Adelaide University Internship Experience - Tanvi Srivastava
Welcome Tanvi!
Tanvi Srivastava joined our SAcommunity Data Analytics Team for her University of Adelaide SET (Sciences, Engineering and Technology) Internship for her final year Bachelor of Computer Science 2024: 22 March 2024 - 7 June 2024.
She is completing a 140 hour internship onsite with SAcommunity at the Connecting Up Office, Infoxchange for 2 days (15 hours) a week for ~12 weeks around her classes.
Total Hours 140 Joined 22 March 2024 Last Check-in 7 June 2024 (Completed Internship)
Personal Biography
Tanvi is a final year Bachelor of Computer Science student at the University of Adelaide and is enthusiastic about the fields of data science and cybersecurity. She balances her academic commitments with part-time work in retail at Woolworths and tutoring Year 11 and 12 high school students in Chemistry and English. Her affection for literature, has led her to host a monthly book club where she explores a range of different authors with the other club members.
Tanvi is interning at Connecting Up to further develop her technical skills in Google Analytics and Power BI. She aims to showcase some of the skills and knowledge she has gained throughout university, particularly Python, while in the SAcommunity program to apply her learning to contribute to the community sector. In addition, she aims to cultivate
further professional connections and networks within the wider Infoxchange group as well as with other partner organisations in order to build a network for the future.
In the future, Tanvi aims to work in the cyber security field within the government sector. She is particularly interested in areas such as threat intelligence and cyber defence as these areas of cybersecurity focus on being proactive rather than reactive and involve the constant use problem-solving and innovation.
Community Services in Councils Project
Tanvi has selected Southern Mallee District Council for her Power BI council reports, a databse of approximately 60 community services operating in the area for the financial years 2020-2021, 2021-2022, and 2022-2023. Her reports followed previous data provided by Stathis Avramis, and her completed reports can be found here.
The process of creating community service information data presentations involves several steps. Data trends are summarized by utilizing information from Google Analytics and SAcommunity. Subsequently, Power BI and Canva reports are generated, which may reveal data anomalies and the need for corrections. The database is then updated with improved information, and the reports are recreated. The final data reports are published on the website and introduced by Tanvi to council stakeholders for their information and feedback.
Additionally, Tanvi created a dashboard summarizing the community service information for the Southern Mallee District Council over the preceding three years (shown above). This comprehensive dashboard allows for comparison and analysis of the data over the previous three years and community service demand trends.
Council Contact
Tanvi contacted Southern Mallee District Council on the 31 May 2024 and 5th of June 2024 by email and by phone to raise awareness of the SAcommunity service with potential stakeholders, that is council staff working in community consultation or community development areas, to present her publicly available data reports which can be used as another tool to understand their community needs in the area.
Image: Tanvi Srivastava on the phone with Southern Mallee District Council.
Work experience - Internal/External Connections & Networks - Meetings, Training and Events
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 or capacity building and telephone techniques training allow for networking with other volunteers.
Interns are also given opportunities to attend stakeholder and partner events as they arise.
Relevant meetings and training sessions Tanvi has attended include:
Image: Telephone Techniques Training Intern Sylvia Cao with Tanvi Srivastava
Telephone Techniques - 9 April 2024
Telephone techniques training is undertaken by all interns and volunteers as having skilled telephone techniques and telephone etiquette is important for all SAcommunity Team members. Telephone techniques assist Data Analytics Team members in understanding more about the directory and data collection methods, data cleaning and updating their individual dataset information, and presenting data reports to council stakeholders.
Interns are provided with the SAcommunity telephone script as a guide that aids interns in demonstrating professionalism, ensuring appropriate conduct on the phone, and creating positive impressions. Several telephone techniques training sessions are held throughout an intern's time at Connecting Up to facilitate practice and further develop their skills.
Image: Rasika Nawarathne, Tanvi Srivastava and Power BI challenges
Connecting Up Monthly Staff Meetings
CU Meeting 9 April 2024
The monthly Connecting Up Team meeting is a formal meeting for sharing updates, plans, and highlights, ensuring all members stay informed about ongoing initiatives and upcoming events. These meetings aim to foster collaboration and teamwork, aligning everyone with organizational goals and participants hear from diferent teams including the marketing team, tech team, customer service team and volunteer team. Tanvi gained valuable insight into agendas, activities, and team roles, enhancing her understanding of the company's operations and promoting better collaboration among the organization’s members.
