Briefly describe your WIL focus area. (up to 50 words)
My WIL focus area is on Cyber Security. At RMIT School of Science, Master of Cyber Security students are placed on industry projects in the final semester of their studies to gain industry experience and practice applied learning.
What did you hope to gain from participating in the conference? (up to 50 words)
I was keen to understand how other universities create opportunities when student numbers increase significantly. Currently, all our students are placed on an industry project. However, I was interested in learning about coordinating a WIL course if our student numbers outgrow available industry partners and projects.
What positive experiences did you have at the conference? (up to 50 words)
I thoroughly enjoyed hearing from academics across diverse universities and disciplines. A highlight was our discussions on the shared challenges of preventing students from treating GenAI as a black box tool and overly relying on it. It was a great opportunity for academics to discuss their shared concerns.
How might your conference experiences influence your WIL career progression (up to 50 words)
This experience provided me with fresh insights into WIL strategies, industry partnerships, and technology integration. I gained new ideas and built networks that will help me improve our WIL capstone. Attending the ACEN conference made me realise that enabling students to gain real-world work experience before graduation is highly valued.
Do you have any suggestions to improve the conference experience? (up to 50 words)
ACEN 2024 was very well-organised, with social events that enabled networking with academics, professional staff, government representatives, and industry experts. The poster sessions were engaging. I have no suggestions for improvement.
