Kaplan Business School lecturer Michael Wang is a data scientist and AI consultant by trade. Michael shares with us insights into the current state of AI for business, AI Strategy, challenges for AI, financial AI, and how companies can adopt AI. We also discuss how AI will affect careers of the future. 

We're back for Season 4! 

Vanessa Stafford returns to the Kaplan Community Podcast to discuss generative AI, especially its use in education and writing. The discussion focuses largely on ChatGPT, and its positive applications for both educators and students. Vanessa also has great insights into how to use ChatGPT in everyday life, and how generative AI can become a common part of your day for the modern professional.

In this insightful episode, we meet with Career Advisors Frida Percival and Laura Garcia to talk about the professional work culture in Australia, as well as job interview strategies, resume writing and networking.

Have you ever wondered, why exactly should you invest in networking? And how do we do this, what are some of the main ways to network successfully and turn those contacts into valuable connections? National Careers Advisor Sowon Lee shares her experience as a recruiter and careers advisor, helping people gain confidence and skill in networking. This episode is a great one to build upon skills learned in S3 E2 on LinkedIn and Personal Branding- make sure you step out into the world with a great profile too!

In this episode, KBS Work Integrated Learning Manager Kerri Watton discusses her role helping students find internships to further their careers. What is an internship, and why are they so valuable for career development? How are they seen in the eyes of employers? You can learn all about this and more from a seasoned expert, as well as the details of KBS' academic internship program.

In this episode, we delve into the details of how exactly you can perform well in an interview, from that first call through to the final round interviews. KBS Careers Advisor Kasia has conducted interviews throughout her career in hospitality management, and today she helps students improve their interview skills through preparation and practice.

Ever wondered what makes the perfect resume? Kaplan Business School's Adelaide Careers Advisor, Kim Goh shares her top tips in this episode, breaking down exactly how you should tailor your resume to win interviews. Stop sending out duds! Have a listen and take Kim's advice to put your best foot forward.

National Careers Manager Ramya has used LinkedIn since the platform was just gaining popularity- first as a recruiter, then as a careers advisor, and to build her own personal brand. She has held workshops and advised professionals and students on how to optimise profiles and get the most out of LI. Learn from Ramya how to use LI to its fullest, from starting out building a profile to the more advanced topics of branding and hashtag use.

Kaplan ANZ Talent Manager is the ultimate expert on the recruitment cycle, and she shares with us wisdom on  exactly how recruitment works, the difference between internal and external recruiters, what recruiters look for in candidates,  some honest and open tips for jobseekers. Listen and up your recruitment IQ for the next time you're talking with one!

Ben Dunk is an Australian professional cricketer who represented Australia in the T20’s from 2014-2017.  Ben has represented Australia; and played in the BBL (Big Bash League), IPL (Indian Premier League) and the PSL (Pakistan Super League).  Most recently in 2021, he plays for the Lahore Qalandars.  While playing cricket, Ben also studies in the MBA with Kaplan Business School.  Read more on ESPN about Ben's career.   

Kaplan invited Ben to speak with us about life as a professional cricketer.  We talk about career demands; physical heath and healthy mindset; travel and homesickness; emotional resilience; setting worthwhile goals; imposter syndrome; and building rapport with multicultural teams. 

Listen to Ben’s advice for overcoming self-doubts and keeping present. 

TIMESTAMPS
01:25  Professional athlete and KBS student
03:08  How Ben balances work, study, and wellbeing

PART ONE - Ben and wellness
06:02  What wellness means to Ben
09:24  Maintaining physical health while travelling
11:55  Maintaining a healthy mindset
15:14  Maintaining a wellness routine

PART TWO - Ben and career demands
17:36  Coping with homesickness
21:45  What's next for Ben?

