FE Business Project in Bali, Indonesia
15-days of action-packed, collaborative and culturally immersive work experience for FE students studying Business, Management, Sales and Marketing, Administration and related courses.
Gain hands on experience working with local and international businesses in vibrant Bali. Experience the thriving entrepreneur scene and the ‘digital nomad’ ecosystem, take part in networking and professional workshops, site visits to local businesses and social enterprises, and unique cultural experiences.
Working in small, multi-disciplinary teams, students achieve real-world project challenges set by a range of inspiring host clients in an international professional setting. We combine the expert logistical support and experience of Think Pacific and a network of innovative local partners to provide a unique learning and professional internship programme.
- Award-winning global mobility projects for HE, since 2009
- 15-day professional work experience and cultural immersion.
- Collaborate on real-world projects that support businesses and NGOs in Bali
- Over 50 hours of professional and cultural experience
- Tackle strategic business or charity issues and opportunities
- Contribute to innovation in Bali and UN Sustainable Development Goals.
- Boost your cultural fluency, global competency & employability
- Provide demonstrable examples of key skills and experience for your CV and job interviews
- Project includes: Accommodation, all meals, 24/7 in-country support, domestic travel, workshops, masterclasses & networking with public and private sector orgs and cultural experiences and tours.
In multi-discipline teams of 4-5 students, you will work as a small ‘consulting team’ for a chosen client organisation in Bali. This is the opportunity for hands-on and meaningful work experience, and to make a real contribution to your partner organisation. Alongside client meetings and project work, you will join social events, experience cultural activities, engage in workshops and practice networking skills at business-related events.
Working as a team, you will take an idea to realization, whilst learning from a wide host of local mentors from the Indonesian and international business community. Throughout the process, you will develop employability skills including teamwork, communication, initiative, design-thinking methodology, creativity, planning, leadership, self-management, and problem-solving and develop commercial awareness as you create real value for your partner company.
Each programme is made up of up to 20 students. We begin with a team briefing and team-building activities and a thorough orientation including Indonesian language, culture, history and religion as well as workshops in professional, social and behavioural etiquette in Bali.
Students enhance their global career skills by learning to translate classroom learning into a deeper understanding of real-life international workplaces, business challenges, professional relationships and co-work behaviours.
Students join a weekly schedule of workshops, presentations, coaching sessions and masterclasses to discuss with industry colleagues, business leaders, consultants, business councils, technology companies and start-up founders to provide a breadth of career skills, business perspectives and professional learning opportunities.
Each student has a dedicated Internship mentor to provide daily support including cultural guidance, networking guidance and an opportunity for regular feedback as students work through their client project and engage in professional development workshops.
Cultural understanding is central to this global programme and we include regular opportunities for cultural engagement and experience, including language lessons, local cooking classes, traditional community visits and viewing religious and historical sites of interest, exposing students to different a worldview and building bridges between cultures as students navigate unfamiliar cultural behaviours, values and attitudes.
We facilitate opportunities for student networking with colleagues from their host partner company and wider network, including scheduled business lunches, networking events and social activities, which are essential for building relationships and establishing cross-cultural dialogue and learning the importance of collaboration, professional presentation, communication skills and connecting professionally.
The programme works with our partner network of handpicked start ups, SMEs and social enterprises based in Bali. Students undertake real-world client challenges aimed at facilitating the innovation and growth of Balinese-based businesses, whilst simultaneously testing students’ creativity, teamwork and problem-solving skills. Projects are multidisciplinary and include feasibility studies, marketing analysis, fundraising strategies, business analysis, market entry strategies, and the development of business plans for new opportunities.
The programme involves regular group activities, team building and excursions that promote leadership and facilitate students to develop their communication and emotional intelligence. The programme also provides time for weekend trips to explore tourist areas and the wealth of activities to enjoy such as treks, sports, surfing or wellness activities such as yoga and meditation.
The final few days of the project are critical for long-term development. Students pitch and present their final projects to industry colleagues and company stakeholders and receive critical feedback. Students also engage in workshops to deepen their understanding of the personal and professional experience they have gained. This is achieved through a reflective journal, group presentations and peer to peer feedback.
