Max McLachlan

Max McLachlan

Bachelor of Business, majoring in Economics and Management

The key reason for Max’s decision to study a Bachelor of Business, majoring in Economics and Management was his passion for innovation and entrepreneurship, and being able to give people opportunities to learn and be a part of a proud local business.

“My goal is to not only own my own business, but to be successful and renowned for high quality work and operations.”

Born and bred in Cairns, Max decided to study his course locally as he has been able to form contacts and relationships with Cairns business owners which will be vital to his business operations. Studying and interacting with these local businesses has given Max the insight into the Cairns economy he needs.

Max has recently returned from the trip of a lifetime, travelling to Tahiti on an internship as part of the New Colombo Plan Mobility Program. The New Colombo Plan Mobility Program is an initiative of the Australian Government which provides funding to Australian universities to support Australian undergraduate students to study and undertake internships in the Indo-Pacific region.

“I spent my internship in Tahiti, French Polynesia. In my three weeks in Tahiti, my role was to observe, learn, develop and implement strategies and ideas to improve trade between Australia and Tahiti. In doing so, I worked with owner and founder of Natural Shop Tahiti to expand their range of natural products and create relationships with customers in Australia.”

While his lectures gave Max the knowledge he needed to execute his program successfully, the skills this experience gave him were far greater than anything he could have received in the classroom.

“This experience assisted in something much bigger I believe, personal growth. The ability to interact with people from different cultures, listen more, try different things and out myself out of my comfort zone. All these underlying aspects were at the forefront of my time in Tahiti.”

“This program was a great experience and I would recommend it to all university students if given the opportunity. It has contributed to a major growth in my personal development.”

Asking what advice Max would give to prospective students thinking about applying for the New Colombo Plan Mobility Program, Max answered,

“Put yourself in the best possible position to receive the scholarship. Put in the effort to receive good grades, strive for a high GPA and create relationships/friendships with other students as well as lecturers. The best advice I can give is to put in effort. When the effort is high, opportunities will come your way.”

“My goals after university are very clear and achievable. I am excited and ready to get into workplaces to learn more about operations, client relationships and inventory management on a large scale. I am determined to get a position with a government body in economics to gain more understanding into the Cairns economy as well as the state and Australian economy as a whole. I want to understand how, why and who has the power to make changes in this Country. Eventually I want to be in a position to challenge and influence the Cairns region. I believe I can make this a better place and that is my goal.”