#shiningwithoutboundaries

Connor KAM has been passionate about sustainability since secondary school, so Environmental Management and Technology (EVMT) program of HKUST is undoubtedly the best choice for him to achieve his dream. Environmental Management and Technology (EVMT) aims at nurturing future sustainability leaders to deliver ecologically and economically sound solutions and drive sustainability initiatives in the public and private sectors. Connor appreciated the specific design of the program to prepare students to work in sustainability field.  He particular admired the faculty members for building a harmonious EVMT community that allows students to collaborate with like-minded peers and connect with senior students, alumni, mentors and industrial professionals.  

In the first year of study, Connor devoted himself to serving in the Environment Students’ Society as the External Vice-President. Interacting with mentors and industry professionals through society events, he shed insights into his career interest and exploration.

Like most of the students, Connor started his internship searching in year 2. Apart from looking up popular job sites such as HKUST job board and Jobs DB, Connor also spoke with senior students to understand the internship market and potential opportunities.

He got a summer marketing intern position in sustainable construction at BASF in Year 2 summer. In BASF, he was tasked with research and compilation of green building and construction specifications to identify regional market demands in Asia Pacific. Despite having limited prior knowledge of the field, he built up his understanding through reviewing regulatory and certification documents in the regions one by one. He learned to speed-read large volumes of documents and condense technical specifications into accessible pointers when presenting the findings to the regional management.

All listed companies in Hong Kong are required to produce and issue an annual environmental, social and governance (ESG) report to fulfill the requirements set by the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited. In order to gain in-depth full cycle experience of conducting ESG reporting, Connor took a gap year and joined Hang Seng Bank as a Corporate Sustainability Intern during his penultimate year of study.  This internship helped Connor acquire a solid foundation on ESG reporting, the essential workplace soft skills and ascertained his career interest in the field.

Connor will soon start his new chapter at EY as an ESG Consultant.  The whole recruitment process took about 4 months including online assessments on reading, numerical and logical abilities and interviews with the managers and a partner of EY.  He believes that the experience gained from the internship in Hang Seng Bank will be helpful for his up-coming role.   

Connor advises the junior students to join volunteering activities during early years of study to gain exposure in collaboration and contribution with like-minded peers towards a common good goal. For internship hunting, Connor suggests starting the planning earlier and being flexible to organization type, job nature and company culture to explore their career interests.  Networking is also valuable even for students to understand the up-to-date market development and get valuable insights from people in the industry, such as mentors and alumni.