Establishing an international internship scheme for journalism students

Abstract

This paper explores an Australian attempt at initiating, developing and running an innovative international study and work placement program for journalism students. The Journalism Professional PracliculIJ (JPP) - run by the non-profit ACIClS educational consortium - sent 13 students from five Australian universities 10 Indonesia for a six-week pilot sludyinternship program in 2002. This trip provided the participants with opportunities 10 learn rudimentary-level Indollesianlanguage, to develop their journalistic skills in an international context and to explore howjournalists work in a different cultural framework. The program had certain problems and limitations, but it drew praise from all stakeholders, including the student interns, the Indonesian host media
organisations and Australian Embassy staff. This paper discusses the practical and pedagogical issues involved in establishing and operating such a program. The paper also
explores the viability of such expensive and labour-intensive international programs, especially in the light of attempts to continue the program in the wake of terrorist attacks ib Indonesia and the war against Iraq.