Meet our Student Engagement Coordinator, Jake Hunt
Say hello to Jake Hunt! If you’ve been around UNE for a while, his name might sound familiar—he’s an alumnus, an Armidale local, and if you were here in 2021, you’ve probably heard him on air at TuneFM. With a background in theatre, media production, and digital content creation, Jake is all about making student life more engaging, especially for those of you studying online.
His role? To make sure online students feel just as connected and involved as anyone on campus. Whether it’s running virtual events on the Digital HQ, helping Clubs & Societies reach online members, or hosting the daily radio show HQ Now, he’s here to make your UNE experience top notch.
We had a chat with Jake to find out more.
Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
I’m an Armidale local and a UNE alumnus. I studied Theatre at UNE and graduated with Honours back in 2021. I actually started my career at TuneFM, and spent three years working at the station as a Radio Broadcast Assistant while I was completing my studies. I credit Tune with so many of the skills that I’ve since turned into a successful career. I started a YouTube channel using the media production and social media skills that I learned at Tune, which equipped me to spend a year travelling around the world creating content. I’ve returned to Armidale this year, and I’m still working on my own media projects but am already enjoying being back to my roots and exercising those creative muscles even more in my new role with UNE Life. UNE is like a second home to me!
What is your role at UNE Life, and what does it involve?
My role at UNE Life is as the Student Engagement Coordinator, and my job is entirely targeted at our huge online student cohort. Obviously, 2025 is a very exciting year with the new-look Digital HQ, and my job is to make sure that online students are getting a fulfilling experience out of university just like an on-campus student would. That will involve organising a lot of events on the Digital HQ to bring students together virtually, working closely with our Clubs & Societies to encourage them to plan online events of their own, and hosting our daily radio show HQ Now, which streams live on TuneFM and on the Digital HQ, and is a really valuable resource for online students to stay connected to what is happening at UNE.
What excites you most about this role?
I think what excites me most about this role is that it’s a brand new role with a very important purpose. It’s easy to see how an online student might feel like they’re in this journey alone, but as an on-campus alumnus myself, I can’t imagine having survived my degree without the people I met along the way.
University for me was more than just an education, it was an experience, and I’m already really determined to make sure online students have the opportunity to make their studies an experience too.
And in a brand new role like this one, I have the chance to experiment with different ways to engage those students. I’m the first person taking on this role so I feel very encouraged to think outside the box, listen to student feedback, experiment with what works and what doesn’t, and try to make an impact in terms of online student engagement. There’s no right or wrong way to do the job yet, and that’s an exciting thing – the possibilities are endless!
How do you see your work making a difference for students?
Like I said, I cannot imagine how I would have made it through my degree without the friends I made through university, the social events I attended, the clubs I was part of, the volunteer work that I did at Tune, the extra-curricular activities and so much more. A lot of online students might not be aware that those opportunities are available to them, or they might feel that as an online student, they are isolated on this journey, and alone from a social point of view.
I see it as my job to change that, both in terms of making students aware of the opportunities that exist to get involved in the UNE community, and creating new opportunities as well.
UNE has such a big online student cohort, so if even just a fraction of them feel like they’re having a little bit more fun, making some new uni friends, and getting more involved with the UNE community this year, then I feel like I will have made a difference.
What kinds of questions or issues can you help students with?
In this role, I want to have a completely open-door policy for all things Digital HQ. Whether students have a question about how to use our Digital HQ, or they want to join a Club as an online student, or they want to organise a social event of their own for online students, I’m here to help. I particularly want to encourage online students to reach out if they have any ideas of their own, or if there’s any way they feel we could be engaging with them better. I also want to encourage our Club and Society Executives to reach out as well. I’m very keen to help our Clubs build their online presence, plan events for online students and increase their membership numbers by getting online students onboard. If you have any questions or suggestions about all things Digital HQ, I’m your guy!
What’s the best way for students to get in touch?
You can send me an email at any time (jhunt46@une.edu.au), but probably the best way is to find me on the Digital HQ through Gather Town! I’m always hanging out there, either in my virtual office or hanging out at Fletcher’s bar imagining the next big party or social event I want to add to the calendar. I’m always happy to chat, whether it’s just to say hello and check in on how you’re going, or if you’ve got big ideas for a Digital HQ event! I’d love to hear it!
