EarthCheck

Placement organization

Name of organization: EarthCheck
Town/city: Brisbane
Country: Australië
Website: https://earthcheck.org/

Student

Name of student: Petra van Liere

Specialist area: ITMC
Placement period: 2017-2018

Information about placement organization

Type of organization: Sustainable Tourism Certification and Consulting
Organization’s activities: Providing sustainable tourism benchmarking, certification and consulting services.
Consulting services can be writing a tourism strategy or doing a feasibility study.
Target group of the organization: Councils, hotel chains, destinations, properties who want to operate or develop tourism in a sustainable way.
Company culture: Formal and focused on work, but also very social and friendly.
Number of employees: 30-40
Dress code: formal
Did the organization meet the agreements you made beforehand? Yes

Information about your placement

In which department(s) are you working?

I worked in both the consulting and benchmarking department. Switched after 2,5 months to really see both sides of the company,

Brief description of your daily activities: In the consulting department, I worked on a big feasibility project. Besides that I made PowerPoint presentations and optimized the design and lay out of certain reports and presentations. I did research into areas we did a project on, for example an accommodation audit. I analyzed surveys and wrote cover letters for proposals.
In the Benchmarking department, I did data submission analysis, wrote data clarification emails to be send to members and made appendices of the final report with this information.
Brief description of your company assignment: My company assignment was a feasibility study within the consulting department, including very intense community consultation and involvement.
Comment briefly on your supervision by the organization: Some independence is expected, and for you to take initiative. However, if you need help with anything, the company supervisor, general manager of the department you are working in, or the colleague you are doing the work for, is happy to help.

Requirements for students on placement

What kind of personal skills are required for this placement? Flexible, sociable, independence, taking initiative, enthusiasm
Additional company requirements for this placement? MS Offce and writing skills
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? Myself, via flatmates.com
How did you go to work every day? By foot

Visa / work permit / vaccinations

Do you need a visa? yes, it depends. I got a working-holiday visa
Do you need a work permit? No
How did you arrange the necessary documents: Online
How much time did it take to arrange the necessary documents? An hour
Did you need certain vaccinations? No
How long in advance?

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? Not if you are already taking your studies in english, but a certain level of English is expected/required.

The costs in euros

Travelling expenses (e.g. return ticket): € 1300
Accommodation (monthly): € 600
Local transport (monthly): € –
General costs of living (monthly): € 400
Costs of visa: € 300
Costs of work permit: €
What did the company pay for/to you? Nothing

Culture

How did you prepare for the country’s culture?
As I heard from friends who’ve already been in Australia, and from general knowledge I knew Australia has a similar culture as we do in Europe, so I did not think it was needed.
Did the culture of the country influence your performance during the placement in any way? No

Future students on placement

Future students are free to contact me for further information: Yes
My e-mail address: 151907@edu.nhtv.nl

Other information

Recommendations on what to do and what not to do: Take on weekend trips, there are heaps of things to do and places to visit.
Get a Go Card (OV Kaart) to take public transport (its faster and cheaper as a regular paper ticket).
Don’t think it never rains here: It definitely does.
Leisure possibilities in the city/surroundings of where the placement took place: Go to the Gold Coast for a weekend (or more weekends, it’s bigger than you expect and has a lot to offer) to party during the nights and enjoy the beach and ocean during the day.
Byron bay is a must-go, should definetely go here over easter or Labour day weekend.
Visit Noosa for a good beachy weekend, not as much as a party destination as the Gold Coast but great for surfing.
Go to North Stradbroke Island (Straddie) and see dolphins and kangaroos/wallabies in the wild.
Visit Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary and Springbrook National Park
Rent a car or campervan for the perfect roadtrip up north to Cairns or down south to Sydney.

Media

Youtube link Youtube placement video link