More university students than ever are working as interns this summer for vital hands-on experience, university statistics show.
Polytechnic University has placed about 460 students this summer and about 260 Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) students have taken up summer jobs organised by the university this year. Placements for both are up by about 24 per cent compared to last year.
Individual faculties or the student affairs offices at universities link up with companies to provide practical experience relevant to students' area of studies.
Fanny Ng Yee-mei, a second-year student at CUHK's School of Hotel Management, is a summer intern in the Hong Kong Jockey Club's marketing department, earning $4,500 a month. She said that the pay was unimportant compared to the experience L earned. 'It was not until I'd started my internship that I knew I was not tough enough at work. I am meeting new challenges and having to learn how to cope with them calmly,'' she said.
Professor Chua Bee-leng, of CUHK's Department of Management, agrees that summer interns will have an edge over other students in both studies and employment prospects. They were more mature and confident and could identify areas of weakness they should work on in their final year of study, she said.
China Light and Power is one of the companies hiring summer interns. Tammy Wong Pui-hung, group human resources manager, said that internship was a 'win-win-win'' situation for students, universities and companies. Interns not only learnt practical skills but also brought inspiration and creativity to the company. Universities in turn could improve their curricula through feedback from students, she said, adding that CLP had recruited some interns as permanent staff upon their graduation.
Professor Joseph Lee Hun-wei, dean of faculty of engineering at the University of Hong Kong (HKU), said that occasionally he received complaints from summer interns that they learnt little from work. 'Whether students gain from the internship depends on the training of the employers and initiatives of students. Students should not expect to be trained but should observe how people work,'' the professor said.
