Adelaide University Internships - Natasha Kwan
Image: Number of community services listed on SAcommunity, indexed and operating in Charles Sturt Council
Welcome Natasha!
Natasha Kwan joined our SAcommunity Data Analytics Team as an intern as part of her Adelaide University studies, starting with the team on the 26 July 2023 - 17 November 2023, attending for 3 days onsite / remotely each week to complete 270 hours towards a report on community services listed on SAcommunity operating within an South Australian council. She has also contributed to the SAcommunity Media & Communication Team, and a portfolio link to her published article can be found >> here.
Natasha is camera conscious however she has captured many of the internship activities she has been involved in with photos of the team events and activities for her online portfolio.
Total Hours 253 Joined 26 July 2023 Final check-in 9 November 2023 (retired)
Natasha is camera conscious however she has captured many of the internship activities she has been involved in with photos of the team events and activities for her online portfolio.
Total Hours 253 Joined 26 July 2023 Final check-in 9 November 2023 (retired)
Personal Bio
Natasha is currently studying a Master's Degree in Data Science at the University of Adelaide. She has a Bachelor of Science majoring in Geology at the University of Hong Kong, after which she worked in sales and marketing in a business company. In this role, Natasha gained hands-on expertise in branding real estate projects, marketing strategy development, and sales forecasting, which inspired her to learn more about business data analytics and move to Adelaide. Here, she also works on a casual basis for a Canadian active wear brand, while studying, further developing her knowledge of the retail sector, her customer service and people skills.
Joining SAcommunity for her internship, will allow her to gain real-world data analytics experiences and insight into the potential of data to improve people’s lives. Her motivation for being in the program stems from a passion for identifying patterns within data and utilizing this skill to address challenges across diverse industries, taking complex data and simplifying it into user-friendly dashboards and presentations to make this information easier to comprehend. Natasha thrives on working in collaborative team environments and independently ‘getting things done’, she is committed to continuous learning and the ongoing expansion of her skillset all of which were available in this opportunity. Moreover, she finds great satisfaction in actively listening to peoples’ needs, and collaborating with clients and experts to tackle complex problems.
Looking ahead, Natasha envisions a dynamic and stimulating career path, one that leads her to become a data analyst in a consulting firm. In this role, she anticipates working on an array of projects that enable her to experience new environments and continually changing conditions and situations across various sectors. Her goal is to make a meaningful impact for her client’s businesses by analysing data using a range of tools and techniques, including statistical analysis, data visualization, and predictive modelling.
Community Services in Councils Project
Natasha has selected The City of Charles Sturt for her council reports, a very large dataset of approximately 562 listed community services operating in the area over 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 following up on previous financial year reports by Volunteer Stathis Avramis and can be found >>here. Once completed and published the data and information visualisation reports were presented by Natasha to council stakeholders by phone and email to introduce SAcommunity and community service information for their area.
Natasha also created the following article [Mo]re than a run assisted by Volunteer Flavia in the Media & Communication Team to promote this fundraising event from Movember towards an awareness and support for men's health.
Image: David Spriggs, Infoxchange CEO visits from Melbourne for a Staff Meeting 5 September 2023 at Connecting Up attended by Intern Natasha Kwan.
Pictured: Stathis Avramis Volunteer Data Analytics Team Lead, Mike Makalintal Customer Support Officer, Eric Jenkins Account Manager, David Spriggs Infoxchange CEO, Koodge Parker ITS Helpdesk Officer, Chloe Le Marketing Coordinator, Pankaj Chhalotre Head of Connecting Up, Cameron Brown Web Developer, James Newport Senior Web Developer, Sam Lloyd Marketing Lead and Samantha Whillas Customer Support Officer
Work Experience - Internal Organisation Connections
Volunteers and interns are encouraged to attend monthly team and organisation-wide meetings to understand more about the whole organisation. Natasha had the opportunity to attend SAcommunity and Connecting Up team meetings to learn more about the team directions and how her project aligns with Connecting Up and Infoxchange values, activities, mission and vision. Including the monthly Connecting Up staff meeting on the 5 September 2023 (pictured) and opportunities on the 10 October 2023, 14 November 2023 as well as the All-staff IX Quarterly Town Hall meeting held on the 2 November 2023.
