Cultural and professional growth through a team based internship

In 2012, 26 students from Deakin University Australian were provided with the opportunity to undertake a two-week placement with businesses in Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. In teams of four or five, the students immersed themselves in their organisations to solve a business problem. The program was conducted again in 2013 and plans are underway to conduct the program in 2014. This paper will describe the program and the way it operates. It will provide the learnings from the two iterations it has been conducted and detail what factors contribute to a successful experience. The paper will describe the outcomes and provide evidence of the program’s success from both a student and business perspective.