Edition 5 | December, 2014
Welcome to the fifth edition of Where there’s a WIL
Did you know?
The WIL Team has recently welcomed a new member. Kiri Stinson was born to a local
pioneering family who owned the first general store in Southport in the 1870s. A
Griffith Alumnus, Kiri completed a degree in psychology at Gold Coast campus and has
extensive experience in government and policy, community development, engagement
and capacity building, and academic research development and support.
Dr Alan Blackman
Director, WIL (GBS)
Kiri has ten years of experience working in local government, most notably in the
capacity of Senior Research Advisor to the Mayor, Gold Coast City from 2006 to 2012.
This time afforded Kiri the opportunity to develop a vast range of connections across
different levels of government, industry and not-for-profit organisations.
Most recently Kiri was engaged with the newly established Griffith Institute for Tourism
as the Research Development Officer, a resource to build research capacity. Among
other tasks, she was responsible for identifying, matching and applying for external
research income opportunities. Successfully funded projects included a climate change
adaptation research consultancy with the United Nations Development Programme
and the Maldivian Ministry of Tourism, as well as a research grant from the Council for
Australian-Arab Relations. Previously, Kiri managed an Australian Research Councilfunded service interaction study, supported authorship of a tourism and peak oil book,
and published in the high-ranking Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Research.
Mrs Lynlea Small
Coordinator, WIL Programs
Miss Kiri Stinson
Coordinator, WIL Programs
Kiri has lived and worked in the Scottish Highlands and Republic of Ireland, and travelled extensively
throughout Europe and the Asia-Pacific Region. She has visited a total of 35 countries, with highlights
including the splendour of the Aurora Borealis viewed from Iceland, and being surrounded by the
magnificence of the Himalayas while trekking. Kiri can be contacted on globalgbswil@griffith.edu.au.
A winter sojourn in Japan
In our previous edition, we briefly introduced
business students Liam Brizee and Shaun Gormley,
who spent a winter sojourn in Japan during the
month of July, undertaking a global mobility
internship with Trade and Investment Queensland’s
Japan office in Tokyo and Global Sky Group in Tokyo
respectively. We recently caught up with Shaun and
asked him about his experience.
“The Griffith Business School Global Mobility
Business Internship was an incredible experience to
undergo in my last year of university. The
experience required me to step well outside my
comfort zone on multiple occasions, become lost in
several Japanese train stations and try things I am
not even sure how to pronounce. The internship
itself allowed me to learn the business practices of
an international organisation, a noteworthy
contrast to traditional Australian practices.
amount of time to spend abroad and I would
recommend it to anyone who wishes to develop
professionally and enjoy one incredible
experience.”
The Global Mobility Internship wasn’t all work. The
students were treated to a field trip to Hakone and
Mt. Fuji with student interns from other countries
including Denmark and the USA. Japan’s
International Cross-Cultural Committee (ICC) who
hosted the students in Japan shared some photos
with us.
Hakone: Hakone is less than 100 kilometres from Tokyo and
is part of the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park. Hakone is one of
the most popular destinations among Japanese and international
tourists and is famous for its hot springs, natural beauty and view
of nearby Mt. Fuji.
Shaun Gormley (middle back row) interned at Global Sky
Group in Tokyo during Winter semester.
The internship permitted me to understand what it
is like to work in an organisation experiencing real
opportunities and solving real problems. Internships
provide students with an avenue to apply, develop
and demonstrate the theory that we have been
taught in university for the last four years, not to
mention the networking opportunities.
Mt. Fuji: Mt. Fuji 5th station is the highest you can get by
transportation. From here most people start their trip to climb
Mt. Fuji. It takes 5 hours from the 5th station to get to the top
and only 2 hours to go down. It is an amazing location as you are
over or at the same level as the clouds are!
The global mobility internship enabled me to
completely immerse myself in a culture I knew little
about in a country whose language I could not
speak. I developed not only academically and
professionally, but also on a personal level.
Interning in Japan for one month was the perfect
Roppongi Tokyo: Students ended their day at a restaurant
in Roppongi, a famous night district in Tokyo.
Opening of the new Griffith Business
School building on Gold Coast campus
The 5th August 2014 will be remembered as a proud
day in the history of Griffith Business School. This
day marked the official opening of the $38 million
architecturally designed, seven-storey, state-of-theart new business building, representing a major
milestone in a remarkable journey of
transformation and growth for Griffith University
and the Gold Coast.
The ceremony was opened by Dr Graham Dillon
OAM DUniv, better known as Uncle Graham to the
Saltwater Communities and staff and students at
Griffith University, and is a Kombumerri Gold Coast
clan Elder.
