President's Corner

Reflection on SNEVic Career Conference - 2025

SNEVic: From Humble Beginnings to Thriving Professional Network

On 31 August 2025, I had the privilege of standing before the largest gatherings of Nepali engineers ever assembled in Victoria for the SNEVic Career Conference 2025. Looking across the room at engineers, students, academics, industry leaders, mentors, sponsors, volunteers, and community members, I felt an overwhelming sense of pride in how far our community has come.

This conference was more than a professional event. It was a celebration of our journey.

A journey that began in 2015 with a small group of passionate Nepali engineers who believed that by connecting with one another, we could create opportunities, overcome barriers, and build a stronger future together. Interested in SNEVic story - refer to SNEVic - Our history.

Today, that vision continues to guide everything we do.

Over the years, SNEVic has grown from a small initiative into a recognised professional community that delivers networking events, mentoring programs, webinars, workshops, industry engagement activities, and career development opportunities. Through these initiatives, we have helped many engineers secure jobs, advance their careers, expand professional networks, and develop confidence in their professional journey.

Celebrating Community, Growth, and Opportunity

As President, I have focused on strengthening the values that define SNEVic:

• Building a strong professional network
• Empowering engineers through knowledge-sharing and mentorship
• Developing future industry leaders
• Creating opportunities for graduates and new migrants
• Fostering collaboration with industry, academia, and professional bodies
• Building a community where everyone can learn, grow, and thrive

These values underpin SNEVic's mission to empower Nepali engineers through networking, mentorship, knowledge sharing, leadership development, and collaboration.

Why the Career Conference Matters

Over the years, I have spoken with many Nepali engineers across different industries and career stages. A common theme continually emerged:

Nepali engineers possess enormous talent, technical capability, resilience, and determination.

Yet many talented professionals continue to face challenges progressing their careers at the pace their capabilities deserve.

The issue is rarely technical competence or lack of talent.

More often, the barriers involve:

• Professional visibility
• Workplace confidence
• Communication and leadership skills
• Career planning
• Networking and mentorship
• Understanding Australian workplace culture

This insight became the driving force behind the SNEVic Career Conference 2025.

Our surveys identified three recurring themes affecting career progression: adapting to workplace culture, developing communication and leadership skills, and creating effective career strategies.

This conference was specifically designed to address these challenges and to provide practical solutions.

Learning from Those Who Have Walked the Journey

A highlight of the conference was the opportunity to learn from an outstanding lineup of industry leaders and professionals who shared their personal career journeys, lessons learned, and practical advice for success.

• Shesh Ghale shared insights from his remarkable journey as an engineer, entrepreneur, philanthropist, and founder of one of Australia's leading education institutions. His story demonstrated the importance of perseverance, calculated risk-taking, and having the courage to think beyond traditional career boundaries.
• Divya Pasupuleti, an executive leader at NBN Australia and experienced board director, highlighted the growing importance of leadership, influence, stakeholder engagement, and adaptability in an increasingly complex and evolving industry environment. She shared her inspiring journey from Student to strong leadership today that resonated with the most engineers.
• Dr Govinda Pandey, Executive Chairman of Rockfield Technologies and technology entrepreneur, encouraged attendees to embrace innovation, emerging technologies, and a growth mindset. His experiences demonstrated how engineers can play a leading role in solving complex challenges while creating new opportunities through technology and entrepreneurship.
• Dr Rabin Tuladhar, Dean of Engineering and Technology at Central Queensland University, shared valuable perspectives on lifelong learning, research, industry collaboration, and the changing expectations of the engineering profession. His message reinforced the importance of continuous professional development and preparing for the future of engineering.
• Roger Pym's executive career coaching session provided practical guidance on career planning, professional visibility, personal branding, and leadership development.
• Bishal Sapkota and Yuba Raj Panta delivered an insightful session on “Foundation Models and Agentic AI for Engineering Professionals,” highlighting how Artificial Intelligence is transforming the engineering profession. Their presentation demonstrated how engineers can leverage AI-powered tools to enhance productivity, improve decision-making, automate routine tasks, and unlock new opportunities for innovation.

