Humans of RMIT: Shamsiya Hussainpoor

Shamsiya Hussainpoor is a final year at RMIT studying Bachelor of Communication, majoring in journalism and a content creator at ABC Asia Pacific Newsroom at ABC NEWS. 

I started studying journalism because I’m very passionate about bringing diverse voices to the forefront of the Australian media; creating diversity and inclusiveness not only with RMIT but in our wider society.

And it’s this passion that stipulates the goals that I would love to see RMIT achieve in the next five years and beyond.

First and foremost, I believe we need to place more emphasis on educating our community about First Nation people. We have a lot of international students, especially those who were born overseas, who don’t have a lot of knowledge about the original custodians of our land or the First Nations people.

As an institute consisting of people from all around the world, RMIT needs to celebrate its diversity. Our community is made of people from all walks of life and there needs to be more instances and opportunities to highlight the diverse range of people that make up our University and the plethora of services we offer to make sure everyone can thrive in life and work, no matter their background or experience.

We can continue to help empower our students by creating mentorships for those who may need a little more help than others. By grouping students who are excelling in their studies with those who aren’t doing so well. Not only will this benefit the mentee, but it also allows students [mentors] to apply their knowledge and teach them valuable soft skills – leadership,  interpersonal, teamwork and communication. It’s a win-win situation.

When it comes to helping students become stronger and more confident, providing opportunities for real-world exposure is second to none. By leveraging our partner networks and giving students access to more internships and more industry live projects, our students will have a better understanding and be better prepared for the world of work beyond University; industry-ready students who will be successful at landing their dream jobs and creating impact in the world.

Finally, it’s no secret that RMIT is an Institute of diversity, but we don’t communicate it! It’s time that we showed the world that we live and breathe and celebrate diversity not just within the walls of our campuses but we welcome those who are not directly linked to RMIT. RMIT offers so many wonderful opportunities to its students and welcomes everyone with open arms, so why aren’t we being more vocal about this?

As we move towards our University’s next strategy, these are the things I would love to see RMIT achieve in the next five years.