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Three students selected for internships with Oxfam

For three students from the Faculty of Business and Economics, the next six months will present some of the greatest challenges of their university life. Sam Jones, Sandra Kowalski and Alexander Cunningham have been selected for internship positions with Monash partner, Oxfam Australia.

The students will participate in one of Oxfam's key global programs, the Oxfam International Youth Partnership (OIYP) - a network of young people leading efforts for change around the world.

Every three years, Oxfam stages a Kaleidoscope event, which brings together 300 OIYP participants.

The Dean Professor Stephen King said the opportunity was one the faculty had embraced. "The students are given credit for the work they do with Oxfam. They will be in Sydney for a semester to plan the summit and will then travel to India to participate. To know that our students are contributing to solutions for global challenges and applying their skills and knowledge makes us very proud of them and their endeavours."

The students will adopt leadership roles in the areas of logistics, event management and communications and will spend 14 weeks with the Oxfam planning team in Sydney before travelling to New Delhi for a total of three weeks.

Double degree student Sam Jones said while in New Delhi the students would supervise teams of local volunteers. "I am looking forward to the challenge. To be able to step up and apply what I have learnt at Monash in some small way will be fantastic. I am looking forward to learning more about how Oxfam operates and the wonderful work it does both here and overseas," Sam said.

Sandra said she felt fortunate that Monash had provided such an amazing opportunity for students.

"I believe it will be a great foot in the door to be able to complete my degree with not only knowledge but also experience. I'm extremely excited to be able to work with Oxfam and challenge myself and to be able to fly to India to carry out the event is a bonus!" Sandra said.

Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education) Professor Adam Shoemaker said the partnership with Oxfam was providing students with incredible opportunities. "The Oxfam International Youth Parliament is one more way in which students can benefit from the Monash experience. Our partnership with Oxfam continues to grow and develop and as a result, we're continuing to build on our many options available to students through the Passport program," Professor Shoemaker said.

"I wish the students well and know that their contribution to the event will be valued. That they're able to participate in the program while also receiving academic credit for their work is a great example of how an education at Monash also offers life experience."

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