The monthly Connecting Up Team meeting is a formal meeting for sharing updates, plans, and highlights, ensuring all members stay informed about ongoing initiatives and upcoming events. These meetings aim to foster collaboration and teamwork, aligning everyone with organizational goals and participants hear from diferent teams including the marketing team, tech team, customer service team and volunteer team. Tanvi gained valuable insight into agendas, activities, and team roles, enhancing her understanding of the company's operations and promoting better collaboration among the organization’s members.
Infoxchange All Staff Town Hall Meetings
22 May 2024
Updates from the Infoxchange CEO, Operations, Finance, People & Culture.
The meeting began with updates from various departments, including finance and operations, providing staff with insights into current projects and the company's future. Offered a valuable opportunity to better understand the company's workplace culture and leadership structure. Greatly expanded comprehension of how a company operates, illustrating how different roles, while working independently, ultimately come together to drive the company forward.
Updates from the Infoxchange CEO, Operations, Finance, People & Culture.
The meeting began with updates from various departments, including finance and operations, providing staff with insights into current projects and the company's future. Offered a valuable opportunity to better understand the company's workplace culture and leadership structure. Greatly expanded comprehension of how a company operates, illustrating how different roles, while working independently, ultimately come together to drive the company forward.
Image: IX Lunch & Learn: World Autism Month with Key Speaker: Jim Mullan, CEO at Amaze
IX Lunch & Learn Sessions
Lunch and Learn: World Autism Month - 5 April 2024
Key Speaker Jim Mullan - CEO of Amaze
An informative talk that detailed the company Amaze, the aim of World Autism Month, and inclusivity in the workplace. Amaze is known for building autism understanding in the community, influencing policy change for Autistic people and their families / supporters, and providing independent, credible information and resources to individuals, families, professionals, government, and the wider community.
Participants learned about the challenges faced by autistic individuals in terms of employment difficulties and societal misconceptions. Jim Mullan discussed the evolution of societal understanding of autism, moving away from outdated stereotypes to recognizing the unique abilities and needs of autistic people. Jim provided insights into the initiatives aimed at improving inclusivity and support for the autistic community. This includes the development of programs that assist autistic individuals with faster and more affordable access to diagnosis and support services.
Furthermore, the session highlighted the importance of creating employment opportunities for autistic individuals and the benefits of workplace diversity and inclusion.
Image: National Volunteer Week Celebrations: Intern Jay Shijie Zhang, Intern Olivia Thi Kim Oanh Nguyen, Volunteer Alice Jingyi Zeng, Pankaj Chhalotre, Head of Connecting Up and Intern Tanvi
Lunch and Learn: Surplus for Purpose - 16 April 2024
Key Speaker Tomer Ginel - CEO of Infoxchange
This talk focused on financial sustainability within the NFP sector. The session detailed the financial challenges faced by the NFP sector including increasing demand for services and the shrinking funding sources. Not-for-profits are pressured to generate their own revenue which goes against the traditional model of a NFP in which generating a surplus is not the main purpose. The concept of "Surplus for Purpose" suggests that surplus funds are not to be seen as profit but rather resources reinvested into fulfilling an organization's social objectives.
The issue of financial health of not-for-profits was also highlighted. Only a small percentage of NFPs are actually considered financially stable. This highlights the importance of financial management and the potential need for organizations like Infoxchange to focus on building their reserves to ensure sustainability.
The session further explored the concept of a social enterprise, which reinvests its surplus back into its mission rather than distributing it as profit. This model was presented as a viable strategy for NFPs to maintain financial health and continue delivering their services effectively.
Tanvi Srivastava with Arushi Satija Information Security Specialist, Infoxchange
Mentor Meeting - 14 May 2024
Arushi Satija - Information Security Specialist at Infoxchange
Connecting Up Volunteers and Interns are provided with the opportunity to select staff members from across the wider Infoxchange organisation for an informational mentor meeting. Here they have the opportunity to ask more about staff members job roles and employment journey, and learn about their career and professional development, to gain insights and guidance that can be applied towards their own success.
