Online events, webinars and resources
Posted: 24 March 2020
In these uncertain times, the Australian Government has announced precautionary measures to curb the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19). In response, non-essential gatherings have been suspended, and many events, workshops and conferences have been cancelled or postponed.
As university classes go online, public events dwindle and travel is disrupted, boredom can quickly set in. Perhaps you are lying low, are practising social distancing or have holidays coming up with nowhere to go. This may be the perfect opportunity to learn something outside of your course curriculum, hone a soft skill, master a hobby or pick up a new proficiency.
Learning new things can keep your mind open to a whole new world of possibilities. You don’t have to spend a lot of money on a teacher or coach to learn that new skillset—you’ll find several free or low cost resources online to support your new endeavour.
Below you will find a selection of events, webinars and resources that can be accessed online and may be of interest to you.
Upcoming webinars and online events
Career Insights: Monthly Digital Workshop
Monthly; online
This live interactive virtual event is delivered monthly across Australia. The free workshops cover various economic and technology trends as they affect your career. The event is produced by Career Shaman—a global education, media and marketing company dedicated to delivering timely insights, actionable intelligence and career services.
Use Your Time More Efficiently—with Annlone Dalhoff
31 March; online, you will be sent the details once you book in
Annlone Dalhoff, a no-nonsense executive business coach, will share strategies on how to manage time more efficiently to get the best results. Learn about planning the big picture and techniques to avoid getting lost in implementation that doesn’t serve the bigger outcome.
The Global Women in Data Science Conference
16 April; the speaker portion of the conference will be run via an online service
The Global Women in Data Science Conference aims to inspire and educate data scientists worldwide, and support women in the field. The conference features exclusively female speakers doing outstanding work in the field of data science, but it is open to everyone, regardless of gender, who is interested in engaging with and learning from the data science community.
Online resources for education and new skills
Coursera is a website that partners with universities and organisations around the world to bring a wide variety of topics and perspectives to one searchable database. It is a powerful tool for free online education and includes courses from many top universities, museums and trusts.
Khan Academy’s mission is to provide a free, world-class education for anyone, anywhere. Partnering with many post-secondary schools, and also curating many courses from around the web, it offers impressive depth on many different subjects. Khan Academy is among the more well-known educational sites, and is also incredibly useable, which may make it easier to achieve your learning goals.
Boasting a library of thousands of courses from experts and instructors, Udemy offers something for all skill levels and interests. A search for ‘free courses’ will bring up a list of budget-friendly courses on everything from learning Adobe Illustrator fundamentals to mastering polite English. Udemy recently changed its pricing structure to make all its courses more affordable—if you have some money to spare, expect to pay between $20 and $50 per course.
Skillshare courses cater mainly for soft skills training and are video-heavy, which is ideal for visual learners. Many Skillshare courses are created by professionals sharing their knowledge, expertise and passion in their respective fields. Every course involves a project through which students can learn from each other and share their latest works or creations.
Bringing together courses from many different schools, edX has impressive, quality information for everyone and covers a vast range of topics. Founded by Harvard University and MIT, edX is home to more than 20 million learners, the majority of top-ranked universities in the world and industry-leading companies.
Digital Storytellers recently delivered training to Australia Awards alumni from South and West Asia at the Regional Alumni Workshop in Sri Lanka. Their ‘Stories of Impact’ online course can help learners find, make, edit and share amazing and affordable video stories about their project, cause or initiative.
Australia Awards scholar from Pakistan, Nasir Ali, accessing online resources. Photo at top of page: Australia Awards scholar from Nepal, Shahnaaz Ansari
Selections from TEDTalk, TED-Ed and TEDx
What is imposter syndrome, and how can you combat it?
Even after writing 11 books and winning several awards, Maya Angelou couldn’t escape the feeling that she hadn’t earned her accomplishments. This feeling of fraudulence is extremely common. Why do so many of us find it hard to shake the belief that our ideas and skills aren’t worthy of others’ attention? Elizabeth Cox describes the psychology behind imposter syndrome, and what you can do to combat it.
Why the secret to success is setting the right goals
In this practical talk, John Doerr shows us how we can get back on track with ‘Objectives and Key Results’, or OKRs—a goal-setting system that’s been employed by the likes of Google, Intel and even U2 frontman Bono to set and achieve audacious goals. Learn more about how setting the right goals can mean the difference between success and failure—and how we can use OKRs to hold our leaders and ourselves accountable.
What it takes to be a great leader
The world is full of leadership programs, but the best way to learn how to lead might be right under your nose. In this clear, candid talk, Roselinde Torres describes 25 years of observing truly great leaders at work and shares the three simple but crucial questions would-be company chiefs need to ask in order to thrive in the future.
The career advice you probably didn’t get
Many women who want to move into senior corporate positions find themselves stuck in middle management, despite excellent peer reviews and relevant training. Susan Colantuono believes that the missing piece is connecting professional strengths to the company’s strategic goals.
Looking for a job? Highlight your ability, not your experience
Jason Shen notes that very few people hold jobs that align directly with their experiences or their academic studies. But he believes that this is not necessarily a problem if a job applicant can demonstrate relevant and high-level abilities, such as a special mode of problem-solving. Equally, employers have to be willing to look past traditional metrics to identify people who are a good fit with the company and can bring innovative ways of working and thinking.
Why Asia needs more tiger women
Why are there so few Asian women in senior management positions in most Asian countries, when so many do well in university? Marie Claire Lim Moore believes that the key reason is the belief that a woman’s primary role should be that of mother and wife, coupled with the reluctance of many companies to hire women after a career break. She looks at the Philippines, which has a high proportion of women in senior roles, as an example of how to change expectations and attitudes.
Stage fright and how to overcome it
Heart racing, palms sweating, laboured breathing? No, you’re not having a heart attack—it’s stage fright! If speaking in public makes you feel like you’re fighting for your life, you’re not alone. But the better you understand your body’s reaction, the more likely you are to overcome it. Mikael Cho advises how to trick your brain and steal the show.
With help from some surprising footage, Derek Sivers explains how movements really get started. Leadership is over-glorified. We’re told that we should all be leaders, but that would actually be very ineffective. If you really care about starting a movement, have the courage to follow and show others how to follow. And when you find a lone pioneer doing something great, have the guts to be the first one to stand up and join in.
Australia Awards does not directly endorse these webinars and online resources.
It’s normal to feel stress and worry when there is a health event happening in the community that is affecting people’s wellbeing, such as coronavirus (COVID-19). Find some resources that might help here.