Teaching for success

A university degree should prepare you for a better future. At Deakin, we teach the skills that industry wants now and will need in the future to give you the best chance at success.

Deakin’s approach to education is to offer authentic learning experiences that give you a taste of the real world. We teach the discipline knowledge you will need to get a job after graduation. But we also help you develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills so you can take the next step. We want you to graduate ready to start a rewarding career and to advance in that career.

The necessary skills

‘Deakin degrees have been designed in a hierarchical order that allows you to build your skills from the foundational level,’ says Supraja, who is enrolled in the Bachelor of Biomedical Sciences. ‘My degree has weekly hands-on training in the labs which are the same environment as a commercial laboratory, making me feel confident and ready to apply my skills in a real life set up.’

Food and nutrition science student Kathleen, from Indonesia, also likes the hands-on approach at Deakin. ‘I like doing the practicals,’ she says. ‘I like the hands-on learning in little groups of people. That is where you really get to understand what they talk about in lectures.’

While some of this hands-on learning happens on campus, much of it is through work placements and internships. In her second year of study, marketing and commerce graduate Emily, from Vietnam, ‘successfully secured an internship at Lovisa, one of Australia’s leading specialist fast fashion jewellery retailers. The internship unearthed my passion for fashion retail and e-commerce.’

Internships such as this not only provide experience, they can open doors into the future. ‘At that point, I did not know that it would be the start of my career,’ Emily says. ‘I was retained to work as an online visual merchandiser after the placement!’

The transferable skills

Along with the skills for your chosen field, Deakin degrees focus on transferable skills. These are the ones that equip you to become a leader in your field. ‘Working in collaboration with peers helps to practise and refine decision making and critical thinking skills,’ Adyant tells us. These skills of assessing, evaluating and solving problems, whether in assessments or during work placements, are ones that Adyant sees as ‘essential for being a leader.’

Deakin also provides opportunities to acquire leadership skills outside the classroom. According to Anuradha, who came to Deakin from Sri Lanka to study international relations, ‘my involvement as a student leader and a peer mentor has contributed to my real-world problem-solving skills and honed my leadership abilities.’

Similarly, Adyant says that ‘joining and actively participating in clubs and societies has allowed me to take on leadership roles – managing teams, delegating work and coordinating the operations.’

 Supporting your career journey

Deakin is the #1 university in the Australian state of Victoria for student supports and services. Our DeakinTALENT career service is one of the reasons we are ranked so highly. ‘DeakinTALENT is there to support you with professional networking and development,’ Supraja says. ‘It provides services such as CV feedback, a job search page, interview preparation and so on.

The DeakinTALENT International Student Careers (DISC) is a program specifically for international students who want to better understand the Australian employment market and workplace culture.