An exchange of ideas

Spanish students Laura Loewen Martin-Neda and Belen Perez de Vargas Belmonte have only been in Australia for four months, but they’ve already achieved incredible international partnerships.

The dynamic duo jumped at the chance to study in Australia for six months on exchange, describing it as an opportunity they couldn’t resist. 

“In Spain, Australia is seen as paradise,” Laura said.

The two business students and good friends studied together at ICADE at Comillas Pontifical University in Madrid, Spain, before moving halfway across the world to follow their passion. 

And it has led them here, to Sydney, where they are participating in a six-month exchange with ACU.

“The reason why I chose ACU was because, back at my home university, Australia is one of the most in-demand exchange destinations,” Belen said.

“The fact that so many people spoke highly of Australia made me interested in coming here.”

“The language was part of the reason for choosing ACU,” Laura added. “As we already knew how to speak English, we thought it would be easier to integrate ourselves into the culture.”

Social entrepreneurs

Despite the educational differences – the students admitted their Spanish classes were more lecture-based, whereas ACU was more workshop-focussed – both Laura and Belen have already achieved international praise for their work in their social entrepreneurship class.

With help from their course teacher, the pair were introduced to Balinese rehabilitation and advocacy organisation PUSPADI Bali.

The non-governmental organisation (NGO) supports thousands of Indonesian residents by providing them with prosthetics, mobility aids and wheelchairs.

Laura said that with her and Belen’s help, PUSPADI Bali is now looking at integrating “innovative 3D printing technologies to help propel their transition to a financially independent social enterprise model”.

“It’s not something the organisation would normally do,” she said.

“So we had to gather all the information and give it to them. That way they had everything to be able to make a decision. 

“We managed to find two contacts in Spain, one in a boutique venture capital firm who helped with the client-based strategy, while the other has a prominent startup which produces 3D prosthetic limbs. 

“The second man expressed a big interest in collaborating with PUSPADI Bali. Maybe they could partner up in the future. 

“We had a call with PUSPADI Bali at the start of May and they were very fascinated with our report. They had a great interest in collaborating with our contacts.”

More than money

To keep a business viable requires money, but investors nowadays are focusing less on the pure financials and more on the societal benefits as well. 

“Measuring the social return on investment (SROI) played a big part in our project,” Belen said.

“Investors are not just looking at the financial return, it’s the social impact as well.”

Which is why their social entrepreneurship project has been lauded as a success by their peers, lecturers and project collaborators. 

“It’s been a great opportunity for us,” Belen said.

Studying abroad

ACU offers a range of study abroad and exchange programs, as well as the opportunity for students to study at our Rome Campus in Italy.

For Laura and Belen, the opportunity to study in a different country and experience a different culture has been a highlight of their degrees. 

“Being able to experience the Australian education system and the assignments and everything, it has been a great opportunity,” Belen said. 

“We are so grateful.”

Find out more about studying entrepreneurship through an ACU business degree.