270 Students from Eight Tertiary Institutes Depart for Summer Internship
Ready for Broadening their View
Jointly organized by 23 organizations including All-China Youth Federation, Dalian Commodity Exchange, Hong Kong United Youth Association ("HKUYA"), New World Development Company Limited ("NWD" or "The Group", Hong Kong stock code: 017), HK-SH Youth Exchange Promotion Association, and hosted by HKUYA Student Exchange Network (affiliated to HKUYA) ("SEN"), "HKUYA New Youth, New World" 2010 Summer Internship Programme held its kick-off ceremony today. 270 outstanding students from eight tertiary institutes in Hong Kong will soon depart for the summer internship in Beijing, Shanghai and Dalian.
Held at Y-Theatre of Youth Square in Chai Wan, the kick-off ceremony was officiated by Ms Tang Shu Lan, Deputy Director General of the Youth Department of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government; Mrs Rita Fan, Member of Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China; Ms Florence Hui, Under Secretary for Home Affairs; Mr Rock Chen, Chairman of HKUYA; and Mr Adrian Cheng, Honorary Chairman of "HKUYA New Youth, New World" 2010 Summer Internship Programme and Executive Director of NWD, and other honourable guests.
Mr Rock Chen congratulated the 270 participants for winning an intern position among more than 2,000 applicants. He hopes that the students could grasp this golden opportunity to gain more invaluable experiences.
Mrs Rita Fan encouraged the students to treasure this opportunity, "Students in the Mainland wishes to have the same chance as you too, but Hong Kong students are usually on top priority as the Mainland employers believe that Hong Kong students could act as a bridge to the international arena with their global insight."
Ms Florence Hui gave tips on how to learn more to the students, "Three OPENs: 1) OPEN you eyes to observe more and learn more about the latest development of the country; 2) OPEN your mind to feel and experience every memorable moment; 3) OPEN your mouth, not only to the delicious local food, but also to speak and communicate more with people." She believes that learning more about the culture in the Mainland is a key to success in the future.
Mr Adrian Cheng said, "Students are just like a sheet of white paper. We hope that you could learn and enjoy every moment in these six weeks, and broaden your view, just like putting colours on your own sheet of paper, making your life more colorful and fruitful."
These 270 students will depart for Beijing, Shanghai and Dalian in mid of June for a six-week internship. Intern positions are provided by the state-owned, Hong Kong-based corporations and Ministry of Culture, being the first time participating in this programme. Students will also be arranged to visit government departments, projects and properties of NWD, as well as other famous sight-seeing spots. CEO Exchange Day, in which students can meet the successful entrepreneurs, will be arranged for the students.
In a research done by SEN in March 2010, 70% out of 600 interviewees expressed their willingness to seek job opportunities in the Mainland. However, some of them indicated their worries in adopting to the new environment. This internship programme can provide students with a chance to experience the culture in the Mainland, so that they could be well equipped for future challenges in working there.
This internship programme has stepped into its fourth year. In 2007, 31 HKU students were arranged to Shanghai for a five-week internship. Following the success of the first year, in 2008 and 2009, HKUYA partnered with NWD and other organizations to organize the "New Youth New World" Summer Internship Programme, with a continual increase in the number of participating tertiary institutes, students and internship cities. This year, an information session was held in January with over 1,000 registrants. The number of applicants to the internship programme has jumped to around 2,000, while the number of internship positions has also increased to around 300.