PART THREE - Conversations with Ben
23:03  Staying present, focusing on goals
25:51  Having fun to balance work routines
28:45  Bouncing back from bad news

PART FOUR - Questions and reflections
30:13  Imposter syndrome
33:28  Pressures on a batter and wicket keeper
35:07  Plans to play in the Big Bash League (BBL)
36:09  How Ben finds A T20 team around the world
39:41  Setting new goals and starting over
42:25  Overcoming self doubts
45:14  Building rapport with multicultural teams
47:03 Perseverance, the takeaway message

Rafael Alves is an entrepreneur and founder of The Landlord.  Significant stressors for international students are finding a place to live and making new friends, especially when English is a second language.   Rafael assists international students in Melbourne to locate and settle into suitable housing in safe neighbourhoods.  Once settled, Rafael hosts social events that introduce students to each other, to living in Melbourne, and to experience multiculturalism in Australia. 

Rafael shares his experiences as an entrepreneur in Brazil and Australia.  He discusses how to raise start-up capital and the risk of servicing debt.  Listen to his strategy to manage the challenges of international border closures during the COVID-19 pandemic.   

TIMELINE
0:48      The Landlord housing business venture
1:52      Serving the international student community
2:30      Connecting with international student groups in Melbourne
4:29      Combatting loneliness
6:32      Integrated services in Landlord Housing
9:01      Digital entrepreneurship and marketing
10:44   Entrepreneur's curse and crowdfunding for resources
13:04   Bravery of entrepreneurship
14:51   How to raise money for a start-up
17:08   Ease of start-ups in Australia vs Latin America
18:47   Advice to start your own business in Australia
19:38   Dilemma of growing the business or a career!
23:38   Rafael's experience in KBS MBA course
25:25   Memorable contributions of MBA subjects
27:15   Rafael's continuous learning objectives

John Kolotas is an experienced professional in Human Resources and Organisational Development.  Listen to John's insights on strengthening interpersonal relationships, establishing new social networks, and challenges for international students.

John notes options for establishing new social networks, such as social media and online gaming.  While gaming is productive option for some, others need more personal friendships.  Reaching out personally could require a deeper understanding of emotional intelligence and positive psychology.  John recommends the following self-help websites.

• Positive Psychology Center at the University of Pennsylvania.
• The Greater Good Science Center and Resolve Conflict at Work at the University of California, Berkeley

John is in awe of the the resilience of international students and migrants, who speak English as a second language.  He discusses the difficulties  making new friends in Australia and fitting in with Australian culture.  He offers tips for self-help to maintain your confidence through the most challenging times.  Listen further.

TIMELINE
1:23  How social relationships evolve
6:15  Maintaining self-esteem in lonely times
8:30  Prioritising social settings - even online!
12:50 Communicating to build social relationships
15:26 Social mistakes and conflict, what to do now?
19:07 Understanding unresolved conflict
20:32 Pandemic and impacts on interpersonal relationships
22:20 Who to turn to for personal support?
23:00 Bore out, professional growth, and self-motivation
26:09 Career options in Human Resources

Adam Murphy is an Academic Head of Management, HR and Law in Kaplan Business School.  Listen to Adam's passionate discussion of leadership and mindfulness.  He says, 'We make a serious mistake when thinking that authority and leadership are the same thing.  While the vast majoring of us don't have executive authority, many of us are influential leaders.'.  Effective leaders are mindful of their influence.

Adam explains, 'Leadership doesn't come from the top of the organisational chart, but it can come from you. It starts by making a better choice. It starts by choosing to grow and pushing yourself to develop leadership, strengths and capabilities.'. 

Regarding mindfulness, Adam askes, 'Where is your focus? You can focus on something that's upsetting you or going wrong.  If you do, you're going to feel terrible. But look around! The contribution that you make to the lives of other people, the love that you get from other people, the companionship of your friends, the the privileges that you have.'.  Be grateful for the contributions you can make!  'Gratitude is certainly a much better state to be in than feeling upset, angry or frustrated.'

Gratitude is exemplified in Adam's story of Jonas Salk and the polio pandemic.  Find out what Jonas contributed!

