Adelaide University Internships - Glanice Song Ling Tan
Welcome Glanice!
Glanice Song Ling Tan joined our Media and Communications Team as part of her internship course, Media Industry Transitions at the University of Adelaide for Semester 2, 2025 on 29 July 2025 - 12 September 2025.
She is completing a 100-hour internship onsite at the Connecting Up Office, 15 hours a week for about 7 weeks around her university classes (2 days x 7.5 hours each week to complete her internship. Glanice Tan's Portfolio of media articles for the SAcommunity Team is >>here.
Total Hours 100 | Joined 29 July 2025 | Last check-in 10 September 2025
Personal Biography
Glanice is currently in her final year studying a Bachelor of Media, majoring in Visual Design at the University of Adelaide. She has a background in product design and previously completed a Bachelor of Product Design before transitioning into media and communications to further explore her passion for creative storytelling and branding. Glanice also speaks multiple languages fluently including English, Mandarin and Malay.
She has previous experience in graphic design and social media marketing, branding and content creation from two separate internships completed in Malaysia. Glanice has also worked in retail, warehousing, and student accommodation, gaining strong skills in communication, coordination, and problem-solving across diverse environments.
While interning with the SAcommunity Media and Communications Team, Glanice looks forward to expand her professional network, while hoping to gain real-world work experience by applying and further developing her design and communication skills in content creation, digital marketing, copywriting and publishing stories.
Glanice aims to build a career in purpose-driven media, with a particular interest in working with not-for-profits or mission-led brands. She is passionate about using visual communication and branding to create meaningful storytelling, support community engagement, and create content that connects people and inspires positive change.
SAcommunity Community Services Storytelling Project
As part of the Media and Communications Team, I have been collating stories about a range of South Australian charities, not-for-profit organisations (NFPs), and community groups for distribution via SAcommunity media channels (website, blog, and eNewsletter) and social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn. These articles showcase how organisations contribute to the South Australian community, whether by meeting immediate needs, fostering shared interests, or encouraging greater participation in community life.
Not-for-profits interviews and storytelling articles
Interns are encouraged to produce a variety of articles highlighting different community groups and NFPs across South Australia. My first article featured The Porcelain Art Centre, a story to help shine a spotlight on the Australasian Porcelain Art Teachers SA Association Inc., exploring the timeless art of painting on porcelain and the community connections it fosters. I also contacted and followed up with the treasurer of the Australasian Porcelain Art Teachers SA Association Inc. to learn more about the activities and services they provide, and how they support the community. My article was shared on the SAcommunity website blog, as well as on social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
I also gathered several stories for other community organisations from media releases such as the OzAsia Festival 2025 article, celebrating its vibrant program of contemporary Asian and Asian Australian arts, and Adelaide Guitar Festival story featuring the talent, performances, and cultural exchange at one of Australia’s premier music festivals.
Find all of my storytelling articles >> here.
Community Services Promotion Project
SAcommunity October 2025 eNews
Every month, the SAcommunity Media and Communications Team brings together blog stories and event calendars to create our monthly eNews. I worked on the October calendar by compiling stories from the team for the October Community Events 2025 calendar and arranging them in BeePro, an email design platform, before exporting the final layout to be put into Campaign Monitor for release. I also utilised Canva to edit and further enhance some visuals and media supplied by the featured organisations to be included in stories and the newsletter.
Screenshot of the SA Country Shows article collated by Interns Glanice Tan and Bethany Sweet
Intern Bethany Sweet had came across several country shows scheduled between September – November 2025 and February – August 2026 while she was searching for events taking place in November. As she began adding these events to her calendar, she noticed that several of the event organisers were not listed on the SAcommunity website. Furthermore, the majority of the organisations’ information required some updating.
This then led to the creation of a blog post titled 'SA Country Shows List' dedicated to a list of SA country shows blog post, a comprehensive compilation of over 40 events taking place over the next year. For each event, Bethany gathered information on dates, ticket pricing, and event organisers. In collaboration with Glanice, she also contacted every single organisation to inform them about the blog post and ask if they would be willing to provide additional information for a personalised article. If the event organiser did not have an SAcommunity listing, they would then create one for them.
Articles written in collaboration with these organisations include: Uraidla and Summertown Country Show and the Kimba Show.
