UQ exchange student Anne-Laure Michele is learning all about the national sport of Australia through a work-experience placement at AFL Queensland.
Anne-Laure, a French exchange student currently studying Sports Management, has been assisting the Game Development Department within AFL Queensland to improve the Volunteer Management Plan and assist with the monthly AFL Juniors newsletter and general club governance.
The plan aims to increase the number of volunteers within the community.
“This internship has been a great experience for me to learn more about my chosen career by providing ‘real-life’ experience with a short term commitment, enabling me to strengthen my background in the sport management field,” she said.
“I have learned to work within a team and it has enabled me to improve my English language skills.
“I’m keen on sports in France, especially soccer and rugby union, so I was glad to discover AFL and now, of course, I follow the Brisbane Lions.”
Aaron Hall, AFL Qlueensland’s Club Development Officer, said that both Anne-Laure and Marlies Riepl, another exchange student from Austria, brought an interesting perspective to the game through new ideas, energy as well as a different culture and sporting environment.
“The girls picked up our Australian culture quickly and worked within our club development department, providing support to our 42 Brisbane Juniors clubs,” he said.
“While our students were actively learning the business sporting environment, it enabled our organisation to increase our capacity to create new initiatives, support our valuable volunteers and further build upon the quality club environments for our AFL participants."
Associate Professor Ian Patterson, who is the Head of Sport and Leisure for UQ’s School of Tourism, said it was important for students to apply the theory and content learned in class in a practical setting.
Heather Andrews from UQ’s Faculty of Business, Economics and Law Employment Services was responsible for coordinating the placement, and said that the opportunity had provided the students not only with a chance to gain valuable international experience in their field of choice, but also to experience the local culture through this uniquely Australian sport.
Anne-Laure and Marlies Riepl were placed in the internship as part of the UQ Faculty of Business, Economics and Law’s Internship Program which has a dedicated Employment Service responsible for placing students into degree-related internships.
Media Contact: Nicole Andronicus Employment Services Project Manager, UQ Faculty of Business, Economics and Law, telephone 07 3346 9249
