This post was written by Shelby Bueneman, Madison Hesseltine and Fatemeh Ghazaei Najafabadi.

One of the many things that the University of Central Missouri prides itself on is the opportunities that they provides for their students.

On Thursday, December 13 we went to the QUT campus where we met a panel of professionals. The panel included Lisa Tam who moderated, alongside Nicolas Grech, Kaitlyn Gilles, Stephanie Mckell, and Eunice Tsai. Each professional at one point or another was linked to QUT now or in the past. Also, they practice with public relations, marketing and advertising.

During this visit we learned about how public relations and marketing in Australia differ from the United States. In Australia, a growing proportion of marketing budgets have been allocated to PR. Also public relations tends to be more resilient than advertising, especially during economic downturns. A great piece of advice they provided us with was to “justify what you do and why it is valuable.”

They also provided us with fun facts about different Australian customs and staples. From the Australian favorite spread, vegemite, to their nickname for swimwear of budgie smugglers. Along with fairy bread, Tim Tams, keep cups and genuine Australian souvenirs. What shocked us the most was learning about the overpopulation of kangaroos, and how they are considered pests to some Australians. They are allowed to hunt them and use their fur as well as other parts for souvenirs.

“I thought that the panel was very informative and gave us an insight into Brisbane culture.” said Nicole Mense, one of the students on the trip. The presentation really helped the students develop a sense of how the country operates. It was a great opportunity for faculty and students alike to learn from the QUT panel about the country and its culture.