Australian Bureau of Statistics Website: Socio-Economic Index for Areas (SEIFA)
Work Experience - Wider Organisation Connections & Networks
On Friday 6 October 2023 Marcus Harvey and Kristen Moeller-Saxone visited the Connecting Up Office for a meeting held in Adelaide as part of the Data Catalyst Network. They had an opportunity to talk to Natasha and our other intern students Kane Hengchuan Zhao and volunteers Neil Anubhav Dattagupta and Rex Porter afterwards regarding a data request for community services operating in a target suburb of Adelaide of disadvantage indicated by the Socio-economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA) from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
Natasha also created the following article [Mo]re than a run assisted by Volunteer Flavia in the Media & Communication Team to promote this fundraising event from Movember towards an awareness and support for men's health.
Image: David Spriggs, Infoxchange CEO visits from Melbourne for a Staff Meeting 5 September 2023 at Connecting Up attended by Intern Natasha Kwan.
Pictured: Stathis Avramis Volunteer Data Analytics Team Lead, Mike Makalintal Customer Support Officer, Eric Jenkins Account Manager, David Spriggs Infoxchange CEO, Koodge Parker ITS Helpdesk Officer, Chloe Le Marketing Coordinator, Pankaj Chhalotre Head of Connecting Up, Cameron Brown Web Developer, James Newport Senior Web Developer, Sam Lloyd Marketing Lead and Samantha Whillas Customer Support Officer
Work Experience - Internal Organisation Connections
Volunteers and interns are encouraged to attend monthly team and organisation-wide meetings to understand more about the whole organisation. Natasha had the opportunity to attend SAcommunity and Connecting Up team meetings to learn more about the team directions and how her project aligns with Connecting Up and Infoxchange values, activities, mission and vision. Including the monthly Connecting Up staff meeting on the 5 September 2023 (pictured) and opportunities on the 10 October 2023, 14 November 2023 as well as the All-staff IX Quarterly Town Hall meeting held on the 2 November 2023.
Australian Bureau of Statistics Website: Socio-Economic Index for Areas (SEIFA)
Work Experience - Wider Organisation Connections & Networks
On Friday 6 October 2023 Marcus Harvey and Kristen Moeller-Saxone visited the Connecting Up Office for a meeting held in Adelaide as part of the Data Catalyst Network. They had an opportunity to talk to Natasha and our other intern students Kane Hengchuan Zhao and volunteers Neil Anubhav Dattagupta and Rex Porter afterwards regarding a data request for community services operating in a target suburb of Adelaide of disadvantage indicated by the Socio-economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA) from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
Image: ADIA website with inset ADII interactive data dashboard, The National Picture
Thomas, J., McCosker, A., Parkinson, S., Hegarty, K., Featherstone, D., Kennedy, J., Holcombe-James, I., Ormond-Parker, L., & Ganley, L. (2023). Measuring Australia’s Digital Divide: Australian Digital Inclusion Index: 2023. Melbourne: ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society, RMIT University, Swinburne University of Technology, and Telstra.
Work Experience - External Partners and Stakeholder Networks
Volunteers and Interns are also provided with opportunities to attend larger Australia-wide organisation meetings and key partnership events including Digital Capability in Australia: Unpacking digital preparedness for access to work, learning and life held on the 20 September 2023.
The event was hosted by The Australian Digital Inclusion Alliance (ADIA), a shared initiative with over 500 business, government, academic and community organisations working together to accelerate action on digital inclusion and The Future Skills Organisation (FSO) is a Jobs and Skills Council funded by the Australian Government Department of Employment and Workplace Relations. Moderated by Infoxchange CEO and ADIA Chair, David Spriggs, this was an in-depth discussion on the challenges and opportunities of digital capability in Australia, and to hear more about the ADIA/FSO approach to addressing this issue with discussion and Q&A.
Natasha attended this meeting along with fellow interns Grace Hong Hong and Kane Hengchuan Zhao to understand more about some of the issues that are important to the broader organisation and the partnerships we support and work with. Former interns attended the launch of the Australian Digital Inclusion Index (ADII) which measures the extent of digital inclusion in Australia, a tool that will help inform and promote public policy and program responses to enhance digital inclusion in Australia.
