THE internship experience is an opportunity to meet new mentors for leadership training and deepen global networking. The internship journey also allowed me to learn a new side of policy-making, redefine my career pathway as a public servant, enhance my capability, and challenge myself to unlearn to learn more about others’ roles in the public sphere through actual practice.

In my master of public policy and management course, I’ve been taught that the policy environment in Australia is supportive of increasing the “voice” of other stakeholders, including NGOs., I would like to navigate the working culture that is adhered to by Australians, especially non-government bodies. After several applications and interviews, I finally secured a placement at a renowned think tank institute, the Australia India Institute, with an unpaid intern position.

The AII’s prominent role is assisting the government in identifying the gap in policies and relations between Australia and India. AII is the only organisation specialising in matters related to two QUADS members’ reciprocal benefits. Established in 2008 with most of the operational costs funded by both the federal and Victorian governments, the institute with its burden of responsibility but limited capacity faces several challenges, especially in meeting the funders’ expectations.

Through this organisation, I’ve learnt this country’s main partnership goal and the underlying reasons influencing the decision. Building on a series of notes and a short article that I’d prepared for the supervisor for cultural diplomacy desks, I understood that establishing AII in 2008 was a step change for the government to elevate growth opportunities and boost strategic partnership between Australia and India.

The theoretical notes I’ve made on soft power, cultural diplomacy, social capital, and social network theories through my cultural diplomacy task have assisted me in grasping a better understanding of how best the diaspora could exercise their right and leverage their citizenship in another country to benefit their home country. However, the diaspora “voice” only could be enhanced with both countries’ support of an appropriate policy environment. In this sense, I’ve found that Australia is committed to preserving and caring for all diasporas from other countries through establishing multicultural policies, enforcing anti-discrimination laws, and advocating cultural-related celebrations. Hence, through the brief notes on Master Chef, Air India, Yoga, and Indian Places of Worship, I noticed how the diaspora could be leveraged as an agent of change in promoting a country’s values and culture to create new opportunities for economic relationships.

Before I embarked on my internship journey, we believed Malaysian media reports saying that migration caused a brain drain to the home country. However, my perception changed when I briefly researched these issues. The home country could also benefit from migration as a network game changer. For instance, the Australia Master Chef television series not only successfully promote Indian culinarians through participants’ cooking presentation but also allow more Indian spices and raw foods to be exported to Australian markets. The television shows also attract viewers from India, showcasing the critical role of the diaspora as a cultural diplomacy agent in a migrant country, subsequently boosting tourism in both homes and receiving countries.

Here, I’ve learnt that with adequate empowerment and facilitation from the government, a think tank could contribute beyond a stage performance, meeting room, and paper. I’ve learnt about AII’s significant role in hosting a high-impact programme that supports the better position of Australian vocational, education, and training providers’ entry and expansion into India’s entry-level skills ecosystem. This experience showed me that an academic think tank could be leveraged as a government vehicle to deliver certain services packaged with continuous research. The AII’s success in connecting academic research papers into brief policy recommendations and bridging policy communication between government officials and academia gave me a new perspective on the significance of a think tank organisation to the government.

In this sense, a few recommendations have crossed my mind. For example, a consulate-general and ministries such as tourism and education, particularly their international affairs wing, could be rejuvenated to deepen the connection with other countries by redefining and leveraging the diaspora. The government could benefit from the surplus of PhD holders for policy making by establishing more pragmatic and objective-oriented think tanks.

The different workplace has its own culture, working style, and challenges. Despite already having 12 years of working experience in civil service, the organisation provided me with additional valuable insight into the role of think tanks Australia-India’s policies and priorities, and other management knowledge. 

In conclusion, the internship provides additional knowledge on the working world, and perhaps Malaysian’s domestic universities could improve internship subject policy by allowing more flexibility in implementation. The subject could be elective, with students given the choice to enrol. Second, per semester entails only 200 working hours and three assessments. The student can negotiate with potential host organisations, whether to work two days per week for six months or work daily to complete the  internship more quickly. With more flexibility, there will be room for the student pursuing an unpaid internship to support themselves by taking up casual jobs. – July 28, 2023.

* Siti Nurul Munawirah Mohamad Roslan reads The Malaysian Insight.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.