GRIP, Internships Abroad Launching Into Newness

Business in Sydney, Australia

My first few days as an intern were really exciting. I work for Dr. Massimo Garbuio at the University of Sydney Business School alongside another GRIP intern, Haerin. We met Massimo (the workplace is much more casual in Australia and people often prefer to be called by their first name) to discuss three projects he was eager to start. One involved comparing how ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) scores are rated for companies. Another involved researching how abductive reasoning can make investors more successful. The last project involved tracking lithium stocks. Massimo really values what we’re interested in researching too, so he asked us which projects we were more interested in. As I study cognitive science at Penn, the abductive reasoning project seemed much more up my alley, but one of my goals this summer is to learn more about the business industry, so I chose to start on the ESG project. I’m so glad I made that decision because I’ve already learned more in less than two weeks than I knew coming into the internship. ESG ratings help keep companies accountable in terms of sustainability among other things, and they have the potential to impact the business industry significantly moving forward. I’m currently looking into how different rating agencies determine these ESG scores which, as it turns out, vary quite a bit. It’s really exciting to be researching a topic that is becoming increasingly relevant in today’s world.

Something I love about the Australian workplace culture is how friendly and welcoming people are. Massimo has made a tremendous effort to introduce me to his fellow co-workers, and this week he even took us out to lunch in Sydney to get to know us better. There’s always lots of open communication, so even when tasks get tricky or unclear, it’s generally easy to clear things up and get back on the right track. This atmosphere has really helped me settle into my internship well.

Being a major city, there are always a lot of cool opportunities in Sydney. Tomorrow, there is a conference at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney that Haerin and I are attending for work. It’s the S&P Global Sustainable1 Summit 2022. S&P is one of the rating agencies we’re looking into, and some of the events actually discuss ESG scores and many of the ideas we’re researching. This should be an incredible opportunity to hear about the work we’re doing from professionals in the field.

Overall, my internship experience so far has been great. There have definitely been ups and downs as I’ve gotten adjusted to a new country, new city, new field of study, and new cultural expectations, but all this newness has been the nudge outside my comfort zone I was looking for when I applied to GRIP.