Sherry Lee: getting a global perspective

Master of Management (Marketing) student Sherry Lee studied public administration in her home state of Taiwan. However, it was doing an elective in management and marketing that inspired her to dive into postgraduate studies.

“I took marketing as an elective during my undergraduate studies, and had this really inspiring lecturer who taught us a lot from her personal work experience, things like advertisements she had worked on. I fell in love with advertising and marketing, that practical experience really won me over, so I decided that was what I wanted to follow for my career path.”

After spending some time working in marketing for an online Korean fashion retailer, Sherry moved to Melbourne. It was an opportunity for her to follow her new-found passion, as well as taking a leap and opening herself up to a new, more global understanding.

“Coming to MBS has given me the chance to really engage and gain a much broader understanding of marketing. The teachers and the course are fantastic, and there are all sorts of opportunities. I did the Global Business Practicum in Kuala Lumpur, with a company called RSM, not many people have heard of them, but they’re actually the world’s sixth largest accounting firm. In Malaysia there are a lot of regulations around the promotion of service providers like accountants and lawyers, so we worked with them on a social media project, creating a campaign that would reach their audience, while still operating within those guidelines,” she says.

“It’s those kinds of global opportunities that have come from studying at MBS. Taiwan is a small island, so although the marketing and advertising companies are doing really well there, it’s a kind niche. I’ve come here and learnt about the global market and trends and really expanded my network. That’s the nice thing about marketing as well, it means that I can work across industries. Before I worked in fashion, but there’s no limits on what I can do next.”

Now in her final semester, Sherry reflects on her time in Melbourne fondly, and thinks it’s worth the trip for other Taiwanese students interested in overseas study.

“I think that in Taiwan, particularly in the older generations, they don’t know what Australia has to offer. I want to go home and explain to them what a fantastic experience, and how empowering I found it coming here. There are more and more Taiwanese people coming here now, it’s true, but it’s still not the main overseas destination for Taiwanese students going overseas, and I think it should be. I learned so much, I really recommend it.”