Emeline Cammack has the job you want. Well, the job that a lot of graduates want.

If you’re interested in public health, international development, and working in the most highly-prized government department, it ticks all the boxes.

She is Assistant Director of the Health Program and Performance Section at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT).

Right now, she’s working with the World Bank on immunisation programs in Asia-Pacific. Previously, she was building an alliance of heads of state to work towards eliminating malaria in the region.

And she has just finished her Master of Public Health at ANU.

“Doing my Masters absolutely helped me get the job,” Emeline says. “It was critical.”

“You need to be a well-rounded person to get into DFAT right now. Having a Master degree is part of the package, and helps you to tick all the boxes they’re looking for.”

After helping her secure the job, Emeline says her studies also help her perform the role on a day-to-day basis. 

“My classes covered all the basic concepts around health and development, giving me a theoretical underpinning to the key concepts, which was great, but I could also directly apply it to my work.

“At uni I would be hearing the theory around why focusing on communicable diseases is important from a regional health perspective. The very next day, I would be immersed in that world at work, taking the same approach we’d discussed in class.

“There was actually a lot of crossover in both directions. My work and ANU have a really close relationship since DFAT would be crazy not to tap into the resources and expertise of ANU. Sometimes I’d be in a workshop or lecture at ANU and hear about the stuff I was doing at work!

“To stand alongside the researchers at ANU, who are really well-respected, and feel like I’m playing an active part in international health—that’s pretty exciting.”