Banjan Lanzona is studying a Master of Business Analytics at the University of Western Australia (UWA), and recently gained more than expected through an internship with the McCusker Centre for Citizenship.
Though he applied for the internship program to improve his employability and gain connections and experience in a professional setting in Australia, Ban said he also ended up with a new appreciation for work that aims to benefit the community.
Ban was matched to a role with Landgate as a Strategy Assistant Intern, where he was tasked with helping the State Government agency explore opportunities to harness the Metaverse and Web 3.0.
“As an aspiring business consultant, an internship is a huge competitive advantage, and I also wanted to understand how businesses in Australia work, and how different they are from how I worked previously in the Philippines.
“The most rewarding part of the internship, however, was being a part of a community that strives towards a goal, and being able to work on something that could potentially help the whole of Western Australian in the future,” he said.
Ban worked on a report exploring how Landgate could be affected by emerging technologies, the Metaverse and blockchain, and how the agency could benefit from the opportunities these technologies presented, and he was able to present on his report to staff including senior leaders at the end of his internship.
“I was treated equally to any staff during my time with Landgate, sitting beside anyone regardless of position, conversing with them about their weekend, shared interests (like a love for dogs), and the potential to help the community through our work.
“I gained a critical perspective on public sector work through the internship. In private companies, we usually deal with businesses or individuals on a specific level of services or output, however, having a sense of belonging to something bigger in the public sector seems to give a different kind of fulfillment, a sense that you’re helping the people around you, even if it’s just a little bit by helping the government make better decisions,” he said.
Landgate Strategy, Innovation and Improvement Senior Manager Sharon Dignard was Ban’s internship supervisor.
“Internships are an important way for students and graduates to get used to work environments, and to understand the diversity of roles that they may not have considered, like working in the public sector,” Ms Dignard said.
“Ban got to explore emerging trends, collaborate with our teams and apply his own logic to come up with new solutions and ideas we can now take away, monitor and trigger action when necessary.”
Ban said that the internship experience provided UWA students with opportunities to learn about themselves and their capabilities.
“The McCusker Centre program challenges you to go beyond. During my internship, a fellow intern and I suggested gathering apprehensions and opinions about how employees think of emerging technologies; we were able to run with this idea and add more insights on the technology readiness of employees for the senior leaders.
“The experience I had with Landgate goes beyond the knowledge I have received from working on the report. I learned that I would need to improve my communication skills in informal settings… Relationships are as important as being present in the office.”