The Executive Shadowing Program is an integral part of the School’s Professional Development (MGTS3004), which aims to bridge the gap between classroom learning and practical work experience. Within the context of a number of professional development opportunities, including industry guest lectures and case studies, the Executive Shadowing Program allows the School’s highest achievers to undertake exclusive placement in an industry sector of their choice.

These placements do not take the form of work experience or a traditional internship, but rather a unique opportunity to work with a senior industry figure and to observe organizational functioning at a more strategic level.

Whilst students anticipate that their first position after university will most likely be closer to a line or supervisory level position, this program gives these students the opportunity to see the world from a more senior viewpoint and should serve as a major benefit in their professional development as they progress through their career. Equally, our partners enjoy access to the cream of Queensland's graduates in the field, as well as all associated promotional activities associated with profiling the program.
 

•  FAQs for Students
•  FAQs for Industry
•  Former ESP Students
•  Partnership Incentives
•  School of Tourism Industry Partnership Team
   

 

 

 

 

 

FAQ’s for Students
 
For more information please click on the following link: ESP Student Info pack. Answers to students most frequently asked questions are listed here, please peruse the list before contacting staff as it is likely that someone else has had a similar enquiry query in the past. If you do not find a suitable response to your question please forward your question to exec.shadowing@uq.edu.au. Students who have been invited to participate in the 2009 Executive Shadowing Program should download the Student Information Pack before seeking further information.

I've heard about the Executive Shadowing Program - what is it?

What is the difference between MGTS3000 and MGTS3004?

What do I need to do to qualify for MGTS3004 (the executive shadowing placement)?

How do I apply for MGTS3004?

What can I do to prepare for to apply for the Program?

Do I receive academic credit?

What sort of a time commitment will I need to make?

Are the hours flexible? Is the placement be structured around lecture times and my other commitments?

How does the Program affect my normal class work?

What happens if I am having hassles on the placement?

What employment opportunities might I gain from the Program?

What other benefits does the Program offer?

Is the placement paid?

Can I find a placement of my own and participate in the Executive Shadow Program?

I've heard about the Executive Shadowing Program - what is it?
The Executive Shadow Program is a unique work placement program which is competitively offered to students in the School of Tourism enrolled in the final year Professional Development course. Under this program students spend quality time ‘shadowing’ a senior manager in industry, or government in their industry of interest: tourism, travel, hospitality, events, sport and leisure.

What is the difference between MGTS3000 and MGTS3004?
MGTS3000 is a core ‘professional development’ course for the School of Tourism’s BIHTM program and an elective for students undertaking the BBus program. MGTS3004 offers students the opportunity to undertake an elite executive shadow placement, however, aside from this placement MGTS3004 is identical to MGTS3000.

What do I need to do to qualify for the Program?
To be eligibility for the executive shadow placement students must:

1. Be in their final (graduating) year of your program

2. Be amongst the top 30 or so academic achievers (e.g. minimum GPA of 5.25 in 2008)

3. Possess relevant work experience commensurate with the type of placement being sought

4. Demonstrate high level interpersonal and professional communication skills

5. Be cognisant of, and committed to, the responsibilities involved in undertaking the placement.

How do I apply for MGTS3004?
Students do not apply or enrol themselves into MGTS3004. If you are eligible for the program then prior to your final year of study the School will contact you directly by student email to invite you to apply for the program. The School reassesses student eligibility after Semester II results have been processed and if required will send a second round of invitations later in the year. Initial eligibility is determined by GPA. Once students accept their invitation there are a number of processes, including statements of interest, attendance of information sessions and interviews at the beginning of semester, that the students go through before securing placements. Once a student successfully secures a placement, the School manages the transfer of their enrolment from MGTS3000 to MGTS3004.

What can I do to prepare to apply for the Program?
Make sure you have a serviceable resume (Student Services can help). This will include being able to list work experiences relevant to the type of placement you seek.

