How Deakin transformed me

My name is Tayyaba and my home country is Pakistan. I graduated from Deakin University, Australia, with a Master of Engineering (Professional) in October 2019. I came to Australia in 2016 on my husband’s (Saad) visa. He was a student at Deakin. Initially, I had no intentions of pursuing postgraduate coursework until I visited Deakin’s Waurn Ponds Campus with Saad. I was so amazed to see all the facilities and the mode of education. I made up my mind immediately to study further, and I am glad that my family supported this decision.

Exceptional educational facilities

Deakin University offers exceptional educational and residential facilities and services to its students to ensure a beneficial experience. Some of my favourite facilities are as follows:

• Deakin University Library: One of the most comfortable as well as peaceful places to study. It is divided into several areas such as 24-hour access, quiet study and group study areas. The library is full of e-books and hard copies that you can borrow by scanning your student ID card. 
• Recorded lectures: Isn’t it amazing that your lectures are available to watch online as soon as your class finishes? This feature was so helpful for me, especially when working on assignments.
• Shuttle bus: I had to travel a lot between Deakin’s Waurn Ponds and Waterfront campuses, and this service made my life so convenient. It’s a free bus service for Deakin students and staff, which goes every 30 minutes between the two campuses.

Deakin University and my career

During my study period at Deakin, I availed myself of every single opportunity that came my way. I started my educational journey at Deakin University English Language Institute (DUELI) at the Waterfront Campus, followed by a Master of Engineering (Professional) at the Waurn Ponds Campus.

Being a student leader helped me to polish my management, leadership, communication and administrative skills.

I studied at DUELI to fulfill the English language requirements for my postgraduate coursework. I achieved the desired results in 10 weeks and later was offered a job as a student leader at DUELI. That was one of the most exciting moments of my life, and I felt so proud of myself. I enjoyed working and studying at Deakin at the same time. Being a student leader helped me to polish my management, leadership, communication and administrative skills. These are the basic skills required for any job in Australia, and I am so grateful that Deakin gave me this opportunity to learn. 

I believe that one opportunity opens the door to another, and that’s what happened to me. While I worked as a DUELI Leader, I came across Study Geelong Student Ambassador Program, and I applied for the program because of its immense benefits. This program helped me to polish my public speaking, effective communication and networking skills. After finishing my studies, I started working at Carbon Revolution as a production team member, followed by Boardriders as a COVID support supervisor. I enjoyed working at Carbon Revolution and Boardriders and polishing my skills.

Even though I enjoyed my work, I was still looking for something better which involved leadership and administrative tasks. I started my job hunting and came across the opportunity of being a Leadership Portfolio Administrative at Committee for Geelong. I was super excited to come across this role and applied for it straight away. Indeed, it will help me to hone my skills to the next level. I started this job around five months back and am enjoying my time. This role is helping me to improve my networking skills, management skills, communication skills and event organisation skills.

Working at Deakin as a DUELI ambassador allowed me to build relationships that are helping me a lot to grow in my career. 

Geelong – My home

Geelong is a peaceful place to live in and it has all the facilities you may need. I came here in 2016 and have not moved from here. People are so friendly, and they respect your culture. Jobs are readily available. Several recruitment agencies can help you as well. After finishing my studies, I told my husband that I would like to continue my stay in Geelong, and I don’t have any plans of moving in the coming future.

Quick links

Learn more about Deakin’s Master of Engineering (Professional) here

Discover Deakin’s range of postgraduate engineering degrees here

Learn more about DUELI here

Learn more about accommodation at Deakin here