Leadership Development Institute (LDI) 21-23 January 2025, Naarm / Melbourne
On Tuesday 21 January 2025, 400 members of the CareerTrackers community – students, alumni, staff, partners and guests – gathered for our first face-to-face LDI since 2020 at Marvel Stadium in Naarm.
With attendees arriving from all over the country, the Medallion Club was soon filled with students, alumni and CareerTrackers staff catching up with old friends and making new ones.
After a Welcome to Country and smoking ceremony outside the stadium, Elder Caroline Martin gave the opening address welcoming the group to Naarm, before a Fireside Chat with Yoorook Justice Commision (Commissioner Sue-Ann Hunter) and a networking lunch.
After lunch, the professional development part of the program began with workshops by Koorie Youth Council and Blak Wattle Coaching. The second day of the LDI also provided many networking opportunities, as well as professional and personal development workshops with students and alumni attending workshops on topics including goal setting, study tips, presenting with confidence, leadership, managing cultural load, wellbeing and STEM.
A highlight for many was the final day keynote speech by ex-AFL footballer and media personality Andrew Krakouer who spoke about his personal journey and life lessons learned. Judging from the number of selfies he graciously posed for after his speech, Andrew was a popular choice to be the final LDI speaker.
During the 3 day event, attendees also enjoyed a night at out at the Australian Open, and had many opportunities to network with this year’s theme, Connecting for Impact – because together we can achieve so much more, in evidence as CareerTrackers interns and alumni connected and discussed matters important to them.
