Adelaide to Paris: Internship that changed everything

Written by Bachelor of Business (International Business) student, Kurt Maiden.

Growing up in Adelaide, everyone spoke of escaping the small city and travelling the world. So, when Flinders University advertised a Procurement Internship program in Paris for a renewable energy company, I felt ABSOLUTELY… well, I didn’t feel anything because what were the chances, right? And yet, in the blink of an eye I was quitting my job, packing my life into a 25kg suitcase and waving goodbye to all my loved ones while thinking “wait a minute… I don’t even speak French!”

Adapting to a New Culture

For 6 months I was truly immersed in a global environment that, when I finally got over the culture shock of bakeries without meat pies, quickly developed my professional skills. Multilingual communication was a daily expectation in the office, but with a bit of practice I was visiting Italy, Germany and regional France for work and networking with hundreds of diverse professionals who each taught me something unique about the industry (and motivated me to say hello to Duo every day).

Navigating Cross-Cultural Collaboration

Cross-cultural collaboration was similarly challenging as an Australian student, based in Paris, working closely with the Brescia team on Italian projects – I quickly learned to adapt to European corporate norms (unexpectedly, they favoured meetings over email updates) while also pushing back on outdated processes and recommending my preferred methods (such as shared documents for efficient data lodging). I’m very grateful of my previous placement in Adelaide for instilling in me a mindset of continuous improvement which has now given me the courage to share my ideas and not fear mistakes.

Applying Academic Learnings to Real-World Challenges

The international business degree at Flinders University emphasises strategic thinking and leadership soft skills in practical scenarios – for example, throughout my studies I consulted for numerous local brands on their specific business pain points with a group of diverse classmates. I directly applied these experiences in time management, task delegation and aligning group members while opening a new region in my company’s portfolio, which ended with great results.

The Value of Placement

I can’t recommend placement enough to all students because it’s guaranteed to make you more employable. The technical background in procurement principles and trade across borders acquired from my studies gave me a great head start when entering the workplace, but the opportunity to apply my knowledge outside of the classroom has bolstered my CV to make me far more competitive in the job market. Surprisingly, full-time work also gave me new appreciation for my university topics because I now understand not just what the content means, but importantly WHY I should learn it and HOW it impacts decision making in the real world. Thanks to work placement, I can proudly say I’m career ready.

Personal Growth

But it wasn’t all about work in Paris. Now that I’m home and reflecting on how the experience changed me personally, this overseas stint was, without a doubt, the greatest challenge of my life – and yet it was also the most beautiful, exciting, eye-opening rollercoaster. France taught me life isn’t only for the weekends, and it’s important to engage in hobbies, see friends and visit new places during the work week to continue waking up every day with excitement at what the world has in store. My best piece of advice for everyone reading this is to treat your hometown like you’re a tourist; even if you can’t travel, you can still explore.