Utilising Life & Professional Experience

He kai kei aku ringa*

There is food at your fingertips; using your skills, abilities, or resources to achieve success.

Essential resources - feeling less prepared

Click on the text boxes with the plus symbols below for information and resources.

Drawing on your life experiences as a learner

Optional resources - feeling somewhat prepared

Click on the text boxes with the plus symbols below for information and resources.

Your life skills, abilities and resources will enable you to do postgraduate study

Applying your strengths to achieve in your postgraduate study aims

Your existing strengths, skills and experiences will be extended by your postgraduate study experience. You may wish to reflect on the following question while looking at the image below showing 'partially woven' threads of a learning kete:

What are the attributes of a post graduate student?

Take a few minutes to think about this question and check against the list below. Consider your thoughts about what sorts of attributes you may need as a post graduate student.

The University of Auckland Postgraduate (Coursework) Graduate Attributes include:

1. Specialist knowledge

2. Effective communication

3. General intellectual skills and capacities

4. Independence, creativity and learning

5. Ethical and social understanding.

Consider: Which of these 5 areas of graduate capability may feel new or challenging for you?

Watch the following 1 minute video by Fila - a postgraduate School of Population Health student who discusses a few of the academic attributes that she found were new for her as she began postgraduate study.

Fila - Postgraduate student in School of Population Health describing some areas of academic skills that were new for her in postgraduate study.

[7.8 MB]

into Audio / video

Show play log

To talk more about any attributes you would like to further develop in your postgraduate study, contact us:
MAPAS (Māori and Pacific) Student Support Advisors
	MAPAS Postgraduate Student Support Advisor Phone 027 836 5166 or 0800 20 20 99
	Email: mapaspg@auckland.ac.nz
Te Fale Pouāwhina (TFP) Student Learning Advisors
	Matt Tarawa Email: m.tarawa@auckland.ac.nz Phone: +64 9 923 8608
	Mona O'Shea Email: m.oshea@auckland.ac.nz Phone: +64 9 923 8970
Student Centre Advisors at the Faculty of Medical & Health Sciences
	Phone +64 9 923 2760
	Email stepps.fmhs@auckland.ac.nz

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Extra resources - feeling mostly prepared

Click on the text boxes with the plus symbols below for information and resources.

How do your life and professional skills match postgraduate study expectations?

How can you enhance your postgraduate study through growing new skills?

You existing life and professional experiences provide you with a good platform for your postgraduate study. You may like to reflect on the following question and try the academic reading practice exercise below while considering this image showing 'fully woven' together threads that have joined together in a learning kete.

How do your skills, abilities and resources compare with what a postgraduate student is expected to do?

Postgraduate study will involve some new expectations and skills-building, especially around some areas like academic reading and writing.

Take a few minutes to think about what this question may mean for you - or discuss it with a friend, whānau or a work colleague or Education Coordinator (if you have one).

Consider: Which areas of academic reading or writing may feel new or challenging for you?

Reading Effectively

In postgraduate study, you will be reading from a variety of sources to learn and understand content information. Academic reading requires you to identify, analyse, synthesise and evaluate.

Try the following Practice Academic Reading Exercise below when you have a few minutes.

You may also find it helpful to learn more about reading academically by contacting Te Fale Pouaāwhina or by visiting an online module about Reading Efficiently developed by The University of Auckland's Libraries and Learning Services team.

Practice Academic Reading Exercise

When you have 20-30 minutes, carry out the following Practice Academic Reading Exercise to see how your capabilities match postgraduate reading expectations.

Read the article Teaching Cultural Safety in a New Zealand Nursing Education Program by Richardson (2004).

Then try to respond to the questions about this article in the Practice Questions below. You can type your answers in the spaces provided after each question.

When you have finished trying to answer the questions, then download the Annotated Article here below. It has been highlighted to show you where you can find answers in the text to the questions below.

Annotated Article

(Note: only download and look at this version of the article after you have tried to answer the questions below).

Download: Annotated Richardson (2004) article.

Practice Questions

Contact us about your academic reading development

Area to Record Questions and Thoughts

Questions to Record

You may like to record a few questions, thoughts or goals in the space provided below ... The text you type will get saved but only on the computer or device that you are currently working on.

You can save a copy of your text or questions by clicking on the button below "Send the note to" and entering in your email address. This will send the text to your email inbox. Or you can print off this page now.

You may like to keep a copy of your questions to discuss with an employer, a family member or to bring along to your programme Orientation day(s).

Type your questions or thoughts as text in the white box below.

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This page relates to the following questions from the PG Poutama STEPPS Reflective Questionnaire:

Q3: I have done recent training and/or professional development or continuing education working in the field (within the last five years).

*A Māori whakatauki (proverb).

Home Page	Reflective Questionnaire	Preparation Tools
Downloadable Resources	Guiding Framework	Contact Us
How the Site Works

To talk more about the value of your life experiences and doing postgraduate study, contact us:

MAPAS (Māori and Pacific) Student Support Advisors
	MAPAS Postgraduate Student Support Advisor Phone 027 836 5166 or 0800 20 20 99 option 6
	Email: mapaspg@auckland.ac.nz
Te Fale Pouāwhina (TFP) Student Learning Advisors
	Matt Tarawa Email: m.tarawa@auckland.ac.nz Phone: +64 9 923 8608
	Mona O'Shea Email: m.oshea@auckland.ac.nz Phone: +64 9 923 8970
Student Centre Advisors at the Faculty of Medical & Health Sciences
	Phone +64 9 923 2760
	Email stepps.fmhs@auckland.ac.nz