LSPR Jakarta students learn from neighbors

Almira Yasmine, Contributor The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The London School of Public Relations (LSPR) in Jakarta has established over the last five years a successful International Work Experience Program with the Institute of Public Relations of Singapore (IPRS) and the Institute of Public Relations Malaysia (IPRM).

The internship is open to all LSPR students across majors in both the undergraduate and post-graduate programs.

The 14 students who participated in the most recent International Work Experience Program have been given job placements in communications companies and public relations firms like Red Shoe Communications, The Hoffman Agency, Absolute PR, Asia PR Werkz and Singapore Kindness Movement.

Through the internship program, students gained hands-on work experience in their fields of study and experienced international exposure and culture, as well as dynamic professional environments outside of Indonesia.

In the Singapore leg of the program, IPRS organized two workshops: The Contemporary Principles and Concepts of Public Relations by James Suresh and International Media Relations by IPRS president K. Bhavani.

The institute also coordinated media visits to Singapore Press Holdings and Bloomberg Television.

LSPR students were welcomed by Mohd. Zulkifli Rahmat, the deputy editor of Berita Harian-Berita Minggu, and at Bloomberg, they were given a presentation on Bloomberg International, their functions and what differentiates them internationally from other media services.

These media visits were enriching, as students could understand and observe actual work in the field and the necessary hands-on skills for each media task in both print and electronic media.

On Nov. 1, IPRS held an award ceremony and farewell party for all 14 LSPR interns in the function hall of Tepak Sirih Restaurant. The venue is located in one of Singapore's popular tourist destinations, Arab Street.

Attending the event were IPRS council members, employers, representations of various companies and organizations, as well as LSPR management and staff. And on this special occasion, LSPR students performed a traditional Indonesian dance for invitees.

On the following day, LSPR students proceeded to Kuala Lumpur as delegates to IPRM's international public relations conference, held Nov. 4-6 at the Kuala Lumpur Hilton.

The students performed a traditional dance before an international audience at the opening of the conference, which was held at the famous KL Tower.

These programs and activities form part of the students' academic credits, and all work experience students are obliged to produce a project report by the end of the program.

LSPR Jakarta has previously collaborated with other public relations institutes and associations, such as the Institute of Public Relations of Malaysia (IPRM) and the Shanghai Public Relations Association (SPRA).