Smith Undergrads Spend Summer in Australia

Fourteen undergraduate students are in Australia this summer as part of a 10-week program led by Mary Harms, associate clinical professor of marketing.  The first two weeks were spent in Melbourne, where the students earned three credits for an upper-level BMGT marketing course. Afterwards, Smith students began working at internships in and around Sydney.

The students had lectures and project-based assignments at RMIT University, visited companies and engaged in cultural activities. The students will earn six credits working at their internships and completing an in-depth marketing audit of their particular internship organization.

In a recent letter to the students’ parents, Harms described the trip:

 […] We visited Phillip Island and learned about the challenges of ecotourism from their economic development and marketing directors and from a park ranger at the Koala Conservation Centre and the Penguin Parade. We were also fortunate to have a tour of the Melbourne Cricket Grounds, the National Sports Museum and hear from a finance director for the Australian Football League, who helped the students better understand how marketing decisions are affected by finances and vice versa.  The students were then able to apply what they learned the next day when we were able to attend an AFL game, compliments of the league.

Other visits have included a visit to the original UGG factory, where students learned the importance of trademarking to avoid others from using your idea in other countries.  The visit to the American Chamber of Commerce was well received by the students as they learned how the Chamber works with Australian firms to build trade relationships.

In between company visits, we visited museums, spent time in the classroom, they wrote papers, did research, gave presentations, began work on their group project and took two exams!

In Sydney, the students and I met with one of our Smith MBA alums, who before moving to Sydney worked for EuroDisney for 10 years. We had discussed a EuroDisney case so students found it helpful to learn more about Disney's initial struggles entering the the European market.  In a couple of weeks they will be hosted by another Smith School alum at the Australian offices of Google.  […]

This unique global program is offered through Smith’s Office of Global Initiatives.

Find out about other global opportunities at the Office of Global Initiatives website and read students’ blogs from abroad at Smith's Global Blogs.