University of Western Australia
UWA Advance activities and badges
Advance your career. Advance your self.
Be recognised for participating in and completing approved co-curricular activities across a diverse range of categories with digital badges that can be shared online through the My eQuals platform.
Through UWA Advance co-curricular activities you’ll advance your education beyond the classroom to build life skills, experiences and sought-after attributes that define the UWA graduate. Qualities like leadership, innovation, digital capability, Indigenous awareness and community impact.
Through your degree you’ll develop technical skills and knowledge. Through UWA Advance, you’ll complement your studies through building experiences, understanding, connections, professional and personal growth. And you’ll be recognised for it with UWA Advance Badges you can use on your CV or LinkedIn to demonstrate your advanced strengths, contributions, actions and attributes.
What are UWA Advance badges?
UWA badges are a virtual acknowledgment of co-curricular accomplishments and achievements. They complement your academic transcript by showcasing a range of employer valued skills and experiences through eligible extracurricular activities you participate in whilst studying at UWA.
Your UWA badges can be easily displayed and shared across digital platforms such as LinkedIn for maximum visibility and recognition from potential future employers.
How do I earn badges?
You can earn badges through the My eQuals platform by completing UWA Advance professional development, volunteer or co-curricular activities.
Badging categories and eligible activities
There are eight UWA Advance badges to reflect the sought-after qualities and UWA graduate attributes. Each badge has a range of different activities you can complete to achieve a badge, all ensuring you be equipped with the skills, capabilities, experience and knowledge to make a difference in our world and stand out to future employers.
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Leadership
Co-Curricular Leadership at UWA recognises the varied range of skills and attributes required to effectively participate in a range of activities in which the student represents stakeholders, leads by influencing and supporting others, or participates in activities in which leadership capabilities are being developed and learned. Students who are awarded a Leadership Badge have demonstrated significant effort and commitment to their activities, roles, and/or the people they serve. Students who engage in leadership activities may also have been relied upon to assume responsibility for supporting team and/or community objectives.
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Careers and Employability
Awarding of a Careers and Employability Badge recognises active engagement in employability activities and pursuit of career development. Students who are awarded this badge have demonstrated engagement in practical, real world experiences, skills and knowledge, supported by reflective practice. They can clearly articulate their skills and experiences, prepare professional career documentation, engage with industry, understand the labour market and have capacity to reflect and actively pursue their personal career development goals.
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Entrepreneurial / Innovation
Entrepreneurial students can identify opportunities and generate new ideas to create economic or social value. Skills and competencies include problem solving, design thinking, negotiation, communication and influence, and leadership. Students who have completed Entrepreneurial activities develop stronger business enterprise capabilities through participation in real world experiences that facilitate business development or social enterprise and applying skills in an organisational context such as non-profit, corporate, or government.
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Professional Development
Professional development is improving your skills and knowledge through learning and training to further your career. There are many independent learning activities that you can undertake to be awarded this badge, including within UWA, self-sourced or external. Examples of activities are listed below. All activities require you to reflect on your development and the contribution to your future career.
More than one activity can contribute to the badge (a total of 40 hours):
- Training programs
- Conferences
- Certificates - such as First Aid
- Licenses
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Global Citizen
Through participation in study abroad, international collaborations and/or internationally focused projects, students develop intercultural competence and a global perspective. Students receiving the Global Citizen badge have learned to recognise and negotiate cultural differences, and to appreciate the connection between the local and the global. They have also experienced the benefits of drawing on diverse viewpoints to address issues or solve problems.
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Digital Capability
Students who receive this badge have exhibited an ability to use or develop ICT technologies in the service of stakeholders. They have demonstrated proficiency in deploying one or more digital technologies to address problems or deliver solutions, and an understanding of the social contexts and uses of ICT technologies.
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Indigenous Awareness
Recipients of the Indigenous Awareness badge have participated in cultural training activities that have expanded their understanding of Australian Indigenous culture and knowledge.
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Community Impact
Many students make valuable contributions to communities through volunteering their time. Volunteering activities are wide-ranging and hands on. The Community Impact award recognises the efforts of students who have made a sustained effort to support one or more communities over an extended period, demonstrating ongoing commitment to service.
Frequently asked questions
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What is a co-curricular activity?
A co-curricular activity is an activity, program or learning experience that is separate to, but complements academic learning and/or contributes to a student’s personal and professional development. For the purpose of badging, selected activities have been categorised based on the type of engagement, learning or development outcomes that will occur through undertaking the activity. For example, volunteering activities will generally be assessed and awarded with a Community Impact badge.