Connecting Up monthly meeting with the Head of Connecting Up Pankaj Chhalotre, Customer Support Officer Samantha Whillas, Volunteers Stathis Avramis, Rex Porter and Joe Xuanqiao Zhang, Account Manager Eric Jenkins, Volunteer Yong Kheng Beh, Customer Support Officer Julia Koh, Marketing Coordinator Chloe Le, Interns Bethany Sweet and Glanice Tan with Senior Web Developers James Newport and Cameron Brown 09 September 2025
Work Experience - Internal and External Events, Information, Connections and Networks
Volunteers and interns are encouraged to attend monthly SAcommunity and Connecting Up Team meetings, as well as quarterly all-staff Infoxchange Town Hall meetings to understand more about the organisation as a whole. In addition to reading about projects and news through the staff-wide communication channels and the weekly CEO Update from David Spriggs, and participating in Lunch and Learn educational sessions, and network meetings to connect with staff and other volunteers.
Connecting Up monthly meetings
Glanice attended the monthly Connecting Up meeting held on September 9, 2025. This was a great opportunity for me to listen in and for others to share on all the updates and ongoing tasks to be able to understand more about the organisation as a whole, and acknowledging the work and tasks that everyone is in charge of based on their roles within the workplace. I also found it insightful listening to the Senior Web Developers James Newport and Cameron Brown's updates on what they are working on to help upgrade enhance the SAcommunity directory site, making it more accessible to the customers, organisations and the public.
Infoxchange All Staff Town Hall Meeting 30 July 2025
Infoxchange Town Hall quarterly meetings
Glanice attended the quarterly Infoxchange Town Hall meeting held on July 30, 2025, with staff from the Adelaide, Melbourne, and Brisbane offices. This was a valuable opportunity to learn about how Infoxchange operates nationally and how it connects with Connecting Up, where I'm currently completing my internship.
Throughout the meeting, I heard updates from different teams and gained a deeper understanding of the impact Infoxchange is making in the not-for-profit sector through technology. I also listened to CEO David Spriggs, who shared the organization's current work, future plans, and vision for empowering communities through digital inclusion.
This Town Hall experience gave me a better understanding how my role in the SAcommunity Media and Communications Team contributes to the organization's wider goals. It also gave me a stronger appreciation for the power of internal communications and collaboration in making a positive social impact.
Infoxchange Let's Talk - AI Learning Community (Lunch & Learn) 6 August 2025
Infoxchange Lunch & Learn activities | AI Learning Community
On August 6, 2025, Glanice attended the Infoxchange Let's Talk on the AI Learning Community. During the session, speakers Sophie Souchon and Richard Hunt showcased a new community feature of the Digital Transformation Hub. This was a valuable opportunity for me to gain insight into how Infoxchange supports not-for-profits in navigating new technology.
I learned about the new AI Nonprofit Learning Community, a specialized space for organizations in the Asia-Pacific region to learn, share, and collaborate. Its purpose is to empower not-for-profits, NGOs, and charities to build the knowledge and confidence to harness artificial intelligence for their missions. The community provides exclusive resources, including AI learning journeys, nonprofit AI training, peer chats, and consultations with AI experts.
The informal learning experience helped me better understand how my role in the SAcommunity Media and Communications Team contributes to the wider goals of the organization. It also gave me a stronger appreciation for the power of collaborative platforms in empowering communities.
Infoxchange Let's Talk - The Road Ahead - Our Client & Case Management Improvement Journey (Lunch & Learn) 21 August 2025
Infoxchange Lunch & Learn activities | The Road Ahead - Our Client & Case Management Improvement Journey
On August 27, 2025, Glanice watched the recording of the Infoxchange Let's Talk session on The Road Ahead - Client & Case Management Improvement Journey. During the presention by Samantha and Ram, they provided an overview of the client and case management app support team, including the main applications they manage, the types of issues they resolve, and the customers they support such as AIHW and NSW government.
They discussed the internal knowledge base uplift initiative, which aims to improve documentation, strengthen team capability, and eventually provide customer access with AI integration. I found it valuable to learn about their strategies for improving customer experience, such as cross team training, language simplification, problem management forums, and ensuring smooth ticket transitions.
Hearing about future plans like expanding the self service portal, introducing ticket level surveys for real time feedback, and using AI to improve service delivery gave me practical ideas I could potentially adapt to my own work. This session reinforced how streamlining workflows and strengthening collaboration can make a meaningful impact on both internal operations and the customer experience.
