Victoria University student completes coveted internship in Australia
This summer, Victoria University of Wellington student Mathew Rex did an internship at the Hong Kong Economic and Trade
Office (HKETO) in Sydney, Australia.
“The internship has definitely given me insight into the inner workings of a diplomatic office, which is something I've
considered as a career for a while,” says Mathew, who is in his honours year in a Bachelor of Commerce in Marketing at
Victoria Business School.
Mathew’s duties included assisting the research and project team on several projects, mostly relating to New Zealand.
“I helped write briefs for upcoming visits to New Zealand by Hong Kong dignitaries, updating current information on our
country as well as general research tasks.”
Mathew had many ‘first time’ experiences at HKETO. For example, this was the first time he lived and worked away from
home and it was also his first work experience in a government environment.
“This internship is my first experience of working full time and I’ve since experienced a range of different challenges
like learning how to manage projects and deal with a wide range of stakeholders,” says Mathew.
Mathew, who heard about the internship on the university’s careers website, said the experience has helped him master
real-life applications of knowledge he’s acquired from his studies.
He said the highlight of the eight week internship was his work on the youth strategy, a project aimed at promoting Hong
Kong to Australian and New Zealand working young professionals, university students and high school students.
ENDS