Taking advantage of the remote learning period, Takeshi Matsuda’23 worked as an industry research intern for Vietnam Industry Research and Consultancy (VIRAC - Hanoi, Vietnam) from March 2021 to August 2021. The principal focus of his internship was to research the dataset of several industries in Vietnam and initiate meaningful understanding based on the quantitative and qualitative analysis of the dataset. “This internship has enabled me to apply my knowledge and develop my skills to grow as a future researcher and data analyst. I gained an elaborate insight into industries in Vietnam as well as the data field in general,” he shared.

Takeshi found this job through various connections and events. He first found his interest in the field of data science and analytics through events from the Career Accelerator program in the extended winter break earlier this year. Then, talking with the alumni Linh Anh Le who has the same interests as him in Econ Day, Takeshi gained experiences about how to find an internship in Vietnam and what steps to prepare for an internship. Emily Sager in Career Works also played a vital role in helping him look through his resume and cover letter, as well as grant him the Economics Department Endowed Internship Awards, which made it financially able for him to do the internship.

His main work in VIRAC was working with data, analyzing, discussing how the data change through time, giving a decent reason for data changes, and writing reports. He also gained significant experience about collecting and cleaning data, using different applications and methods to approach data trends, and visualizing data using Excel and Tableau. Moreover, he also learned to construct engagement of conflicts, practice listening to people from different backgrounds, and respect perspectives in order to complete the work efficiently. He urged himself to become a better communicator and a more productive collaborator as he worked in a team, and thus, team-work has become his most enjoyable part of the internship. Overall, his internship has helped him to gain a deeper understanding about the Vietnamese economy, as well as become a more powerful and professional communicator in both verbal and written languages.

When asked about how liberal arts education, especially from Economic courses at Beloit got him prepared for the job, Takeshi shared that this education system allowed him to learn courses from different disciplines to find his “true” passion that he wants to do in the future. He took Principles of Economics in his first semester with Prof. Laura Grube, which encouraged him to take more Economics courses in the following semesters. After that, he took several courses with Prof. Diep Phan and Prof. Jermaine Moulton. Through their projects, he was able to challenge himself intellectually.

Takeshi’s experience has been exceptionally helpful, and he would advise all Beloit students to get the most from what Beloit offers to find the true passion and get an easy guide to enter the career path, not only academically but also soft skills, professors, staff, and the alumni network.