Arpita Aggarwal

Greetings to VUPA!
Welcome to the vibrant Vu community, postgraduate scholars! As the Voice of Postgraduate Affairs (VUPA), we're thrilled to embrace you at Victoria University. Whether you're a seasoned academic or a newcomer, our association is here to support and champion your journey. Let's thrive together in this enriching academic environment!

So… what do we do and how are we different from the other student associations?
One of the most important things is that VUPA is the only association that looks after post grads exclusively. Of course, our post grad community is rather diverse but in general, post grads aren’t after drinking games and party hard events (if you are though, we know exactly where you can find that!) and experience different issues in undertaking their studies. Rather, we as post grads are here to improve ourselves, gain experience and knowledge and improve our employability. After all, isn’t that what doing a post graduate degree is all about? To deliver this, we work closely with official VU departments (such as the Graduate Research Centre, VU Colleges, Student Leadership, Student Life, Respect and Responsibility, SSAF Council) and often support other student-run groups, associations, events, campaigns or political parties – our criteria: what we do must always be for the benefit or betterment of VU post grad students.


So… take the next step… come to a VUPA event, connect with our Instagram or LinkedIn page or contact one of our friendly board members.

The kinds of things we help post grads with:
Vantage Point – Get a better view – feeling overwhelmed with who does what and what goes on at VU beyond your course? We’ve helped post grads connect with various university functions and services that are best suited for them. Between our members, we have lots of know-how about how to navigate post grad university life and…we’re willing to share.

Understanding that it’s important to meet other post grads who get you – sure, there’s your class mates but if you’re in research stages, and they’re not, maybe you’re feeling isolated and would like to meet some new people who really know what it’s like. We run events several times a year - from seminar series with stimulating conversation and networking; to picnics and all day trips to some of Victoria’s best destinations. Most events are free or heavily subsidised for VU post grad students. These are wonderful opportunities to meet and network with other current (and sometimes past) VU post grads.

Professional board experience – we offer post grads the opportunity to nominate for and sit on the VUPA board, whether for an officer position, an intern or as a volunteer. It’s a great way to get recognised; participate formally in decision making, learn how to be apart of a representative and management body, and change things for the better at VU; gain useful governance experience on your CV in a group that supports diversity and practices respect; and give back to the student post grad community. If you can’t make an ongoing commitment, we’re always happy to hear from post grads who have ideas for guest speakers or fundraising; and can volunteer some time to help run events.

Advocating on the bigger issues – some things need more co-ordination and planning to address. For example, we work with student housing to work out ways to help international post grads access affordable housing during their studies, we continually advocate for better policy to protect post grad students and their educational rights, and negotiate for funding and grants to improve postgraduate life including advocating on a national level to make public transport more affordable for our cohort.