“The opportunity to undertake a placement during my studies has enhanced my knowledge and experience in so many ways. Typically, being in a class room you learn the theory but, in many cases, you don’t know how to apply the knowledge or when. The opportunity to complete a placement whilst studying has allowed me to understand the concepts of work-life-balance and industrial knowledge. Receiving guidance by those who directly work in the industry, I experienced unexpected and unplanned situations; be it complex, basic or hindering stress. Without this placement, I do not think that I would be where I am today with my improvement in business skills, personal qualities and knowledge.”

Dr Betty Frino is a scholar in Human Resources, Management and Organisational Behaviour. Betty’s professional career spans academe and applied/policy research within the higher education sector, exploring contemporary workplace issues and implications for government policy and professional practice. Betty has held previous appointments at the Universities of Sydney, Macquarie and Wollongong, teaching across various programs at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Bringing real work scenarios, contemporary issues and current research to the classroom setting is paramount to her teaching philosophy.

Betty has published widely in peer-reviewed and practitioner based journals, and presented her work at both academic and practitioner conferences on the international and domestic scale. She has been invited as guest lecturer at several international universities in Europe, Malaysia and UAE, and also appeared as an expert witness for state wage case decisions and produced commissioned reports for industry and government on wage trends and bargaining outcomes. Her research spans various topics about people at work, with specialist knowledge in employee engagement, employee voice, worker wellbeing/psychosocial hazards, the regulation of work/labour law, wages, bargaining and pay equity.