Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority

Placement organization

Name of organization: Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority
Town/city: Sydney
Country: Australië

Student

Name of student: Kimberly Hijmenberg
Website: http://www.shfa.nsw.gov.au or http://www.therocks.com or http://www.darlingharbour.com
Name of student: Kimberly Hijmenberg
Specialist area: ITMC
Placement period: 2012-2013

Information about placement organization

Type of organization: Governmental body
Organization’s activities: A central function of Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority is the care, management and interpretation of the significant natural and cultural heritage resources that exist within its jurisdiction.
Target group of the organization: Residents, domestic and international tourists
Company culture: Everybody is very informal, also to students and the management.
Number of employees: around 300
Dress code: smart/casual
Did the organization meet the agreements you made beforehand? Yes

Information about your placement

In which department(s) are you working? Company structure consists of: Marketing and events, Strategic Developments, Business and Financial Services, Property and Asset Management
I worked in Consumer Engagement (Event Marketing Darling Harbour)
Brief description of your daily activities: Make the What’s On Poster. Assist in marketing projects for the main events. Website content coordination and updating, assisting in project management, statistics and several smaller jobs. Every day is different. So it is really divers.
Brief description of your company assignment: Research the marketing activities of 3 events National or Internationally and compare them to 1 of SHFA’s events. Create a report outlining the findings and relevant campaign examples and results and recommendations.
Comment briefly on your supervision by the organization: My supervisor was really friendly and always checking if I was ok, had enough to do and understood the tasks.
Connection with study program: Relevant

Requirements for students on placement

What kind of personal skills are required for this placement? Stress-proof, self motivating, creative, social
Additional company requirements for this placement? Word, Excell, Powerpoint, Photoshop, Adobe, Internet, Microsoft Outlook
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? I looked for rooms on Gumtree Australia when I arrived in Sydney. I was lucky to know some people that I could stay with for the first few days but if you don’t you can stay easily in a hostel. There are many rooms offered on Gumtree so you will definitely be able to find a room within a 2-3 days when you arrive.
How did you go to work every day? By foot, only lived 15 minutes away from the office.

Visa / work permit / vaccinations

Do you need a visa? Yes, I used a working holiday visa
Do you need a work permit? No
How did you arrange the necessary documents: I arranged my visa via the website of the Australian government
How much time did it take to arrange the necessary documents? Within 2 hours I had received my visa by email.
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): € 1243,00
Accommodation (monthly): 600,00 AUD
Local transport (monthly): € Depending on what you want to do. A TravelTen card costs you between 14 and 28 dollars, depending on how many sections you want. A week pass costs 48 dollars, but this gives you unlimited access to busses, trains and ferries.
General costs of living (monthly): 400,00 AUD (very depending on yourself)
Costs of visa: 270,00
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 did not.
Did the culture of the country influence your performance during the placement in any way? The Australian work atmosphere is very relaxed, probably more than other countries. They like to have a good laugh in the department. This made it very nice to work for the organisation. Interns are treated equally as other employees.

Future students on placement

My telephone number:
My e-mail address: Kimberly.hijmenberg@gmail.com

Other information

Recommendations on what to do and what not to do: Be careful crossing the road! Remember to look LEFT first as they drive on the wrong sides of the road here! Other than that, Australia is a very Western country and you will be unlikely to come across major culture differences!
Leisure possibilities in the city/surroundings of where the placement took place: There are many things you can do in Sydney! Obviously there is the Opera House, Bridge and Bondi Beach that are nice to see but there is so much more! Sydney has many small beaches that are worth a visit on Sunny days. Manly is one of the most beautiful suburbs in Sydney and the ferry trip to Manly is definitely worth taking with stunning views of the Harbour! In addition there are many National Parks within driving distance where you can go for a nice weekend away camping! If you decide to stay at home then there are many parks in the city where you can relax! Also the nightlife is worth a visit a couple of nights a week 

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