Episode Transcript
Speaker 0 00:00:00 Hello and welcome. I'm here to provide acknowledgement of country. For those who don't know me, I'm kj Karen Jackson, director of Moon Dani Balletic. My genealogy tracks back to Moira Lakes in Barma Forest and Mount Hope in Pyramid Hill. Giving me my connections to Yorta, Yorta, and Barra language groups. There's a couple of things I'd like you to take away from my acknowledgement. The first is to remember the hidden history of Aboriginal people since invasion, our loss of language removal from country, and our new extinction from massacres and pandemics. The second is our strong and inherent connection to community and country. These connections have given us the resilience and courage to rebuild our languages, gain access to country, regenerate our cultural practices in acknowledging the traditional owners of the country on which you are now on. I'd like to sincerely thank them for their generosity and kindness in welcoming people onto their lands. Lands never seeded and lands that run deep into their being and spirit. I wish to pay my deep respect to the ancestors, elders, communities, and families of the rung wri on whose land I stand and who create connection and share knowledge with all of us. Thank you.
Speaker 2 00:01:18 So we're here for the podcast people of Vu and it's such a delight to welcome Chea Vaan. Chea. It's great to see you again.
Speaker 3 00:01:25 Thank you. It's great to
Speaker 2 00:01:27 See you too. And I'll tell you what we're talking about today, which is in the context of International Women's Day. And the theme of that is March forward for all women and girls. And of course at VU we take that incredibly seriously into heart and it's embedded in things like our progress and our gender equality issues and how we shape the curriculum and also our research, which we'll be talking about with you. And it's also worth noting that we have in terms of protecting country, one of our first and the most important multi-year partnership with our watch, which is a really important organization which is dedicated towards eradicating gender-based violence. So there's a lot of elements to this that we're interested in speaking with you about, but it's such a a, a absolute pleasure to see you because I've met you many times before in your other rules. Yeah, past rules. And now we're gonna talk about the past and the future. So let's wind it back a bit. So Chea, tell me when you decided to come, you know, to Australia, say for the first time, what was going through your head? What was, what was sort of what drove your decision? 'cause you could have pretty much gone anywhere in the world.
Speaker 3 00:02:31 Yeah, definitely. Well, the reason I came to Australia was because I did my bachelor's from an Australian university. So I thought because I'm part of Engineers Australia. Yeah. Pursuing my master's in Australia and you know, I saw myself, I saw a future in Australia then in any other part of the world.
Speaker 2 00:02:49 So, and tell me how that works. So that was like approved by Engineers Australia, but somewhere else. Like where did you actually study?
Speaker 3 00:02:55 I studied in Sri Lanka.
Speaker 2 00:02:56 In Sri Lanka. And which part of the country? In
Speaker 3 00:02:58 Colombo. In Colombo? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And I was a student of Curtin University. Ah,
Speaker 2 00:03:03 Yeah.
Speaker 3 00:03:03 Yeah. So they had an affiliation program, but due to Covid I couldn't come to Australia. Right. So I graduated from there. Okay. So once I completed it, I was automatically part of Engineers Australia.
Speaker 2 00:03:14 Fantastic.
Speaker 3 00:03:14 So I learned the Australian laws, regulation, practices of engineering. So I thought it'll be good to put that in use in Australia.
Speaker 2 00:03:23 Well we had to thank CURTAIN for their assistance with this as well then. That's really good. We actually have a, as you may know, a small university partnership that's growing with the Green University of Colombo. Yeah. As well. North of the city as well. Have you been to that site?
Speaker 3 00:03:37 I have been to that site, yeah. But I did hear about the affiliation recently. Yeah.
Speaker 2 00:03:41 It's just something of which we're really proud. Well that's great. So tell me when you came. So just wind us back a bit 'cause not everyone knows you. When did you start at Vu? In, in what way? In what capacity?
Speaker 3 00:03:53 So, I stepped foot into Australia for the first time in 2023 in January, 2023. And to study my master of civil engineering, I knew absolutely no one here. So it was very new. I didn't know where this was going. I remember I used to sit right in front of the VU Bar Cafe. Yeah. And just work my assignments to my just study notes and revision. Yeah. And then I slowly started to make friends during orientation, my classmates and you know, I started talking with people I got to know about the student mentor program and yeah, it's just word of mouth. I joined the student mentor program. Yep. First and then after that I became a student mentor. Yeah. Following with bitch. I managed to also secure myself a civil engineering pro position with ACE contractors because I attended the Engineers Australia Expo. And then just slowly, you know, evolving my way through university life. Yeah. Making new friends, networking. Yeah. And then I applied for some leadership awards in the year 2023, I managed to get two leadership awards. Yeah. Which was very surprising 'cause it was my first year.
Speaker 2 00:05:05 I know. So just pause there for a second. 'cause it's really significant. You'd only been here for a short time, but your leadership was still recognized. I mean, how did that happen? Because it, not many people can do that in such a short period of time. Yeah.