Activities are generally ungraded and not eligible for academic credit, with some exceptions (e.g. Study Abroad).
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How do I know if an activity is part of UWA's badging program?Co-curricular activities that are part of the badging program have been assessed and aligned to a badge. Approved UWA Advance activities will be published on the UniHub website and will also be identifiable by a badge icon that has been attributed to the activity. You can also search for UWA Advance activities using keywords on UniHub. You will progressively start seeing these icons across websites identifying activities that have been approved for badging.
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Are all co-curricular activities awarded a badge when they are completed?Each co-curricular activity has been assessed against the awarding criteria. In some instances you will be able to earn a badge for completion of one activity; in other cases you will be required to complete additional activities in the same badging category. Each co-curricular activity indicates the awarding level and how that activity might contribute to other badges.
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I AM WORKING ON THE CAREERS AND EMPLOYABILITY AWARD – CAN I BE AWARDED BADGES FOR COMPLETION OF SEPARATE COMPONENTS OF THE AWARD?The Careers and Employability Award is our premier award to support students in their career and employability journey. There are numerous components that make up the award which all need to be completed to receive the Careers and Employability Award. However, if you don’t complete the award you can still seek recognition for the components that you’ve undertaken in which you could be awarded badges (e.g. Professional Development). This will be dependent upon how many of the components of the Careers and Employability Award that you’ve completed. Contact UWA Advance for details on how to complete the Professional Development Recognition Template.
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Do I have to apply to have a badge awarded to me?In most instances your badge will be awarded to you as part of completing the activity, unless you are seeking a Professional Development badge in which case you will need to complete the Professional Development Recognition Template - contact UWA Advance for details. The Activity Coordinator will keep a record of your participation. Once you have met the awarding guidelines the digital badge will be automatically awarded to you through the My eQuals platform.
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How do I access the My eQuals platform to receive my badge and can I share the badge?You will receive an email notification from the My eQuals platform that a badge has been awarded to you. Log into the platform and follow the easy prompts to share your badge.
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Can I convert professional development activities undertaken outside of UWA into UWA recognised digital badges?Yes, you can seek to be awarded a Professional Development badge. At UWA we are keen for students to engage widely in their development journey. To be awarded a Professional Development badge you will need to complete over 40 hours of participation in activities (which can be made up of two or more separate activities) together with a reflection of your learning experience(s). A wide range of activities will be considered for recognition such as First Aid Training, self-development workshops, and conference participation. Contact UWA Advance for details on how to complete the Professional Development Recognition Template.
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Do I need to complete numerous co-curricular activities to be awarded a badge?Each co-curricular activity has been assessed for learning and skills development, participation requirements and awarding criteria. Approved activities are assigned a primary Badging Category (Leadership, Careers and Employability, Entrepreneurial/Innovation; Professional Development; Global Citizen; Digital Capability; Indigenous Awareness; Community Impact). Some activities require more participation than others, so you might need to complete two or more activities from the same Badging Category to be awarded a digital badge.
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Can I earn a badge for volunteering work?Yes, volunteer work is an important contribution to community and to your development journey. A Community Impact digital badge will be awarded for volunteering activities that have been conducted through any of our recognised volunteer providers. You must complete at least 40 hours of volunteering within one calendar year to be awarded a badge. For the moment Volunteering hours that do not exceed 40 hours will continue to be recognised on the Volunteer Statement
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Can I receive a badge for paid activities or activities where I receive credit?Generally the awarding of a digital badge is only for activities where you haven’t received payment or study credit. There are some exceptional circumstances (e.g. Study Abroad); however, individuals will be required to provide a reflective statement outlining their experiential learning. If you are seeking recognition for a study-credited activity, contact UWA Advance for details on how to complete the Professional Development Recognition Template
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Will badges be awarded retrospectively?
Badges will be awarded at the end of Semester 1, 2022 and only for approved activities that have been completed within the 2022 calendar year or thereafter.
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Will badges be linked to StudentConnect?The My eQuals platform is the official repository for badges. From here you can digitally share badges and other qualifications with employers and social media platforms such as LinkedIn.
Get in touch
Your Student Advising Office can provide general advice about badging; you can also contact the administrator of the co-curricular activity for information on specific activities. For all other enquiries, email [email protected].
