GRIP, Research Abroad Research Perspectives

The University of Sydney - Australia

This summer I am interning at the United States Studies Centre (USSC) at the University of Sydney as a research assistant and it has been one of the most academically challenging and rewarding experiences I have had. As a political science major, I have often found myself attracted to studying American politics and this research position has allowed me to not only learn more about American politics but has also taught me how Australia views the US and how its goals and actions have been interpreted through an Australian perspective. Additionally, I have been able to contribute to discussions on American politics to Australian natives to help better inform them on what some Americans think about the current political climate. Overall, the work at the USSC has allowed me to have a lot of intellectual freedom to be able to do my own research in conjunction with working on significant research projects on American politics.

Thus far, I have worked on three exciting and meaningful projects at the USSC:

2020 “Megaproject” database: The first project I have been assigned is the 2020 project (ongoing) where I research and follow 4 of the 20 US presidential candidates. Every week, I, along with the other interns at the office, check the polls, news, and any press releases the candidates offer in order to be able to understand the debates and important topics that are being brought up in the American political scene. It has been fascinating to be able to track the candidates, learn their platforms, and all the latest news surrounding their campaign because the election is coming up and it is important to me to be an informed voter.  

Fintech Hubs in the US: For this project, each intern was given two cities to research in regard to their fintech industry and if the city could be classified as a fintech hub. It has been very intellectually rewarding considering that I had no prior knowledge about the fintech industry and now I have been able to learn more about how cities, companies, and universities have attempted to improve their infrastructure to support fintech in their respective city. Additionally, the project will be presented to the NSW Government to offer recommendations for research into fintech which makes the work feel more rewarding to me.      

Social Security in the US vs Australia: One other large project I have been working on is my own op-ed. Historically, most interns at the USSC get published on the centre’s website by writing their own op-ed over the course of their internship. Therefore, I have been working with my supervisor to write an op-ed on a subject of my choice that relates to the US and how it may relate to Australian politics. After thinking about current events, I decided to write my piece on social security in both countries because there has been a greater concern for the depletion of social security funds with the growing population of US citizens over the age of 65. This project is personally very exciting for me because I will be able to look at the Australian social security system and learn not only how it works but what ideological beliefs make the system possible for Australia and how it could offer policy solutions for the US.