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| Summer 2006, WIE training as Accounting Technician in Hong Kong |
| Summer 2007, WIE training in Helsinki University of Technology, Finland (IAESTE internship) |
| Present, Project Executive, Jardine OneSolution (HK) Ltd |
SIU Aaron || August 2008 Graduated with BEng (Hons) Industrial & Systems Engineering
Siu Aaron, a graduate from Industrial and Systems Engineering, is now enjoying his challenging job as a specialist in Enterprise Resources Planning system at Jardine OneSolution (HK) Ltd. To help himself identify his career interest, through WIE training, he seized the opportunties to explore jobs in different industries when he was at university.
Aaron experienced several internships in different industries. He thinks it is a good way to plan one’s career. “Unless you’ve personally experienced the job and worked in the industry, you wouldn’t know what interests you most,” he says. “After the first summer WIE experience, I found that I was not interested in developing my career in accounting, though I am good at working with numbers,” Aaron says.
In his second year at university, Aaron was nominated by his Faculty to join an internship in Finland. He thinks the overseas exposure helped him win his first job. “Nowadays, many employers are looking for employees with a strong global outlook. I noticed that all the seven candidates who proceeded to the final round of JOS’ recruitment process possessed overseas experience gained from internship or academic exchange activities,” Aaron recalls.
Worldwide encounter
 During the eight-week internship in Finland, Aaron made friends with people from nearly 20 different countries, such as the UK, Germany, Ireland, Austria, Hungary and Czech Republic. He became more familiar with the characteristics and culture of people from different nations through communication and observation. He also witnessed how much beer a German could drink!
“My global sense and awareness was greatly enhanced and I became more mature,” he says. “When I shared my overseas experiences with interviewers during my job search, most of them appreciated my overseas exposure, my adaptability as well as interpersonal effectiveness,” Aaron says.
Perseverance trail
“While you may possess different skills and experiences, you also need to package yourself and present your best-self in front of potential employers,” Aaron adds. To get his first job offer, he went through a stringent seven-round recruitment process which included an online aptitude test, written test, group discussion, individual presentation, management task exercise, individual and board interviews.
“Practice makes perfect. Most interviewers tend to ask similar questions for which you should prepare in advance,” says Aaron, who was one of the four candidates made an offer by the company.
He thinks international exposure provided by overseas internships would help students stand out during job hunting. “Employers look for a good balance between academic achievements and learning from other co-curricular activities. Good academic results need to be complemented by practical experience and exposure to the outside world,” Aaron comments.
VN:F [1.7.5_995] Rating: 4.0/5 (10 votes cast)
CHEUNG Plaisir || BSc (Hons) Enterprise Engineering with Management || Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office(Canada), Toronto
 When Plaisir Cheung, Koo On-ying Joanna and Yau Chi-wai Billy interned in the offices of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (HKETO) in Toronto, Vancouver and Chengdu respectively last July, they found their placements unexpectedly challenging and memorable and were proud to make contributions to the Government and Hong Kong.
Promoting Hong Kong
In the Toronto office of the HKETO, Plaisir worked on the promotion campaigns of the East-Asian Games and other events and provided general administrative support in the office. She also utilised skills learnt from the classroom in the revamp of the HKETO database management system, a Government department aiming to foster economic and trade ties between Hong Kong and Canada, as well as to promote Hong Kong’s interests across Canada.
In the Toronto Dragon Boat Festival, an event to promote Hong Kong culture, Plaisir assisted in setting up booths and distributing souvenirs. She also promoted the East-Asian Games to be hosted by Hong Kong in December 2009 to visitors of the festival. “I hope people were impressed by our marketing and will visit Hong Kong later this year. I gained a lot and got to know my home city better,” she says.
Plaisir was very grateful to her supervisors who organised a series of workshops and talks on topics such as presentation skills, press release writing skills and job interview techniques as well as on current issues such as Government administration services, the HK-Canada trade connection and Hong Kong people immigrating to Canada. “Such training and exposure allowed us to acquire knowledge and information not available through curriculum studies. All these opportunities expanded my knowledge about international affairs and enhanced my global outlook and cultural awareness,” she says.
The first year student is thankful for the internship opportunity. “I believe the experience puts me in an advantageous position when I pursue my future career. The on-the-job training helped me explore my genuine interest and think about how I should plan for my career goal,” says Plaisir, who wishes to be able to contribute back to the Government and to work for the benefit of the next generation.
VN:F [1.7.5_995] Rating: 4.0/5 (14 votes cast)
CHAN Mei-ni Minnie || BEng (Hons) Product Engineering with Marketing || Christoph Miethke GmbH & Co. KG, Germany
 The two months in Germany was a tough test for Chan Mei-ni Minnie. Through the IAESTE arrangement, Minnie worked at a medical technology company in Potsdam, a city southeast of Berlin.
“Being alone in a foreign country, you have to try every possible means to tackle all the challenges,” she says. “This trip has strengthened my adaptability and broadened my horizons. It has been a fruitful journey for me.”
Minnie was assigned to the Marketing Department of the company which develops, produces and distributes neurosurgical products for the treatment of hydrocephalus, and was required to translate the company’s English webpage into Chinese to help the company enter the Chinese market. Through detailed review of the company webpage, which provides information about the pathology of hydrocephalus and the mechanism of the treatment products, and handling of the translation work, Minnie found that not only her language proficiency was enhanced, but her knowledge of product engineering design was also broadened. Minnie considered it a big achievement that she finished the translation work and had the translated text uploaded to the webpage before her departure.
