Transitions

Making the transition to university is always a challenge. For some students, the transition from the country to the city, moving interstate or arriving from overseas can create an extra set of challenges. Even within the university, you can face transitions as you move between faculties, from undergraduate study to honours, or starting a postgraduate degree. Here are some resources for handling the challenges of transition.

Top Ten Tips

1. Find out what to expect: don't jump in blind. Use websites and official publications, but also take the chance to talk to people who have gone through similar experience.
2. Identify the skills you already have: you wouldn't be making this transition unless you had the skills and the talents to do so. Reflect on the skills that you already have and write them down to remind yourself when you do hit obstacles.
3. Keep in touch with home: making a transition doesn't mean leaving everything behind. Keep in touch with your family and friends - use the phone, email, chat or even an old-fashioned letter.
4. Build support networks: meet new colleagues and make new friends at university. The links below list some good places to start.
5. Learn your way around: check the campus map and visit your classrooms and exam venues beforehand. Pick up maps of Perth and Transperth timetables to help you get around the city.
6. Ask for help: you don't have to do this alone. Your professors, lecturers and tutors are happy to answer any questions you have about your studies. There is a range of support at Student Services - from housing to the Medical Centre to counselling to careers.
7. Get a mentor: join in the UniMentor program.
8. Keep healthy: look after yourself and keep fit for study. Eat well, go outside, join the gym, play sport - relax.
9. Make the most of your new setting: explore the university and the city. There are museums and art galleries on campus and the river is just across the road.
10. Remember why you are making the transition: hold onto the enthusiasm that lead you to make the transition in the first place.

Podcast

Interview with Tsun Thai Chai (PhD candidate from Malaysia)

Links

UWA Links

Transition
Includes UniStart; UniSkills; UniMentor; UniDiscovery; UniAccess

UWA International Centre

International Students Services (UWA Student Guild)

Guild Clubs Directory
Includes social clubs, issue-based clubs and clubs for students from a range of countries.

Study Smarter: Peer Learning                                                                                                              Opportunities to improve your writing, conversation and public speaking skills in a supportive environment with other students.

LACE: Language and Cultural Exchange
An international friendship program for postgraduates and staff.

Survival Guides
See especially 'Studying in a New Place', 'UWA Lingo' and 'Aussie Slang'

Review

Lowes, R., Peters, H. and Turner, M. (2004) The International Student’s Guide: Studying English at University. London: SAGE.

This book is an excellent guide for international students from countries where English is not the main language. If you are in this situation, you will find much that is new and different about studying at UWA. It is important to remember, however, that you have many skills and a great deal of knowledge that you can build on. This book will help you to adapt to the new environment where study is in English, and where customs and expectations may be different from what you have previously encountered. It is written from a UK perspective, but much of what is said about studying in Britain also applies in Australia.

Lowes, Peters and Turner begin by asking you to reflect on your own situation: differences you expect, and to focus on your strengths, weaknesses and aims. The chapters that follow help you understand your own learning and to develop strategies that work for you. They provide tips to help improve your listening and understanding, vocabulary, spoken language, oral presentation skills, reading and research strategies, note taking skills, and academic writing skills. There is also a chapter that looks at the special demands of studying at a postgraduate level and one that discusses other aspects of your life that affect your well-being.

Strengths of this book include its clear outline of chapter aims, helpful glossaries of key words, active approach through tasks and great list of useful resources.

Grellier, J. and Goerke, V. (2006) Communication Skills Toolkit: Unlocking the Secrets of Tertiary Success. South Melbourne: Thompson.

Written by staff at Curtin University of Technology in Perth, this book is a fabulous resource for all students in their first year of university. What is true of studying at Curtin is also relevant for studying at UWA. Grellier and Goerke begin with an introduction to university life, including how the university is organised and how to organise yourself. They then focus on the basic skills you will need as you commence your university studies: active reading, note-making and exam preparation techniques. Subsequent chapters look at skills for research, academic writing and face-to-face communication.

One of the great things about the Communication Skills Toolkit is that it’s very easy to find information on what you need most. The contents at the beginning of the book and at the beginning of each chapter allow you to quickly identify the general skills you are interested in, and the index at the back allows you to refine your search even further. Another fantastic feature is that in reading the book you will not only pick up on ideas that will allow you to improve your skills, you will also learn a great deal about why these skills are valued at university. This understanding is essential for making the most of your university experience and feeling at home in the new environment.

Reviewed books can be borrowed from Student Services,
2nd Floor Guild Building.

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