Elder-in-Residence, Uncle Graham Dillon OAM DUniv
opened the ceremony
The keynote address was provided by Tourism
Australia Managing Director, and Griffith Business
graduate Mr John O’Sullivan (pictured below) who
said, “As a Griffith Business graduate, I am proud to
be part of a school which has earned its reputation
and has not been afraid to challenge the norm.”
John has since been named Griffith Business School
2014 Outstanding Alumnus of the Year.
Griffith University will play a vital role in the future
of the Gold Coast through the provision of skilled
and knowledgeable graduates and access to the
latest international business trends, data and
research. Providing world-leading facilities for
business education, research and industry
collaboration, the building will be a hub for the
University’s 4500 business students on the Gold
Coast.
Housing the Departments of Accounting, Finance
and Economics; International Business and Asian
Studies; Employment Relations and Human
Resources; Marketing; the Master of Business
Administration program and the School of
Government and International Relations, Griffith
Business School will set new parameters for tertiary
study on the Gold Coast.
Professor Michael Powell, Pro Vice Chancellor (Business) (pictured with
Griffith Business School opening plaque) was the visionary behind the
new Griffith Business School building.
Griffith Business School has been rated in the top
200 globally in the prestigious 2014 Academic
Rankings of World Universities (ARWU). The result
recognises Griffith Business School as one of
Australia’s best performing business schools and
among the top 2% world-wide. As one of only two
business and economics schools in Queensland
included in the top 200, the School continues to
affirm itself as a leader in business research and
education.
Spotlight on XiXi Lu
Griffith Business School’s Internship Program is
most fortunate to partner with industry from
diverse backgrounds. Large, small, local,
international, public and private, our Industry
Partners are pivotal to the success of our program.
This edition, our spotlight is on XiXi Lu.
XiXi Lu’s Paula Grant and Dani-elle Davidson
Griffith graduates Dani-elle Davidson and Paula
Grant are directors and co-owners of marketing and
corporate consultancy company XiXi Lu, that
specialises in premium marketing strategies and
operational support. Dani-elle (Bachelor of Laws
(Hons)/ Bachelor of International Business and
Graduate Diploma of Legal Practice) and Paula
(Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Commerce
majoring in Marketing) are sisters who started the
company in late 2012.
Within a year of commencing their operation,
success was upon them. In 2013, Dani-elle won the
prestigious Australian Anthill Magazine's '30 Under
30' competition, an award which recognises the
nation's top 30 entrepreneurs under the age of 30
for their outstanding entrepreneurial endeavours.
XiXi Lu was also named as one of the 'Top 100
Coolest Companies' in Australia in 2013 (Australian
Anthill Magazine).
In March this year, Dani-elle was named as a finalist
in the 'Young Small Business Champion
Entrepreneur' category of the Australian Small
Business Champion Awards. And in August, Paula
was announced the winner Australian Anthill
Magazine's '30 Under 30' competition for 2014.
Both Paula and Dani-elle consider giving back to
their community to be imperative. XiXi Lu is a strong
supporter of Griffith Business School’s Internship
Program, taking numerous interns across the
semesters and providing them with opportunities to
hone their skills in the areas of human resources,
marketing, public relations and international
business. Paula explains, “we were both so
fortunate to undertake Work Integrated Learning
Programs whilst studying at Griffith (for example,
the Innocence Project) and were able to grow and
develop considerably as a result. Not only does the
Internship Program enable students to apply their
education and skills to real world examples, but it
also allows students to work as part of a team and
mentally prepare for post University employment.”
Having enjoyed the growing success of XiXi Lu and
the opportunity to mentor young talent, as proud
Gen Y entrepreneurs Paula and Dani-elle were even
more committed to establishing a platform to
educate, motivate, network and reward aspiring
millennials. Accordingly, in July 2014 Paula and
Dani-elle launched the inaugural ‘Marketing to
Millennials Excellence Award’, which offered
secondary and tertiary students (and recent school
leavers) across Australia the opportunity to win a
trip to Singapore to meet with top business leaders
and investors and get insider access to one of the
world’s leading financial gateways.
Applicants were required to submit a ‘mindblowing’ marketing strategy or business
development plan for one of Australia’s fastest
growing Start Ups. The prize would be awarded to
the individual (or group of individuals) who
demonstrated extraordinary levels of innovation,
business development skills and creative flair.
Paula and Dani-elle stepped back from the judging
panel comprised of well-respected and experienced
members of the Australian business community.
They were delighted, as was the School, when they
were informed that Griffith Business School's very
own XiXi Lu intern Maria Medrano was the
inaugural winner. Congratulations Maria, well done.
Maria interned at XiXi Lu in Semester 2, 2014 along
with other Business School students, Andrea
Madrid, Lauren Radford, Lyndell Dewar and Sally
Gersekowski.
