Student Placements at the ASRC
Each year the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre offers placements (internships) for students from universities, colleges and TAFEs, in a range of direct practice and research roles. We place great value on the importance and significant contribution of students, as the ASRC was itself initiated by a class of community development students. Today, from a class project in 2001, the ASRC has grown to become the largest asylum seeker aid, health and advocacy organisation in Australia.
Please note that we are no longer taking any student placements for 2012. Information regarding student placements in 2013 will be released later in the year.
Placements Offered
The ASRC is able to offer both "direct practice" and project placements. In reality, the nature of the ASRC sees the majority of placements involving a combination of some direct practice and some research / project work. The type of placement offered will be dependent upon the placement vacancies at the time and upon the student's skills and interests. Whilst students do require a good level of self-motivation and initiative, the ASRC will endeavour to match students with a program, task supervisor and project / practice work which best suits the needs of both the student and the ASRC.
Opportunities depend on the varying needs of the organisation and differ greatly from year to year. Examples of placements offered in 2011:
Employment Casework - assisting and mentoring asylum seekers in seeking employment.
Community Development - Working within the Mentor, Orientation or Women's Group Programs to provide Program Support, promote the services to asylum seekers and assist with evaluation of the projects.
Member Participation Program - provide support to asylum seekers to assist them in their role as a volunteer at the centre.
The timeframe for conducting a placement will vary depending on your institution's requirements. Generally, you need to be able to commit a minimum of two days per week at the ASRC while on placement. We prefer you conduct your placement in a block as much as possible, as this helps you in terms of continuity and provides a better opportunity to obtain a sound understanding of working in the daily context of a community-based NGO.
While students will be matched to particular programs dependent on the ASRC's placement availability and the student's learning needs, students may have the opportunity to experience a variety of tasks and roles across the organisation
Information for universities, colleges and TAFEs
The ASRC is a dynamic, predominantly volunteer run organisation, which offers a variety of services to meet the diverse needs of asylum seekers. It is important that prospective students are well aware of the incredible diversity and challenges, which can often arise when on placement in community based organisation of this size. Students who generally achieve the most out of their placement at the ASRC are those who show initiative, are self-motivated, have had some experience in working with diverse groups of people and who hold a positive, mature outlook. As such, it is these attributes, which we are seeking when deciding upon placement applications.
The ASRC appreciates your assistance in selecting only students you feel would meet these criteria to apply for placement. Student supervision Ensuring that students are well supported whilst on placement is very important to the ASRC.
The ASRC will provide support in terms of proper induction into the organisation, including orientation tours, project/program direction & guidelines, task supervision, opportunities for incident debrief. Where appropriate, we encourage peer supervision amongst students on placement together.
However at this time the ASRC is unfortunately unable to provide the formal supervision sessions required by some institutions. The main reason for this is that we simply do not have the resources to be able to provide the one-to-one time required for this.
The ASRC's paid staff are few, and many programs are staffed largely by volunteers, often by different volunteers each day of the week. A large component of the student’s placement will involve working side by side with volunteers. Some institutions are able to provide external supervision which the ASRC would encourage as it is vital that students' learning goals be properly set and frequently referred to. The ASRC does want to be very clear that at this stage we are unfortunately unable to provide one-on-one formalised supervision sessions for students.
How to Apply
All students who are interested in doing a placement must attend the Student Placement Information Evening. Placements for 2012 are fulll. We will hold an information evening for student placements in 2013 in late 2012.