Adelaide University Internship Experience - Jay Shijie Zhang
Welcome Jay!
Jay Shijie Zhang joined our SAcommunity Data Analytics Team for his University of Adelaide SET (Sciences, Engineering and Technology) Internship for his Bachelor of Computer Science 2024: 22 March 2024 - 20 May 2024.
He is completing a 140 hour internship onsite with SAcommunity at the Connecting Up Office, Infoxchange for 2 days (15 hours) a week for ~10 weeks around his classes.
Total Hours 101 Joined 22 March 2024 Last Check-in 1 May 2024
Personal Biography
Shijie Zhang, is currently in his third year of a Bachelor of Computer Science program at the University of Adelaide. In addition to his studies, he is an experienced photographer and videographer, and the proud owner of his personal studio, 444media. He harbors a deep passion for both fields as well as a strong aptitude for learning new concepts and technologies. Recently, he has developed a keen interest in Artificial Intelligence (AI), captivated by its potential to revolutionize various aspects of our lives.
At Connecting Up, he is eager to gain industry experience and collaborate with like-minded individuals. In particular, he is enthusiastic about learning how to use software such as Power BI to visualize data, to aid in understanding and analysis of community information, and ultimately contribute to assisting the wider social network.
His ultimate goal is to develop a career that aligns with his passions, whether that be in photography or in the field of Computer Science, with a focus on Python programming and data analysis. In the long term, he aims to leverage his skills and passion to make a significant contribution to his future employer as well as to society in general.
Image: Port Augusta Council - FY 2022-2023 PowerBI report and Canva Report Created by Jay
Community Services in Councils Project
Jay has selected Port Augusta City Council for his Power BI council reports, a database of approximately 230 community services operating in the area for the financial years 2021-2022 and 2022-2023. His reports followed previous visualization report work by Renu Bala, and his completed reports can be found >>here.
There are a number of steps involved in the creation of community service information data presentations. A summary of data trends prepared, using information from Google Analytics and SAcommunity with subsequent Power BI and Canva reports revealing data anomalies and corrections required, the database is updated, and reports re-created with improved information. Final data reports are published to the website and introduced by Harsh to council stakeholders for information and/or feedback.
Image: Jay taking photo of Harsh, (left-right)Harsh Bhatt, Dexter Tabada, Yi Han, Jay Shijie Zhang
Photography Empowers Community
Jay leveraged his photography skills to provide professional assistance to many volunteers. He helped them enhance their LinkedIn profiles by capturing professional headshots. In addition, he contributed to creating a conducive workspace by taking high-quality desk shots. Recognizing the importance of skill sharing, Jay also imparted advanced photography composition techniques to the volunteer coordinator, Catherine. This was particularly beneficial as Catherine is responsible for taking most of the photographs for the interns and volunteers.
Jay also provided photographs for Volunteer Flavia's blog post on the April Community Events, including the Adelaide Motorsports Festival. His photography skills not only enhanced the visual appeal of the blog but also helped in effectively conveying the vibrancy and excitement of the events. This further demonstrates Jay's ability to use his skills in diverse ways to support and enrich his community.
Image: Desk shots by Jay and Catherine, (left-right) Jay Shijie Zhang, Tanvi Srivastava, Kristen.
Work experience - Internal and External Events, Connections and Networks Volunteers and interns are encouraged to attend monthly SAcommunity Team meetings, Connecting Up staff meetings, as well as quarterly all-staff Infoxchange Town Hall meetings to understand more about the organisation as a whole.
Organisation-wide news, events and projects are communicated through the staff channels, with weekly CEO Updates from David Spriggs, informal ‘Lunch and Learn’ educational sessions, and network meetings create connections with staff, whilst peer-to-peer training and telephone techniques allow for networking with other volunteers. Interns are also given opportunities to attend stakeholder and partner events.
Relevant meetings and training Jay has attended include:
Image: Stathis and Jay during 1 to 1 Telephone training
Training and Development - Telephone Techniques
Telephone techniques follow on with email and communication techniques, to assist Data Analytics Team members with understanding more about the directory and data collection methods, in data cleaning and updating their individual dataset information, and, in finally introducing and presenting their data reports to council stakeholders. There are several telephone techniques meetings, as with the student's elevator pitches, practice makes perfect.Jay paired up with Stathis for telephone training. Stathis provided valuable advice to Jay and offered corrections during the training, further enhancing Jay's communication skills. This collaborative approach to learning is a testament to the supportive and educational environment fostered within the team.
Connecting Up Monthly Staff Meeting
9 April 2024
In an internal conference at ConnectingUp, Pankaj talked about the company's current