Volunteers and interns both prepare 5 questions for their mentors and then are encouraged to record 5 aspects they felt were helpful for them to share on their portfolio for both themselves and other volunteers, and Tanvi shared her experience in meeting Arushi Satija Information Security Specialist, Infoxchange.
Topic 1: Importance of Networking as a Recent Graduate
Networking is a vital component of building a successful career in any industry. As an aspiring cybersecurity analyst, cultivating relationships with professionals in the field can provide guidance, mentorship, and job opportunities. Tanvi has learned from Arushi about the importance of proactively reaching out to HR via email and connecting with employees on LinkedIn. This strategy allows her to gather more information about job descriptions and build relationships with potential employers. Additionally, visiting the Infoxchange "Work with Us" page for open positions can be beneficial. By leveraging networking opportunities, Tanvi can gain a better understanding of the local cybersecurity industry.
Topic 2: The Significance of Certificationins in Cybersecurity and Information Security
Arushi Satija recommends pursuing certifications, as they hold significant value in the Australian job market. Not only can they enhance qualifications, but they also provide practical knowledge that may be lacking in university programs. Certifications can significantly improve job prospects, as many employers seek candidates with certified skills. Arushi advises researching certifications that align with career goals, starting with basic lower-level courses before progressing to higher-level ones.
Topic 3: Client Relationships
Arushi emphasizes the importance of honesty and effective communication in building client relationships. As an Information Security Specialist, her role invloves a lot of communication with different departments and with individuals with different levels of digital literacy. While sometimes it may be necessary to be harsh or strategic in the way you communiacte, it should be done in a way that does not offend or harm relationships. Conveying all information with tact and professionalism is crucial.
Topic 4: Importance of Teamwork
Arushi advises individuals working in groups to actively listen and acknowledge the input of all team members. Recognizing the importance of patiently listening to others before expressing your own ideas is key. Her main point is to learn and listen before speaking, emphasizing the value of collaboration and effective communication within a team environment. The best way to advance your own skills is through learning from the experts that surround you.
Stakeholder Events:
The Data Catalyst Network is made up of close to 50 organisations working with data from the not-for-profit community sector. Interns were invited to a presentation hosted by Infoxchange with other members of the network including 54 Reasons, Mission Australia, The Smith Family, Relationships Australia South Australia, Raising Literacy Australia, the South Australian Government, Social Ventures Australia, the University of Melbourne and more.
Participants of the Data Catalyst Network will advance their data maturity while sharing and improving data insights through unique cross-sector partnerships to disrupt disadvantage. As a collective, the network will harness data and knowledge from the not-for-profit community sector, academia, government and business to better use and manage data to improve the lives of people across Australia.
DCN: Tools to get control of your data - 24 April 2024
The Benevolent Society & Microsoft talk about Fabric
This Data Catalyst Network webinar, presented by Marcello Sequeira, Head of Data Governance, Analytics, and Architecture at The Benevolent Society, and Benny Austin, Cloud Solution Architect at Microsoft, provided a comprehensive overview of advancements and integrations in data management, particularly through the use of Microsoft Fabric. Gained insights into the critical challenges and opportunities that modern data platforms address, with a focus on data accessibility, security, and the integration of AI to enhance data utilization.
The webinar emphasized the importance of an integrated data environment where tools from various vendors can work seamlessly together. This integration is crucial for improving data governance, reducing complexity, and enabling more effective data-driven decisions. The concept of a unified data platform simplifies data management and accessibility across different teams within an organization, eliminating data silos and enhancing collaboration. Additionally, the integration of AI and machine learning capabilities into these platforms was a key takeaway. These technologies not only automate mundane tasks but also enable more sophisticated data analysis and insights, which are essential for the effective deployment of resources and improving operational efficiencies.
DCN: Getting your data in shape: data governance and AI - 30 May 2024
This Data Catalyst Network webinar, presented by Andrew Fisher, provided a comprehensive overview of what data governence is and why we need it, external governance of data initiatives, data governance and AI and practical guidance and tools.
Data governance encompasses levels of data use. Data is the lifeblood of many organisations, enabling strategic insights, tactical plans, operational transactions and service delivery. It was emphasised that data is an asset that should be managed from and enterprise-wide perspective.
