Workplace culture impresses intern

RUSSIAN graduate, Anastasiia Osmolovkaia spent July in Ballarat as part of Rotary internship program, ‘Watch and Learn and Do.’

Having studied Business at Irkutsk State University in Eastern Siberia, Ms Osmolovkaia chose to travel to Australia over the US and Canada.

“My Professor is a member of Rotary, so I’m here because he organised the internship for me,” she said.

“I wanted to come here because it’s really far from Russia. It’s unique and I wanted to learn more about the culture. Australia is so far from most of the world, so it’s better to know it from locally living here.

“Australia is not too hot, it’s quite comfortable. The weather in Ballarat is like Spring in Russia. There’s a lot of space here, the houses are cosy, the roads are big, there’s lots of trees, parks and green space. In Russia, people mostly live in apartments,” she said.

Spending time shadowing staff members at various businesses and institutions across the city, including the council, Sovereign Hill, the Ballarat Mechanics’ Institute, Selkirk Bricks and the Ballarat Foundation, Ms Osmolovkaia discovered the ins and outs of how they operate.

Real areas of passionate inquiry for her were information technology and management.

“I asked people a lot about how they work, but especially the IT software they use because when I learn more about it, I can use it in my country,” she said.

“I also asked how the management works within the company to understand what type of management I like the most. I had really different experiences and I realised what I like the most.

“IT is one of the ways of management that I like. It really makes work simpler.”

Ms Osmolovkaia felt very welcome within Ballarat’s broader workplace culture.

“I spent two weeks at Sovereign Hill in marketing, retail and volunteers. At the council I spent time at the Botanic Gardens, the Animal Shelter, the work depot, library and the town hall.

“I like that work in all the places has been really collective,” she said. “People talk with each other and they do their work together. There’s teamwork.

“They use really modern IT software, like SharePoint, and everybody can see what they have to do or have done. There is a team spirit, it’s really nice. When people go to work, they feel like a family,” she said.

If Ms Osmolovkaia can successfully take the culture home with her, she will be happy.

“In some companies at home there is the same spirit, but in big companies, it’s really difficult to achieve that.”

Upon returning home, Ms Osmolovkaia will write a report about her internship experience, but first, she is enjoying some holiday time in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane.