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| Summer 2007, WIE training in a real estate management company in Hong Kong |
| Spring 2008, Study tour to Dubai |
| Summer 2008, WIE training in Nanjing Folklore Museum |
| Present, Building Management Trainee, Swire Properties Ltd |
LAU Kai-hin Hughes || August 2009 Graduated with BSc (Hons) Property Management
Fascinated by Chinese culture and history and driven by his desire to understand the operation of a Chinese organisation, in summer 2008, LAU Kai-hin Hughes joined an internship programme at Nanjing Folklore Museum through SAO’s ‘Preferred Graduate’ Development Programme. It was an inspirational experience that facilitated the career development of this Property Management graduate.
At the museum, Hughes was a guide with the responsibility to introduce tourists to the historical background of the former Gan Xi Residence built in the Qing dynasty and give information about the exhibits. “The internship might seem irrelevant to my studies, but the skills and experience I acquired were practical for my job hunt,” Hughes says.
Through the ample opportunities of presenting to tourists of different nationalities, his self-confidence was highly boosted, while his presentation skills were greatly enhanced. “It’s very true that practice makes perfect. The internship gave me the chance to make presentations to strangers. I observed the tourists’ responses and facial expressions, and adjusted my speed and tone if they started to lose attention or feel bored,” he says. “Later when I needed to speak in front of a group of directors during a job interview, I would not feel too nervous.”
 Learn to be a competent leader
To Hughes, the internship offered him more than just work experience, but also an invaluable leadership training. During the internship, the Student Affairs Office arranged for him and other interns a series of activities such as outward bound, outings with Southeast University students as well as visit to local village and families. Hughes was appointed as the chief leader of the Nanjing internship group, comprised of 30 PolyU students.
“As the group leader, I represented PolyU and SAO, and needed to get along with schoolmates from different majors and programmes. On one hand, on behalf of other PolyU interns, I needed to be on stage to give speeches during ceremonies or formal meetings. On the other hand, I cooperated with team members and maintained close communication with different parties. All these led me to be more independent and mature,” Hughes says.
The internship experience was also a chance to review his life and career choice. “When I returned to Hong Kong, I realised the importance of career planning,” he says. He then spent several months on devising and fine-tuning his career plan. He believes a plan with achievable targets will give clearer direction and guide him towards his career goal.
“The Nanjing experience together with previous internship in Hong Kong and the study tour in Dubai had widened my horizons and made me understand myself more,” he says. He also attended a number of trainings on career planning and job hunt skills, and kept polishing both his Putonghua and spoken English to better equip himself.
Planning for career success
His persistence and adroit planning paid off. Now Hughes is working for Swire Properties Ltd as Building Management Trainee, the first step towards his dream. “The first thing that a fresh graduate needs to do is to clarify what you want to achieve and where you want to get to in your life. This is vital. Once you have the answer, you will know what to do,” he says.
“Make sure that every step you take leads you closer to your goal. As fresh graduates, look for the field that you are most interested in. Working in areas that you enjoy will bring you happiness and eventually lead you to success!” Hughes concludes.
VN:F [1.7.5_995] Rating: 4.3/5 (10 votes cast)
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| Spring 2007, Academic exchange to Nottingham Business School, UK |
| Summer 2007, 5-week WIE training in Bank of China, Nanjing |
| Summer 2007, 6-week WIE training in Ernst & Young Tax Services Limited, Hong Kong |
| Present, Management Trainee in a Japan-based bank |
TSANG Wing-fung Kurt || August 2008 Graduated with BBA (Hons) Accounting and Finance
Kurt, a graduate in Accounting and Finance, is presently a management trainee at a Japanese Bank. With clear objectives, Kurt started to plan his career when he first entered university, fully utilizing every resource and opportunity offered to him throughout his three-year university life. “What professors teach us in class is theory. The most important thing is applying what you have learnt in real life,” Kurt says.
Trying hard to gain something extra besides textbook learning, Kurt joined the Debate Club and various student societies in his first year at university. His involvement in different societies and competitions enhanced his analytical mind and public speaking skills.
