By Jamie Taylor, BA Business Management
Over the summer of 2019, I decided to do something with my time to make a difference! I would be spending 6 weeks out in Indonesia working towards making the world a better place!
My placement was with an organisation called ‘AIESEC’ that focuses on achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s), my project was called ‘E-Millennials’ and this targeted ‘SDG 8’- ‘Decent Work and Economic Growth’. The main aim of the project was to promote ‘Entrepreneurship and Eco-tourism’ throughout Indonesia and make a difference to help improve people’s lives.
There were 11 other people in my project team, and this gave our team a real diversity with us all being from different countries from around the world including: China, India, Egypt and Canada just to name a few. There was a belief in what we were all trying to achieve, with us all working together towards the same goal! The project was split up into 3 main components that consisted of ‘School Visits’, ‘Company Visits’ and finally an ‘Eco-Tourism Consultancy Project’ on Tidung island (island off the coast of Jakarta).
School Visits
The School visits were so rewarding as it gave me the opportunity to educate and 
engage with the Indonesian youth about the SDG’s as well as finding out what their future career ambitions were. Of course, I needed a translator as my Bahasa (Indonesian language) wasn’t the best but ‘Google Translate’ quickly became my new best friend. I had some really positive discussions with the students, and it was great to hear about their different opinions and perspectives!
Company Visits
I had the opportunity to visit a number of companies in Jakarta. This resulted in me waking up at 5am and having to catch a 2-hour train but it allowed me to experience what the Indonesian daily commute was like. To give some context, think of the London Underground at rush hour and times that by five!
Some of the companies that I visited were Nutrifood (Indonesian Healthy Food Manufacturer) as well as Qlausa (Digital marketing agency) these were great learning experiences and gave me the chance to spend time with industry professionals. I found it particularly beneficial to analyse the differences between businesses in the UK and Indonesia.
Visiting Unilever Indonesia was a fantastic experience and it was insightful to learn about all of the Indonesian brands and take part in a brand activation exercise. However, visiting the in-house Magnum Café was definitely a highlight! I highly recommend trying out one of the milkshakes- delicious!
Tourism Consultancy Project
For the final stage of the project I spent a week on Tidung Island. The real value of this trip was to experience the Eco-Tourism opportunities on the island and to give feedback on them to the tourism board. Highlights included, the Coral Reef Restoration Program, the Mangrove Plantation and the Snorkelling trip! At the end of the week I had to give a presentation to the local committee and produce a ‘SWOT analysis’ of tourism on the island!
Overall, this was a fantastic experience and a rewarding way to spend my summer. I would highly recommend AIESEC to anyone as they have programs all around the world and you will be sure to find one that best suits your interest!
‘Go out there and do something that will make your future-self proud’