Why join a club at uni?

I’m sure you already know that joining a club is one of the best ways to meet people and make new friendships in uni.

It would definitely be a good starting point as you should surely have at least one interest in common. Being a member of a club also gives you opportunities to take breaks from your study program to get social. Some of the closest friendships I’ve made were forged through uni clubs and sports teams. As you get to meet and form new friendships, you’re also able to try new things and maybe even find new interests to develop and hone.

Joining a club (or maybe even an extra-curricular program offered at uni) also helps you develop skills you can add on your resume and possibly gain some leadership skills too. I took part in the university’s Global IQ Program. There were times that communication wasn’t the easiest with other participants, of course this is a challenge you’d expect in a cross-cultural program, but I found ways to establish connections within my group through shared experiences. I was able to find common interests and used this to form a connection that allowed us all to work better as a team. This will be useful in any future paid work I am engaged in – given the pandemic and the changing nature of work (i.e. working remotely and possibly with other people interstate or overseas) – being able to work in diverse teams will be valuable.

I was also invited as a panel speaker at a careers event. This was an opportunity that was brought about by connections I made through clubs and groups at uni. The panel was designed to illustrate a range of career trajectories available to postgrad students after graduation. Although I would normally shy away from public speaking engagements such as this one, the experience helped me to practice preparing for “interview-like” moments, which will of course come handy when looking for work after uni.

Check out some of the clubs you can join here – there are over 130 clubs!