilising symbol of fragility and life. I am a strong, fierce, flawed adult woman. I plan to remain that way, in life and in death.” Stella Young

The Remembering Stella Young project will deliver a statue of Stella Young in her hometown of Stawell to celebrate, commemorate and remember her.

Council received funding from the Victorian Government for the Remembering Stella Young project in February 2022, through the Victorian Women’s Public Art Program.

The planned artwork will commemorate Stella as a contemporary woman who made a significant contribution to Victoria and aims to continue her legacy, to challenge and educate society and its perception of disability, and to strive for “a world where disability is not the exception, but the norm”.

• For more information see this article.

Disruptive Comedy: Breaking Barriers with Laughter

Join a panel of comedians, hosted by Adam Hills, as they explore the realities of working in comedy as people with disability.

To coincide with the Melbourne International Comedy Festival on 5 April, the Wheeler Centre (in the city), is hosting a panel of comedians who will discuss matters relating to disability.

This event is in-person and also live-streamed.

It is described as a panel that explores the realities of working in comedy as people with disability.

Together the panel “will share their personal and professional experiences, delve into the barriers that exist in the comedy industry, and discuss how laughter can be used as a tool for empowerment and education.”

• For more information check out the website.

Applications for Policy Futures 2024 are Closing Soon

Reminder! Policy Futures Graduate Program – applications close soon. 

Applications for the 2024 Policy Futures Graduate program are still open and close on Wednesday 5 April 2023.

This program is open to graduates from all degrees and disciplines who have graduated or will graduate between 1 January 2022 and 1 February 2024. 

We wanted to make sure you were aware that this year they’re offering specific career pathways for candidates with disability.

They will also be hosting information sessions for candidates where they will share more information about our program and run through the application process and provide information on each phase of the recruitment process.

• Further information and session dates are available on Eventbrite.

Please see this link to a PDF flyer which includes information on how to apply.

• Further detailed information can be found on their website, Policy Futures graduate program | Employment and jobs | Queensland Government (www.qld.gov.au).

Survey – Disabilities and the Universities Accord Universities as Disability Champions of Change

The Universities Accord is billed as “a once in a decade opportunity to transform the higher education sector.”

Researchers are seeking information to feed into research and advocacy as part of this process.

The project is being led by Dr Paul Harpur, who is an Associate Professor at the University of Queensland and member of the Universities Accord Ministerial Reference Group.

The research component of this part of the project is being supported primarily by Professor Katie Ellis from Curtin University and Dr Lisa Stafford from the University of Tasmania. All researchers identify as people with disabilities.

They intend to use the data from the anonymous online survey to prepare a submission to the Universities Accord Discussion Paper and for use in research into higher education and disability.

• The Universities Accord Discussion Paper is available here.

Disability is on the agenda, and the intent is to ensure that all disability rights are realized including rights to education, work, access, and participation at all levels.

The researchers have created a short anonymous 8 question survey for students and staff with a disability and their allies to complete about their experience and what’s needed to improve universities.

• To provide feedback into the Universities Accord Discussion Paper your survey response is needed by 6 April 2023.

Register for AND’s Stepping Into Winter Information Session this Thursday!

Want to know more about Stepping Into paid internship opportunities?

• Attend a FREE Information Session this Thursday 23 March!

Calling All Students and Graduates with Disability!

We are pleased to announce that Stepping Into Internship program is now taking applications.

Learn more about Stepping Into Internship program:

• Gain paid and valuable career-relevant work experience
• Learn on the job
• Grow your knowledge of your chosen industry
• Develop networking and soft skills
• Support provided throughout the program

FREE information session next Thursday, 23 March at 2:00PM (AEDT), more info below.

Register your interest to join our Zoom session.

• See you there!

Submit an application form early to gain paid work experience this Winter break before midnight on Sunday 2nd of April.

Apply NOW for Stepping Into Winter Program!

About the Stepping Into Internship Program

• Internships will run between 4 and 8 weeks and comprise of 152 hours in total (with the opportunity for flexible work hours to manage your disability or other commitments).

