As a leading Australian bank in the Indo-Pacific region, National Australia Bank (NAB) is committed to supporting the Australian Government's New Colombo Plan (NCP) program.
In 2016, NAB offices in Tokyo, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Mumbai will host NCP interns across multiple disciplines of commerce, finance, marketing, human resources and law.
NAB's Tokyo branch was the first to receive NCP students, hosting 2014 NCP scholars Patrick Gan and Cindy Huang.
Patrick was studying a Bachelor of Business and Commerce, and a Bachelor of Laws at Western Sydney University, and went on to study at Meiji University, one of Japan's elite private universities in Tokyo.
Undertaking a 10-week placement with NAB, Patrick gained experience working in the Portfolio Management Origination and Institutional Banking Client Coverage teams in Tokyo, using his Japanese language, business and finance skills to assist the team with research, analysis and credit submissions.
Cindy Huang, a Bachelor of Arts (Japanese Studies) and Bachelor of Laws from Macquarie University, undertook studies at Waseda University, Tokyo, and a six-week internship with NAB's Marketing team. Cindy was interested in learning about marketing to complement her interest in start-up businesses.
Kohei Tsushima, General Manager for NAB's Japan Branch, said: "It's really great to have such enthusiastic students. They are very smart, fast learners and it's nice to have an exchange of ideas from Australian students which contributes to the NAB culture and office in Japan. In fact, it's great that we are all learning from each other."
NAB's Shanghai offices recently welcomed NCP scholar Stephanie Otten, who is undertaking a double degree in Commerce and Asia Pacific Studies at the Australian National University.
Stephanie is undertaking industry strategy analysis as part of a three-month part-time internship with NAB, while studying at Fudan University.
Stephanie said: "I can't believe how much I am learning here and I know I can apply this to my career. Having studied an international business major, it is fascinating to be working in China and see how the lessons apply to actually doing business. For example, the emergence of regulatory authorities is something that was covered briefly in one class, however I was unaware of how prevalent regulators are and the level of reporting required in the banking industry. It's interesting to see how much there is to learn on the ground that cannot be learnt in a textbook from Australia, especially in a country such as China where culture and context play such a large role in doing business."
Industry Practicums
A team of Charles Sturt University NCP mobility grant students recently visited NAB's Hong Kong office to participate in a study experience with the Global Institutional Banking division. Learning about agribusiness, business management and market strategies in Asia, the team delivered a comprehensive industry analysis to NAB upon completion of their three-week placement.
Peter Coad, NAB Executive General Manager for International Branches, said: "During their time with NAB, our NCP participants are exposed to the market, product and customer insights that come from our 40 years plus of business presence in Asia and they work as part of our team of 500 staff in the region, who are focussed on helping our customers grow their businesses."
"We are confident we can provide our NCP participants with unique and valuable development opportunities. We are committed to nurturing the NCP students to support them in developing the skills and understanding that will enable them to become Asia-ready Australian leaders in their own right," added Peter.
Article credit: NAB / DFAT.