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.
Mok Wong-ning Daniel spent a busy and fruitful summer internship at the Chinese Cultural Centre of Greater Toronto in Canada. The placement at the non-profit making organisation was not just a beneficial career exposure for the final year Surveying undergraduate, it was an intriguing exploration in a multicultural world.