Infoxchange Let's Talk - GenAI at Work: Transforming Customer and Employee Experiences in IT Services (Lunch & Learn) 2 September 2025
Infoxchange Lunch & Learn activities | GenAI at Work: Transforming Customer and Employee Experiences in IT Services
On September 3, 2025, Glanice watched the recording of the Infoxchange Let's Talk Session GenAI at Work: Transforming Customer and Employee Experiences in IT Services. The session featured Brian “Koodge” Parker (ITS IT Support Specialist), Madonnah Webb (Head of Information Technology Services), and Alison Ramsay (Chief Technology Officer), who shared how the ITS team is leveraging AI to enhance help desk support.
Koodge began the webinar by outlining how their AI agent was set up and trained, giving a clear picture of the groundwork needed for effective implementation. The team also discussed future strategies, including refining prompts for better responses, maintaining and expanding their knowledge bases, and applying in-house frameworks to improve context and task accuracy.
What I found most interesting was their broader vision, looking beyond just efficiency to rethinking the overall customer and employee experience. Hearing how AI can be thoughtfully embedded into existing systems to improve autonomy, responsiveness, and workflow optimisation gave me practical ideas I could adapt in my own work. It reinforced that successful AI adoption isn’t just about technology, it’s about strategic integration that delivers real value.
External Events | Data Catalyst Network (DCN) Meetups
The Data Catalyst Network is a cross-sector collaboration that supports not-for-profit organisations working with children, families, and communities to use data more effectively. By helping these organisations improve services, achieve meaningful outcomes, and uncover new insights, DCN aims to break cycles of disadvantage.
Each month, the network brings together nearly 70 not-for-profit organisations alongside academics, government agencies, and business professionals. Volunteers and interns are also encouraged to attend, offering a unique opportunity to see how data is being applied in real-world contexts to drive positive change.
Data Catalyst Network (DCN) Workshop | Co-designing Safe and Inclusive Data Practices for AI and Beyond 29 August 2025
On August 29, 2025, Glanice attended an interactive Zoom workshop facilitated by Kristen Moeller-Saxone, Data Capability Lead from the Digital Transformation Hub, and Mel Jacobsen, an experienced co-design facilitator from MosaicLab.
This stakeholder workshop prompted me to reflect on the importance of data and safe data practices, even within the media field. The workshop introduced co-design methods to engage stakeholders, including clients, staff and management in identifying organisational data needs, framing key questions such as “What’s important for your stakeholders when it comes to data?”, and thinking about the key principles of data ethics. Through the breakout discussions, I was able to listen and engage with different stakeholder participants, as they explore on practical ways to ensure data initiatives are fit for purpose.
Even though it was outside my area of expertise, I still found it valuable to consider how ethical and inclusive data practices underpin trust, collaboration, and effective communication, which all of these aspects are still directly relevant to my current Media and Communications intern role as part of my internship experience.
Image: Sam Lloyd, Portfolio Marketing and Brand Experience Lead, Connecting Up and Intern Glanice Tan
Mentor Meeting
Mentor meetings are an opportunity for mentees to connect with an Infoxchange staff member to discuss career pathways, gain advice on professional development and explore opportunities for growth. Glanice chose Sam Lloyd, Portfolio Marketing and Brand Experience Lead at Connecting Up as her mentor for the mentor meeting held on 20 August 2025. She discovered more about his career journey into marketing, understood what drew him into his current role, gained insight about the expectations and challenges of working in this space and obtaining key advice on achieving success in the workplace.
Key Takeaways:
- Career journeys are shaped by diverse experiences: Hearing about Sam’s transition from insurance into marketing really highlighted how varied experiences can shape a career. He built his skills through freelance work, agency roles, and self-directed learning before moving into his current role as Portfolio Marketing and Brand Experience Lead at Infoxchange. This reinforced for me that being open to different opportunities early in your career can provide valuable skills and insight for future roles.
- Following your interests can lead to meaningful opportunities: Sam shared how his growing interest in brand management and willingness to pursue his current role led to a title change and new responsibilities, including leading a rebranding project and advocating for shifts in brand strategy. I realised that pursuing areas I’m genuinely interested in can create opportunities to take on work that is both strategic and impactful.
- Portfolio marketing requires strategic thinking and adaptability: I learned that portfolio marketing involves more strategic responsibilities compared to entry-level roles. Sam explained how working in a small not-for-profit requires balancing limited resources with long-term brand goals. Understanding team structures, strategic planning, and the unique challenges of the role gave me a clearer picture of what it takes to succeed in this space.
