Rally learning curve for student

Richard Pawa, right, was accompanied in Australia by Pania Moulton. Photo / File

Northtec student Richard Pawa is back in New Zealand exhausted after four days at the FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship in Queensland.

"It was just massive," said Mr Pawa who was heavily involved with the event's media team, whose role involved talking to drivers and organising press conferences. He arrived home on Tuesday.

In his second year of a Bachelor of Applied Management, his involvement with the rally has inspired him to change his major from accounting to project management.

"It was just meeting new people and seeing the potential that project management can create ... it gave me another perspective on how two countries can host an event differently," Mr Pawa said.

"It was an opportunity to see something done differently and to make those comparisons."

Mr Pawa was offered the opportunity after impressing the media team when the International Rally of Whangarei - the opening round of the 2015 FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship - was held in Whangarei in April.

NorthTec provided more than 40 volunteers for the rally.

Mr Pawa was accompanied in Australia by Pania Moulton, a Northtec marketing assistant, who worked closely with the rally secretariat selling tickets, managing equipment, and running errands.