Image: Telephone Techniques - Volunteer Frank Xiufeng Shi practicing with Interns Grace Hong Hong and Natasha Kwan after a workshop from Volunteer David Webb
Training - Telephone Techniques
Professional calls are very different from personal calls, and volunteers and interns undertake a telephone techniques workshop and practice sessions with a given template. Telephone techniques are important in maintaining connections with clients and stakeholders in any work position, and are taught for all roles in SAcommunity. For the Data Analytics Team, the training is undertaken ahead of contacting community services to update any anomalous records in their dataset, which then provides plenty of practice before contacting staff in their councils to introduce the service and present their final data visualisation reports for the area.
Training - Connecting Up Webinars, Workshops and Webcons
Volunteers and interns are also provided with access to the Connecting Up Digital Learning platform, a training and development online learning platform. This learning resource hub provides Natasha with the opportunity to understand more about data analytics in the not-for-profit sector, through training sessions presented by subject-matter experts in a selection of relevant live webinars, and recorded webinars, workshops and webcons.
Professional Development at Infoxchange is a balance of approximately 70% project / 10% formal learning / 20% peer-to-peer learning so for the team this means approximately 15 hours of project work, 3 hours of peer-to-peer learning, and 1 hour of online webinar and 30 minutes of feedback, to reflect and strengthen team members understanding of what was learnt and what their personal takeaway was from these educational sessions.
Relevant weekly training selected, attended and summarised by Natasha to enhance her internship include:
The webinar emphasized the vital role of digital technology for nonprofits during the COVID era. It illustrated how leveraging data, cost-effective business tools, and the data capability framework can significantly enhance fundraising efforts, measure service outcomes, and amplify overall impact. The inclusion of practical examples, such as using Power BI and Tableau for analytics and reporting, also made the content highly applicable to work.
The webinar emphasized how cleaning up our data can have positive impacts on our business, i.e., a better data quality can create actionable insights. Thus, lead to improved retention and response rates, cost savings on mailings, and more effective communication with donors. The key insights revolved around the significance of data hygiene, the methods for evaluating data quality, and the importance of responsible database management, which involves everyone. The practical advice on establishing procedures, regularly monitoring data entry standards, and implementing data strategies proved especially valuable.
Image: Xavier Goldie, Senior Data Analyst Infoxchange
Mentor Meeting
Volunteers and interns have the opoprtunity to undertake the SAcommunity mentor program, selecting and introducing themselves to a staff member working in an area of relevance to them. The program develops volunteers' understanding of the broader staff teams in Connecting Up and Infoxchange, allows them to explore potential career pathways and goals, and builds their network of professional relationships.
It was a great experience talking with Xavier. His insights as a senior data analyst are truly admirable, I especially found his work mindset, combination of skills and attitude, and ability to articulate his ideas precise and concisely incredibly valuable. He shared a saying with me that he had picked up along the way, which really resonated - "All models are wrong, but some are useful. All data models are inherently incorrect because they don't fully encompass the complexity of how the world works. So fix what you can, document what you can't, accept data has limitations."
5 Takeaways from the mentor meeting with Xavier
1.Role of Data Analysts: Data analysts play a multifaceted role in organizations, collaborating with different teams and external stakeholders. Apart from performing analysis, it's very crucial to lead cultural shifts patiently within an organization around data value, sovereignty, ethics and governance. Instead of "data-driven decision making", it should be "data-informed decision making", recognizing that data is just one factor in decision-making. So, the best we can do is communicate with confidence in data, advocate our position, be transparent and honest in its fall shorts, as all data has limitations.
2. Career Transitions: Transitioning between sectors, such as private, academic, and nonprofit, can offer varied experiences in terms of pacing, resources, and culture. It makes more sense to adopt the idea of 'go where the work is interesting', since skills as a data analyst are transferable and flexible, and you'll end up picking up a range of peripheral skills that are useful. Do not worry about not having any formal training as a data scientist, as there are plenty of open source for self-learning, and it is actually quite a good thing to allow you to be a flexible thinker.
3. Balancing Skills: Success as a data analyst requires a balance of technical, analytical, business, and particularly, communication skills, which is sometimes lacking but critical as being able to deliver what a pattern means is as crucial as identifying them.
