I migrated to Australia in 2016 from Singapore and joined Mitsubishi Australia (MAL) in April 2017. Working at MAL, I found my new passion: to help bring Australia and Japan closer together. I feel very fortunate as everything I do at MAL plays a part in this to a greater or lesser extent.

One of the projects in which I am involved and which has a significant focus on Australia-Japan relations is the “New Colombo Plan Mitsubishi Group Internship Program.” This program started in 2017 in support of the Australian federal government’s New Colombo Plan (NCP), a scholarship & grant scheme aiming to build Australia’s “Asia capability” through supporting Australian undergraduates to study and work in Asia-Pacific countries.

In February this year, 12 NCP scholarship recipients participated in the 10-day internship program in Japan co-hosted by six Mitsubishi Group companies. These students gained an insight into Japanese business culture, the Australia-Japan business relationship, and the history and philosophy of the Mitsubishi Group and learned about a business overview of major Japanese companies through visits to the headquarters, production facilities and affiliated entities of the participating Mitsubishi Group companies: Kirin Holdings Company, Limited., Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd., MITSUBISHI MOTORS CORPORATION, Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance Co., Ltd. and Mitsubishi Corporation.

The internship program is designed for participating Australian students to deepen their understanding of Japanese culture and business concepts and for the participants and Mitsubishi Group companies to develop connections. And in the future, when they return to Australia, they will be a strong advocate for Australia-Japan relationship and Mitsubishi Group.

NCP is a great platform not just for strengthening Australia-Japan ties and raising awareness of the Mitsubishi brand among young Australians but also for encouraging collaboration among Mitsubishi Group companies with interests in Australia. I really enjoy working with colleagues from other Mitsubishi Group companies and getting to know their business and areas of focus through working on this program. I look forward to many more opportunities like this in the future to collaborate with the broader Mitsubishi family in Australia, Japan and globally.

My interests outside of work

Outside of work, I find myself enjoying watching Australian rules football (“Aussie rules” or “footy”) in autumn and winter and cricket in summer with my husband and our nine-year old daughter. I had no clue about these sports before I came to Australia but having been brought up in a family that loved watching sports, when I came here I had to find something that I could watch and enjoy. And now I have grown to love them. To those who are not familiar with footy and/or cricket, they are a bit too complicated for me to explain, but I would be delighted to take you out to watch a match when you visit Melbourne!