Griffith undergraduate Campbell Jones contributed to two focal projects for the Reserve Bank of Fiji as part of an Asia-focused internship program offered by Griffith Asia Institute.
As a 2021 Griffith Asia Business Internship (GABI) participant, Campbell was given the opportunity to work within the bank’s Economics and Financial Services departments, where he put into practice learning from his Bachelor of Business and Bachelor of Commerce double degree.
He worked on a study of Australian tourism and also made key contributions to the bank’s 2022-2026 Financial Literacy Plan for Women, Children and People with a Disability in Fiji.
“I’m quite surprised that the financial literacy part I was writing will actually be in the financial literacy plan for the next four years,” says Campbell.
“This is a great contribution and was definitely a highlight of my internship.”
No ordinary internship program, GABI was developed by the Griffith Asia Institute to facilitate personal and professional development and improve “Asia literacy” for students.
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, language classes, and industry partner engagement.
Destination countries–where the Griffith Business School and the Griffith Asia Institute have relationships with various industry partners–include China, Fiji, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Korea and Malaysia.
Campbell, one of 39,2021 GABI placements, had to quickly adapt to the Fijian business environment.
“In Fijian work culture there are certain ways of addressing different people with their title and then their name, this is different to Australia.
“This took a little while to get used to but was quite interesting to learn.”
Campbell also says his GABI supervisor with the Reserve Bank of Fiji was an expert in her field of study, allowing him to cement classroom theory with real experience and guidance.
“Being able to bounce off things that I have always wondered about in economics and learned about in textbooks, but never actually seen them used in real life, and asking someone in the field about its applicability was great,” he says.
GABI placements are conducted in Trimester 3 each year, with applications for both in-county and remote internships open from Trimester 1.
Discover more about GABI at griffith.edu.au/asia-institute/global-wil-internships.
