My reflections on Week 2: 4 days before the major event at Casela

Hello everyone, 

In this blog post I will be sharing with you how my second week at Medine Limited went by. As usual I made daily media clippings, but alongside this was the coming up of the Laying of the foundation stone of the state-of-the-art recreational facility at Casela, along with the resumption of preparations for the forthcoming Fun Day. 

As far as the Fun Day was concerned, I was in charge of calling up the various types of logistics and confirm quotations with them. These included logistics such as tables and chairs, specific colors and size of t-shirts, water dispensers and their bottles, tents and/or marquees, mobile toilets along with its manpower. 

One might think that this task is very easy, however it does happen that even when you call them up and they ask you to send them a request for a quotation via e-mail, they either do not revert back immediately or simply ignore and/or forget about what you need from them. 

Eventually the follow ups felt like absolute 'nagging'. But this is how it goes and this is how the work is done - by constantly reminding them that you need a quotation from them and if they could kindly revert back as soon as possible.

Also very important in these situations is staying calm and polite while communicating. Even if someone would be rude or cold on the phone, I would still be very patient and courteous. This is something I learnt on my own and which is basically a natural reflex, if I may say. 

When this was done, I was then in charge of the chase up calls of Medine Limited's media list for the event at Casela on the 15th of February 2013. 

Once again, I had to call up several times to get in contact with the distinct chief editors. Even if messages were left with secretaries, I had to make sure whether the chief editors actually received the message or not. This felt like contacting the logistics all over again. Even so I did what had to be done even if it meant calling more than 3 times, over and over again, as my supervisor needed a final list of the media houses that would officially be present for the event. Knowing that I was able to help as much as possible with a major event definitely boosts one's will to work even harder.

Beside this, I had to follow-up the presence of particular ambassadors and ministers so that we could produce a final list of guests against the original list made prior to the event. Essentially, when it comes to a guest list, I personally think that one should always remain realistic. Why, do you ask?

Well simply because, even if invitations have been dispatched or sent either by e-mail or fax, it in no way means that all the guests will show up on that particular day. This is where follow up calls are of utmost importance, to check whether someone on the list is in fact going to be present at the event. In this case, what I noticed was that most of the distinguished guests may or may not call to confirm whether they will: Attend or Regret. 

Eventually, the event took place on the 15th of February 2013 and tomorrow I will mostly be doing media clippings in relation to the event. 

Additionally, what I would also like to say about my second week as an intern, is that it showed me how professional practice is as important as theoretical practice. 

Maybe some of you might have thought of getting an internship only for the sake of completing this unit, but am sure by now if you have started your internship and love what you are doing, you have to admit that this is a journey full of surprises, experience, tact, a neat way to make new contacts, a very good way to know where you stand and what you would want to do after you are done with your Bcom or Mass com and build your own professional personality - in other words, how you would like to be perceived and chosen by a future employer. 

For the time being, this is all I had to say,  stay posted for upcoming photos of the ceremony which took place at Casela and also maybe for other imminent challenges in my next blog post.

Wish you all a nice week ahead,
Take care, 
Geetika Boyjoo 
Curtin ID: 15172402
Charles Telfair Institute, Mauritius

The first week of my PR 393 Internship

Greetings everyone, 

I am Geetika Boyjoo and am currently undergoing my final semester at the Charles Telfair Institute (CTI), Mauritius,  majoring in a Bachelor of Commerce in Tourism, Hospitality and Event Management and Public Relations.

I started my internship at the Medine Limited last week on Monday 4th of February 2013. The first day I have to admit I was rather stressed but as I got to know my colleagues and more importantly my supervisor, I was able to adapt and understand what the internship entails.

However, before giving you an insight of my first week at Medine Limited, allow me to give you a brief introduction of the company. 

Medine started off as a sugar estate, which means that it formed part of the sugar industry which was once Mauritius's main economic pillar back in 1911, when Medine was first established. Later on Medine diversified its activities into other promising ventures as the sugar industry's economic importance declined with time. As such, in 2009 Medine divided its activities through a rebranding exercise, into 3 definite clusters which are as follow:

1. Medine Property: this involves the development of the property portfolio of the company.
2. Medine Agriculture: this cluster's role is to generate and try to implement innovations related to the agricultural activities of the group while at the same time considering diversification programs.
3. Medine Leisure: is all about managing, operating and developing the leisure activities of the Group, including the Casela - the Group's leisure hub.

For more information, you may visit their website on the following link: 

http://www.medine.com/  

and/or if you prefer their facebook page on: 

https://www.facebook.com/MedineLimited?fref=ts

As you will be able to see on their website, the Group also does news, publications and CSR-related works. The Corporate Sustainability and Communication Department at the Head Office, is where I am following my internship. 

The first few days were already scheduled as being my period of Familiarisation with Medine Limited through their printed materials namely their newsletter - 'The Medine Post', their website and facebook page and their Medine Master Plan - a document downloadable from their website which is a high-quality document written and published in 2005 by a team of architects, town-planners and sociologists under the guidance of Mr. Maurice Giraud, one of the architect planners.

This specific document contains all the details of the vision and plans of the organisation over the western part of Mauritius for the coming years. 

Up until now many of the projects have been undertaken and are still ongoing. Also every year the Medine Master Plan is reviewed, updated and adapted to current economic situation and according to present demands. Below are the covers of the latest 'The Medine Post' and the Medine Master Plan:

Moving on, on the first day, apart from going through the familiarisation process, I was able to experience what real media clipping is all about.