TIMELINE
00:24  Introducing Adam Murphy 
02:02  Difference between leadership and authority
04:47  Leadership potential in you! 
08:31  Who is most effective, competitive or collaborative leaders? 
13:30  Ghost in the machine!  
16:28  Why solve problems if you don't get credit for the solution?  
18:40  Tackling new problems shapes tomorrow's leaders
21:15  Diamond in the pocket 
25:13  Conflict? Change your focus!  
27:40  International students finding meaningful jobs  
28:38  Adam's eulogy, thoughts from Stephen Covey  
30:02  Jonas Salk, polio - a huge contribution!  
31:05  Wrap-up

Vanessa Stafford is the Academic Learning Manager in Kaplan Business School.  Listen to Vanessa highlight excellence in teaching and the future of learning.   

In PART ONE, Vanessa discusses her passion for developing excellence in teaching.  A challenge conquered in KBS is the transition from classroom to online teaching.  The next big challenge is Education 4.0 with the use of gamification, and virtual reality.

Read more about Education 4.0 in The World Economic Forum's New Economy and Society Platform. 

In PART TWO, Vanessa explores Education 4.0, the future world of education.  Still emerging are the technology-enhancement of learning experiences in schools of the future.   Listen as Vanessa discusses how KBS is currently using gamification and virtual reality to motivate learners, and help graduates prepare for job interviews.

TIMELINE

00:39  PART ONE Academic Learning Manager role
02:44  Excellence in teaching
05:11  Transitioning from classroom to online teaching
06:52  Future of online learning
10:17  PART TWO What does the future look like?
12:42  Research new highs with learning science
16:16  Culturally relevant learning
18:36  World of Education 4.0
22:34  Gamification plus virtual reality
27:24  Wrap-up

Will James is National Careers Manager at Kaplan Business School.   Will discusses career wellbeing and 'boreout'.  He asks, are you chronically bored at work?  Are you satisfied or dissatisfied with your career prospects tomorrow?  Does your current work set-up your career for success?   You're not alone if you feel underwhelmed.  A staggering 86% of Will's LinkedIn network feel boreout!

In PART ONE, Will explains what career wellbeing is all about.  He shares ways you can reinvigorate yourself at work.  Proactively seek new challenges at work.   Help your colleagues achieve their career goals.  Start conversations with your boss.  Stay proactive!

Proactivity depends on mindset.  In PART TWO, Will shares his experiences in making a career change.  Change is common.  The average Australian changes career 5 to 7 times.  Change starts by reaching out for support and advice.  Listen to Will's advice in PART THREE. 

Learn more about boreout in The damaging effects of 'boreout' at work, published on 5 July 2021 by the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation).

TIMELINE

00:53  PART ONE What is career wellbeing?
01:15  How you feel about your job and career satisfaction
03:11  Job bore out, what Will's research discovered
04:09  Bore out, the phenomenon
07:20  How to reinvigorate yourself
10:45  How to reprioritise your career

13:24  PART TWO The mindset of career wellbeing!
15:19  Identify your passions and purpose with lifelong learning
16:07  Advice for making a big change
18:53  Fitting in with your team at work
22:54  Facing rejection in your job search
25:36  Challenges of international students finding jobs in Australia
29:20  Seek support from alumni associations and career advisers
31:44  Rely on your extended network

34:48  PART THREE Making the change!
35:55  Take your career to the next level

Prof James Adonopoulos is the Academic Dean of Kaplan Business School and Kaplan Professional.  Listen to James discuss academic wellness and lifetime learning; teaching best practices and KBS; making education culturally relevant; wellbeing and only study; and his 3 proudest achievements.

In PART ONE, James defines academic wellness as activities that makes you feel good and gives your meaning.  Feeling good for many persons is learning.  That's why KBS endorses the Lifetime Learning Guarantee. It encourages alumni to attend all classes in the course in which they graduated.   Read more at 'Lifelong learning: 4 Benefits to Help Your Career Thrive'.   Feeling good may also meaning taking a career break. How do you know when to take a break?  Listen to your body for the signals that you've gone too far.

