My Volunteer Experience - Navodani Thennakoon | SAcommunity

Submitted by sacommunity on Tue, 08/15/2023 - 13:38

Welcome Navodani!

Navodani Thennakoon joined our Data Analytics Team as a volunteer, whilst she studies her Masters at University, beginning with the team this year on the 8 August 2023. She attends for ~4 hours a week onsite at the Connecting Up Office around her classes.

Total Hours 152 This Year 88 Joined 8 August 2023 Last Login 1 November 2024

Personal Biography

Navodani is currently studying her Masters’ degree at The University of Adelaide, specializing in Data Analytics. She has completed her Bachelors in Business Management specializing in Marketing at the University of Kelaniya Sri Lanka. Her journey into the world of data analysis began after working as the Sales and Marketing Manager in NanoTuff Pvt Ltd an automotive service industry company in Sri Lanka.

Navodani has chosen to volunteer with the SAcommunity Connecting Up Data Analytics Team at Connecting Up. Her aim is not only to gain practical experience but also to expand her professional network and establish valuable connections within the industry. Committed to giving back to the community, she is eager to contribute her skills as a volunteer while developing her career.

Navodani’s future goal is to become a Data Analyst in the non-for-profit or government sector. Her unique blend of knowledge in digital marketing and data analytics positions her to make a meaningful impact in these sectors by leveraging data-driven insights to drive positive change.

Image: Navodani Thennakoon volunteering at the Connecting Up office with Volunteer Rex Porter (background)

Community Services in Councils Project
Navodani has selected the City of Marion with 380 records for her council reports for 2021-2022 following up on previous reports from Stathis Avramis and once completed will be found >>here.

Image: GovHack Connections Event 9 August 2023:
From Left to Right: Stathis Avramis, Neil Anubhav Dattagupta, Govinda Gurung and Navodani Thennakoon representing SAcommunity and our commitment to open data at the annual hackathon connections pre-event session

Work Experience - External Partners & Stakeholder Networks

SAcommunity Team members are encouraged to build new connections and create networks through participating in SAcommunity and Connecting Up partner and stakeholder activities, events and meetings as they arise to understand more about the wider organisation's projects, the work they are involved in, and how our activities impact and are impacted by other not-for-profit organisations.

GovHack 2023

The SAcommunity Team has attended and supported GovHack for several years providing open data set for competitors, data mentors and promotion of the event. The annual open data hackathon was held this year on the 18 - 20 August 2023 across Australia and New Zealand and SAcommunity Team members attended the pre-competition 'Connections event' to represent Connecting Up and our commitment to open data through making the SAcommunity dataset available at Data.SA the South Australian government's open data directory.

Image: GovHack Connections Event 9 August 2023: Pujan Maharjan, Camille Sze Pui Ko, Navodani Thennakoon, Frank Xiufeng Shi, Stathis Avramis and Govinda Gurung

Image: Renu Bala, Junior Implementation Consultant – Customer Delivery – CCM & ITS Dept, Infoxchange, Melbourne

Mentor Meeting - Internal Connections and Networks

The SAcommunity Mentor Program aims to further develop an understanding of Connecting Up and Infoxchange, explore career ideas, and build relationships and networks throughout the office.

Mentor meetings are an opportunity for volunteers and interns to select a member of the Infoxchange staff for a learning session in which they can explore their career options by asking staff about their chosen educational and career journeys. Mentees can also obtain advice on professional development, gain perspective on job pathways, and have an opportunity to create new connections.

Navodani held her mentor meeting with Renu Bala, Junior Implementation Consultant – Customer Delivery – CCM & ITS Department Infoxchange, Melbourne on the 19th September 2023, preparing 5 key questions to ask her mentor.

"I chose Renu Bala as I was inspired by her story after reading her portfolio from when she was an SAcommunity volunteer in the Data Analytics Team. I was also interested to learn more about her Masters of Information Technology studies, and current career in Business Analytics.

Image: Navodani Thennakoon with Renu Bala

5 key takeaways from our mentorship meeting included:

1) How did you start your professional life?
It isn't an easy journey for an international student to start their professional career without local experience and Renu outlined her career journey: After graduating, she undertook an internship with Southern Cross Care for the Business Analytics program, before a professional year placement at Connecting Up. She became a volunteer in Data Analytics team and as an internal applicant received an opportunity to apply for the junior level position, starting her professional life.

2) How did you balance your University studies and professional life?
Renu previously worked as a sales representative during her university period. At that time international students were only allowed to work 20 hours per week. During this time she always prioritised her studies and was able to balance her working hours and university demands as a result of the limitations for students.

3) How did you strengthen your skills and knowledge related to Data Analysis?
Renu undertook short, online courses related to Business Analytics and Data Analytics, implementing her studies in a practical way during her volunteer work at Connecting Up with Data Analytics Lead, Stathis Avramis. She offered a number of suggestions for online courses including: Google Analytics, Sfia Framework and PRINCE2.

4) Would you be able to share your volunteering experience with SAcommunity and more information about your current position?
Firstly, Renu mentioned how grateful she was to be here (in her paid job at Infoxchange), because of volunteering with SAcommunity at Connecting Up. Specifically, she said she gained confidence through her volunteer work by gaining hands-on experience with Google Analytics, Power BI and Canva, and she was also able to expand her conections and access more opportunities.

Renu is now working as an Implementation Consultant in the Customer Case Management Team, Infoxchange, Melbourne. In this role, she works in client-case management system, communicating with clients and internal staff to manage enhancement requirements, customisations or builds to meet client needs.

5) Any tips, advises for achieve my future career in Data Analytics?
Renu explained that I was already doing the best thing for my career by volunteering with SAcommunity and Connecting Up as a plus point for my future career. She also advised me to keep working on building my skillsets and learning as much as possible, especially online, and to undertake projects, regardless of whether they are big or small as apart from the experience, I can mention these in my resume. In particular, she suggested that I look at the Connecting Up Training website for more relevant (and free) courses that may help me.

In summary, I was so excited to have my mentor session with Renu Bala, it was really great, and beyond my expectations. Renu perfectly understood my experiences, advising me to study online courses to expand my knowledge, and suggesting that I work on practical projects. We talked about her start, her volunteering work and current position, as well as my future career goals, and if I can expand my connections more opportunities will follow. I’m really grateful for Renu Bala for accepting my request for a mentor session with her.

Connecting Up Training & Development

Cybersecurity Fundamentals for not-for-profits
I selected Cybersecurity webinar as it directly relates to my current studies and aim to work in this field in the future.

In today’s world Cybersecurity measures are essential to safeguard both client and the organizational data. The ‘Cybersecurity Fundamentals for not-for-profits’ webinar aimed to guide us through the fundamental components necessary for securing our information.

Organization data is key to any organization. It is important for staff to understand where to store organizational data so it is backed up and how to store physical documents as well.

Key Takeaways:
·         Utilizing Multifactor Authentication for all the organization core systems
·         Educating users/staff about the organization security protocols
·         Understanding of the eight core technical security measures recommended by the Australian Cyber Security Center to protect the organization against a range of risks
·         Making Cybersecurity risk management and governance a priority