This webinar is very informative and provides a thorough introductory overview of the generative AI potential of Microsoft tools. Bing Chat Enterprise is grounded in web data and provides complete answers with citations, along with visual answers that include images, graphs, tables and charts in a free-access chat-based AI chatbot. Its capacity to seamlessly integrate with Microsoft's suite of products like PowerPoint, Word, and Excel is commendable. However, there are lingering concerns regarding commercial data privacy and protection. Despite this, the tool has undeniably augmented productivity and transformed operational practices across numerous industries.
During the webinar, I tested both tools by presenting the same book preference question to both ChatGPT and Bing Chat, based on my specified tastes. GPT4 responded with a detailed analysis, pinpointing my inclinations towards genre, character, and plot complexity. Conversely, Bing Chat offered a more generalized reply, emphasizing "romantic and dramatic elements" not dominant in my preferences and appeared to source from online book reviews. Yet, Bing Chat stood out by providing citations and shopping ads for the book, a feature GPT4 missed, showcasing its potential for seamless monetization. It's evident that both products have their unique strengths and weaknesses. Generative AI's capabilities are undeniably vast and brimming with potential.
This webinar underlined the evolving nature of the non-profit sector and the significance of staying ahead in data management and visualization. Accessing insights from internal and external data sources is essential for informed decision-making and securing funding. Power BI is a cost-effective, user-friendly data analytics tool capable of creating highly informative interactive dashboards complete with charts and slices. These features facilitate the tracking of contract targets, comprehension of outcomes, and, most notably, engagement with the audience through fact-based storytelling.
The practical demonstrations and eight tips shared during the webinar were particularly valuable. They challenged me to re-evaluate our data analytics practices. Notably, the emphasis on beginning with a hypothesis or fundamental questions, such as "how many is too many?" and avoiding assumptions about dataset simplicity, resonated with me. Developing a strategic approach to navigate potential pitfalls was another key takeaway, highlighting the importance of a thoughtful and systematic approach to data analysis.
The webinar on security disciplines, policies, and tools was very informative and relevant. In today's digital age, privacy concerns and data security are of utmost importance as everyone can be a target including not-for-profit organisations. The webinar provided a clear introduction to these crucial aspects, introducing a few major cyber-attack examples in Australia and examined potential threats. It emphasized the importance of compliance and preparedness, which can be achieved by carrying out encryption, mobile device management and app enforced restrictions, which are essential for any organization dealing with sensitive data. The webinar left me with a greater understanding of the security measures necessary to protect both an organization's data and its reputation.
The webinar's structure was concise and effective, covering essential topics and demonstrations in just one hour. I appreciated the clarity with which the speaker explained what Power BI is and how it can benefit community-based organizations. Learning about different data sources, linking data to Power BI, and generating visualizations and dashboards were invaluable takeaways. The embedded machine learning tools used to query data and generate quick insights are very powerful and helpful in initial data analysis.
Session 1: CRM Fundamental: Organising your data is non-negotiable for NFPs
The webinar delivered a concise and valuable session on the essentials of digital organizing. It covered crucial concepts like data storage, organization, and engagement strategies. NationBuilder's comprehensive platform was highlighted, emphasizing the principles of data ownership, distributed leadership, people-centric approach, and action-driven engagement. This session was beginner-friendly and provided a solid foundation in digital organizing.
Session 2: Facebook and LinkedIn as cause community building platforms
The presenter delved into the power of Facebook and LinkedIn for building thriving communities around organizations. The webinar emphasized a community-first approach on these social media platforms and provided practical steps to grow and activate customer or cause communities. Topics included using Facebook groups, leveraging LinkedIn groups and company pages, and employing organic strategies to empower communities. The session was very informative.
Session 3: Learn How to design with Canva
The presenter from Creative Collective delivered an interactive session on creating stunning marketing materials and social media posts using Canva. It covered the basics of Canva, effective template usage, design fundamentals, and how to access the Canva Not for Profit program. This session was very engaging and practical, enabling Canva-beginners to design with confidence and limited resources.
Session 4: Dive into Facebook and Instagram Advertising
The webinar provided valuable insights into paid social media advertising. This session demonstrated paid advertising and equipped attendees with a clear strategy. Topics covered included ad planning, ad structure, content creation, and practical ideas to get started. It also emphasized the importance of a personalized advertising strategy, provided new knowledge and skills applicable to various organizations' digital marketing strategies.
