Abbie Hartley – Short-term placement in Australia

“I took an active role in weekly team meetings, contributing to discussions on website development and future plans.”

– Abbie Hartley, Manchester Metropolitan University.

Abbie studies International Hospitality Business Management at Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) and joined us for a Short-term placement in Australia, in summer 2025. 

Abbie wrote this about her work in Australia:

29th July 2025

“Relocating from the UK to Sydney for my internship challenged me to take initiative from the outset. Working with unfamiliar systems in a new environment, I had to find my rhythm, take ownership of tasks, and actively seek opportunities to improve.

I led successful projects focused on customer retention, using data-driven analysis to design automated workflows in HubSpot that supported long-term engagement and contributed to some of the best sales results the company had seen that year. Rather than waiting for direction, I asked questions, identified gaps, and proposed solutions aligned with broader company goals.

Beyond the analytics, I took an active role in weekly team meetings, contributing to discussions on website development and future plans. I shared design input, offered feedback on proposals, and suggested new initiatives. By stepping forward and building on earlier work, I went from contributing to helping shape strategic direction.

This experience strengthened my confidence—not only in completing tasks, but in challenging ideas, leading conversations, and taking responsibility for outcomes.

I developed a mindset rooted in initiative, adaptability, and purpose. It taught me how to lead my own progress, offer meaningful input, and collaborate across teams with clarity and intent.

The main thing I’ve learnt is definitely you can always do more! Even if you’re stuck on something or don’t know what to do next instead of waiting around to be told what to do, use initiative and find something else even little things like checking bits etc, it’s appreciated 10x more. Also having patience when doing something you haven’t done before like using new software or learning how to do new things. I guess that’s what the experience is about really, testing yourself to learn more and be better!”