Do I get academic credit?
The Executive Shadow Program is an embedded component of an academic course: MGTS3004 - Professional Development Placement. Your industry host will evaluate your performance and your major piece of assessment will be largely based upon your placement experience.

What sort of a time commitment will I need to make?
The placement guidelines stipulate that students must commit 60-80 hours to the placement, however, our experience tells us that students probably need to 'budget' at least another 20 hours for resume preparation, internal briefing meetings, interviews (both internal and external), and just for 'thinking' and 'processing' time! March is a particularly busy month for placement candidates.

Are the hours flexible? Is the placement be structured around lecture times and my other commitments?
Your placement may be structured in any way that you are able to negotiate with your industry host. But be mindful that the placement must be progressing and completed by early June at the latest, so that you can make progress on, and submit your major assessment report.

How does the Program affect my normal class work?
You will complete exactly the same content as the other students - however, our experience suggests that ‘shadowing’ students usually get more from the class, and perform better in assessment.

What happens if I'm having problems on the placement?
The Industry Partnerships team is available for consultation at any time, and in the past with the rare issues we have had, they have been speedily and satisfactorily resolved.

What employment opportunities might I gain from the Program?
Some of our hosts use ‘shadowing’ students as a direct recruitment tool for post-graduation opportunities. In the past a significant number of students have also secured ongoing part-time or volunteering positions with either the industry host or networks they developed while on placement.

What other benefits does the Program offer?
Participation allows you to observe an organisation from a strategic managerial perspective. It helps sharpen, or shape, future career and life goals - this is an excellent way for you to 'dip your toe in the water' - find out what your preferred career is really like!

Is the placement paid?
No - however UQ provides full insurance coverage to the employer.

Can I find a placement of my own and participate in the Executive Shadow Program?
The University of Queensland considers that executive industry placements can provide an invaluable experience for students and industry and does not wish to limit these opportunities. However, all students have the opportunity to undertake a placement if they can secure one of merit on their own. Further information regarding conditions of self placement are available on this site.

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FAQ’s for Industry

For more information please click on the following link: ESP Industry Info pack. Answers to most frequently asked industry questions are listed here, if you do not find a suitable response to your question please forward your question to exec.shadowing@uq.edu.au. Organisations who are interested in participatation in the 2008 Executive Shadowing Program should download the Industry Information Pack before seeking further information.

I've heard about the Executive Shadowing Program - what is it?

How are students selected for the program?

What are our obligations as a host under the Program?

What sort of a time commitment will our organisation need to make?

What happens if there are issues during the placement?

What other benefits does the Program offer?

Is the placement paid?

I've heard about the Executive Shadowing Program - what is it?
The Executive Shadow Program is a unique work placement program which is competitively offered to students in the School of Tourism enrolled in the final year Professional Development course. Under this program students spend quality time ‘shadowing’ a senior manager in industry, or government in their industry of interest: tourism, travel, hospitality, events, sport and leisure.

How are students selected for the Program?
Entry into the Executive Shadowing Program is highly competitive, the School of Tourism restricts participation to the top 30-40 students in their final year of study. Students must have an exceptional academic record (around a GPA of 5.5), a strong work experience history and must present professionally when interviewed by a panel from the Industry Partnership team. Students who excel in these three areas are then interviewed by the industry hosts, who choose which student they would like to offer an executive shadowing placement.

What are our obligations as a host under the Program?
Hosts are required to provide students with opportunity to observe and where appropriate participate in the day to day operations of the host organization from an executives perspective. Hosts negotiate the terms and time commitment on an individual basis with students, recommended to fall within 60-80 hours. Hosts have no obligation to accept a student under any circumstances and are free to terminate the program at any time. We do ask that hosts provide feedback to the student and to the Industry Partnerships team as part of our on going efforts to improve our program and make it responsive to student and industry requirements.

What sort of a time commitment will I need to make?
Minimum 60 hours for the placement, plus an additional ten (10) hours approximately for miscellaneous contact, follow up, administrative work, etc.

