EC3 Global / Earth Check

Placement organization

Name of organization: EC3 Global / Earth Check
Town/city: Brisbane
Country: Australië

Student

Name of student: Anne Valk
Website: http://www.ec3global.com
Name of student: Anne Valk
Specialist area: ITMC
Placement period: 2012-2013

Information about placement organization

Type of organization: Environmental Advisory Group
Organization’s activities: Environmental Advisory
Target group of the organization: Hotel and travel industry
Company culture: A friendly atmosphere and interns are treat equivalent.
Number of employees: 50
Dress code: formal, except on Fridays, however, just neat clothing is fine.
Did the organization meet the agreements you made beforehand? Yes

Information about your placement

In which department(s) are you working? Consulting and Relationship Management
Brief description of your daily activities: In consulting I helped with general tasks for several projects, in Relationship Management benchmarking activities.
Brief description of your company assignment: Draft a water efficiency report with current methods used worldwide.
Comment briefly on your supervision by the organization: The consulting manager travels a lot but keeps contact via e-mail/phone. Especially colleagues helped me a lot with an introduction in the daily activities and questions during the way.
Connection with study program: Relevant

Requirements for students on placement

What kind of personal skills are required for this placement? Stress proof in consulting, precise in Relationship Management. Social and independent not only at work but also to go to Australia.
Additional company requirements for this placement? Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Internet
English: Advanced
Spanish:
French:
German:
Italian:
Other languages:

The trip

Mode of transport to reach your destination: Airplane

Accommodation

How did you arrange your accommodation? Via my family who has a friend here, what is fantastic. I recommend the new intern to arrange a place to stay beforehand and ask the company for any contacts they have.
How did you go to work every day? Public transport, train or bus. However, public transport is very weak in Australia so a bicycle would be easy.

Visa / work permit / vaccinations

Do you need a visa? Yes
Do you need a work permit? Yes, part of visa
How did you arrange the necessary documents: The company supervisor gave me the link to the forms (Australian Government website) and it takes a lot of work because it is very strict. 3 documents of each 50 pages or something for a “occupational trainee visa”. You need a lot of additional documents including a certificate of birth from the municipality, copies of your passport etc.
How much time did it take to arrange the necessary documents? months
Did you need certain vaccinations? No

Language course

Did you take a language course before you started your placement? No
Would you recommend to have a language course prior to this placement? n/a

The costs in euros

Travelling expenses (e.g. return ticket): € 1250,00
Accommodation (monthly): € 320,00 because of family contacts, normally a minimum of 150 AUD per week, so 480 EUR per month.
Local transport (monthly): € 140,00. After checking in 9 times during the week at public transport you travel for free. So traveling in the weekends was free
General costs of living (monthly): € food was included in my rent! Costs of living are very expensive in Australia. Everything, also food is approximately double of European prices.
Costs of visa: 320,00
Costs of work permit: € n/a
What did the company pay for/to you? € Nothing

Culture

How did you prepare for the country’s culture? I got information through connections of my family.
Did the culture of the country influence your performance during the placement in any way? No

Future students on placement

My telephone number:
My e-mail address: anne_valk@msn.com

Other information

Recommendations on what to do and what not to do: Travel in Australia in the weekends (there are regularly public holidays in the first half of the year)
I’ve seen a lot and don’t need to stay longer after my placement

Leisure possibilities in the city/surroundings of where the placement took place: Brisbane: nice city center, South Bank lagoon and promenade, Koala Sanctuary, nightlife in Fortitude Valley

2 hours by train north: Sunshine Coast
On the way to Sunshine Coast: Steve Irwin Zoo

1 hour south: Gold Coast (Surfers Paradise)

Sydney 1,5 hour flight
Melbourne 2,5 hour flight
Spend 3 or 4 days on Fraser Island (recommended)

Media

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