This project is ideal for students looking to gain international experience that will help bridge the gap between education and graduate employment. The project programme is open to all current students, regardless of how much experience you have. You don’t need any specific skills or technical knowledge, but a collaborative and positive attitude and a professional approach to the mobility programme are essential due to the importance of working on real-life business projects for clients that invest time and mentoring for students.
Through this programme, unique perspectives of Indonesia and Asia are understood and developed. Students learn about global business challenges and opportunities specific to the region and about the vibrant start-up, technology and digital nomad working movement in Bali.
During the interview phase, we require students to have a curiosity to work in a team, to work on projects that are diverse and test their thinking and to learn about working in a professional manner, in a different culture.
- Experience; Gain tangible work experience and commercial awareness
- Challenge; Work on real projects in multidisciplinary teams and in client-facing scenarios
- Cultural Fluency; Learn cultural, social and business behaviours an international context
- Employability Skills; Develop ‘soft skills’ such as teamwork, communication & leadership.
- Connections: Create new connections through networking events and new friendships.
- Opportunities: Gain demonstrable examples of business experience for future job interviews
Client Projects + Cultural Immersion + Masterclasses = Huge Professional Growth
Outcomes; Emphasising the learning journey, team building, cultural understanding and understanding business in a Balinese context.
- Arrive in Bali and orientation
- Indonesian language lessons
- Talks and cultural training
- Goal Setting
- Meet the client partners business and organisations and learn about their aims and objectives
- Split into consultant groups and project introduction
- Team building
- Networking event (host org colleagues)
- Professional Skills workshop
- Cultural day trips and weekend activities
Outcomes: defining clear goals, network and learn from colleagues and industry professionals, develop your project timeline and develop your self leadership and team leadership skills as you discuss solutions with colleagues.
- Engage in discussion with host business/ngo colleagues to deepen your understanding.
- Research and discovery session
- Cowork project planning
- 2 x Professional skills workshops
- Networking event (International business in bali)
- Wellness activity
- Cultural day trips and weekend activities.
Outcomes: Use programme management skills to develop clear outcomes to the project brief to meet clear targets.
- Create and build your project
- Q&A with host organisaiton and stakeholders
- Insights and definition from local stakeholders
- Cowork culture
- Test and iterate
- Professional skills workshops
- Networking event (Bali start up founders)
- Cultural day trips and weekend activities.
Outcomes: Test your presentation delivery skills in a business context and receive industry feedback on your project proposals. Reflect on the learning journey and soft skills gained.
- Finalize and refine
- Professional skills workshop
- Feedback from co-workers
- Produce your presentation stack
- Deliver your project to your host client and local stakeholders
- Client Feedback
- Programme review
- Farewell celebration dinner
Bali is one of the most exciting and innovative places to learn from small businesses. Asia’s most popular business startup hub has become one of the world’s thriving business locations, especially in the ‘digital nomadic’ space.
We support a network of innovative Bali-based enterprises and charities to develop practical and sustainable solutions to current challenges and in the process, enable students to get hands-on experience of working closely with business leaders, colleagues and stakeholders as they gain a unique and purposeful insight into their business operations.
Think Pacific is built upon local collaboration and long-term, respected partnerships. Our programme has been designed in consultation with the local and international business community of Bali and a network of over one hundred local and international businesses submitting project challenges, which are handpicked for each programme date.
Indonesia has one of the highest GDP and the fastest growing economies in the world. Sectors from Agriculture and Tourism, Health and Wellbeing, Environment and Renewables and the exploding Technology scene make Bali a vibrant and fascinating destination to gain employability skills.
For host organisations, this is an opportunity to gain unique international insights from creative thinking students, to prototype new concepts, begin new projects that have been limited by staff resources or gain fresh perspectives on their business strategies and operation.
Project fees includes tuition, structured mobility placement, all accommodation, in-country travel, field trips, cultural evenings, meals, resort briefings, R&R, weekend activities, emergency support and is also guided 24/7 by our in-country team, with the full and comprehensive backup of our Bali HQ and management team
As a ‘For Impact’ organisation, the fees also funds the work of the Think Pacific Foundation enabling our charity to facilitate local development aims in rural communities.