- Maintaining brand consistency invoves both creativity and strategy: One of the most valuable parts of the meeting was learning about brand architecture and managing multiple brands. Sam provided practical advice on code-switching and asset management, and he shared The Brand Relationship Spectrum by Aaker and Joachimsthaler as a resource to learn about brand architecture for maintaining consistency while allowing individual brands to have their own identity. It helped me understand how flexibility and clear communication are crucial when working with clients or teams unsure about brand direction.
- Key skills and qualities for a successful future in marketing: Sam emphasised that curiosity, flexibility, and open-mindedness are just as important as marketing knowledge. He recommended focusing on adaptability and continuous learning to thrive in a rapidly evolving industry. This reminded me that building personal qualities alongside technical skills is critical for long-term success. Sam also emphasized on the fundamental concept of the marketing funnel and the importance of the four P's (Product, Price, Place and Promotion). These four principles have and will be remained the same in marketing.
- Continuous learning and reflection: According to Sam’s approach to professional growth, his advice was to always be learning from experience, remain flexible and adapt to change, and constantly seeking out for trends and resources. This reminded me that staying informed and curious is essential to grow in marketing and contribute effectively to any organisation.
Overall, I found the meeting with Sam to be very valuable. Learning about his journey into marketing and his experiences in portfolio and brand management helped me see how the concepts I’ve studied apply in real-world settings. Sam's key advice on staying curious, flexible, and open-minded reassured me that it’s not necessary to and that embracing new opportunities and challenges is an important part of gaining experience and developing a successful career in digital marketing.
Interns Bethany Sweet and Glanice Tan
Connecting Up Training
Orientation & Induction | 29 July 2025
Intern Meixuan Liao delivered the induction session to myself and Bethany on my first day, giving me a peer-to-peer perspective of the organisation. This included an introduction to the SAcommunity Website, the Office 365 Suite and adminstrative platform 'Better Impact'. It also included an introduction to Slack, the platform used to communicate between team members. Peer-to-peer meetings are encouraged on behalf of the coordinator/supervisor to help set a positive tone for the internship, as being introduced to everything by a peer who had been in the same position was reassuring.
Intern Glanice Tan reaching out to organisation for story research
Telephone Techniques
I have also undertaken the telephone techniques as an essential part of my internship to be able to effectively communicate with organisations in order to help share their stories. Council and Collection scripts are to be used as a guide when contacting organisations. These scripts helped structure my conversations, ensuring I introduced myself and the purpose of the call clearly, asked open-ended questions to learn more about what the organisation does and offers, and actively listened to capture accurate details. I also inquired about any upcoming events, activities, or stories that could be featured on the SAcommunity directory site, adapting my approach depending on the organisation’s responses to build a bond and further encourage information sharing.
Screenshot of Landing Page Views for The Porcelain Art Centre article written by Intern Glanice Tan
Screenshot of Facebook post for The Porcelain Art Centre shared by Intern Glanice Tan
Introduction to Google Analytics
With access to Google Analytics for the SAcommunity website, I am able to view the overall statistics on how many people have visited the link to The Porcelain Art Centre article from the SAcommunity site and the Facebook post. This allows more insight on the article that I've created and the engagement numbers that it has received so far.
Many other stories with social media posts (Facebook, Instagram and Linkedin) have also been looked at on Google Analytics such as the South Australian Country Shows List, Festival of Flowers, Military History and Civilian History Day, Uraidla and Summertown Country Show and the Kimba Show.
Digital Training and Development | Connecting Up Digital Learning Platform
Volunteers and interns have access to the Connecting Up Digital Learning Platform, which offers live and recorded webinars, workshops, and webcons led by subject-matter experts on various technology topics relevant to the not-for-profit sector. Through this, Glanice explored how media plays a role in not-for-profit organisations with insights from webinars and workshops, combining with her on-site training. With Glanice's strong interest in digital marketing, brand identity and social media, she chose relevant training sessions as part of her internship schedule.
Each session became an opportunity to learn something new. Glanice took time to summarise and reflect on the key points, considering how the strategies and ideas could enhance her internship experience and beyond.
CU Webinar - Using AI for impactful social media content creation (Recording) 8 August 2025
CU Webinar | Using AI for Impactful Social Media Content Creation Juan Pablo Gonzalez
Glanice watched the Connecting Up (CU) webinar recording on August 8, 2025, "Using AI for Impactful Social Media Content Creation," presented and recorded by J. Pablo Gonzalez. The session provided valuable insight into leveraging AI for her role in the SAcommunity Media and Communications Team at Connecting Up.
