Students gain industry experience with clients through virtual internship

Students gain industry experience with clients through virtual internship

Hear all about it from RMIT student participant Ting Li, and her industry client artisanal micro-bakery Mette is Baking.

The Industry Experience Program is a professional skills development program offering over 1000 virtual industry experiences for international students.

Students complete a two-week industry project, known as a micro-internship, working collaboratively to deliver a consulting solution for a real industry partner.

RMIT student Ting Li lead the team that developed a research report for their industry client, artisanal micro-bakery Mette is Baking.

We spoke to Ting and Mette about their experiences in the Industry Experience Program. 

Ting Li, Master of Analytics

As team leader, Ting’s role was to guide her team of fellow students to deliver a research report that would help their client improve her business’s sustainability credentials.
 

Why did you decide to participate in the Industry Experience Program?

It sounded like a great opportuunity to add to my university experience and to help me prepare for the job market.

I decided to participate to gain industry experience, practice skills, and to hopefully encourage other international students to participate by sharing my experience.

Ting, RMIT student Ting recently completed her virtual micro-internship

How do you believe your virtual micro-internship has helped prepare you for your future?

I was able to research for and work on a project for real industry clients, build connections with fellow international students, and practice soft skills such as communication, teamwork, and leadership skills.

I’ll be able to talk about this experience in job interviews and use these skills at work.

What are your top three highlights?

  1. Meeting and collaborating with fellow international students. We worked together throughout the micro-internship to deliver a high-quality report for the client. It was a great team effort, and everyone had a chance to shine.
  2. Practicing various soft skills. As the team leader, I was grateful to have a supportive team, and to receive appreciation and lovely peer feedback in the end.
  3. Working with a real industry client. Our client was extremely experienced and insightful. I was able to learn a lot from her through meetings and her constructive feedback.
     

Tell us a little more about your experience working with your industry client.

The client has been supportive since day one. We received a detailed project briefing and constructive feedback towards the draft report.

We were able to schedule additional meetings with the client to better understand the feedback and the client kindly shared with us tips on research and report writing from her own experience working in business.
 

Do you have any other advice for international students studying at RMIT?

Be involved! Make use of free services and support that we have at RMIT and participate in events and activities.

Client: Mette Nielsen, founder, Mette is Baking

Mette is Baking is an artisanal micro-bakery in Western Australia. Founder and owner, Mette, participated in the Industry Experiences program to gain valuable insights into how to make her business more sustainable.
 

Has the Industry Experience Program helped you and your business? If so, how?

Absolutely YES. 

The team of students analysed where we are currently at with sustainability within the business, completed an analysis of our competitors (local and national) and made recommendations on other initiatives we can implement to improve our sustainability credentials. 

All the research and advice was based on the UN’s 17 Sustainability goals.

Mette, industry client Founder and owner of Mette is Baking, Mette Nielsen

What are your top three highlights from the Industry Experience Program?

  1. Working with a team of students. The students brought in-depth research and fresh ideas to the project. I really appreciated their attention to detail and willingness to clarify feedback.
  2. Gaining insights into what other baking businesses are doing. The competitor analysis the group developed has helped me to understand where my business stands in comparison to our competitors. 
  3. Getting a score card for what we do well and where we can improve. The sustainability scorecard developed by the students has helped me to identify the areas of the business I can develop to be truly sustainable and I've been using it to implement changes across the business.
     

Do you have any advice for students considering completing a virtual micro-internship in future?

A micro-internship is a great way to get experience working for a real company. It helps vital develop communication skills, problem solving for real life challenges and report writing for business purposes, not research.

More information

To learn more about RMIT's Industry Experience Program and register your interest for the next intake, go to Industry Experience Program 2022-2023.

To get involved in more events and activities at RMIT, go to Student events and activities.

31 August 2022

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