Inez Tang is a UWA Bachelor of Psychology student, set to graduate in December, who undertook a rewarding internship with Alzheimer’s Research Australia (ARA), helping the organisation collect valuable data to support their work.
“I heard about the internship program through a few friends, and it sparked my interest… I felt it was the perfect opportunity to gain experience and add value to the last semester of my degree,” Inez said.
“My project was to set up a system that could measure participant satisfaction and feedback on ARA’s research and clinical trials. It was rewarding to see all my research efforts come to life; by the end of my internship, I had created a tool that could be used by ARA, and it was exciting to see that my contribution had made a tangible difference for the organisation.”
The internship exposed Inez to a workplace environment and the administration side of research, allowing her to put pre-existing skills into practice and build on them in a professional setting.
“The most challenging aspect of the internship was building a comprehensive understanding of ARA and all the research they do. It took me a couple of weeks to gain a working understanding of each trial, including the goals, processes, researchers and participants involved, but it was integral to completing the project successfully,” she said.
“I think the work I undertook will benefit the community ARA serves, specifically the participants involved in research programs. The feedback mechanism I developed will allow patients to share their thoughts and feelings, in turn enabling improvements to be made for future clinical trials.”
Professor Vicky Vass, CEO of ARA, said that Inez had impressed teams across all areas of the organisation with her ability to think outside the box.
“Inez very quickly understood the complexities of the organisation and the importance of the research that we undertake,” Professor Vass said.
“She has left us with a great set of tools that she developed during the project. These will allow us to capture and act on feedback from our research and clinical trials participants."
While her internship project had been highly relevant to her degree, Inez also said it had opened her eyes to active citizenship more broadly.
“I realised the importance of going out into your community to seek opportunities to help or volunteer, as well as how easy it can be to get involved – we just have to take the opportunities when they arise!”