In PART TWO, James explains the high standard with which students rank the quality of KBS teaching practices.  Learn how KBS outranks all Australian public universities on teaching quality.  James is convinced that KBS teaching quality is based on genuine academic compassion and nurturing learning environments.

In PART THREE, James discusses the cultural relevance of education with the internationalisation of KBS courses.  The courses are designed to embrace ideas from many countries, with a diversity of people, and with a penchant for engaging all students and teachers in active dialog.  Indeed, a genuinely active dialog has shaped the teaching culture at KBS.

In PART FOUR, James relates academic wellbeing with online study.  Class are online.  Also online are mentoring, academic support, and student services.  He notes how KBS delivers online education as a extension of classroom delivery, not as a replacement for on-campus classes.   It is a innovative delivery model where KBS is leading the education industry.  For additional ideas,  read Forbes, '8 Innovative Ideas for Higher Education Right Now' by Brandon Busteed.

Lastly in PART 5, James reflects on his 3 proudest achievements.  Listen to hear his personal reflections.

TIMELINE

00:46  PART ONE Academic wellness and lifetime learning
02:05  James' advice for academic wellness
03:28  Effectively managing time and study habits
07:19  Lifetime Learning Guarantee
08:38  Benefits to alumni of the Lifetime Learning Guarantee
09:48  Sustaining wellness for high-achievers
12:07  Knowing when to take a career break

13:38  PART TWO Teaching best practices at KBS
14:08  How benchmarks position KBS
15:36  KBS teaching quality benchmarks
16:09  KBS student support benchmarks
17:18  COVID-19 Student Welfare Plan

19:38  PART THREE Making education culturally relevant
19:47  Internationalisation of the KBS curriculum
22:28  Perilous assumptions of cultural relevance
23:45  Breaking the mould in accounting
22:57  The 'KBS Way'
28:26  Quality of online student experience
30:00  Quality of teaching and learning
32:39  Teaching culture at KBS

33:43  PART FOUR Wellbeing and online study
37:14  Excellence in graduate outcomes
39:00  KBS graduate success in the job market
41:36  Employing lecturers with industry experience

44:02  PART FIVE James' proudest achievements
44:20  Building industry credibility for KBS
45:52  Leading educational innovations
46:57  Establishing professional relations with regulators

Alex Reeman-Clark is the General Manager, Student Experience at Kaplan Business School.  Listen to Alex explain the role of Student Experience Officers beyond the classroom; and mental wellbeing among international students.  He continues to describe the support services available during and after campus hours.

In PART ONE, Alex discusses Sonder support after campus hours, 24x7, for staff and students.  The typical reasons for call Sonder include assistance to seek counselling and - believe it or not - emergency repairs in your home!   Click here to find out more about the Sonder app.

In PART TWO, Alex presents the wide range of support offered by the KBS Student Experience Officers (SEO).   They drive wellbeing initiatives for students  from over 80 nationalities to settle into KBS and Australia.  Did you know about the Nationality Engagement Program?  

• The Student Experience team come from 25 different nationalities.
• individual SEO can personalise student experiences by engaging them in their own language; and understanding first-hand how to celebrate national culture events with students - from cooking momo to Diwali to Brazilian dancing! 

In PART THREE, Alex opens the future roles of the SEO and teamwork.  Consider these shifts!

• adapting student engagement to a dual world of on-campus and online study;
• permanent transfer to student experience services to an online platform; and
• extending a dozen class schedules to accommodate multiple time zones for offshore and onshore students.  

For additional episodes, refer to the Kaplan Community Podcast webpage.   