Not having any data governance in place before attempting initiatives that require more sophisticated data management activity (as such machine leaning or AI) will lead to inefficiencies at best, significant risks at worst.
Data governance for an organisatoin can be conceptualised, agreed to and brought to life through a data governance framework. Each framework would be tailored to an organisation's ontext, culture and business operating model. The outputs of a functional data governance program are discoverable, trusted and safe data
Training and Development - Webinars
Relevant training sessions were selected, attended and summarised below by Tanvi that helped enhance her internship experience:
Real World Cyber Crime and how to best protect your organisation - Connon Daly from The I.T. Team - 21 May 2024
This session detailed the top 5 cybersecurity threats that all organisations faced in the year 2022 with detailed demonstrations of how the attacks are conducted from both the perspective of the attacker and victim. The most vulnerable aspects of organisations were highlighted and strategies were provided on how to prevent previously mentioned attacks. Furthermore, the importance of organisations assessing and actively ammending their "Security Posture" was highlighted. The uses of Microsoft 365 to protect your organisations, SSO, Password Manager, and Data Harvesting were also explored.
Why cybercriminals want it and the 5 steps you should take to securing your precious NFP organization data and IT - Jacqui Loustau from AWSN - 24 May 2024
This session detailed the key steps an NFP can take to protect themselves from cyber criminals and cyber attacks. Cyber criminals attack to gain access to three main areas of information. These include personal and confidential information, financial information and assets, and access to systems and people. Five key things were recommended to prevent against them gaining access to this data. These include: improving your passwords, checking if you have been pwned, improving your checks and processes, knowing who you can call on for help, and seeking knowledge.
The legal and regulatory landscape for NFPs impacted by a cyber incident - Stefanie Luhrs from Clyde&Co - 31 May 2024
This session detailed the the cyber risk landscape for not-for-profits, common legal and privacy risks, 2022 legal and regulatory developments, meeting your ACNC obligations in the event of a ransomware incident, the Notifiable Data Breaches Scheme, where things go wrong and how you can prepare for a data breach. The main legal and privacy risks NFPs need to be aware of were highlighted and include data breaches, regulatory obligations, contractual obligations, reputational harm, theft of intellectual property, and publication of company information.
Image: Back row: Interns Anju Odedara, Violet Zewei You, Jamie Jiemin Zhang, Clover Xinyue Luo, Yi Han, Jay Shijie Zhang, Harsh Bhatt, Joe Xuanqiao Zhang, Front row: Yong Kheng Beh, Kristen Ngoc Khanh Mai Nguyen, Tanvi Srivastava, Sylvia Shiwen Cao, Olivia Thi Kim Oanh Nguyen
Tanvi's Internship Summary:
"My internship with SAcommunity as part of the Data Analytics Team has been an incredibly enriching experience, providing me with valuable insights and skills that will be instrumental in my future career. From March 22 to June 7, 2024, I had the privilege of working on various projects and participating in professional development activities.
Working on the Southern Mallee District Council project using Power BI was particularly impactful. This hands-on experience allowed me to apply theoretical knowledge to real-world scenarios and contribute to community service data analysis. Navigating through real-world scenarios and analyzing community service data trends with Power BI, I bridged the gap between theory and practice, gaining insights into local community needs.
Additionally, my involvement in stakeholder events such as the Data Catalyst Network (DCN) webinars provided valuable insights into emerging trends and technologies in data analytics, including augmented intelligence and generative AI. These experiences expanded my technical skills and deepened my understanding of ethical considerations surrounding data privacy, transparency, and bias.
Attending various training sessions and events organized by Connecting Up further enhanced my knowledge and expertise in data management and cybersecurity. I developed a comprehensive understanding of essential data analysis techniques and tools for effective decision-making as well as cybersecurity concepts for NFP organizations.
Furthermore, engaging in mentorship sessions with Arushi Satija, Information Security Specialist at Infoxchange, provided invaluable guidance and support throughout my internship. Arushi’s extensive experience in Information Security helped me gain a deeper understanding of the challenges and opportunities in the information security field and how to navigate it.
Overall, this internship at SAcommunity has equipped me with the confidence and skills to pursue my career aspirations. I look forward to taking all my learning and applying it when contributing to other organizations."
