This is the fourth in a series of conversations we have been having with our past students to understand the impact of their studies on the work they do with young people in the community.

Here, Kristina speaks with Yuki Fukuda, who on completing the Global Adolescent Health Massive Open Online Course then enrolled in the Graduate Diploma in Adolescent Health and Wellbeing, both of which are led by the Centre for Adolescent Health through the University of Melbourne’s Department of Paediatrics.  We regularly run information sessions that are recorded and can be accesses via the University of Melbourne information web pages.

Yuki has experience leading advocacy and youth participation initiatives with young people and is currently working with a not for profit organisation (NPO) in Japan to lead the programme for young people in care and leaving care. Also, she has been involved in the social project development to organise the girls’ leadership program since 2021.

She has an academic background in Law and Development Studies, specialising in Women, Gender and Development. She has previously worked with UNICEF in Latin America and Eastern Europe as an adolescent development and participation officer, managing projects focused on sexual and reproductive health and rights, HIV/AIDS, nutrition, and gender-based violence, with a focus on preventing child marriage and adolescent pregnancies.

Q: How did you find out about the Adolescent Health and Wellbeing (AHW) courses at the University of Melbourne (UoM)?

A: I took the Global Adolescent Health course on the Coursera platform. I enjoyed studying the course, and it motivated me to learn more about Adolescent Health and Wellbeing (AHW). So, I visited the University of Melbourne website and found out that they run the Graduate Diploma Course. I saw that the Graduate Course provides a comprehensive approach to adolescent development. As far as I was aware, I could not learn this at any university in Japan, where I’m from. Some universities in Japan might have courses on adolescents, but these courses are for medical professionals.

Q: How long did it take you to decide to enrol in the Graduate Certificate/Diploma course?

A: It did not take too long, as far as I remember. I was eager to have a deeper knowledge of adolescent health and well-being, and it looked like the course offered exactly what I wanted to acquire. Also, I had to have a career break period due to a health condition at that time, which gave me sufficient time to concentrate on my studies.

Q: What did you like about doing the course?

A: I liked writing online posts related to the coursework, and reading posts written and shared by classmates. These were weekly (sometimes bi-weekly) tasks, and while I found it tough to draft and elaborate on each post, these tasks helped me to work on my essays and reports.

Q: How did you find studying the course online from your home location overseas?

A: It might be thought a small thing, but the time difference was really important. All assignments have deadlines with the exact time (such as, “by September 29, 23:59), so it was essential to check and double-check the time in Melbourne. I admit to being very confused when Melbourne shifted to ‘summer time’ as Japan does not have daylight saving!

Q: What was your favourite subject during your Graduate Diploma in Adolescent Health and Wellbeing?

A: Such a difficult question to answer! Honestly, all the subjects were my favourite ones. What I loved the most was that I could learn both theory and practice to understand AHW. Even now, I sometimes review some reading materials from “Professional Practice in Context”, “Vulnerable Young People”, and “Mental Health and Young People” because I work with adolescents in care and have found that these have really helpful tips for me to reflect on my tasks!

Q: What was the hardest thing about studying with us?

A: I was not familiar with public services and their related systems in Australia, so it was challenging for me to understand some of these roles, at least initially. For example, in my country, while there are certified ‘social workers’ and ‘child welfare officers’, ‘youth workers’ are not recognised. I remember doing some research on ‘youth workers’ in Australia and other countries to better understand what this profession does. Yet these are equally some of the interesting things about undertaking postgraduate study!

Q: What was the most surprising thing you learnt during your studies with us?

A: The diversity of my classmates! They had such different backgrounds and professional experiences, including nurses, social workers, psychologists and police. All of them had a high level of commitment and passion to work with youth and adolescents, and they gave me great insights about various issues of relevance to AHW.

Q: What has been the most significant change, for you, as a result of doing the course?

A: There were two significant changes. The first change was the solid skills I gained to work in the field of adolescent development. And the second is that the course gave me so much more confidence working with adolescents and youth than I ever had before.

Q: Why is this significant?

A: During the Diploma course, I could reflect on my previous work as an adolescent development officer. The reflection exercises made it easier for me to appreciate the knowledge that I have gained through hands-on experiences in working with adolescents around the world, and to see how these experiences are highly complementary to formal study.

And now I know how to reflect on my present work. I believe that solid skills and regular reflection exercises help maintain my confidence, commitment and passion to work directly with young people!

Q: What difference has it made?

A: It has made a very practical difference in the NPO where I work now. I introduced the “HEEADSSS” analysis to my colleagues, and now we use it as a framework for analysing the situations of adolescents in care and leaving care who our NPO directly support. At an individual level, I also have a new routine, that is, I always check and review reading materials and my reports that I wrote during my coursework in order to look for tips or hints in my work with adolescents!

Q: Any last thoughts for people considering doing either the graduate certificate or the Graduate Diploma/Masters in Adolescent Health and Wellbeing?

A: If you have the commitment and passion to work with adolescents, I highly recommend this course to you. The course teaches adolescent health and wellbeing with a holistic approach. I do not have an academic or professional background in the medical field (my bachelor’s degree was in Law and my master’s degree was in Gender and Development). But if I could make it, I’m sure you could too!