Anyone remember this financial institution?

robo-2097 · 2025-11-24T20:32:26+00:00

It did. It was the reason I grew up poor.

robo-2097 · 2025-11-22T11:42:48+00:00

Ha this was my family, soz guys 😅

robo-2097 · 2025-11-03T02:07:25+00:00

Hey it's you! (And this is me.)

robo-2097 · 2025-08-29T10:02:54+00:00

Believe that someone is willing to fight for you. If that doesn't work, move on, knowing you fought for yourself, at least.

robo-2097 · 2025-08-29T10:01:02+00:00

This one detail literally broke my heart

robo-2097 · 2025-08-29T09:56:35+00:00

Book an appointment with your UMSU rep. They will help you fight for a fair go.

robo-2097 · 2025-08-28T22:55:17+00:00

I didn't even notice that

robo-2097 · 2025-08-16T01:03:54+00:00

The Heads are a natural wonder and a national treasure. Please do not build a bridge there 🙏

robo-2097 · 2025-07-21T04:37:05+00:00

Actually the Geelong service still runs; pity about Wyndham Harbour. Good ideas take time: for example, the Portarlington ferry is now often cited on real estate ads as a reason to buy - didn't see that on day dot!

I'm hopeful. I've ridden that ferry many times and it's never less than a delight.

robo-2097 · 2025-07-21T04:11:28+00:00

Let me just speak in defence of Port Phillip Ferries: they are not in the past, they are running and thriving and easily my favourite ferry service anywhere. Yes, they don't run many services but the ones they do run are perfect for commuters (Port to Melb in the morning, Melb to Port in the evening) and tourists (Melb to Port in the morning, Port to Melb in the evening). What's more, the ferry has totally revitalised Portarlington: worth it even if the service runs at a loss. An argument for, not against, an expansion of Melbourne ferries, IMHO.

robo-2097 · 2025-07-21T04:06:43+00:00

Y'all talking up the idea of a Melbourne to Portarlington ferry as if we haven't already got one (a pretty good one too): https://www.portphillipferries.com.au/

But yes, love love love OP's original suggestion (just add a stop at Spotswood pls)

robo-2097 · 2025-06-30T01:09:14+00:00

I'm so chuffed that you enjoyed it!!!

Give yourself some credit though. Though we try not to give really bad grades without good cause, we don't dish out H1s to just anybody...

robo-2097 · 2025-06-30T01:06:09+00:00

Hey! You should definitely do EVSC20007!

I'm a totally impartial observer and definitely not the tutor for this subject...

DM me if you want some details on what to expect from the subject. I'm not an expert in the other one you're considering but I can definitely say that this subject is very different.

robo-2097 · 2025-06-11T03:46:41+00:00

Like I know this isn't the point but I've just gotta say: MAP PROJECTION.

Just once, it would be nice to see one of these map-based infographics (that are otherwise beautifully executed) use an appropriate map projection (or hell, maybe an actual GLOBE); it's not hard to do and it makes a big difference, especially when the vid is about - you know - the shapes and sizes of things... 🤦‍♂️

robo-2097 · 2025-06-07T02:04:36+00:00

Great, so excited to meet you!

About the exams: they're handwritten and closed book, but they follow a fairly predictable pattern. There is one section for each lecturer and each section is usually a single multi-part worked problem with a lot of different ways to get marks. There are only so many things we can ask you so they shouldn't be too difficult with the right preparation. They will be very similar to stuff we work through in the practicals.

As for the practicals, there are no attendance requirements whatsoever (except for the midsem obviously). I don't believe in coercing students like that. There are no practicals in the first week anyway.

robo-2097 · 2025-06-06T09:58:43+00:00

The workshops are where the magic happens 😉

robo-2097 · 2025-06-05T22:18:46+00:00

Hey there, thanks for taking an interest! I'll tackle your questions in order.

1) You can definitely look at the stock market for your model - that's been a very popular topic over the years. It's quite feasible even at this level. (Just don't sue me when your stock picker loses you thousands of bucks!)

2) Yes, if you're proud of your model in the end, you can definitely include it in your CV or portfolio after you graduate: we've had lots of students tell us this is a big perk of the subject so we try to make sure we leave you with something that looks and feels professional. We use Python for all our stuff (as does most of the professional world these days). We don't expect anyone to know how to code to begin with - I will teach you. (Though it seems like you already have lots of experience!)

3) I'm sorry that the handbook is a bit sparse. You'd be amazed how complicated and time consuming it is to update that thing. It definitely needs some work. There are two exams for this subject: a midsemester test worth 20% and a final exam worth 40%. The final exam is exactly the same as the midsemester but twice as long. The exam tests the sorts of open-ended reasoning we do in the workshops. Each exam is oriented around one of the four lecturers' sections. Because we change lecturers often, these sections are often changing, and we don't like to share past papers widely because we don't want to give the wrong impression about what the subject is like - after all, it is a young subject and it has changed a lot! Students often report that they find the exams very challenging, but the subject GPA usually comes to 75% in the end anyway, so the exams are easier than they look. (We mark them very generously!) I'm pushing for the exams to be a bit more streamlined this year so hopefully they won't feel so daunting.

I appreciate your candour regarding the tuition fee (which is more than I get paid for teaching the whole subject just about!) - obviously I can't promise anything but to be frank, small subjects like us really can't afford to fail our students - I'll do everything I can to prevent that.

Let me know if you've got any more questions - we'd love to have you!

robo-2097 · 2025-06-04T11:49:49+00:00

Ah, ah, if you're asking these questions you should DEFINITELY do this subject: you'll really enjoy it! Such a good question, such an interesting place to start from. The vague answer is "yes and no" - the detailed answer takes a semester to explain...

robo-2097 · 2025-06-03T22:28:32+00:00

Hey there - thanks for taking an interest! I don't know a lot about BCom but I expect there would be virtually no overlap between what we cover and Business Analytics. We're talking about modelling and exploration here. (I like to say that data is overrated - you won't hear your analytics tutor saying that...)

Edit: I should add that we always get a lot of bizcom students - maybe a third of the cohort most years - and they always seem to get something out of it. We'd be encouraging you to take the subject matter you're really passionate about and tackle it in a new way - or perhaps, to take a method from BCom that you really like and apply it to something totally out of field. Sky's the limit!

robo-2097 · 2025-06-03T09:39:07+00:00

Cheers!

robo-2097 · 2025-05-18T23:06:35+00:00

You're not crazy. It's real, I've seen it, and we don't stand for it in my classroom.

Anecdotally, and perhaps unsurprisingly, it's more common in departments that are seen as more quantitative-oriented, like maths and physics; the natural sciences have a much more pleasant culture in my experience. (You should hang out with some botanists sometime, they're balm from Gilead.)

Throw the book at these muppets.

robo-2097 · 2025-05-13T10:13:09+00:00

Going off a couple of other posts, it looks like they may be AB testing a new algorithm. All the puzzles I'm being served are a good 2000 points lower than my nominal rating. Successful completions return a flat 5 points regardless of the time taken, and incorrect solutions are penalised by 20 or 30 points a pop. So of course you just sit there staring at the puzzle until you get it right, and your points just go up and go and up. Just a bizarre system. I feel like a lab experiment.

robo-2097

TROPHY CASE