Speaker 3 00:05:18 I guess,
Speaker 2 00:05:18 Do you have any theories as to why that occurred?
Speaker 3 00:05:20 No, not really. So I guess it's because I made sure that my academics was always good as well. Yeah. I wanted to make sure I always received the best grades possible. So I had a good connection with my lecturers. Yes. And at my workplace that was also happening. Yeah. And obviously with the student mentor program, I had some really good mentors like Lui and Rob helping me out with training sessions. And then I got to know a lot of people through the Stone Mentor Program. Yeah. And I joined the STEM Sisters program.
Speaker 2 00:05:53 I remember that. Yeah.
Speaker 3 00:05:54 Yes. So I was part of wise, which is Women in Science and Engineering Club at Victoria University. Yeah. I also represented VU at the Enactus Nationals in 2023. That's,
Speaker 2 00:06:06 So let's just talk about those three. Yeah. Because they're kind of connected in interesting ways, both the people and the themes. So STEM Sisters, first of all, whose idea was that? Do you know?
Speaker 3 00:06:18 It was Dr. Rui Fernando who founded
Speaker 2 00:06:20 It. I think it was Ruki. Yeah, that's right. And did you meet her just by chance or did you seek her out? How did that happen? You know,
Speaker 3 00:06:27 I think I, I just saw it on a website. Huh. Or probably an advertisement, the STEM program. Yes. And then I joined it and there was a WhatsApp group that she had created for all the students who were joining in. And then we had a meetup session, I think it was at A A CS. Ah,
Speaker 2 00:06:47 Yeah.
Speaker 3 00:06:47 Yeah. Yes. It was a good gathering with a lot of other women in stem. Great. And yeah, that's where I met Dr. Ran for the very first time. Yeah. And then I got to know that she was actually a past student of Victoria University.
Speaker 2 00:07:00 Correct. And that's the interesting thing, the connection. You didn't know that when you first met her until that moment. So was that the Australian Computer Society a CS or a different one? Yeah, Australian
Speaker 3 00:07:10 Computer Society. That's what I thought. That's where they usually have the gatherings. Mm. So I met her and, and I knew she was Sri Lankan. Yes. At that time. Yes. So we connected. But at that time I didn't know she was a past people or you, I only got to know that when I was applying for my leadership award. Wow. Yeah. Good. That's when I spoke to another friend of mine at uni and he was like, oh, you know, Dr. Rgi, she won an award two years ago. I was like, what? Really? She's from Victoria. They're like, yeah.
Speaker 2 00:07:38 And all this talent from Sri Lanka as well. You know, sort of like leadership talent because I mean that's been really important. And then of course the connections with which are superbly interesting are how people help each other. Yeah. And going forward. So right early on you saw that model and it sounds like you've been very engaged with it as well. Yeah. So how does Enact fit into that then? How has that work?
Speaker 3 00:08:00 So enact, I got to know is another student mentor was the president of Enact at that time. He introduced me to an actor, took me to the workshop. And it was very interesting because I myself love a bit of art and craft during my free time. And I love the fact that they're trying to recycle plastic and make use of it in various manners. Like making plastic beams, plastic pots, and you know, reselling them. Which is giving them a good afterlife. Yes. So, yeah, that intrigued me. And so I joined and I love public speaking presentations. So when they sit in Actis Nationals, I was like, oh, I'd like to join. But they anyways needed people as well. Yeah. So the more the merrier. So can
Speaker 2 00:08:42 I just ask you about this public speaking? 'cause some people are terrified of it. Yeah. How did you overcome your fear? Was it, were you very young when you started to like it? How did you do that?
Speaker 3 00:08:51 I was actually quite an introvert at school. Yeah. Yeah. But I guess it was during university, during my bachelor's degree that I started to open up. Interesting. Because we had to do a presentation. It's a must you get points for presentation. Right. So I needed to score. Mm mm
Speaker 2 00:09:07 So therefore, so you had that inspiration. Yeah. Or motivation, shall we say. Yeah.
Speaker 3 00:09:10 And so I started to watch some videos of people who actually do public speaking and I saw my friends who were really strong in public speaking. Yeah. So I learned from them.
Speaker 2 00:09:21 It's no easy thing, but it sounds like, you know, a little bit of a spark and way you went. Yeah. And so in a similar way, when you're talking about, you know, your engineering, I mean it's really kind of research based even at the master's level, isn't it? Yeah. I mean, what did you end up, did you do a little bit of a dissertation or anything like that? Yes,
Speaker 3 00:09:37 I did. Yeah. So I'm, my research was basically to use solar panel waste as an alternative for limestone lime that's usually used to stabilize clay soils. Right. For the sub grade.
