Right from the beginning of my internship
my supervisor had given me my own project to work on. The overall objective was
to increase the number of participants signing up for the Japanese Language
Proficiency Test (JLPT) in December 2015. This test, which started in 1984, was to measure and
certify the Japanese-language proficiency to those whose native language is not
Japanese. It has
subsequently become the largest global
Japanese-language test, with around 610,000 examinees in 62 countries in 2011.
Applications closed on September 11th
with a strict no late admission policy. The particular primary stakeholder was
a university student as they are known to be the largest segment to participate
in the JLPT. While initially I was nervous I knew that I was capable to deliver
results by using a number of tools already at my disposal.
This blog will briefly describe an overview
of the project and my thought process.
Project objectives
- Spread awareness of the exam and the application deadline
- Communicate its benefits and exam structure
- Increase the amount of registrations from 35 to 120
Challenges
- Students are normally unaware of benefits (improves immigration prospectives)
- The cost of $80 - $90 for the exam
- Students lack confidence in their ability to pass
- Students misunderstand the nature of the exam. Students often avoid speaking practical exams. However the exam is multiple choice with no speaking component.
Methods I used
- Social media campaigning including posting and event creation
- Liaising with Japanese lectures and clubs at the universities in Perth
- Presenting at club meetings about the JLPT and representing Hyogo Cultural Centre
- Creating flyers and other digital communication to be sent online through email and social media
During the project I found it difficult to
gauge how I was doing as university students were not as interactive as I would
have liked. However, through fierce campaigning and acting as a public
relations ambassador for my internship organisation I was able to over achieve the
amount of desired applications to 176 – around 50 more than we hoped! I believe
many students had signed up the night before the deadline.
While my supervisor was pleased with my
work it has actually impacted the previous venue arrangement. We now have to
either inquire into expanding the venue or changing it!
I really did learn a lot from this
experience. Not only was it a nice feeling knowing that I had succeeded at my
project but it was also an opportunity to showcase my abilities.
Have you had the opportunity to work on
your own project? How did it go?
Please comment below and share your
experience.
Until next time,
Jared