Maria Medrano (third from left) was the inaugural winner of the
Marketing to the Millennials Excellence Award. Also pictured are (L-R)
Andrea Madrid, Lauren Radford, Maria, Paula Grant, Lyndell Dewar,
Sally Gersekowski and Dani-elle Davidson.
Oliver is the first child to Paula and her husband Tim
who, along with one very proud Aunty, were
delighted to welcome their beautiful baby boy into
the world. A very big thank you to Paula for sharing
this moment with our Internship community.
Griffith Business School looks forward to welcoming
Oliver as a student of the School in coming years.
As XiXi Lu gets ready to celebrate their second
birthday, we would like to thank Dani-elle and Paula
for providing so many of our student interns with an
outstanding workplace experience and contributing
so significantly to the students’ education through
their hands-on mentoring. Thank you also to Danielle who, along with our other greatly valued
Industry Partner and alumnus Mark Bignell from
Bellissimo Coffee, was a panellist at the November
Alumni Breakfast and Networking event,
Entrepreneurship: A trap for the unready, with
Professor Evan Douglas and Suzette Sutton. The
event was chaired by Young Outstanding Alumnus
of the Year 2014, David Morgan, and was held at
Southport Sharks which also strongly supports both
the Internship Program and Griffith University.
Despite having such a big 12 months, more success
and rewards were in store for this Dynamic Duo,
none more so than the arrival of Oliver Edward
Grant on Tuesday 7th October at 7:34pm. Oliver
(pictured below) weighed in at a very healthy 8
pound 3 ounces, or for those who prefer metric,
3.71 kg.
(L-R) Mark Bignell (Bellissimo Coffee), Dani-elle David (XiXi Lu), Suzette
Sutton (City of Gold Coast) and Professor Evan Douglas (Griffith
Business School) were panellists at the Alumni Network Breakfast held
at Southport Sharks in late November. David Morgan (far right) chaired
the event.
ACEN Conference 2014
Several hundred members of the Australian
Collaborative Education Network (ACEN) descended
on Twin Towns Services Club, Coolangatta/Tweed
Heads, at the beginning of October to attend the
2014 Conference. Academic and professional staff
from across Australia and New Zealand with guests
from Canada and the U.S came together with the
theme being Work Integrated Learning: Building
Capacity.
The conference allowed for knowledge sharing of
the many facets of WIL including training and
preparation of students and industry supervisors,
global WIL experiences and graduate employability
on the global stage. Alan, who is Company Secretary
and Queensland chapter representative of ACEN,
chaired a panel discussion on “Strengthening
university and business partnerships for WIL: A
work in progress.” Alan was delighted to catch up
with many friends and colleagues both old and new.
to open in the new year, as well as establish a
Marketing Plan (Dallas) to link into the Club’s
current marketing strategy with a view to pursuing
the Club’s intent to create an events precinct.
Dallas Long and Alex MacInnes outside the soon to be completed Gold
Coast Event Centre at the Gold Coast Turf Club.
For Dallas, this meant that she was able to bring
together her knowledge gained from majoring in
marketing within the Bachelor of Business, as well
as her work experience in events management and
apply the theory and prior experience gained into
the practice of marketing a brand new events
precinct.
For Alex, this was an opportunity for him, as a
Sports Management major, to gain first-hand
experience working in a major Club within the
Racing Industry that is looking to diversify their
product from just racing to racing and events.
Alan took time out to catch up with Lois Sear, Placement Coordinator
for the School of Pharmacy (left), and Dr Jeanne McConachie (right)
Manager of Griffith’s Honours College.
Semester 2, 2014
Semester 2, 2014 saw Griffith Business School
welcome many new Industry Partners into the
Internship Program which in turn provided new and
exciting opportunities to our students. Dallas Long
and Alex MacInnes joined the Gold Coast Turf Club
to produce a Business Plan (Alex) for the new multimillion dollar Gold Coast Event Centre which is due
Alex MacInnes stands in front of the home straight at the Gold Coast
Turf Club, home to the world renowned Magic Millions Carnival.
Other new Industry Partners who provided
invaluable workplace education to our students
included: Career Development and Management
Guru; Miami Stainless; AWH; Logan City Council;
Computershare Australia; William Duncan State
School; Intercontinental Sanctuary Cove; Boystown;
Abt JTA; Palazzo Versace and Exclusively You Health
Studios.
As always, we were delighted to welcome back our
long time Industry Partners who included: City of
Gold Coast; Education Queensland International;
Research By Design; Surfers Paradise Alliance;
Suncorp; Trade and Investment Queensland;
Southport Sharks; Bellissimo Coffee; Exceptional
Tuition and Resumes and of course XiXi Lu.
This semester we also had the largest intake of
students into the Internship Program. This was
particularly pleasing for all concerned, and our
Industry Partners, old and new, were delighted with
the project outcomes. Students have reported that
the internship opportunities give them the
confidence they need to move into the workforce
upon graduation. This is because they gain the
opportunities to utilise the knowledge and skills
gained from the degree and put them into practice.
