Alumni Impact Interviews | Pivoting in a pandemic

You may have seen them on Channel 9 News or read about them on social media, or maybe you haven’t heard of them at all yet, but the Arq Group are making waves with their new tech solutions to help keep Melbournians safer in the new COVID-normal world. An expert in digital solutions, including data and analytics, cloud, security, mobile/web and digital experiences, Arq Group’s CEO Tristan Sternson graduated with a Bachelor of IT from Swinburne in 2001. Join us as Tristan takes us through his journey from graduating from Swinburne, all the way through to today and the decision to take on the challenge of developing an app that tracks congestion and social distancing in a bid to help combat the spread of COVID-19.

5.00pm-5:30pm AEDT, Thursday 5 November

Video of Episode 1 will be available soon.

When COVID-19 first hit back in March, Think HQ’s Founder and Managing Director Jen Sharpe all but saw the end of the company she had spent the last ten years building. After two weeks of high stress and low morale, Jen made the only decision she could: it was time to fight. Putting her people first (staff, clients, and society alike), Jen was able to move rapidly and make the necessary changes to ensure the continued success of Think HQ.  Jen completed her Graduate Diploma in Entrepreneurship at Swinburne in 2018. Register now to hear Jen speak of her experiences, the challenges she faced, and when she knew it was time to put her gloves on.

5.00pm-5:30pm AEDT, Thursday 12 November

Video of Episode 2 will be available soon.

It feels like it’s all bad news at the moment; people are getting sick, they’re losing their jobs, and entire cities have had to shut down. But what about those of us who saw an opportunity to grow and provide a service to hundreds of thousands of people worldwide? That’s exactly what CEO and Co-Founder of Compass Education John de la Motte has done. Compass is a one-stop online hub for students, caregivers, and institutions to communicate and share information used by over 1,800 schools worldwide. Throughout COVID-19, Compass has been working flat out to help ensure schools are properly set up for remote learning, and against all odds, has grown their business during the pandemic. John graduated from Swinburne in 2008 with a Bachelor of IT before going on to study a Bachelor of Law. Join us to hear how John and Compass overcame the complexities of the urgent need for online learning and how their business is continuing to grow.

5.00pm-5:30pm AEDT, Thursday 19 November

Register for Episode 3 here >>

Influential entrepreneur and social innovator, Wesa Chau, is motivated by improving equality within the local community. With the arrival of COVID-19 we unfortunately saw an uprising of racist and radical behaviour towards people of Asian appearance that has not been witnessed in mainstream media before. Wesa, CEO of Cultural Intelligence, saw a need to help people cope with the aggressive racism shown throughout the pandemic and thus Resilience Against Racism was born. While already holding Bachelor degrees in both Engineering and Commerce, a Graduate Diploma in Law, a Graduate Certificate in Business, and a Master of Business Management, Wesa is also currently completing her PhD at Swinburne exploring what political skills are and how people develop them. Register for this episode and be inspired as Wesa takes us through her story and her firsthand experience of power dynamics.

5.00pm-5:30pm AEDT, Thursday 26 November

Register for Episode 4 here >>

Founder and Managing Director of Social Star, Andrew Ford helps amplify businesses, leaders and entrepreneurs through personal branding using strategies he developed while working for some of the world’s largest companies. As a brand management lecturer at top Victorian universities including Swinburne, Andrew has influenced the next generation by sharing his knowledge as a digital marketing and business development professional. Andrew brings his keen eye and business experience to the Alumni Impact Interviews to help take us on the presenter’s journey of inspiration, challenges, and triumph.