Full inclusions list:
- Airport welcome by Think Pacific team leaders
- Cultural orientation
- Briefing and workshops by highly experienced local staff
- Guest speakers from our influential local partner network including business leaders, business coaches, entrepreneurs and government representatives
- All in-country travel
- All project accommodation
- All meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner)
- Guided weekend activities, such as local hikes, excursions to sites of interest or attending local festivals or community events.
- Organised evening cultural, networking and team activities
- 2x Think Pacific facilitators and Balinese mentors living close to the group and facilitating the daily itinerary.
- Outstanding pastoral support and daily health and wellness check
- Connecting interns with appropriate and high quality business partners and projects that provide enriching employability experience.
- Weekly networking events
- At least 2 x Weekly professional workshops and coaching sessions from the local business community.
- Daily briefing and de-brief
- In-country manager, Balinese based Project Managers and UK team providing planning, risk assessment and 24-hour backup support.
- Donation to program resources to achieve community projects (used to purchase materials to deliver local initiatives, sports resources, educational materials or community building materials)
- Comprehensive online portal & personal volunteer project planning resources
- Programme debrief
The following costs are not inclusive of the programme fee. However, Think Pacific provides comprehensive and personalised support to assist:
- Flights approx £800 (falls within 12,000 Km / £1300 budget for Turing)
- Travel insurance
- UK transfers to and from home or college to Airport
- Additional spending money (snacks, drinks, souvenirs or activities)
- Vaccinations: These can be free from the NHS for most students but can also cost approximately £35. The recommended
During these projects, we provide good quality accommodation suitable for international work experience located in safe, approved and centrally located apartments or hotels close to the co-working office location. All accommodation is vetted by our staff team to ensure it meets our high standards for quality guarantee.
Rooms are mostly twin shared, with the whole cohort of students living in the same building. Our staff mentors and programme coordinators also live nearby and are contactable 24/7.
Accommodations come with a high-quality internet connection, good-quality bathrooms and facilities including a veranda, communal gardens and in most accommodations, access to a pool.
Accommodations are located close to the main business areas, co-working spaces and tourism hot spots, which enable students to spend their time away from the office soaking up the vibrant culture, cuisine, local shopping, tropical beaches and optional adventure activities of this paradise business location.
Think Pacific guides team adventures and cultural activities during the weekends for the students. The purpose of the weekend activities is to promote team leadership, relationship building, global citizenship and the development of cultural IQ.
Think Pacific in-country staff support the programme and guide daily activities. We are incredibly proud that 70% of our paid staff in Indonesia are local residents. By investing in local staff we ensure that we are making as positive an impact as possible within the communities where we work by not only providing long-term employment opportunities but also ensuring that those who know the country and the culture best are managing the project and the relationships with local enterprises.
Think Pacific team mentors guide the whole project, hosting daily morning briefings and afternoon debriefs, and are available 24/7 for students. Our biggest piece of advice for students is to not hesitate to speak to our team leaders if they have any questions about health and safety.
During orientation, students are given guidelines to ensure they stay safe in Bali. For example, students should always stay in pairs at least and should keep their accommodation address in Sinhalese or Indonesian with them at all times. The guidelines also include important day-to-day advice such as where it is safe to withdraw money from local ATM machines etc.
Think Pacific provides comprehensive support to universities as required. Universities are provided with a dedicated and experienced director to oversee the entire program from start to return with specific areas of responsibility designated from the outset. Our services with the programme fee include
- Full Promotion of programme including webinars or presentations and content
- Management of all applications and creation of custom application pages
- Careful communication with all enquiries
- Pre-departure support and live zoom sessions
- Visa entry to Bali support
- Pre-departure Portal – a comprehensive portal for all travel essentials and latest advice for flights, insurance and kit list, vaccinations and more.
- Pre-Departure Hub – Our own pre-departure group for live enquiries, chat and student networking, available to download as an App.
- Live seminars on cultural awareness, cross-cultural and in-country preparation
- Global Skills – Our online portal with courses on career development.
