About 400 students from the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia spent Thursday 27th April at the Sunshine Coast University for a Big Day In event listening to a range of speakers recommending IT as a future career option.

Professor Meredith Lawley, Acting Head of School of Business, University of Sunshine Coast, welcoming the students.

Councillor Mark Jamieson, Mayor of Sunshine Coast sharing IT Career opportunities on the Sunshine Coast.

I had the pleasure of talking to the students about 21st Century life skills, the importance of formal certification and I suggested ways that the students can brand themselves to stand out from the crowd when applying for future courses and jobs.

I particularly enjoyed meeting Dominic Williamson from Microsoft who shared his story from being a Brisbane student where he taught himself how to code and made a number of apps, to now working for one of the largest IT companies in the world. A truly inspirational message for the local QLD students.

The next Big Day In event that I will be involved with will be at The University of Newcastle, NSW on 16th May.