Collectively, their insights challenged attendees to think bigger, build stronger professional networks, and take ownership of their career growth, perfectly aligning with our conference theme of helping Nepali engineers move from invisible to influential.

Explore SNEVic Career conference details below to learn more about this event.

SNEVic Career Conference article : SNEVic Career Conference 2025 highlight.

SNEVic Career Conference agenas : SNEVic Career Conference- Event details.

Breaking Career Barriers: Three Focus Areas

To help engineers better understand and overcome the barriers affecting career progression, the conference explored three critical focus areas.

Focus Group 1: Cultural Adaptability and Professionalism

This focus area examined how workplace culture, professional behaviours, confidence, and adaptability influence career success. Participants explored how engineers can remain authentic while developing the cultural awareness and professional skills necessary to thrive in Australian workplaces.

Focus Group 2: Leadership, Communication and Soft Skills

This session reinforced that leadership is not determined by job title but by influence, initiative, emotional intelligence, communication, and collaboration. Engineers were encouraged to strengthen their communication capability, professional presence, and leadership mindset.

Focus Group 3: Strategic Career Planning and Mentorship

The third focus area emphasised the importance of intentional career planning, mentorship, networking, professional development, and building long-term career strategies aligned with industry needs and personal aspirations.

I encourage every member to read the dedicated Focus Group reports below and reflect on how these insights can be applied throughout their own professional journey.

📖 Focus Group 1: Cultural Adaptability and Professionalism in Engineering

📖 Focus Group 2: Leadership, Communication and Soft Skills

📖 Focus Group 3: Strategic Career Planning and Mentorship

One of the strongest messages from the conference was that technical excellence alone is no longer enough. Career growth also depends on:

Cultural adaptability

Leadership capability

Communication skills

Strategic career planning

Mentorship

Professional networking

Continuous learning

Through keynote presentations, executive career coaching, panel discussions, AI insights for engineers, and interactive focus groups, participants gained practical strategies to overcome these barriers and accelerate their professional growth.

SNEVic’s Vision for the Future

While the conference was a major milestone, it is only one step in a much larger journey.

Looking ahead, my vision for SNEVic to become:

The Trusted Partner for Engineering Advancement

A platform where engineers can access guidance, mentoring, professional development, and meaningful opportunities.

The Largest Support Network for Nepali Engineers

A community where no engineer feels isolated in navigating career challenges.

A Leadership Development Platform

A place where future technical specialists, project managers, executives, entrepreneurs, and industry leaders are developed.

A Recognised Professional Brand

An organisation respected across industry, academia, professional bodies, and the broader community.

Our strategy remains centred on five pillars:

1. Get the First Job
2. Progress Your Career
3. Build a Bigger Network
4. Connect with Industry and Professional Organisations
5. Build a Trusted SNEVic Brand

As we reflect on the success of the Career Conference - 2025, we encourage all members of the SNEVic community to:

• Engage Fully: Participate actively in events and connect with fellow engineers.
• Contribute to the Mission: Volunteer, mentor, or lead initiatives to support SNEVic’s goals.
• Build Community: Share knowledge, collaborate, and help grow a stronger, more empowered engineering community.

Together, We Achieve More

As Helen Keller once said, “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” SNEVic is not just an organization—it is a movement powered by shared dreams and collective action. Let’s continue to support one another, inspire each other, and build a legacy for future generations.

Thank you to everyone—attendees, speakers,community leaders, sponsors, partners, and volunteers—who made the SNEVic Career Conference 2025 a resounding success. Let’s keep connecting, learning, and growing together!

I encourage every member of our community to stay engaged, seek mentorship, share knowledge, support others, and continue investing in their own professional growth.

The future of Nepali engineers in Australia is bright. Let's build it together.

Hari Pandey
President
Society of Nepali Engineers in Victoria (SNEVic)