Newsletter 7 (May 2021)

By WIE Team

05 May, 2021

What’s been happening at IEEE WIE Unimelb?

By Simona Karevska

Past events:

To kick start the mid semester break, we held a Game Night on the 1st of April. It was time to relax and wind down after a tiring few weeks. Since we have many members still overseas, we held the event virtually with people joining from all over the globe. We played Code Names and Skribbl. It got competitive and thrilling. We had lots of fun. Thank you to everyone who came along!

We then prepared our popcorn for a Movie Night! After getting back to lectures and workshops, we grouped together to see “Hidden Figures” an inspiring film depicting the determination and discrimination experienced by three African American women who played vital roles in a launch into orbit at NASA. We lounged in the comfort of our own homes to watch the enjoyable and touching film.

Upcoming events:

We have planned an entertaining and useful end to the Semester. Watch this space for updates on our Trivia Night and Exam Tips Event!

Gender Equality

By Alisha Shewale

Gender equality isn’t only a basic right, but also a prerequisite for a society that’s peaceful, stable, and sustainable.

Over the past few decades, progress has been made: more girls are attending school, less girls are being coerced into early marriages, more women are serving in parliament and in positions of leadership, and laws are being reformed to push gender equality.

Despite these gains, several obstacles remain: patriarchal laws and societal norms persist, women continue to be underrepresented at all levels of political leadership, and one in every five women and girls aged 15 to 49 report witnessing physical or sexual harassment by an intimate partner in the previous 12 months.

Even in STEM, it is found that maths and science are more privileged to male domain and it has a wide imbalance in the equal participation in STEM. On a global level, women don’t have STEM as their first choice of career as they are under privileged and underrepresented not only at the entry in school with science education but also in the graduation. If we talk about higher levels in careers such as presidential posts or Higher management in the organisations, women are rarer.

To overcome this dramatic imbalance, there are several projects and initiatives taking place. UNESCO institute of statistics developed an award winning program which is exploring the data worldwide(unesco.org). Additionally, STEM and gender advancement (SAGA) is working on reducing the gender gap in stem in all countries in terms of education.

Lastly, the imbalance in the equal participation and opportunities can be noticed in several areas of society including general education and STEM.

Exam Preparation Tips

By Arni Dhar

Don’t Stress, Do your Best, Forget the Rest !

Exams and tests are a way to assess what you have learnt. Exams can energise us, providing motivation to learn things we would otherwise keep putting off. They provide the incentive to make us look back over what we have already covered in order to check that we really understand it. They encourage us to find ways of remembering information without having to look it up.

Some tips for getting ready for the exams :

Make a plan to give yourself enough time to prepare

While some students do seem to thrive on last-minute cramming, it’s widely accepted that (for most of us) this is not the best way to approach an exam. To help sort out your time management, set up a timetable for your study. Write down how many exams you have and the days on which you have to sit them.

Organise your work space

Try and get rid of all distractions, and make sure you feel as comfortable and able to focus as possible. For some people, this may mean almost complete silence, for others, background music helps. Some of us need everything completely tidy and organized in order to concentrate, while others thrive in a more cluttered environment. Think about what works for you, and take the time to get it right.

Take regular breaks

If you were training for a marathon, you wouldn’t try and run 24 hours a day. Likewise, studies have shown that for long-term retention of knowledge, taking regular breaks really helps.

Snacks

Most important aspect of preparation…be hydrated and never have an empty stomach. Empty stomach means empty brains. Keep your snacks ready.

PRACTICE!

And finally, PRACTICE! PRACTICE! PRACTICE!

As said practice makes a man perfect. Don’t have to sit 24 hours and practice, test yourself with the help of quizzes, practice tests, clear all your doubts with friends, professors and other colleagues.

You can also refer to UniMelb’s website of exam preparation.

Link- https://students.unimelb.edu.au/academic-skills/explore-our-resources/exam-prep

One Pot Chili Pasta

By Meng Abigail Yuan

If you are struggling with the subjects at the stage of the semester, you probably don’t have the time or mood to enjoy a healthy and delicious meal. But don’t worry, we are here to give you some inspiration for food! This One Pot Chili Pasta recipe is easy to make and can be stored in a fridge. I suggest dividing the recipe into single-serving portions first, then cooling completely in the refrigerator before transferring to the freezer. Once frozen, you can keep this One Pot Chili Pasta for about three months.

This super hearty One Pot Chili Pasta is bursting with southwest chili flavor, protein, and fiber. It’s a meal in a bowl that the whole family will love.

Prep Time	Cook Time	Total Time
10 mins	30 mins	40 mins

$9.71 recipe / $1.08 serving Servings: 9 1 cup each

Ingredients

1 Tbsp olive oil $0.16
1 yellow onion $0.42
2 cloves garlic $0.16
1/2 lb. ground beef $2.46
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour $0.02
2 Tbsp chili powder $0.30
1 15oz. can tomato sauce $0.79
1 15oz. can diced tomatoes $0.79
1 15oz. can black beans $0.99
1 15oz. can kidney beans $1.09
1 cup frozen corn kernels $0.60
2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni $0.85
2 cups beef broth* $0.08
1 cup shredded cheese $1.00

Instructions

Dice the onion and mince the garlic. Cook both in a large pot with olive oil over medium heat for 1-2 minutes, or until soft and transparent. Add the ground beef and continue to stir and cook until it is fully browned. If using a high fat ground beef, drain off the excessive after it is browned.
Add the flour and chili powder to the pot and stir to coat the meat. Continue to stir and cook the coated meat for 1-2 minutes more. The flour and chili powder may coat the bottom of the pot, but that’s okay. Just be careful to not let it burn.
Drain and rinse the black and kidney beans. Add the beans, tomato sauce, diced tomato, and corn kernels to the pot. Stir well and dissolve the flour/chili powder mixture from the bottom of the pot.
Add the dry macaroni and two cups of beef broth to the pot and stir to combine. Place a lid on top, turn the heat up to high, and let the pot come to a boil. Once it reaches a boil, give it a quick stir to loosen any pasta stuck to the bottom of the pot, replace the lid, and turn the heat down to medium-low. Let the pot simmer on medium-low for about 15 minutes, or until the pasta is soft and has absorbed most of the liquid. Stir the pot one or two times during the 15 minutes to loosen any pasta stuck to the bottom.
Once the pasta is fully cooked, turn the heat off and add the cheese. Stir the cheese into the pasta until it has melted in and become slightly creamy. Serve hot.

Notes

*I used bouillon to prepare beef broth rather than using canned or boxed broths, which are more expensive.

Nutrition