Queenie Fensham – Bachelor of Environmental Management

Queenie’s industry placement in the department’s environmental planning team involved research and analysis to further the development of climate change policy in Queensland.

Queenie’s feedback on her placement experience:

Is/has the placement been relevant to your studies?

Absolutely! I am studying environmental management and policy, a field that intersects with all facets of the environment, society and economy. Climate change policy in particular is most relevant to my area of interest to understand how to effectively communicate and mitigate climate change.

What have you learnt?

I have learnt that there is no simple answer in policy, and often identifying the question is harder than expected. Climate change policy in particular is a challenging space to work in when there are overlapping values, interests and impacts to consider across government and public stakeholders.

What have you enjoyed the most?

Feeling inspired by the team I worked with every day and being able to pick their brains on their expertise and opinions. Being immersed in a field that I am extremely passionate about and being able to apply what I have learnt at university has been hugely rewarding, especially nearing the end of my degree.

Which three words would best describe your placement experience?

Empowering, multi-faceted, motivating

“It’s really great to get some young energy into the team, and it certainly adds some new perspective. Queenie had been learning critical analysis skills at university and she was able to apply those to some policy analysis, and her GIS mapping skills was very useful for us.” – Rebecca Duffy, industry placement supervisor.