There is an ever growing frustration that students encounter when it comes to turning their theoretical studies into tangible jobs. The cycle goes that students need experience to get work related to their field of choice, but need work to get experience. In other words, students need to prove they have the skills it takes to do a professional job before they join the workforce. This is a frustration that both James and Liam bonded over during their two-weeks participating in the APAC Global Innovation Program, run by HEX.

The University of Newcastle students founded a startup called Alumnex, which empowers students to offer their skills at an affordable price so that smaller businesses can get the support they need to manage their marketing workload. Through the problem discovery and product validation process, the team were able to discover that there was demand in their dual marketplace. SMB’s lack important but simple marketing support and cannot afford to hire an agency. Students who are tech savvy digital native possess the skills to perform the marketing tasks need the experience and are willing to accept fair, but affordable wages to perform the work throughout their studies.

Both James and Liam have confirmed that study is their priority right now and with that, their entrepreneurial venture Alumnex has taken a back seat. Since participating in the APAC program, James has landed a role as a digital content producer part time while Liam focuses on his studies with the ambition to go overseas once he graduates. Both are interested in pursuing roles within startups in the future.

James spoke highly of his experience throughout the APAC program,

“It was a welcoming networking opportunity which wasn’t daunting,” “It was the first time I felt I wasn’t limited to a linear career pathway,”  “I have never encountered anything like HEX throughout my entire time at university.”

Liam also mentioned that the networking opportunities were something he didn’t expect to enjoy so much and found the learning a lot more fun and engaging than a normal class. Overall, adding the networking aspect made it more enjoyable and beneficial to his career development.  

“At uni, there is a lack of networking opportunities for students. I’m glad I could meet insightful people I wouldn't have had the opportunity to meet and being introduced to startups,” “I was shown that startups are a cool place to work and there is so much to learn and something to gain from having a go at it and actually starting your own business, I have the confidence to do this now with everything I learnt.”

James and Liam’s advice for students looking to dive into our APAC Innovation Program is

• Engage with the classes… and turn your camera on!
• Add everyone on LinkedIn, because if you ever need career advice or support now or in the future, you can reach out to your cohort and mentors.
• Take full advantage of the opportunity because the things you learn could last a lifetime!

Students have until October 15th to apply for our HEX APAC program, with the application deadline being extended. HEX has over one million dollars in scholarship funding for this year and if you are currently enrolled in an Australian university, we encourage you to see if you're eligible.

‍