Alice moved to Canberra from China four years ago and recently graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Science. In July 2022, she commenced her Honours in Chemistry.
During her undergraduate studies, Alice was a member of the ANU Student Managed Fund (SMF) – a professional-development initiative that empowers students to manage upwards A$700,000. She also took part in CBE's Special Industry Project (SIP), in which she assumed the role of consultant to solve a business case for CSIRO. Alice is a member of the Australia China Youth Association and completed an exchange to Sungkyunkwan University.
Off-campus, Alice is a volunteer with the Society of St Vincent de Paul.
25 JULY 2022
What have been some of your most memorable experiences at CBE?
My most memorable experience at CBE is working with SMF. I joined SMF in 2021 and I was in the Asset Allocation Team. Being my first time managing a real fund, I was really excited but also confused – I didn’t know where to start. Fortunately, we had great course convenors in Anna von Reibnitz and Geoff Warren, and my team members were excellent.
We began with finding possible risks, then considered those risks against our fund, and finally, adjusted the fund, trying to make more profit. For example, to hedge the high inflation risk, we added an emerging market index to our portfolio in 2021. Throughout my experience with SMF, I not only learned how to manage a fund in the real world, but I also met an incredible group of people. In fact, it was the best teamwork experience I've ever had! We cooperated and worked with high efficiency. Anna and Geoff gave a lot of advice and encouragement. I love them and the team so much.
What would you say are the main benefits of participating in CBE’s SIP (Special Industry Project)?
SIP provides a real-world internship for all students. As an international student applying for internships, I found that companies are often looking for people with Australian citizenship – SIP filled this gap.
With SIP, you not only get internship experience, you also extend your knowledge and network with people with diverse backgrounds. In SIP, we worked as consultants for CSIRO. With my knowledge of finance combined with my team's expertise – two students majoring in accounting, plus one in marketing and another in economics – we were able to exchange knowledge with each other. Through this, our team effectively provided suggestions on developing the semiconductor industry in Australia.
Before this project, I knew nothing about semiconductors, but now I could talk for hours about the industry. SIP gave me a chance to learn about consultancy work and how we work with clients to develop the best business case solution.
How have your extra-curricular experiences helped you develop your skills, experiences and confidence?
I'm a volunteer with the Society of St Vincent de Paul as well as a volunteer at Vinnies, and I also work two part-time jobs in hospitality. This experience gives me a lot of confidence when I speak to and work with new people. My extra-curricular experiences have also taught me to be patient and understand others. When we had different opinions within the team, I would talk with them to better understand their point of view.