What happens if there are issues during on the placement?
The Industry Partnerships team is available for consultation at any time, and in the past with the rare issues we have had, they have been speedily and satisfactorily resolved.

What other benefits does the Program offer?
The Executive Shadowing Program offers a highly effective opportunity to locate and train talented and motivated students to fill immediate needs, as well as creating a pipeline of talent for a future work force. Hosts are able to assess a student’s “fit” with their organisation as well as previewing the student’s ability. In this way the program offers industry participants an opportunity to seamlessly convert shadowing students to full-time employees who can be immediately productive. The Executive Shadowing program also provides hosts with an effective means by which they can meet staffing needs for short- term projects. The School’s promotional activities in connection with the Program present opportunities to raise organisational profile and to position the host as an employer of choice. Finally and most notably, the Executive Shadowing Program allows hosts to leverage from the prestigious position of The University of Queensland, as a valuable first step towards deeper partnerships with the award-winning School of Tourism.

Is the placement paid?
No - however UQ provides full insurance coverage to the employer.
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Former ESP Students
 

Jacqueline Poulos Executive Shadowing Student  As a graduate, Jacqueline has only recently joined AOT Holidays as a Cadet Travel Consultant for Sunlover Holidays working in their Brisbane office.   “Sunlover Holidays is the largest and most comprehensive wholesaler o f Queensland travel products so this so this really is my dream job. One of the highlights of my study was studying courses that were geared to providing with the knowledge and tools that would actually be useful in our careers, rather than just learning a lot of theory. I appreciated the fact that a lot of our assessment was designed to mirror tasks we would actually be doing in real life."

Kathryn Vallely Executive Shadowing Student  Kathryn is a Project Officer for EC3 Global, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Australian Sustainable Tourism Cooperative Research Centre. “I genuinely believe that I would not be in the position that I am in today, if not for my experience at UQ and in the Executive Shadowing Program. It helped me professionally in a number of areas – writing communication, thinking strategically and learning from a wide range of industry professionals. If I was to offer advice to new tourism students, it would be to have an open mind, try to experience everything and to apply for the Shadowing Program!”

Kimmi Siu Executive Shadowing Student After graduating with a major in Event Management, Kimmi has built an impressive resume of event management experience, including the launch of her own small business, Ikina Events. "The program allowed me to gain enough experience and confidence in my field of work to not only apply for interstate opportunities, but to also start up my own event production and consulting business. Looking back without doubt, it has been a brilliant and exciting journey for me ever since I made the choice to go back to UQ and complete my studies.”

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Partnership Incentives

The School of Tourism continues to pursue meaningful, long-term relationships with highly regarded organisations across the private and public sectors. Such organisations recognise the benefits of forming linkages with and being associated with the only School of Tourism based within one of Australia’s prestigious Group of Eight. Partners of the School currently enjoy:

• access to our finest graduates
• event-specific promotional assistance and inclusion in promotional campaigns
• select networking opportunities
• in-kind event support
• opportunities to undertake tailored professional development packages
• scholarship and study opportunities

Beyond the desire to provide professional and innovative programs, the School also has a dedicated sense of social responsibility and is quickly establishing itself as a beacon of best practice in the industry. To this end the School of Tourism is currently offering developmental scholarships to the United Nations World Tourism Organization and is pioneering the TedQual Volunteers program, assisting developing countries with economies highly dependent on tourism.

Industry Partnership Team

The School of Tourism is committed to offering programs and services that are contemporary, relevant and industry oriented. To this end, the School has established a dedicated Industry Partnerships Development team, which manages ongoing private consultancy projects and a hugely successful Executive Shadowing Program with industry.

Our Industry Partnership team manages a coordinated program of guest speakerships and mentoring relationships, while encouraging industry colleagues to approach the School of Tourism with requests and ideas for building mutually beneficial relationships.

Many of our partners are industry leaders who have come directly from our graduate ranks while others come from private industry and the public sector. With nearly 40 per cent of graduates working abroad, the School boasts excellent industry contacts worldwide and international recognition of its programs.