Image: Xavier Goldie, Senior Data Analyst Infoxchange
Mentor Meeting
Volunteers and interns have the opoprtunity to undertake the SAcommunity mentor program, selecting and introducing themselves to a staff member working in an area of relevance to them. The program develops volunteers' understanding of the broader staff teams in Connecting Up and Infoxchange, allows them to explore potential career pathways and goals, and builds their network of professional relationships.
It was a great experience talking with Xavier. His insights as a senior data analyst are truly admirable, I especially found his work mindset, combination of skills and attitude, and ability to articulate his ideas precise and concisely incredibly valuable. He shared a saying with me that he had picked up along the way, which really resonated - "All models are wrong, but some are useful. All data models are inherently incorrect because they don't fully encompass the complexity of how the world works. So fix what you can, document what you can't, accept data has limitations."
5 Takeaways from the mentor meeting with Xavier
1.Role of Data Analysts: Data analysts play a multifaceted role in organizations, collaborating with different teams and external stakeholders. Apart from performing analysis, it's very crucial to lead cultural shifts patiently within an organization around data value, sovereignty, ethics and governance. Instead of "data-driven decision making", it should be "data-informed decision making", recognizing that data is just one factor in decision-making. So, the best we can do is communicate with confidence in data, advocate our position, be transparent and honest in its fall shorts, as all data has limitations.
2. Career Transitions: Transitioning between sectors, such as private, academic, and nonprofit, can offer varied experiences in terms of pacing, resources, and culture. It makes more sense to adopt the idea of 'go where the work is interesting', since skills as a data analyst are transferable and flexible, and you'll end up picking up a range of peripheral skills that are useful. Do not worry about not having any formal training as a data scientist, as there are plenty of open source for self-learning, and it is actually quite a good thing to allow you to be a flexible thinker.
3. Balancing Skills: Success as a data analyst requires a balance of technical, analytical, business, and particularly, communication skills, which is sometimes lacking but critical as being able to deliver what a pattern means is as crucial as identifying them.
Another important aspect is to develop a strategic vision for why and how we work on data. Take a step back and see the bigger picture, about the why data is important, what are the purposes and what is it lead to. Those questions often guide the development as it's not just busy work, it has to lead somewhere.
4. Data Quality and Fundamentals: Before investing into ideas of AI and machine learning, it's essential to understanding the fundamental meaning of data, reasonings behind numbers and patterns, how the data are gathered, what are the methods, and fall shorts. It's important to note that the technology might not suit every purpose, especially if the data quality and capacity is low, some organizations will struggle to manage even basic data like spreadsheets. Fortunately most of the time, classical statistical analysis will be enough to provide most of the valuable insights.
5. Three Key Skills for Data Analysts: First, learn to code in at least one language, particularly Python, R and SQL. Next, learn GIS and statistics for proper statistical analysis. Lastly, learn to effectively communicate complex scientific concepts and topics in a way that people understand. Apart from developing your workskills from your workplace, demonstrate your abilities by building a portfolio with personal projects, such as websites and blog posts featuring custom dashboards, as these can showcase your capabilities. It's not just about knowing how to do it, but knowing how to communicate it.
4. Data Quality and Fundamentals: Before investing into ideas of AI and machine learning, it's essential to understanding the fundamental meaning of data, reasonings behind numbers and patterns, how the data are gathered, what are the methods, and fall shorts. It's important to note that the technology might not suit every purpose, especially if the data quality and capacity is low, some organizations will struggle to manage even basic data like spreadsheets. Fortunately most of the time, classical statistical analysis will be enough to provide most of the valuable insights.
5. Three Key Skills for Data Analysts: First, learn to code in at least one language, particularly Python, R and SQL. Next, learn GIS and statistics for proper statistical analysis. Lastly, learn to effectively communicate complex scientific concepts and topics in a way that people understand. Apart from developing your workskills from your workplace, demonstrate your abilities by building a portfolio with personal projects, such as websites and blog posts featuring custom dashboards, as these can showcase your capabilities. It's not just about knowing how to do it, but knowing how to communicate it.