Another task given to Minnie was to design an adjustment instrument for medical purposes for the Research & Development Department and to illustrate it with the computer-aided design software, Solidworks. Minnie felt glad that she had learnt to use Solidworks at university and had obtained sufficient experience in using the software from previous academic projects. However, she had to overcome the challenge of finishing the job in one week.
“The office closes at around six o’clock every day. To meet the deadline, I therefore had to work overtime by using my own laptop. Fortunately, I was able to finish the task on time,” Minnie says happily.
Travels with strangers 
 Other than work, Minnie had some unforgettable travelling experiences in Germany by joining the Munich Weekend organised by the IAESTE Munich Local Committee. As the Potsdam Local Committee members were busy preparing for their examinations, Minnie had to arrange the transportation by herself.
Since it would be too expensive to travel by train which costs over 100 Euros for a single ride, she got a pointer from her local friend and tried to save her costs through “car sharing”. She then searched for a car owner who had the same departure schedule, hoping to get a ride from Berlin to Munich by paying her share of gas costs to the car owner.
“I was very lucky to find two seats for my friend and myself. We only had to pay 40 Euro per person. Compared to the train ride, it was a very good price,” Minnie says.
VN:F [1.7.5_995] Rating: 3.4/5 (7 votes cast)
AU Chak-fu George || BEng (Hons) Industrial and Systems Engineering || Construcciones Mecanicas Vela S. L., Spain
 Offered an internship in an original equipment manufacturer in Spain, Au Chak-fu George encountered language barriers in the workplace, but he found a way to overcome the obstacles. The Industrial and Systems Engineering student worked at Construcciones Mecanicas Vela (CMV), a small-sized company providing customers user-friendly manufacturing machines.
In the office, since all the computers operate in Spanish while people communicate mostly in Catalan and Spanish, George felt intimidated under the strange environment at the very beginning.
He realised without knowing any Spainish or Catalan, the weeks ahead in the company would be a big challenge. To achieve effective communication, he communicated with his colleagues through active listening, writing and body language. “Besides, Google translator was a great help to me. With a simple click, I could find the meaning of words,” George adds.
Despite having only five members, the company operates smoothly and successfully.
George experienced the beauty of a small office and quickly fitted in with the team. He worked closely with all team members and was assigned to several important tasks.
“Before the internship, I had no real-life working experience. Thus, it was challenging for me to accomplish all the given tasks on time before the deadlines. I understand time management would be very important and therefore had set a clear work schedule for myself,” George says.
Tackle problems step by step
One of the challenging tasks allocated to George was to use the software, Solidworks, to make drawings for a machine and work out the final assembly. Unfamiliar with the software, George came across codes he did not know which made the assignment hard to handle.
“I spent too much time on guessing and trying. It was impossible to carry on working without knowing the codes. I therefore found a small but useful library in the neighbourhood and searched for information about the codes. Having found out the meaning of the codes, I carried on with my work and had the drawings finished smoothly and on time,” George says.
The on-the-job training has strengthened his professional knowledge and equipped him with new skills. “All the challenges that I confronted during the internship have enriched my experience and trained me to be an independent problem-solver,” George says. There are different hurdles in life and career. George has demonstrated how take on the hurdles positively instead of evading them.
VN:F [1.7.5_995] Rating: 4.3/5 (8 votes cast)
Tam Tsz-ping Catherine || BSc (Hons) Logistics Engineering and Management || Helsinki University of Technology, Finland
 Tam Tsz-ping Catherine travelled alone to Finland for her internship at the Helsinki University of Techology this summer. In the Automation and Systems Technology Department on the campus, Catherine learnt to work independently and had some great times with trainees from other countries.
As one of the six members in her research team, Catherine handled a project on an Environmental Control System, a new system to replace an existing machine in the laboratory which controls the temperature and humidity in the experimental chamber. Without any knowledge of the control system, she needed to design the system using computer-aided design software, find the right components and purchase them from a Finnish website.
“I learnt the software, Solid Edge, by following the tutorial kit installed in the software in three days on my own,” she says. “I also spent lots of time studying the data sheet and finding information about the components. With the help of Google Translator, I overcame the language barrier and finally purchased all the items online for the system.”
However, the Peltier, a device used for heating and cooling, broke down during the testing process. To solve the problem, Catherine tried to find a solution with different approaches and contacted the component retailer directly for advice. Catherine’s supervisor took in her suggestion to replace the Peltier with a more reliable freezer and heating plate. “I was glad that my colleagues were all very helpful and friendly. They gave me new ideas for my project. Also, we talked about the cultural differences between Hong Kong and Finland. They taught me Finnish everyday,” Catherine says.
Meeting others from all over the World 
In addition, through joining the activities organised by IAESTE, Catherine met trainees from all over the world, including Germany, Norway, Ireland, Brazil, Thailand and Greece. In the beginning, she was quiet as she could not think of any topics to start the conversation. After a while, Catherine gradually opened up, enjoying the sharing and talks with other trainees. “Some of the friends I met were smart and intelligent. They can speak five different languages fluently. Some of them were kind and helpful, always there to give a hand. Some were funny and humorous, making the trip fun. After spending time with them, my global outlook has been widely broadened,” she says.
Catherine says though she found the new environment in Finland difficult when she first arrived, she stayed positive and took the initiative to make new friends to help herself fit in. She says, “There are always solutions to problems. I really had a wonderful time in Finland. I still remember we had a boat ride on the lake, with the midnight sun gleaming down on us. This beautiful scenery has been deeply embedded in my mind. It’s precious to have all these unforgettable memories of Finland!”
VN:F [1.7.5_995] Rating: 4.3/5 (7 votes cast)
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