Mainland internships will ‘broaden minds’ of HK youths: FS
Hong Kong youths can “broaden their minds” and obtain first-hand knowledge of the nation’s development by joining various internship programs offered on the Chinese mainland, says Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po.
A host of exchange and internship programs have recently kicked off on the mainland, attracting young Hong Kong people who are eager to take up the challenge and gain experience during the upcoming summer break.
The programs, offered by numerous mainland cities, cover diverse fields and sectors, ranging from information and technology to financial services and volunteering work.
Writing in his Sunday blog, Chan said he himself had attended the launch of two internship programs for Hong Kong youths in Beijing during a visit to the nation’s capital from June 20 to 22.
The programs include one organized by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) — the country’s top scientific research institution — which is a brand new program for Hong Kong youths, with 22 Hong Kong undergraduates taking part.
The internship focuses on the trendiest areas in technological innovation, such as artificial intelligence, smart robots and driverless vehicles. A team of 18 experts from the CAS, specializing in automation, computing and software, will supervise the Hong Kong interns during their six-week stay in Beijing.
The other program is organized by Fin Society — a Hong Kong non-profit making organization providing internships in the financial sector. Since the inauguration of the Beijing program in 2015, the number of participants has been rising every year. This year, 58 Hong Kong young people have been offered internship opportunities at leading enterprises.
Chan said promoting such programs will help young people broaden their horizons and open up their minds by experiencing the culture of different societies, and this will benefit their future careers.
Meanwhile, cross-boundary technological, financial and educational exchanges are also being stepped up, with 50 Hong Kong scholars in the field of technology and innovation having just concluded a four-day trip to Changsha, capital of Hunan province. The scholars, aged between 21 and 35, included many with doctoral degrees, as well as researchers from top Hong Kong universities like the University of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, and the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
During the visit, the Hong Kong academics, specializing in biomedicine, mechanical engineering and business administration, met entrepreneurs and toured Changsha extensively to obtain firsthand knowledge of the city’s development. They explored opportunities in working together with Changsha in offering internships, conducting research, setting up businesses and finding jobs in future.
A 150-member Hong Kong delegation will also begin a five-day trip to the mainland on Monday, visiting Shenzhen in Guangdong province, Wuhan in Hubei province, and Beijing to obtain a better understanding of the nation’s development in innovation and technology.
Other groups of Hong Kong students will be heading north too next month to learn cultural preservation and nature conservation. The sixweek internships will take them to work at such prestigious institutes as the Palace Museum in Beijing, the Wolong National Nature Reserve in Sichuan province — a major habitat for giant pandas — and Dunhuang city
Hong Kong youths can ‘broaden their minds’... by joining various internship programs offered on the Chinese mainland.”
Paul Chan Mo-po,
in Gansu province, where the famous Mogao Grottoes are located.
In the financial sector, the Shenzhen Summer Internship Program will begin during the summer break, allowing Hong Kong youths to get a taste of Shenzhen’s fintech ecosystem during a sixweek internship.