Rama Elliot (Muhammad Ramadhan) was a participant on the 2023 Business Professional Practicum. Rama is studying a Bachelor of Commerce at The University of Western Australia. Rama received a $3,000 New Colombo Plan Mobility Grant to support his participation in this program.
Q: Why did you decide to undertake the ACICIS internship program?
To practice my Bahasa Indonesia and get first intern experience especially doing the internship from where I was born.
Q: Did you receive a New Colombo Plan Mobility Grant? Do you think the NCP is an important initiative? If yes, why? The NCP is a signature initiative of the Australian Government which aims to lift knowledge of the Indo-Pacific in Australia by supporting Australian undergraduates on experiences such as the Professional Practica.
I received the NCP grant and I believe it is an important initiative to allow students to be able to have an outside experience study wise. Especially after the pandemic period, it’s best to take the opportunity to go out of country to learn, intern and even have fun in Indonesia. This can also strengthen the economic relationship between Indonesia and Australia even after the 2023 ASEAN agreement. By being given this option to student, it can help them with the future about their career by letting them know that there are lots of option outside of Australia.
Q: Where did you live in Indonesia (Kos, homestay, hotel, rental etc.)? Any tips for prospective students on finding accommodation?
Luckily I stayed with my aunt as I have family in Jakarta. But for any tips regarding other students, I recommend finding a place where everyone is staying. It’s best for the starting 2 weeks to be with your ACICIS mates and after that, you’ll be adapted to the Indonesian life. For internship-wise, find an accommodation that is quite close to where your placement is.
Q: How have you found the academic components of this program – i.e. the language classes/seminars?
The language classes are very fun and the seminars were very interesting. The language classes was still challenging for me as an Indonesian because I never really studied the formal side of Bahasa Indonesia. The seminars taught me a lot of the Indonesian economic which I never knew about and was fascinated to hear about them.
Q: What organisation are you interning with? (Explain your role and responsibilities)
I was interning at Okusi and my role was to help out with any basic audit, doing minutes for meetings and also following some webinars regarding about accounting policy. My role was to try and help the team to do the planning part for the auditing so that the team was able to start doing the auditing. This helps the team by reducing how long it will take them to finish the auditing.
Q: How have you found the work culture of your host organisation? How is it different to work experience in Australia?
For me working in Indonesia is a lot calmer and a lot more friendlier. Everyone in the office here are friendly and they’re easy to talk to when you’ve got a question or anything.
Q: What are the main skills you have learnt during your internship?
Mainly for me is the auditing side of accounting especially with the Indonesian accounting policy and also practicing my formal Bahasa Indonesia.
Q: What did you find to be the most rewarding part of this experience?
Being able to go back to my home country and have that work life sense which I have always wondered what it was like. Being able to stay in Jakarta for nearly a month and a half and go to places brought some nostalgic memories when I was young.
Q. Were you able to learn about the Indonesian culture from this program? If yes, how was this achieved?
Yes through the first seminar by Ellie even though I am Indonesian. It’s still fascinating for me to hear about these cultures.
Q. How will the internship benefit or influence your future career?
I can put it in my CV for my future career and have some idea what my future career would be like. It may not be the same but it will give me some idea to what working in the finance sector would be like.
Q. Would you recommend this program to your friends?
Yes definitely.
Q. Favourite Indonesian word/phrase:
Matur Suwun (Javanese).