Are You Eligible?

• Stage of study: final or second last year of university students (undergraduate or postgraduate degrees) and graduates up to 36 months
• TAFE students are encouraged to apply, however, eligibility requirements vary dependent on role
• Discipline of study: All are encouraged to apply
• Citizenship status: Australian citizen, Permanent Resident or international student with full working rights in Australia
• Location: Open to students located in metro and regional areas across Australia

We welcome previous Stepping Into applicants to re-apply for the program!

AND accepts applications from students with all types of disability including, but not limited to:

• physical disability
• mental health conditions
• sensory impairments
• immunological conditions.

Find out more about disability types here.

How do you apply?

Read the details on AND’s information page for students and complete their online application form here by midnight 2nd of April 2023.

Already applied previously?

There is no limitation on how many times you can apply or participate in the program.

AND is happy to reconsider previous applicants of the Stepping Into program.

• Contact them on 1300 36 36 45 or email applications@and.org.au to request your previous application be copied.

Please review the positions available and submit at least three position preferences to applications@and.org.au.

Find out more about the Stepping Into Program on our website here.

Join AND’s Information Sessions

Want to learn more about the program and if you’re eligible?

In the session, AND will discuss:

• how the program works
• how to prepare for an interview
• discussing workplace adjustments
• office etiquette
• what to expect from the program and answer any questions you have about Stepping Into program.

So join AND using the link below!

The session will be held online through Zoom.

• Thursday 23rd March 2023, 2pm – 3pm (click here to register)
  *all in Sydney/Canberra/Melbourne time (AEDT)

More sessions:

• Wednesday 29th March 2023, 11am – 12am (AEST) (click here to register) *all in Sydney/Canberra/Melbourne time (AEDT)

You can view the session times and access details here!

• Please let AND know if you would like any adjustments for this session.

Neurodiversity Celebration Week: What is Dyslexia?

*From the blog of UK company, Inspiration Software

Over the last year, there has been a lot of talk about dyslexia in the media and in parliament, but there is still a lot of misunderstanding about what dyslexia actually is.

So, as it’s Neurodiversity Celebration Week we decided to shed some light on the topic.

It is estimated that about 10% of the population in the UK, and in fact the world, has some degree of dyslexia; that’s 1 in 10 people or globally 780 million people, diagnosed and undiagnosed.

Dyslexia is a common learning difficulty that causes problems mainly with reading, writing and spelling.

• Click here to learn more about what it means to live with dyslexia.
• Click here to learn about the assistive software available for library users with a disability at Monash University, including Inspiration

Public Consultation for the Review of the Disability Standards for Accessible Public Transport is Now Open!

Complete an online survey by 7 April 2023 – have your say on the Disability Standards for Accessible Public Transport.

You can now complete a short online survey to have your say as part of the review.

• If you are a person with disability, a carer or a support worker, click here to complete the survey.
• If you are a public transport operator or provider, click here to complete the survey.

It will take between 15 and 20 minutes to complete the survey, depending on the length of your written responses.

The survey will be open until 11.59pm AEST, 7 April 2023.

• Further information about the Review is available at www.infrastructure.gov.au/transport-standards-review.

Monash User Study on Accessible Floorplans

• Are you colour blind, have dyslexia, low vision, or are a wheelchair user?
• Do you visit public spaces such as train stations, hospitals, and shopping centres?

We would like to hear about your experience in visiting these complex public spaces and how you pre-plan the trip eg: floor plans?

If this applies to you, and you are interested in providing your feedback, we would appreciate 15-20 mins of your valuable time to be spent on answering this online survey for our research project titled: ‘Developing Adaptive Graphics (SVG) for Disabled Users‘.

The next step would be for you to be available for 30-45 minutes so we can talk to you about your experiences in using the floorplans and get feedback on a web based floorplan we’ve developed.

• We offer a $20 gift card as a show of our appreciation to participants in this project

If you are interested, please contact these Monash University researchers:

• Mr Yutan Huang (yutan.huang@monash.edu) or
• Dr Anuradha Madugalla (anu.madugalla@monash.edu)