Reimagine your career
Have you ever considered envisioning a different path for your career journey?
Our alumni Sayaka Sayeed and Alvin Lim share their unconventional career pathways and the decisions they have made that have led them to where they are today - careers that align with their values and aspirations.
This event is part of Ask Alumni Live – a series of live-streamed career events developed specifically for our alumni community.
No matter where you are on your career journey, this session is designed to inspire you to chart your own unique pathway to greater career fulfilment.
SPEAKERS
Associate Professor Jen Martin | Host
Leader, Science Communication Teaching Program, School of Biosciences, University of Melbourne
Associate Professor Jen Martin (@scidocmartin) spent many years working as a field ecologist until she decided the most useful thing she could contribute as a scientist was to teach other scientists how to be effective and engaging communicators. Jen founded and leads the University of Melbourne's acclaimed Science Communication Teaching Program and is deeply committed to helping scientists develop the skills they need to be visible, make connections and have impact. She also practises what she preaches: for 18 years she’s been talking about science each week on 3RRR radio, she writes for a variety of publications, hosts the Let’s Talk SciComm podcast and MCs events. Jen was named the 2019 Unsung Hero of Australian Science Communication, is Ambassador for The Wilderness Society’s Nature Book Week and is a member of the Homeward Bound Faculty, a global leadership program for women in STEMM. Jen’s first popular science book, ‘Why am I like this? The science behind your weirdest thoughts and habits’ was published in 2022.
Alvin Lim
HR Consultant and former Global Talent Attraction Lead at Dyson (BA 2014)
lvin is a people-first consultant with over 10 years of experience building, leading, and coaching diverse teams. He specialises in creating Employer Value Propositions (EVPs) for global organisations, using research-backed data to deliver solutions-led digital transformation that addresses recruitment pain points and delivers a differentiating candidate experience. He has advised global leadership teams and built and activated the EVPs of global brands such as Lenovo, Nestlé, GlaxoSmithKline, Unilever, and Prudential. Alvin is adept at building genuine and deep connections with people from all walks of life. He has lived and worked internationally, and has constantly reimagined his career by refusing to conform to traditional pathways of success. This has led to a highly differentiated skillset in journalism, business transformation, marketing, web development, entrepreneurship, and e-commerce. Formerly the Global Talent Attraction Lead at Dyson, Alvin recently went on a career break and takes on freelance HR projects via his own HR consultancy, Good People Consulting. He is also Director of the Southeast Asian Association of Graduate Employers (SEAAGE).
Sayaka Sayeed
Program Manager, Umeed Psychology (MEnterp 2021; BS, Civil Engineering 2018)
Sayaka is the founder and program manager for Cultured Up, Umeed Psychology's multicultural mental health literacy program, and the host of The South Asian Mind podcast with years of experience in business analyses, process improvements and counselling with lived experience in coping with anxiety, depression, and ADHD. Currently working towards making mental health more culturally responsive and accessible across Australia. Using the skills and networks she has gained over her non-linear career, Umeed Psychology has created strong partnerships with several community organisations; reached 6000+ culturally diverse individuals via social media, events and speaking events; provided paid counselling to 200+ clients and free counselling to 40+ international students; and hosted several community safe space events with 200+ members.