On 25 June, our members gathered for breakfast.  This was an event to connect young and old, share ideas about where statistics can take you, and also provide advice and career guidance.  Breaking with tradition for our branch, attendance was members-only and the event was held in the morning.  How did it go? 

We invited eight statisticians / data scientists from diverse backgrounds to be our mentors for the day.

Our invited mentors.  Top row, L to R: Kohleth Chia, Sandy Clarke-Errey, Harry Gielewski, Andy Kitchen.  Bottom row, L to R: Stephen Leslie, Margarita Moreno-Betancur, Dennis Trewin, James Wilson

After a brief icebreaker, we formed into small groups around each mentor.  The intimate and relaxed setting allowed members to get to know each other and hear about our mentors' experiences first-hand.

We had excellent feedback from those who attended.  They particularly liked:

●       The diversity of mentors' backgrounds, a good mix of academic and non-academic.

●       The morning scheduling, which suited many members with family responsibilities, who find our evening events harder to attend.

●       The delicious food, provided by ASRC Catering.

The discussion could have easily gone for longer, if only it weren't a workday...

We are grateful to our sponsors for the event, Eliiza and Bunnings.

Damjan Vukcevic