 What I was asked to do, was to convert the JPEG articles into PDF documents to be uploaded on their intranet so that everyone connected would be able to get access to it on one main location, in order of - published date and  - separated into 5 sections, namely:

1. Agro Industry 

2. Tourism & Leisure

3.Property Development

4.Regarding Medine, and 

5. Education 

Additionally, I was asked to make a comparative study which involved research work to identify in what ways Medine was different or similar to its competitors.

Moreover, I was asked for the address details of particular ministers and ambassadors for which took place yesterday night - 15.02.13 - concerning the laying of the foundation stone at Casela by the Prime Minister. 

Even if I was not asked to search for their phone numbers, fax number and e-mail addresses, I produced a contact list where these were included in case these were urgently needed. I used the same procedure when making the ambassadors' contact list and as a matter of fact, these two documents came in handy when we had to make follow up calls afterwards. 

Also, during the first week I learnt how to officially communicate on behalf of Medine Limited, whether this was done by calls or e-mails when asking for quotations of certain logistics and how crucial proof-reading is before sending out e-mails. 

Furthermore, what I essentially grasped was that representing such an organisation called for professional behaviour and attitude. 

Afterwards I got to help with the company's fun day scheduled for their employees, which involved:

1. Cross checking of a Power point presentation

2. Re-organising and adding details to a budget document

3. Making integral calls, and 

4. Chase up calls of logistics

As a whole, this is how my first week went by in a jiffy. Having been working on these two events is the reason why I was not able to post my first blog earlier.

Nonetheless, remain posted to check my second blog post coming up soon.

In the meantime, I wish you all good luck with your internships,

Take care everyone,

Warmest regards,

Geetika Boyjoo

Curtin ID: 15172402

Curtin Open Day will be fantastic!

Greetings fellow PR students,
I hope everyone's placements are going well!

I'm sure you've all seen the giant marquees being set up around Curtin uni on the Edinburgh Oval as you drive in through the Kent Street entrance? They get me excited every time I drive in, as it means Curtin Open Day is getting closer! In fact it is now just 3 days away! I have been checking the upcoming weather forecast for days now, it it looks like there will be rain on the day...but fingers crossed that it doesn't rain all day!

Even though I may have just completed my last day as an intern in Curtin's corporate communications office, the work and experience is far from over! I will have responsibilities on the day - taking the role as the 'key contact' for the Fun Zone area that I have spent months organising. This basically means that with the work phone I have been provided with for the day, I will be taking calls from any Fun Zone contractors that have any general queries, difficulties finding their way onto Alcoa Court or into Curtin (which is very likely - just remember how lost we all got on our first day at uni!)

In the last two weeks since I have posted, my jobs have been very focused on liasing with the Fun Zone contractors, organising and collating information from the Student Clubs expression of interest forms, creating and laminating signage, creating contact lists, organising mobile phones for workers and creating 'information packs' for Open day volunteers and contractors to ensure smooth running of the event and to endorse further understanding about their individual roles on the day.

On monday I was lucky enough to witness Ann Paterson (director of corporate relations & development at Curtin) be interviewed by Curtin FM in the studios. This is where the work of public relations became very evident, where Ann had to focus on delivering key messages such as the date (Sunday 21st august), time (10am - 4pm), location (Curtin) and that the event is the ultimate place to seek all the information you need about university life, courses, to speak to academics and current students as well as to have fun at a community event. Although the demographic of Curtin FM listeners is more middle aged to older, the aim was to have these listeners inform their high school aged children or grand children of the event and to attend as families.

The last few weeks have been very interesting, my role as a Curtin student ambassador and an Open day intern have overlapped several times. Ambassadors who are taking a very significant role at Open day have put together a 'flash mob' dance, where we plan to break out into spontaneous choreographed dance on the day. I used my intern role to liaise with the event coordinator to organise space and speakers for the flash mob. I also got to dress up as a 'light bulb' mascot for a photo shoot, to be printed in an open day based article on the front page of the Canning Times! Public Relations officers had set this up.

So to sum up this blog, my involvement in the event has sky rocketed in the last few weeks, and I will be sad to see the end of it.
But I am very excited to see all the hard work come together, and I strongly recommend it as great event to attend! Hopefully the weather is good, and everything pans out smoothly on the day.

Stay tuned for my final blog - it will include photos from the day!

Sarah Mullen
14308662
Bentley Campus

Putting theory into practice

Hi everyone, welcome to my addition to the reflective blog! My placement is at a recruitment agency in a communications role which was originally a sales position, but has evolved into a broader communications role over the last 12 months in an attempt to retain clients. I wanted to share this with you all because I felt that it marked an important example of a changing trend for businesses to now being more focussed on retaining positive, long term relationships with their clients through effective communication, rather than just seeing them as a one off sale to increase short term profits.

There are a large number of PR components to the position, but a lot of other PR duties also take place through other positions within the agency. The beginning of my placement really opened my eyes that PR is not always one set position within a company, but can exist through many functions and in many forms throughout an entire organisation. This further made me conscious that, as PR students fresh from study and equipped with our valuable knowledge gained through theory, we are in fact the future ambassadors of PR! Of course, we have been told these things in class, but to be able to see it and actually experience it for myself has been very enlightening. So my reflections are going to be based upon some of the agency’s current PR practices, plus some of things which I think could be suggested as per what I have learnt at university. To be able to look at the agency’s PR practices with an educated and proactive perspective, and then to provide recommendations that can help enhance the business through the use of PR, is a very exciting position to be in! I hope that you enjoy my reflections to follow!

Sarah Harrison
Curtin Bentley
Bentley Campus