CHAPTERS
00:57  Beyond classrooms, the  contributions of SEO
02:19  Mental wellbeing among international students
04:42 PART ONE : KBS CARE 24X7 WITH SONDER
06:34  Championing Sonder
07:55  Sonder support of mental wellbeing
09:59  Students! Tapping into Sonder support
11:02  Staff! Tapping into Sonder support
12:39  PART TWO: KBS CARE DURING CAMPUS HOURS
14:07  Engaging multicultural students at KBS
15:45  Cooking momo and Brazilian dancing, the extent of SEO support
16:26  Your first point of contact, the SEO
17:29  Roles and duties of the SEO team
20:24  PART THREE: SEO TEAMWORK AND FUTURE PLANS
22:43  Careers and SEO collaboration
25:16  Future plans for the student experience capability
27:78  Alex's personal tips for mental wellbeing
30:56  Where you can access confidential support

Andy Garnam is the Executive Director - People & Culture at Kaplan Australia & New Zealand.   Listen to Andy's discussions of mental health and wellbeing; and careers in managing human resources.

In PART ONE, Andy explains the exciting and important services for staff and students.  Kaplan Business School and Kaplan Professional staff and students can access Sonder; student wellbeing services; and counselling assistance.  

• The newest service, Sonder, is an app that staff and students can access for free for 24x7 emotional support and security.  Click here for information about Sonder.    
• The Student Wellbeing program tailors its counselling support to the struggles of studying on students’ mental health.  Find out more information about Student Wellbeing at Kaplan Business School and Kaplan Professional.  
• Counselling assistance via the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) is available for staff and students.  Access free and strictly confidential counselling assistance on the Student Wellbeing links above.  Students, you can now access EAP too!

In PART TWO, Andy shares his career experiences in human resource management (HR).  Listen as he explains the what the future of work looks like in generalist and specialist HR roles.  As well, Andy notes the prevalence of digitising HR records and opportunities in specialist HR roles.

For additional episodes, refer to the Kaplan Community Podcast webpage.   

CHAPTERS
00:31  PART ONE: MENTAL WELLBEING AND HEALTH
01:32  Sonder for staff and students
03:38  EAP services for staff and students
04:25  How Andy manages mental wellbeing
06:10  About Andy's role in Kaplan Australia & New Zealand
07:24  Taking responsibility for mental wellbeing
09:21  The right way to ask, 'are you ok?'
11:23  Talking with counsellors or EAP
13:19  Setting-up a mental health plan for staff
16:05  Common issues with wellbeing
18:48  PART TWO: MANAGING HUMAN RESOURCES
19:02  HR trend #1, future of work
19:57  HR trend #2, digitisation
21:07  Generalist or specialist careers in HR
22:41  Choosing which industry to begin your career
27:07  Growing your career to a leadership level
29:25  Where you can access confidential support

Listen to Part 1 for the insights and highlights from KBS alumni that made Season 1 such a success.  So insightful are the stories of how alumni grasp the opportunities to advance their careers.  Lifelong learning, remaining emotionally upbeat when looking for jobs, taking career breaks to re-evaluate goals - these are the highlights.  Listen again to the episodes in Season 1.

 In Part 2, we talk about how much we enjoy being podcasters.  We share the richness of our life experiences that have led to happiness in our careers.  Kieran started in ethnography with Kenyan tribes, then realized his passion for education.  Richard started in finance and IT, but always wanted to teach.  Now, we have engaging and authentic stories as real-world examples in our lectures.

TIMESTAMPS
00:50  PART ONE
02:12  Successful career transitions, Angel Navarro
02:51  Achieving career goals in Australia, Ulysses Farias
04:13  Experiencing multiculturalism in KBS, Nina Nikodinova
04:59  Lifelong learning and professional development, Mia Du
06:42  Richard's lifelong learning commitment with the podcast
07:49  Kieran's lifelong learning in 2 areas of study
08:29  Kieran's favourite MBA subject, finance!
11:52  Taking career breaks to build new opportunities, Grace Jimenez

12:29 PART TWO
12:39  Richard's career transition from banking and telco
14:42  Kieran's career transition from ethnography
17:58  Challenges for lecturers delivering online classes
21:29  How Richard engages online postgrad students
23:06  Kieran's way of engaging online undergrad students
24:25  Merits of transitioning from industry into teaching
29:48  Why we enjoy hosting the podcast
31:24  What does Season 2 look like?