Speaker 2 00:09:50 Excellent. 'cause you see otherwise, you know, after eight years or whatever it is on a roof, we chuck things. Yeah. Instead of reusing. So it's really effective. And does it matter, you know, where they're made or any solar panel can be used?
Speaker 3 00:10:02 It's actually the solar panel waste has different parts and components of it. I used one part of it, I'm not gonna mention what it is. Right. 'cause it is still a bit, how do you say, it's quite a secret right now. Oh,
Speaker 2 00:10:15 Okay. I'm not trying to don't reveal the secret on, on air as they say. Yeah. But we know the general, general gist of it. Yeah, that's great. But, but the main thing is the principle of 360 degree and you know, reuse is very profound. And I understand that might then lead to what you might do next for your own research in a PhD. So do you wanna talk a bit about that? You've only just begun I think literally,
Speaker 3 00:10:38 Yes. To be honest, I haven't really stuck on an idea for my PhD yet. Yeah. But I'm planning to do it on something based on roads. I haven't decided if it's going to be based on sub-base or asphalt. Yeah. But I'd like to see if I can use a, a more sustainable product that has not been used before, but at the same time that'll be very profitable to the government and a good idea for the future generations.
Speaker 2 00:11:07 That's brilliant. I mean, honestly we talked a little bit about this in advance, but when you see how roads are falling apart more because of climate change and also greater flow of water when it rains and you know, things like potholes and they get worse and sinkholes, a lot of it is water flow. People think it's just cars. Yeah. But actually a lot of it is hydrology and sun mixed with it. Yes. So it's gonna be a fascinating topic to get this. Right. True. Yes. You know, there's a lot involved, right. 'cause in our own neighborhood they discovered that a lot of the pipes underneath the road were too narrow. They called the gauge. Right? Yeah. Was was not taking the water away when really big downpours downpours happened. And so it naturally has nowhere else to go and kind of erupts. Yeah. You know, so you'll be very, very familiar with that whole challenge. Yes. Well that's great. That's great that you're doing that. Thank you. Now let's go back. Go back to one of the boards that you were on. Academic board. Yeah. We used to meet in that. How did you find the time for that in midst of all these other 15 things you were doing?
Speaker 3 00:12:02 I honestly don't know. So when I first came to Australia and I met a couple of my school friends Yeah. Who were working here, they always had a calendar and they'd be like, oh, let me check my calendar if I can meet you. And I, I'd just be like, why calendar? Like you can't meet someone. But then last year my calendar was full. I had to schedule myself for everything. Did you? Yeah. So yeah, so I always made sure, okay, if I have the academic board meeting today, then tomorrow I have time to study. And yeah, I had to schedule myself. If not, it's very hard. So time management was key for me last year.
Speaker 2 00:12:36 Are you, are you pretty disciplined with time?
Speaker 3 00:12:39 I wasn't, but I have trained myself now. Oh,
Speaker 2 00:12:42 Okay. So it's something you've learned. I have learned it's a learned skill. Right. Because it's one thing to time yourself and to use a time tales another to adhere to it. Yeah. You know? 'cause it's the greatest intent in the world. I remember somebody saying to me once, look at all of this research I'd done. And this was in the olden days, you know, when they did lots of photocopies and he brought in about a meter of photocopies. And I said, have you read all of this? Oh no, I've just done the research. I said, wait a second. That's only the first step. The discipline is the doing. Yeah. And that's what you've done, which I think is fantastic. Thank you. Do you think that because you're now a PhD student, do you think you might want to be involved in any of the governance committees or anything of the university at some other time? Or have you done it now?
Speaker 3 00:13:21 Do you think governance committees
Speaker 2 00:13:24 A bit like sort of academic board and all those other things?
Speaker 3 00:13:26 I have done them previously. Yeah. Yeah. But for the next coming years, I don't know what to look forward to. But I always think, I always have this thing that if you don't try, you would never know. Yeah. Yeah. So that's how I've achieved so much in Australia. It's about when you're given the opportunity, just take it, try. Yeah. See if it works. If it doesn't, it's okay, but at least you tried and yeah. I think it's better to fail rather than regretting the fact that you never even tried. Yeah.
Speaker 2 00:13:57 But you know, I don't see too many failures on this list.
Speaker 3 00:14:01 Well, I try my best to succeed. So,
Speaker 2 00:14:03 You know, but also failure is of different types. I mean, it might be a setback. Mm. But not a failure. Yeah. And often, often research is like that. You try one element and that doesn't work, but it leads you to a better path. So in fact, I think often it's like, just like the water we talked about, it doesn't go this way, but it goes that way. Yeah. So I'd say you, I think it's fantastic to have you as a colleague, as a student, as a member of our boards, as someone who's a representative and also who's taking part in International Women's Day. And for being in this podcast. I'm thrilled and I'm really grateful to you. Thank you.
Speaker 3 00:14:33 Thank you. Thanks Anna. Thanks a
Speaker 2 00:14:34 Lot.
