High calibre of applicants sees two chosen for Melbourne internship
20 Sep 2007

A new internship programme with Australian- based strategy, franchising and international consulting firm DC Strategy has been expanded from one to two positions after the company’s head was bowled over by the calibre of the applicants. DC Strategy’s co-founder and Managing Director, Adrian McFedries, was at UC earlier this month to personally oversee the selection process.

The internship programme has been set up to provide students from the College of Business and Economics with the opportunity to spend the summer working in Melbourne. It is the first international internship offered at UC and reflects the commitment of Mr McFedries to his alma mater. Eight finalists were interviewed by Mr McFedries and colleague John Varvarigos and the final three were given 15 hours overnight to prepare and present a case study.

In the end, as a result of the high calibre of the students, DC Strategy decided to award internships to both Peter Young and Briar Harte.

Peter and Briar will now go to Melbourne for the summer where they will spend three months working alongside experienced professionals on client projects. Return air travel to Melbourne will be provided, they will be paid at market rates and both have the opportunity to secure full-time positions in the firm effective immediately. Peter, who is in his final year of a BCom majoring in information systems and strategic management, said the hardest part of the selection process was standing with the other two finalists awaiting the decision.

“It felt like being in the final boardroom of The Apprentice. At no point during the process had they mentioned the prospect of two interns, so it really was a great surprise. It will be good as Briar and I will both be on the same learning curve and facing similar challenges, so having someone else there will be really helpful during the first few weeks of settling in.”

Peter said he was looking forward to learning new skills. “From everything I’ve heard about DCS, I will get involved in some really exciting and challenging projects. Most of all, I am looking forward to working in a team full of passionate and experienced specialists who I can learn from:’

Briar, who is in the final year of a BA/BCom majoring in finance, mass communications and marketing, said she was excited to be given the opportunity to work at DC Strategy. “From this internship I hope to gain some very valuable business skills and test the water in the field of consulting to make sure this is the area I want to work in. I am keenly interested in small business development and feel that

DC Strategy is a fantastic place to develop this interest.” Mr McFedries said Briar and Peter would be given the opportunity to put into practice the theory developed during their time at UC. From day one they would be client-focused, working alongside senior managers of small to medium businesses and some of the region’s largest corporate groups helping them to grow their business. Mr McFedries decided to offer the internship programme to UC students because he knew there were “good, down-to-earth, smart people here’

“We are a firm of very practical people. I think more down-to-earth people come out of some of the smaller cities in the world such as Christchurch.”

From next year the company will also fund a new scholarship worth $3500 for third year BCom students studying finance or accounting.
Mr McFedries would like to see more businesses work with universities to help bridge the gap between theory and practical application.
“It is a two-way street. Universities need to get out and involve businesses a bit more and businesses need to get off their backsides and do a bit more to transition students into the work environment:’

University of Canterbury Chronicle Volume 42, No.15

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