The Global Impact Industry Project is designed to provide real-world experience to UC Business School students, while at the same time enabling businesses interested in overseas expansion to benefit from their unique knowledge and expertise.
It is an in-person programme that involves a mix of domestic and international students working together in teams to undertake market research for Canterbury businesses considering entering a new international market or overseas businesses looking to enter the New Zealand market.
Teams will submit a report and give a presentation to the client at the end of the programme, designed to inform the expansion strategy of the organisation.
The final presentations will be judged by an expert from UC Business School, with input from the client, and the winning teams will get a share of a $1,500 cash prize pool.
The Global Impact Industry Project is a great opportunity to gain experience and learn more about working with a New Zealand business. It also enables you to demonstrate what you can bring to local businesses. For example, a 2021 report found that 61% of South Island businesses surveyed believe that Asia is important to their future, but 57% identified a lack of language skills as a barrier and 51% identified a lack market knowledge. You are uniquely placed to fill this gap, and the Global Impact Industry Project allows you to showcase this.
“I'm from China and because of my real-life experience, I know about Chinese e-commerce platforms, I know how Chinese companies do marketing campaigns. And when I get to New Zealand it is a totally different commerce environment, but I can apply something I learned from the Chinese market to the New Zealand market, and this can provide the company with some innovation. By combining different models of thinking, it can create really interesting and creative ideas.”
- Jenny Jin, 2022 programme participant.
Read Jenny's full story here.
The Global Impact Industry Project is a great opportunity to gain experience working in an international team on a real-life international business project. This is essential whatever your major, and whether you plan to launch your career in New Zealand or abroad, given how global and interconnected the world of business is today.
“As a first year student doing the Global Industry Impact program the entire experience was incredibly valuable. Through this program I linked my academic study to real world experiences. In this program I applied knowledge I was learning in lectures in real time. I also formed amazing connections with my group members and mentors along with our clients! I would highly recommend this program to any students who want to gain insight into the business environment.”
- Ella Douglas, 2024 programme participant.
This is an unpaid programme towards which you are expected to dedicate at least 70 hours of your time. Its main purpose is to build your professional experience and skills.
The programme runs throughout Semester Two and has been designed specifically to not clash with the busiest academic periods of the semester.
2025 Key Dates:
- Programme launch - Friday, 25 July 2025, 3 - 6pm
- First client meeting - Week 3, day and time to be confirmed based on availability
- Advisor meeting - Week 3, day and time to be confirmed based on availability
- Speed mentoring - Friday, 8 August 2025, 3 - 6pm
- Second client Meeting – Term break, day and time to be confirmed based on availability
- Advisor meeting – Term break, day and time to be confirmed based on availability Presentation workshop, Friday, 19 September 2025, 3 - 6pm
- Third client meeting- Week 8, day and time to be confirmed based on availability
- Advisor meeting - Week 9, day and time to be confirmed based on availability
- Final presentations - Friday, 3 October 2025, time to be confirmed based on availability
You need to meet ALL the requirements listed below to be able to apply for this internship:
- Current University of Canterbury student
- 120 points completed at UC (or equivalent at a partner institution) of which at least 30 points must be from Commerce courses (any two MGMT, ACCT, ECON, FINC, INFO, BSNS, or MKTG papers)
- At least one semester completed at UC with a B- GPA (or equivalent)
In addition to meeting the eligibility criteria above, you must participate in a selection exercise, which will be the basis of final selection.
Selection exercise date and time: Friday, 16 May 2025, 3 - 5pm
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