So often they surprise themselves as to how
adaptable they are. All of a sudden graduation is
not so scary after all. Thank you to our Industry
Partners and thank you to our students for working
so hard and giving your projects your very best
efforts. You make us very proud.
and networking opportunities. Their ongoing
willingness to give back to the School and its
students has paved the way for new graduates to
gain the confidence they need to commence
carving out their own careers.
Our list of Business School alumni continues to grow
in reach and influence, currently standing at about
28,000 across the globe and working in a large
variety of industries. Each year, the School and our
greater community come together at the annual
Alumni Gala Dinner and Awards Night to recognise
and honour the remarkable achievements and
successes of our alumni.
This year, Where there’s a WIL was delighted to be
present when our very own David Morgan took out
the honours of being named Young Outstanding
Alumnus of the Year. David, an MBA graduate and
CEO of City Venue Management, has been with the
Internship Program since its conception.
Congratulations David on this well-deserved
recognition and thank you so much for your
contribution to the success of our Internship
Program.
Alan’s Nathan Internship class came together for an impromptu photo
opportunity.
Griffith Business School Alumni Gala
Dinner and Awards Night
So often we highlight in Where there’s a WIL just
how important our Business School alumni are to
the ongoing success of our Internship Program. Not
only do our alumni provide invaluable educational
workplace experiences to our interns, they also
provide additional mentoring
David Morgan, Young Outstanding Alumnus of the Year 2014
Congratulations also to John O’Sullivan, who was
awarded 2014 Outstanding Alumnus. As current
Managing Director of Tourism Australia, John is also
a Bachelor of Leisure Management graduate and
enjoys returning to the School to attend numerous
events including the opening of the new Griffith
Business School building as highlighted earlier.
Congratulations John. Please click here to read
about David and John’s spectacular contributions,
achievements and successes.
Congratulations to Dr Alan Blackman
Deputy Vice Chancellor Professor Martin Betts (second left) enjoyed his
first Gala Dinner and took the opportunity to meet our industry
partners (L-R) Peter Morichivitis (City of Gold Coast), Sue Holz
(Research by Design) and Ray Matta (Trade and Investment
Queensland).
Students travelling abroad
In Edition 4 of Where there’s a WIL, mention was
made of the New Colombo Plan (NCP) initiated by
the Australian Government to provide students
with an opportunity to gain international
educational experiences. In the latest round of
funding, Griffith Business School has been highly
successful in gaining further funding from the NCP
which will allow 34 of our Australian undergraduate
Business students to receive grants to travel to
Seoul, Beijing, Bali, Jakarta and Singapore in 2015.
As 2014 comes to a close, we have five students
who have already travelled to the Ruhr Valley of
Germany to undertake internships in their various
discipline areas. We will have another five students
leaving for Seoul in Korea after Christmas who will
be in the care of Program Director Jae-Hoon Jung
from the Centre for Australian Studies at Yonsei
University. We wish these students every happiness
and success during their time away and look
forward to hearing about their experiences when
they return in time for Semester 1, 2015.
Travelling abroad for internships in Germany and Korea include:
Back row L – R – Dale Bowden, Alex MacInnes, David Schmidtke, Pui Yu
Chan and Alan
From row L – R – Kym Clarke, Melanie Gee, Sophie Cragg, Ryan Villani
and Program Director Jae-Hoon Jung
In news hot off the press, Alan has been named the
recipient of the 2014 Pro Vice Chancellor's
Community Service Award in recognition of his
service to the Griffith Business School community.
In September, at the Annual Conference and
General Meeting in Seoul, Republic of Korea, Alan
was awarded the designation of International
Council of Management Consulting Institutes
(ICMCI) Academic Fellow, and was appointed an
"Emeritus Life Member" of the Institute of
Management Consultants (IMC) - Australia.
Thank you to our Internship Community
With another year almost behind us, we look
forward to 2015 with much anticipation and
excitement. We take this opportunity to thank our
many colleagues behind the scenes who support
the Internship Program and our students
throughout the year. Thank you to Trudy Young
who manages our course enrolments, timetabling
and assessment processes. Thank you to the Global
Mobility Unit for working with us to give our
students the best international experiences
available. Thank you to our Pro Vice Chancellor
Professor Michael Powell and our Deans, Professor
Lorelle Frazer, Professor Linda Trenberth and
Associate Professor Peter Woods whose strong
belief in, and unwavering support of, the Internship
Program has allowed us to go from strength to
strength. Most of all, thank you to our Industry
Partners and our students who make the Internship
Program possible.
Wishing you all a very
Merry Christmas
And the Happiest of New Years
Best wishes, Alan, Lynlea and Kiri