Pandemic travel restrictions and global uncertainty didn’t stop Griffith’s Chaerin Lim from excelling in Griffith University’s Asia-centric business internship, where she worked for Tourism and Events Queensland (TEQ) in Seoul, South Korea.
The Griffith Asia Business Internship (GABI) program places outstanding business undergraduates within Griffith industry partners in China, Fiji, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Korea and Malaysia. When coronavirus hit, Chaerin returned home to South Korea to complete her Bachelor of International Tourism and Hotel Management online, then flipped the remote learning to intern in-person with the TEQ office in Seoul.
Chaerin was guided by her supervisor and colleagues and was responsible for liaising with travel agencies on behalf of TEQ, managing blog posts and translating the TEQ homepage.
“They gave me a lot of opportunities to work on various tasks so I could accumulate my work experience with the organisation,” she says.
“I learned professional skills related to the tourism areas, for example how to promote destinations to tourists and translation styles to attract more tourists to Australia.”
“Maybe the most important skill that I learned was adapting to a new situation by being open to new ideas.”
Highlighting the value and flexibility of the GABI program, following the completion of her internship, Chaerin is already progressing towards her career goal.
Her GABI work with Tourism and Events Queensland has already led to Chaerin securing a second internship, this time with the prestigious Korean Culture Diplomatic Mission.
“The GABI internship program is very beneficial for my future because, specifically in South Korea, almost every organisation is looking for employees with prior work experience,” she says.
GABI was developed by the Griffith Asia Institute to facilitate personal and professional development among Griffith students and improve their “Asia literacy”.
Participants are challenged to build skills, establish international industry connections and develop their cultural capacity, a process kickstarted by the internship’s Asia Ready Program, where students prepare for placement with cultural lessons and language classes.
Chaerin, one of 39 GABI placements in 2021, says the internship added tangible value to her CV, helping her overcome the “experience required” condition many graduates struggle to clear.
GABI placements are conducted in Trimester 3 each year, with applications for both in-county and remote internships open from Trimester 1.
For more information about the program, visit griffith.edu.au/asia-institute/global-wil-internships.