NG Wing-hoi Jack , LEE Chi-fun || BEng (Hons) Electrical Engineering || Hongkong Electric Company Limited
This summer, two Electrical Engineering students, Ng Wing-hoi Jack and Lee Chi-fun, interned at the Hongkong Electric Company (HEC) as vacation trainees, playing a part in brightening Hong Kong.
During the eight-week internship, Jack was attached to the Electrical and Instrument Maintenance Section (EIMS), a department that supports the large-scale coal-fuel power plant on Lamma Island. Working on Lamma Island was a new experience for Jack. Before the commencement of work, Jack went through a series of training modules to study and troubleshoot the instruments, electrical equipment and machines in the power plant. He was then responsible for recording the procedures and results of the oil treatment of the transformers.
As interns are not allowed to handle the crucial components in a power plant in order to ensure the stability of power supply for all business and social activities on Hong Kong Island, Jack provided support to his colleagues in handling different kinds of defects, monitoring and inspecting large-scale maintenance work, and commissioning of new equipment.
“As most of the work in the power plant require specific qualifications and techniques in the respective fields, I was not allowed to take over it directly,” Jack says. “Though I was not able to handle the process by myself, I learnt from demonstrations from my supervisor.” Jack found it a precious opportunity to have real working experience at the electricity company which pushed him to improve his interpersonal skills.
“It is very important to have a good relationship with colleagues since they provide guidance and share with you their working experiences,” he says. “I will also make use of this fruitful internship experience to plan for my future career.”
Applying knowledge to real work 
Unlike Jack who needed to stay in the furnace-like power plant, Chi-fun worked in the busy office located in Admiralty. In the Planning and Regulation Department, he assisted in electricity generation planning and helped to process data to define the best combination of electric generators.
To minimise the operation cost and fuel consumption, the company considered Unit Commitment and Economic Dispatch, which are crucial for an electric power system to meet the required demand at a minimum cost, while keeping the power supply stable. Besides generation planning, he was also involved in transmission planning and was instructed to use a power system simulator (PSS/E), an integrated and interactive software tool that utilises simulation to analyse and optimise power system performance. With the programme, Chi-fun generated an one-line diagram of the power system that aided forecast planning through gathering numerical solutions of load flow, fault level and stability studies.
“Sometimes it was confusing studying the theories from textbooks. But now, I am capable to apply the theories I learnt to real life. I was also delighted to learn the operation flow of a power system from practical experience,” Chi-fun says.
There is no better way to understand a local culture than by making friends with the natives. Placed at the Panda Electronics Group Company in Nanjing as an intern, Choy Ka-ho Victor not only practiced his learning in a real working environment, but also built close friendships with students in Nanjing, getting to know their life and culture.
. Despite their unwillingness to leave home, most of them go far away for a better career and only go back home during Lunar New Year,” he says. Victor claims he learnt to treasure what’s in his hand now.