With the pandemic putting a halt on some in-person community engagement activities, some SUSS students are serving the community through internships with social enterprises.
For Luth Faris, a second-year student from SUSS' Bachelor of Science in Marketing with Minor Programme, the Virtual Internship Programme (VIP) allowed him to make global connections despite the travel restrictions and border closure. With a desire to gain practical experience in his field of study, Luth took up a marketing internship with MAGWAI, a social enterprise based in the Philippines that sells sustainable personal care products.
The VIP allowed Luth to accumulate real-life work experience and gave him the space to learn new skills.
“My internship with MAGWAI taught me that applying concepts from the textbook alone does not sufficiently prepare you for the workplace. Unlike ideas proposed during assignments and exams, the ideas proposed in the real world need to be executable. I learned to consider the usefulness and feasibility of my ideas and if they are in alignment with the business’s strategic direction.”
The internship broadened Luth’s global perspective as he realised the importance of staying local while thinking global, and gained insights about the Philippines’ consumer market.
Luth finds the connections made through his internship invaluable. The VIP allows him to expand his personal and professional network by making connections he had to collaborate with.
“My area of interest lies primarily in entrepreneurship, and I do want to start my own business in the future. My supervisor also mentors other social entrepreneurs in the Philippines, and offered to provide me advice if I had any social entrepreneurship idea that I wanted to run through her. I have gained a mentor from my VIP experience even before I begin my entrepreneurship journey!” shared Luth.