Julian is a 2016 KBS graduate in the Master of Professional Accounting from the Sydney campus.  He offers practical suggestions on career advancement and lifelong learning with the CPA, Certified Practising Accountant, in Australia.

Leveraging his auditing experience from France, Julian began working  with an Australian accounting practice.  In addition, his entrepreneurial spirit sees him building his own tax planning business.

TIMESTAMPS
00:30   About Julian
01:13   Julian's current work in accounting and tax planning
02:07   Building a client base for his own business
02:59   Julian's job at a professional accounting firm
05:16   How do get started as an entrepreneur?
07:21   How Julian found his first job in Australia?
12:44   What are the accounting specialisations available to you?
17:06   Selecting the most interesting career path in accounting
22:02   Benefits of joining the CPA (Certified Practising Accountant)
27:13   What's next for essential skills and employability?
30:30   Microcredential in Digital Finance with the CPA
31:32   Staying on top of your game with lifelong learning
32:24   Julian's professional goals for the future

Vamshi is a KBS MBA graduate of 2020 from the Sydney campus, an entrepreneur, and a program manager with business start-ups.  His career progress is built on taking opportunities from internships and professional networking.  How has he accomplished his success?  Listen to the timestamped discussion points. 

TIMESTAMP
01:43   Internship with an artificial intelligence start-up
03:50   Vamshi's benefit of taking a KBS internship
05:02   Vamshi's transition from intern into venture capital
06:02   Managing projects and programs
09:53   How to become a successful project manager
12:44   Engaging with a diversity of stakeholders
16:16   Vamshi's personal journey as an entrepreneur
19.31   What makes an entrepreneur successful in business
23:43   The gift of teaching
26:50   Lifelong learning with Kaplan Business School

Juan is an MBA graduate of 2020 from the Sydney campus.   His advice is as practical as it is important.  To stand-out in job interviews, Juan discusses why he received job offers based on his unique combination of sales experience and KBS internships.  Listen to Juan's successful career transition into data analytics as a Product Intelligence Specialist with a leading FINTEC (financial technology) company.   

TIMESTAMPS
00:30   About Juan
01:29   Using internships to build Juan's career in Australia
04:05   Career transition as a Product Intelligence Specialist
06:50   What does a Product Intelligence Specialist do?
09:19   What is FINTEC (Financial Technology)?
11:05   Where is FINTEC heading in the future?
13:37   What kinds of data analyses do you perform?
15:46   What are the essential skills to get and keep a job in the future?
19:32   What is the essential skill: managing people or managing technology?
21:19   The challenges and enjoyable aspects of Juan's role
23:03   Why do people prefer FINTEC over human interaction?
25:26   Juan's plans for professional development and lifelong learning
26:35   How students can get a job in Data Analytics
27:44   Transitioning from student to professional.  Where do you start to get job?

Grace is an MBA graduate in 2020 from the KBS Sydney campus.  Unique are Grace's insights on setting time aside to consider career options.  Grace attributes her career success in Product Management on solid planning, working in a start-up business, volunteering, and getting Australian permanent residency.

TIMESTAMPS

01:48   New job as Telecommunications Product Manager.

03:07   What does a Product Manager do?

05:28   How to get a job as a Product Manager?

09:17   What is Grace's next career step?

12:03   Milestones in your first 100 days in a new job.

17:52   How to explain job gaps in your CV?

22:22   Sell yourself in interviews!

Mia discusses how her career experience in China, and studying with KBS and Kaplan Professional, have built her entrepreneurial success in starting a mortgage broking business in Australia

Ulysses transitioned a career in management consulting in Brazil to a consulting role with Deloitte in Australia.  He discusses his diligence to continue his international career; offers advice to international students for interviewing and applying for jobs in Australia; and spear fishing in Sydney harbour.