Luca Pearce was a participant in the 2023 Journalism Professional Practicum. Luca is studying a Bachelor of Communications/Bachelor of Law at The University of Technology Sydney. She received a $3,000 New Colombo Plan Mobility Grant to support her participation in this program.
Q: Why did you decide to undertake the ACICIS internship program?
I decided to undertake this program as I wanted to have experience working in journalism on an international level! I also have always wanted to go to Indonesia and thought this was a great opportunity.
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.
Yes I received a $3000 NCP Grant which went towards my fees. This was really great as it took some some of the financial burden off.
Q: Where did you live in Indonesia (Kos, homestay, hotel, rental etc.)? Any tips for prospective students on finding accommodation?
I lived in a Kos with some other ACICIS students. It was a studio that had my own kitchen and bathroom. I would recommend for incoming ACICIS students to book their accomodation when they are already in Indonesia as it is often better to see the accomodation in-person!
Q: How have you found the academic components of this program – i.e. the language classes/seminars?
I really liked the first two weeks of language classes and journalism seminars! The language classes were great as you felt really motivated to learn Bahasa Indonesia while being surrounded by it. The journalism seminars were also very engaging and it was amazing to learn about journalism in Indonesia from industry professionals. I especially liked the focus on promotion of human rights and the nature of investigative journalism.
Q: What organisation are you interning with? (Explain your role and responsibilities)
Voice of Indonesia which is a national radio station. I was required to create video content for their social media (in English) and even co-hosted one of the afternoon radio shows.
Q: How have you found the work culture of your host organisation? How is it different to work experience in Australia?
I found my work culture to be pretty relaxed as long as you are able to stay on top of everything. The culture was definitely different from home, we didn’t have hourly coffee runs but rather got nasi goring from the street vendors for lunch.
Q: What are the main skills you have learnt during your internship?
I learnt how to quickly edit videos and audio as well as creating content. I had previous experience in video editing but didn’t have as much of a time crunch.
Q: What did you find to be the most rewarding part of this experience?
Definitely being able to connect and make relationship with people from another culture, I found it really rewarding to share our personal experiences and learn from each other.
Q. Were you able to learn about the Indonesian culture from this program? If yes, how was this achieved?
Yes, I found that just living in the culture and being surrounded by the language and food to be the most effective way to learn about the culture. Experiencing it first-hand and being forced to talk in the language even though it’s not perfect was the best way to immerse myself and learn about Indonesia.
Q. How will the internship benefit or influence your future career?
This internship gave me valuable international journalism experience which is something I would love to go into in my future professional career. It also allowed me to improve my inter-cultural communication skills and learn to connect with people from across the world which is very important in the journalism industry.
Q. Would you recommend this program to your friends?
Yes! It was really fun and such a good experience!
Q. Favourite Indonesian word/phrase:
Anjay.