“University life is short. Therefore, I planned to maximise my learning and organise my university life in a strategic way. Through participation in different co-curricular activities, I enhanced my different generic competencies, which was reflected in my resume and helped differentiate myself from others,” Kurt recalls.
Returning from a study exchange in the UK in 2007, he interned at Bank of China in Nanjing for a month through SAO’s “Preferred Graduate” Development Programme. He regards the summer internship experience in China as a cornerstone of his career. “Although I also got summer job experience in Hong Kong, the experience in China really helped me pursue my first job,” says Kurt, who later in the same summer received another internship offer from leading accounting firm, Ernst & Young.
“Although I majored in Accounting and Finance, I realised my career choice need not be only limited to accounting and auditing because of my banking experience in Nanjing. I understood more clearly about the operation of the bank and I found I was interested in developing my career in the field,” says Kurt, who began job hunting early in the beginning of his last year at university.
Attitude is the key
Many students might be reluctant to head to China for their internships because of the perception that the Mainland workplace has a completely different culture. After his placement in the Mainland, Kurt thinks the experience was a great exposure to the bank industry for him. “Hong Kong students are in general quite protected. Going north can widen their horizons and they will come back with a different mindset.”
The attitude of his superior during the Nanjing internship also inspired the Hong Kong student. “What they were most concerned about was customer services. Through observing their daily routine, I learnt that attitude was very important. It affects how you view your job and position yourself,” Kurt says.
Kurt says his present employer places great emphasis on staff’s attitude and the company spends lots of resources on nurturing and training staff. “They believe a person’s skills and knowledge can be developed through a series of on-the-job training. However, attitude cannot be taught,” he says.
VN:F [1.7.5_995] Rating: 3.9/5 (10 votes cast)
WU Wai-kin Kenneth || BSc (Hons) Internet & Multimedia Technologies || SINA Corporation Beijing
 The four-week internship at the Mainland online medium, SINA Corporation Beijing, was an unforgettable experience and a good lesson for Wu Wai-kin Kenneth, which enhanced his problem-solving skills and prompted him to show more initiative. “Success never emerges by itself. You need to strive for it,” says the Internet and Multimedia Technology student.
During the first two weeks, Kenneth worked in the SINA Email department as an application administrator responsible for selecting relevant and useful spam. “It may sound an easy task. But when you had to check an avalanche of spam everyday, without an efficient method and with no clear instruction given, it could be really annoying and depressing,” Kenneth recalls.
To enhance efficiency, he sought help from his manager. “Now I know the importance of taking the initiative and planning ahead. Otherwise, it would just be a waste of time and resources,” he says.
More challenges followed. Kenneth and his teammates were then asked to write a programme to select keywords from the title of every advertising mail using Visual Basic, a tool which none of them had come across before. “We panicked at first. But our colleagues were all helpful and nice. With their patient guidance and instructions, we finally got the programme developed,” says Kenneth.
Overcome challenges
While they were overjoyed by their accomplishment, they found that the programme was unexpectedly slow. To improve the performance of the programme, they tracked down the causes and tackled them bit by bit. Kenneth says, “It was really a tough process. Fortunately, our effort turned out to be very fruitful. We established a complete database which I believe would be useful to the company.”
To Kenneth, the culture and energetic spirit of the company was what impressed him most. “In SINA, everyone seems very relaxed. In fact, they are very conscious of quality and efficiency,” Kenneth says. He and his teammates were also glad to be offered the chance to attend an internal monthly meeting. “It was a meaningful occasion since I could get a better understanding of the company’s structure and operation. It would be regretful if we missed such a chance,” Kenneth adds.
In the one-month internship, Kenneth has developed a strong sense of belonging to the company and Beijing. “I wanted the internship to be extended so that I could explore the city further,” he says.
VN:F [1.7.5_995] Rating: 4.7/5 (6 votes cast)
WONG Mei-sze Karen || BA (Hons) Language Studies for the Profession || CCTV, Beijing
 Being on the front line of the mainland media industry, Wong Mei-sze Karen experienced one of the most rewarding and unforgettable moments of her life and developed an interest in world affairs.
