The purpose of this journal is to analyse key events that occurred from the 25th of August to the 25th of September during an internship with the Australian Institute of International Affairs (AIIA). This journal will begin by reflecting on my initial expectations as an intern, before outlining the tasks performed as a member of the administration team. This journal will then highlight key challenges and how these were overcome.
In order to evaluate my experience as an intern, I began the internship by noting down my initial expectations. The purpose of this task was to show whether my expectations changed during the period of the internship. These expectations included understanding the internal workings of the AIIA, learning how to communicate
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This document outlines how speakers are organized for the AIIA QLD seminar events. Due to my expression of interest in seminar events, I also became an observer for both the speaker organisation and event management team meetings.
A large part of the ‘Speaker Organisation Guide’ involved independent research by contacting people from the organisation for information about the nature of seminars. For instance, when researching about AIIA expenses, I was informed that while the organisation was non-for-profit, “limited reimbursements were sometimes provided to speakers”. To acquire further information about the sorts of reimbursements that were provided, I was required to contact council members who were also in charge of the intern supervisors.
I was initially challenged by a lack of replies and miscommunication. However, by learning to cooperate by respecting schedule times, demonstrating persistence in finding information, and stating a clear reason for questions, I was able to acquire information about AIIA expenses and create new contacts within the organisation. The ability to acquire this information and communicate effectively will assist me in completing future tasks such as writing a document requesting finance and creating the ‘Staffing Process