1 - Why did you decide to do your internship in Australia?

I won the scholarship from Trade Investment of Queensland which is called Best Semester Abroad. Working and studying in Australia has always been my dream since I love diverse cultures and enjoy nature. Doing an internship in Australia not only help me to develop a professional network, which could be useful for future references but also has the opportunity to work with an international team, that way I can learn new skills and improve my English quickly.

2 - What made this experience unique and special?

I was very excited when I got the offer from TAFE International because I never had the experience to work abroad and especially in an international department. During the internship, I had the chance to meet the students from all around the world, helped them with the study inquiries and learned customer service whereas it's hard to have the opportunity to work with people from different nationality in Taiwan. This was truly a unique experience for me.

3 - How has this experience impacted your future?

The internship with TAFE has totally broadened my horizons. It has not only helped me to build a better quality on my resume but also has grown my network. Networking is very important in the job search, and this internship gave me a great opportunity to meet many people in the education field.  I enjoyed working internationally and would truly love to come back to Australia. It is an incredibly beautiful and vibrant country that I would like to call home at some point in my life.

4 - What was the highlight of your experience?

Meeting new students who were coming to study in Queensland was absolutely the most exciting part of the internship. I could help them with their questions and share my experience with them. I love to learn about various cultures and see the passion of the students about their study fields. The opportunity to be here will be something that I will never forget. It is my pleasure to be a part of this internship program, and be a part of this international team.

5 - What advice you would offer someone considering interning abroad in Australia?

I would highly recommend doing internships in Australia since you can learn so much from work and society. Here are some tips I could provide you if you are thinking to do an internship in Australia: first, always have a positive attitude. Employers like to see someone who enjoys a challenge and is enthusiastic. It will reflect positively on your work and you’ll be more likely to get a good recommendation letter at the end of your placement, which is essential when looking for a job. Second, don't hesitate to ask for help. It is okay to ask for help and seek clarification and advice if you’re not sure about something. It is always better to do this first rather than making mistakes and have to start all over again. Last but not least, be creative! Have a creative idea and share with people who you work with can help you to impress your supervisor or other colleagues.  Let your team know about specific skills or interests you have that they might be able to tap into too.

Why did you choose to complete an Internship?

There are two reasons why I chose to complete an internship: the first one is that I wanted to have an overseas study experience, open my horizons, meet new friends and travel. In addition, improve my English speaking skills. The second one is that I think it is a wonderful opportunity for you to have an experience related to your major before your graduation. It can be recorded in your CV, which is helpful for you to find a good job. You will become confident and better after you finish your internship because you will learn more and experience more than before.

What have you learned the most during your internship?

I think the most I have learned is how to communicate with others, how to get along with others. I visited several colleges in Australia, which helped me to have a better understanding about the Australian education and teaching methods, workplace relationship as well. There are some differences comparing with China and some good education methods can be used in China or improve Chinese education methods. Therefore, the internship will help you in your future work. The most important is that I have a good chance to practice my English-speaking skills every day, which makes me feel very awesome.

What benefits do you feel AI contributed to your internship and time in Australia?

I think obtained great benefits from AI, as the chance to have an internship experience in Australia. This chance helped me improve my English communication skills, learn how to develop a good relationship with people at work, and meet new friends. I think AI can help you solve problems and give some internship suggestions for you when you feel confused; your IPS will help you immediately. AI also arrange the intern night once a month, it is a very wonderful chance for all interns to get together and communicate with each other and meet friends, share experiences as well. Therefore, thanks AI for helping me to come here and arranging an internship for me, which let me learn more. I am having a rich and wonderful experience during my internship.

What advice would you give future interns?

I think it is very good opportunity for interns to have an experience in Australia. The first thing is, you need to have a good attitude and proactive communication with other people and during the conversations, you can learn more things. For example, you can share information for local people and gain new information from them, which will help for opening your mind. And the second thing is, you need to write a clear explanation about your expectation which includes the internship and homestay, it is helpful for you and AI when they assist you find an internship and arrange the homestay. And you should have a plan for your internship, make a good use of your internship time in Australia, and every day will be wonderful and valuable.

What do you enjoy most about Australia?

I enjoy the coffee and chocolate in Australia,  which let me feel very excited because I love eating sweets which let me have a good mood. I really love the weather in Brisbane, it is very comfortable environment with fresh and clean air. People are kind, most of them will smile and say hello to me which let me feel close. I also enjoy the meeting with my Japanese friends, we always contact with each other and have a good day in weekend. At the same time, I like to go shopping in the weekend; I enjoy the shopping centre because I can buy some local products for my family and friends.

"I was studying Education at my university, and I wanted to be a teacher. However, since I started my internship I realised that providing education with students and giving advice to them is very interesting for me. When I see students leaving our office with a smile and hope in their future, I become so happy and proud of being a member of this team. 

At the beginning, it is very hard to live and work in another country. Especially, it might takes us long time to communicate with other staff. However, we realise that speaking two languages (English and first language) is useful and helpful in our jobs.

My counselor Caroline was very friendly and kind. When I counselled with her to decide my placement, she spent long time to ask my ambitions and goals. As a result of her great help, I could get an invaluable opportunity to work for my current placement."

"I had a lot of new and exciting experiences throughout my internship and it was very valuable to me. 

One of the most interesting experience is to observe English classes of different levels and to learn about different teaching styles. The experience helped me a lot when I started to teach at the later stage of my internship. 

To teach parts of the lessons to international students is the most rewarding experience throughout my internship. As my future aspiration is to be a teacher, the teaching experience enabled me to try and conduct classes and to make use of different tools and methods to help students learn English. I have also developed more passion for teaching as I engage more in the classroom environment. Other than that, the teaching experience enabled me to understand my strengths and weaknesses. For example, I could have a louder volume and do more gestures to facilitate my teaching. 

The working culture in Australia is also very nice and fascinating. They are friendly to everyone no matter the status and race. I am very lucky to have met my supervisor, who is very positive and guided me throughout my internship. Last but not least, I would like to thank the support of the host organisation and Australian Internships, which made my internship meaningful and wonderful."
 

"The reason why I chose the program I did was because of the diversity in early childhood settings. This is one of the most diverse fields and I felt it was best to travel elsewhere to gain how much diversity there is for myself but to also show children there is diversity as well.

Your placement can be a great reference for you in the future and if it is truly something you love doing then it should not feel like work at all, so make sure you love what you are doing."