TeaMWork 2022
View the TeaMWork internships website for more information
Students
This year participants worked on the program from 27 June - 22 July. After a short training series to prepare students for the program, students were divided into teams of 5-8, based on their skills and interests. Each student team was paired with an organisation partner who provided a project brief for students to work on over a four-week period. Students worked on their projects for approximately 10 hours per week, over the 4-week period and presented their findings to their organisation.
One of the overarching goals for this year was to increase the number of students and scale up the TeaMWork program. For TeaMWork 2022, participation grew from 239 in 2020 to 279 students in total. (104 from Warwick, 84 from Malaysia and 91 from Australia). Since 2019, student and Industry partner participation has steadily increased. Interestingly the biggest jump was from 2019 to 2020 when student participation almost doubled, and this could be attributed to COVID-19 and the shift to online programs.
Student Feedback
“Our project required a lot of creativity and innovation because we were meant to fabricate marketing materials for our clients to attract more users. Being from different universities broadened our scope and we could tailor the information accordingly. It was an amazing experience that allowed for creativity, professional growth and networking opportunities.” - Adheesh Aggarwal (Bachelor of Engineering, Monash University Australia) NeuXP project
“Working with coordinators as well as teammates from different backgrounds, getting cultural insights regarding our specific program, and basically everything is just a wholesome experience I am truly grateful for.” - Ishita Jain, (Economics, University of Warwick) Action for Development Project
Student Profile - Alanna Marsh
Monash participant Alanna Marsh, is currently completing her Bachelor of Science & Arts double degree, majoring in Zoology and Human Geography. She heard about TeamWork through a mentoring program available through her current undergraduate course. Alanna found the TeaMWork program rewarding .as it provided a valuable opportunity to have some workplace experience beyond her university studies.
The project was working with first time participating organisation, Purnomo Yusgiantoro Centre (PYC), a non-profit organisation, based in Indonesia. It included students from Warwick and Monash Malaysia and was about crowdfunding, particularly for sustainability initiatives in various communities. In particular, the project aimed to implement a campaign strategy on community-based financing through crowdfunding to improve community participation in developing renewable energy within rural areas.
Alanna notes PYC was great to work with, however her supervisor was based in Indonesia and the time difference proved a little challenging at times. Nonetheless, she was largely supportive and had a background in research, which was beneficial to the project. Alanna comments “My highlight of the TeamWork experience has definitely been working with people from different cultures, backgrounds and experiences. I have really enjoyed this opportunity to work with so many different people working on a project that aligned with our shared interests. Although working with time zones has been very challenging at times, I did enjoy meeting people from around the globe.”
The process was largely shaped by students, in terms of organising meetings and allocating tasks amongst the group, therefore an advantage. There were some challenges with the global time differences and ‘Chronus’ the TeaMWork application used by the team. Being an external platform, it was difficult to link to other communication platforms such as email or social media group chats, where notifications could be received on a timely basis.
Alanna would definitely recommend this program to other students, i.e., it can be completed during the mid-year break, it’s also less intensive than other internships offered by the university and the opportunity to meet with other students globally and online was invaluable. Alanna is considering completing her honours next year and beyond that take some time off to travel. Long term she is interested in potentially working with conservation initiatives, with an NGO or possibly even taking up teaching.
Industry / Organisations
Organisations provide an internship project of their choosing for our students to work through in multidisciplinary teams over the four weeks. This could be a challenge or a development opportunity that your organisation is facing. They help guide and develop the employability of our students, while gaining fresh perspectives, innovative skills and receiving their contribution towards your business objectives.
A wide range of project themes are available that best meet the organisation challenges.
- Business Transformation and Change Management
- Consultancy and Strategy
- Finance, Data and Strategy
- Marketing and social media
- Sustainability and Social Impact
- Technology, Innovation, E-commerce
Organisation feedback
“Throughout the weeks watching over the projects and seeing them develop was truly wonderful. The students are hardworking and determined, making it a pleasure to work with them! Thank you for choosing AfD for this year’s TeamWork program, and we also sincerely hope to continue our relationship with Warwick TeamWork International for next year. With time, today’s generation will have responsibilities of making this world a better place. Thus, it was a pleasure being mechanism that can help them understand where in the world problems lie and what possible solutions there are. Thank you once again - truly.” - Action for Development (Afghanistan)
Organisation partners this year included transnational tech and finance corporations, overseas banks, international NGO's and charities, big businesses (like Colgate) and community organisations (like research organisation PYC.
Some of the opportunities for improvements identified for next year’s program include:
- Continued focus on priority places for Widening Participation/Access/under-represented student groups.
- Continue to explore Chronus as a potential platform for delivering the program.
- Focus on sustainable/social good organisations and organisations that align with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
- Reconceptualise training to consolidate key areas of learning; intercultural competence, working cross culturally and geographically, teamwork and organisation.
- Reach out to underrepresented faculties to encourage a broad range of students and disciplines to participate, attempting to equalise faulty disparities.