During the webinar, J. Pablo introduced the "OUTCOMERS" framework, which is a guide for creating social media content. I learned about its key components: Objective, User or Target Audience, Themes or Content Pillars, Channels, Occurrence or Frequency, Measurement & Analytics, Expenditure or Budget, Roadmap or Timeline, and Support Assets & Responsibilities. I also gained a deeper understanding of AI's evolution, its associated risks, and the importance of strategic, impact-driven marketing for not-for-profits. As a practical exercise, I learned how to build an impactful marketing campaign using a universal or GPT prompt, applying the OUTCOMERS framework to an example company.
This experience gave me a much stronger understanding of how to use both AI tools and the "OUTCOMERS" framework to create effective marketing campaigns for any organization. This knowledge will also further enhance my potential contributions to advancing our mission.
CU Live Webinar - AI Image & Video Generation for Nonprofit Tools & Tactics that Work 13 August 2025, with Certificate of Completion
CU Webinar | AI Image & Video Generation for Nonprofit Tools & Tactics that Work - AI Impact Hub
Glanice attended a live webinar titled "AI Image & Video Generation for Non-Profit: Tools & Tactics that Work," which I found to be very interesting and insightful. Presented by Kyle Behrend, the session provided a practical overview of various AI tools for creating compelling visual content.
During the webinar, I was introduced to multiple new AI tools such as Midjourney, Ideogram, and Kling. I learned how these platforms can be used to easily generate a variety of visuals, including logos, images, and animated videos, many of which are free and accessible for not-for-profit organizations. Kyle also showed us how to use and edit existing prompts from a particular visual style as a template to manipulate and change elements to achieve something different. Canva was also mentioned in the webinar as an excellent editing tool to be used for further visual refinement. I also learned about leveraging ChatGPT to "reverse engineer" a visual campaign to better understand its psychological impact.
The webinar provided valuable insights into how I can effectively apply these new tools and tactics as a guide in terms of producing high-quality and engaging content, where it is especially useful for small or not-for-profit organizations.
CU Webinar - Digital Marketing: Foundations & what's coming up (Recording) 10 September 2025
CU Webinar | Digital Marketing: Foundations & what's coming up
Glanice watched the Connecting Up (CU) webinar recording on September 10, 2025, "Digital Marketing: Foundations & what's coming up" presented by the Digital Transformation Hub at Infoxchange. The session provided valuable insight into assessing and improving digital marketing capabilities for my role in the SAcommunity Media and Communications Team at Connecting Up.
During the webinar, the presenter Sophie Souchon, introduced the Digital Marketing Capability Framework, which helps not-for-profits evaluate their digital maturity across five key areas: Website, Email Marketing, Social Media, Digital Fundraising, and Event Management. I learned about the four capability levels: Challenged, Basic, Intermediate, and Advanced, and how organisations can progress by integrating channels, using analytics to track engagement, and aligning digital strategies with organisational goals. The session also reinforced the importance of digital marketing as a cost-effective way to raise awareness, build credibility, share services, and mobilise supporters.
This experience gave me a clearer understanding of how to identify an organisation’s current digital strengths and areas for growth, and how to apply practical tools and strategies to move toward a more integrated, data-driven, and impactful digital presence. This knowledge will help me better contribute to expanding SAcommunity’s reach and engagement.
Summary of my volunteer/internship experience
Overall, my internship with the SAcommunity, working as part of the Media and Communications Team at Connecting Up has been an incredibly rewarding experience that allowed me to combine my background in design with my passion for storytelling. Throughout the days within seven weeks to complete a total of 100 hours, I have researched, interviewed, created new organisation listings, updated existing organisation listings and wrote many articles showcasing South Australian community organisations, while also further enhancing my skills in copywriting, digital marketing, and content/blog publishing across the SAcommunity website, as well as creating content on social media channels such as Facebook, Instagram and Linkedin that links back to the SAcommunity site.
This experience has also allowed me to gained more hands-on experience using new tools such as BeePro and Google Analytics, and utilising tools that I am familiar with such as Canva, Office 365 Suite and Slack within the workplace. I have also learned and applied professional telephone/email techniques to gather information and deepened my understanding of audience-focused communication. Moreover, this internship experience has also allowed me to build my professional brand and network, connecting with my colleagues in-person and other external profesionals on Linkedin within my chosen career field. I have also strengthened my ability to create content that informs, engages, and inspires others. This also reinforces my commitment to building a career in purpose-driven media.
Volunteers Rex Porter, David Webb and Interns Charmi Divecha, Jacinta Jiawei Qi, Glanice Tan, Bethany Sweet and, Mahir Numayeer Islam