Under the arrangements of the Hong Kong United Youth Association (HKUYA), Karen worked as an intern at the national television station, CCTV, and assisted on the production of The Observer, a popular TV programme on the CCTV2 economic channel, during the one-month placement. “Every morning, the producers, editors, commentators and all the student interns gathered to discuss the biggest news of the day and decide the daily topic to work on,” she says.
Effective communication and presentation skills are imperative in the mass media. The training at the mainland TV station which is viewed by an audience of over one billion every day has boosted the Karen’s communication skills. “Every decision needs to be made within a very short time. To play an active role, I had to present my opinions precisely and skillfully. This daily practice has significantly improved my communication skills,” says Karen.
Karen once followed the reporters to interview the chief analyst of the Bank of China, Ms. Tan Yaling, which was featured in a special series, China-US Strategic Dialogue. Karen recalls: “Although the topic was complicated, the reporter presented it in a comprehensible way. I learnt how messages could be conveyed clearly and effectively to diverse audience group.” She was also impressed by the interviewee’s wittiness.
Quality is the first priority
Karen was inspired by the professionalism of the mainland journalists. She found that her colleagues in Beijing placed a lot of focus on the content and quality of the show. “They spent a lot of time and resources in choosing the topic, doing research and editing. Also, every comment from the guest speakers has to be screened to ensure accurate messages are communicated,” she says.
The internship opportunity also completely changed Karen’s impression about the mainland working culture. “My colleagues could manage many tasks in a single day. They set the topic, conducted the interviews and discussed the content. They also collected comments and cartoons from netizens, editing films and having the programme broadcasted. They are highly efficient,” says Karen.
While her knowledge about the media industry has been deepened, she now has a better understanding about her career goal and herself as a person. “Working in the media is challenging as you need to be knowledgeable enough to handle massive information from various fields and subjects. Meanwhile, it is also very interesting as you will meet many people from various backgrounds and professions,” she says.
“I do enjoy the challenges and the tight schedule of the media industry. The experience has certainly helped me identify my career interest. This is my goal after graduation.”
VN:F [1.7.5_995] Rating: 3.7/5 (10 votes cast)
CHAU Yuen-lam || BSc (Hons) Optometry || Tianjin Optometric Hospital
 Despite having a previous clinical placement, Chau Yuen-lam enjoyed a fresh and memorable internship at the Tianjin Optometric Hospital last summer.
The third-year Optometry student was appointed to different departments to observe various services of the optometric hospital in Tianjin. Among all her duties during the placement, her participation in several eye surgeries was the most inspirational.
“I had never observed live eye surgery such as on drooping upper eyelids, cataracts and glaucoma,” she says. “Although lecturers have gone through all these surgeries in class, first-hand observation was indeed unforgettable and beneficial. I now have a deeper understanding of the subject and learned things that have not been taught in lectures. I am now more confident in explaining the surgery procedure to patients.” Yuen-lam, who mainly delivered primary eye-care checkup during her previous placement in Hong Kong, gained a different and vivid working experience in the mainland city.
“In Tianjin, I was placed in the clinical examination room to assist vision examination. Also, I worked in the outpatient clinic where I could help patients with different ocular diseases and observed how the doctors handled each patient,” she says. Yuen-lam also helped check the refraction of patients and examine the anterior ocular health of patients suffering serious cataracts and glaucoma.
The pursuit of professional standards
Through the internship, Yuen-lam has identified some of her weaknesses and is resolved to make improvements. “I realised that I was not knowledgeable enough. I will work for more knowledge of the optometry profession,” she says.
She was surprised by the awareness of eye-care of Tianjin people. “They have a clear concept about the notation of vision grading. For example, they know that vision 1.0 indicates normal vision. Most Hong Kong people have no idea about that,” she says.
Influenced by her internship experience, Yuen-lam is more determined to be a good optometrist and aspires to promote vision health and services. “I met a poor seven-year-old girl who had congenital hemangioma and thus the vision of her eye was affected seriously. The needy patients have aroused my passion to be a good optometrist. It is a meaningful job and I want to promote vision health among the public,” Yuen-lam says.
VN:F [1.7.5_995] Rating: 4.3/5 (3 votes cast)
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