The WA Branch of the Statistical Society of Australia is delighted to host an evening dedicated to Early Career and Student Statisticians. All visitors are welcome to attend this event, especially anyone studying or interested in pursuing a career in statistics or data science.

Date: Tuesday, 13 May 2025
Time: 5:30 PM - 7:00 PM
Location: Blakers Lecture Theatre, The University of Western Australia
Cost: Free. Drinks and pizza sponsored by the Branch.

Two speakers have been invited to speak at this event: Jecinta Jaarola and Maxwell Dix-Matthews, both recipients of 2024 Honours Scholarships.

The winner of the 2025 Honours Scholarship will be announced at this event.

Presentations

How the SSA WA Honours Scholarship Contributed to My Success in the Most Important Year of My Studies

Jecinta Jaarola, Curtin University

For this talk, I reflect on how the SSA WA Honours Scholarship impacted my final year of study in the Bachelor of Advanced Science (Honours) in Data Science at Curtin University. In summary, the SSA WA Honours Scholarship provided financial and emotional support, which helped me to complete my Honours thesis to a high standard and achieve excellent results in my final year coursework. This culminated in a High Distinction grade for my thesis and graduation with First Class Honours. Now, as a graduate data scientist at Rio Tinto, I am deeply grateful for the support this scholarship offered as it has played an important role in paving my path to success.

About the Presenter

My name is Jecinta Jaarola, and I was born in Collie, a historic coal mining town 213 kilometres south of Perth. Throughout my childhood, I was always captivated by the sciences—particularly chemistry, physics, and mathematics. However, as I approached high school graduation in 2019, I found it impossible to choose just one field to pursue. That dilemma led me to data science: an emerging discipline that blends analytical thinking with versatility, offering the opportunity to work across multiple scientific domains. Thus, in 2021, I began studying the Bachelor of Advanced Science, majoring in Data Science, at Curtin University. Over the course of my four year degree, I completed four research projects and three internships, gaining hands-on experience in both academic and industry settings. In February this year, I graduated with First Class Honours, and I’m now working full-time as a data scientist in the Rio Tinto graduate program. Throughout my journey, I have met many inspiring people in this field, especially Professor Nicola Armstrong, to whom I owe my heartfelt gratitude for her guidance. As I enter the next phase of my career, I am excited about the bright future that lies ahead in data science!

How the SSA Scholarship Helped My Journey Through Honours to PhD

Maxwell Dix-Matthews, The University of Western Australia

Last year the Statistics Society of Australia (SSA) awarded me a one-off student scholarship at a crucial point in my honours year. By lifting financial pressure, the award let me devote uninterrupted attention to my thesis, deepen my methodological toolkit, and share my work with the wider statistical community. The outcome was first-class honours and a clear springboard into a PhD that builds directly on the techniques I refined during that period. In this seminar I will describe the concrete benefits of the scholarship, outline the research skills it helped me master, and show how those skills now underpin my doctoral project.

About the Presenter

My name is Maxwell Dix-Matthews. In 2021, I completed a double major in Software Engineering and Mathematics, which landed me a spot in the Bankwest graduate program. I took on successive roles as software engineer, data scientist, and data engineer. When I completed the program, I moved to Water Corp. to work in Data & Analytics. While both companies were welcoming and supportive of my technical development, the confines of industry left me looking for more. Here I returned to UWA to complete my honours with the help of Professor Adriano Polpo. Academia offered newfound intellectual freedom and encouraged me to fuse software expertise with statistical theory. I graduated with first-class honours and am now in the first year of my PhD in Statistics.

Refreshments and Dinner

Members, visitors, and guests are invited to mingle over wine, beer, cider, soft drinks and pizza from 5:30 PM. Following the meeting you are invited to dine with fellow attendees at a nearby restaurant. Early career and students will receive $20 off their meals.

Meeting directions

The Blakers Lecture Theatre is located on the ground floor of the Mathematics building at The University of Western Australia. Its entrance is on the northern side of the building. See: UWA Maps, Google Maps.

Parking is free on the UWA Crawley campus after 5:00 PM. A convenient place to park is Car Park 18 accessible from Fairway Entry 1.

Registration

This event is free of charge, but for catering purposes, please register on this page.

For further information or dietary requests, please contact the WA Branch Secretary (ssa.wa.secretary@gmail.com).