Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Katie Woolf spoke with CDU’s Acting Pro Vice-Chancellor Student Engagement and Success Sam Jacob

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Katie Woolf spoke with CDU’s Acting Pro Vice-Chancellor Student Engagement and Success Sam Jacob · 360 with Katie Woolf

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  Speaker 1: Mix one O four point nine dot com dotu for
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  Speaker 1: all the latest news and information now three sixty with
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  Speaker 1: Katie Wolf. Everyone is listening Mix one oh four point
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  Speaker 1: nine one hundred percent eight nine four.
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  Speaker 2: One one O four nine if you'd like to call
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  Speaker 2: through now.
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  Speaker 3: You may have heard us last week talking about the
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  Speaker 3: fact that we've had a number of students from Charles
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  Speaker 3: Darwin University get in contact with us. Just a bit
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  Speaker 3: disappointed really that they were looking as though they weren't
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  Speaker 3: going to be able to have in person graduation ceremonies
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  Speaker 3: at Charles Darwin University. Now joining us on the line
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  Speaker 3: is CDU's acting pro Vice Chancellor of Student Engagement and Success,
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  Speaker 3: Sam Jacob.
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  Speaker 2: Good morning, Sam, good morning.
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  Speaker 4: Sorry for the length of my job charts.
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  Speaker 3: That's ridiculous, That's okay, I like it, Sam, Good on you. Now,
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  Speaker 3: I understand that there could be a bit of a
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  Speaker 3: positive movement in this space, and it's looking like we
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  Speaker 3: might be able to have graduations again.
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  Speaker 4: I'm so thrilled. Across my career, I reckon I have
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  Speaker 4: done somewhere close to five hundred graduation ceremonies. I love them,
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  Speaker 4: the best part of all of our jobs and we're
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  Speaker 4: thrilled that we are able to offer in person ceremonies
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  Speaker 4: in both Darwin and our Springs for all the graduates
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  Speaker 4: who finished last year and this year. And so the
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  Speaker 4: planning is on. We're working with our venue partners and
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  Speaker 4: we're looking forward to seeing graduates rack up with their
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  Speaker 4: family and friends in May and in June to celebrate
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  Speaker 4: their achievements. Actually out of ceremony again.
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  Speaker 2: Sam, this is such good news.
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  Speaker 3: You know, I reckon that there were you know, there
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  Speaker 3: were some really disappointed people, and you can understand why.
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  Speaker 3: After you've spent you know a number of years studying
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  Speaker 3: to get your university degree, it's a wonderful thing then
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  Speaker 3: to be able to you know, to go along to
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  Speaker 3: your graduation and really sort of feel that success upon
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  Speaker 3: completing your degree.
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  Speaker 2: What's been the reaction to you.
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  Speaker 3: Guys as you've notified your students that ThEC is going
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  Speaker 3: to be able to happen again, people.
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  Speaker 4: Have been really emotional, actually, and it's a good thing
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  Speaker 4: to remember how much these things mean to people, because
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  Speaker 4: you're right, not only did every one of these graduates
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  Speaker 4: finish their course, whether it's you know, a certificate in
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  Speaker 4: vocational studies, all the way through to PhDs, whatever their courses,
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  Speaker 4: it's been a huge accomplishment for that student. They finished
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  Speaker 4: it under COVID conditions, and I think that's given people
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  Speaker 4: are sort of extra edge of really wanting to come
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  Speaker 4: together and celebrate that achievement. And lots of them have
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  Speaker 4: done it in places like Victoria under lockdown conditions, you know,
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  Speaker 4: with small kids under their feet and partners at home
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  Speaker 4: trying to work from home. And our students did it
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  Speaker 4: really tough last year, and so I guess like they are,
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  Speaker 4: we're extra thrills that we can reverse the decision to
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  Speaker 4: only do a virtual ceremony and work with our venue partners,
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  Speaker 4: the Convention Center in Darwin and in our springs.
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  Speaker 2: Wonderful stuff life again, wonderful stuff.
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  Speaker 3: And Sam as you, I think you touched on this
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  Speaker 3: just before that those who graduated last year as well
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  Speaker 3: and attended virtual ceremonies, are they able to if they're
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  Speaker 3: keen to go along to an in person ceremony this year?
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  Speaker 2: Are they able to register to do that?
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  Speaker 4: Absolutely? So we've sent everybody who went to a virtual
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  Speaker 4: ceremony last year a preserent email to say do you
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  Speaker 4: think you might come? Well, you definitely come or you
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  Speaker 4: can't come, let us know it's not too late. If
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  Speaker 4: people still want to register their interest in attending, they
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  Speaker 4: can email Graduation at CDU dot edu Au or just
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  Speaker 4: give us a call on our normal student central number.
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  Speaker 4: It's not too late to join. Anybody who graduated at
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  Speaker 4: the virtual ceremony is very welcome to attend this year
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  Speaker 4: as well.
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  Speaker 3: And are there any restrictions that will still be in place, Sam, Yes.
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  Speaker 4: We're working on the safety plan right now. Obviously, we
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  Speaker 4: need to make sure that we follow all of the
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  Speaker 4: right principles from the Chief Health Officer. It might be
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  Speaker 4: things like restricting the number of guests. So normally people
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  Speaker 4: can bring us many of their friends and family as possible,
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  Speaker 4: but we might need to have a bit more control
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  Speaker 4: over the number of people in each ceremony. Those details
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  Speaker 4: are still being worked out. We'll have a safety plan
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  Speaker 4: signed off by the Northern Territory and Safety Mob and
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  Speaker 4: then that will inform the requirements for each ceremony. We
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  Speaker 4: might have to change some of the ways in which
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  Speaker 4: we manage gowns, for example, but we've got plenty of
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  Speaker 4: time to work that out and make sure that we
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  Speaker 4: run safer them.
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  Speaker 3: Oh good on you guys, I think that this is
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  Speaker 3: you know, it's going to be such a positive thing
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  Speaker 3: for all of those students, like you said, you know,
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  Speaker 3: right from those doing certificates, certificates in vocational studies, you know,
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  Speaker 3: to those doing their PhDs. Hats off to absolutely everybody
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  Speaker 3: who's been able to do that. As you've mentioned, it's
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  Speaker 3: been a really tough year for a lot of people,
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  Speaker 3: and I think the fact that so many people have
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  Speaker 3: still been able to finish their studies is wonderful news.
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  Speaker 4: Yeah, and everybody will get to meet I'm your vice chancellor,
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  Speaker 4: so that's an extra bit of excitement. So I'm really
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  Speaker 4: glad that he'll start with us in April and then
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  Speaker 4: by May he'll be providing over graduation ceremonies in person.
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  Speaker 4: That's a fabulous way to welcome our new leader into
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  Speaker 4: the organization.
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  Speaker 3: Absolutely, we'll have to make sure we get him on
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  Speaker 3: before then. Sam Jacob CDU's acting pro Vice Chancellor of
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  Speaker 3: Student Engagement and Success.
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  Speaker 2: I love that title. Good to talk to you this morning.
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  Speaker 2: Thanks Sam.