With the generous sponsorship of Wong Chak Chui International Enrichment Scholarship 2016/17, four IPO students went aboard to take up internships and earned eye-opening working experiences in different industries. 

Both awardees NG Ka Yu, Environmental Management & Technology Program (EVMT) Year 4 student, and CHENG Yiu Leung, Risk Management & Business Intelligence Program (RMBI) Year 4 student, took up internship in Singapore.

Ka Yu worked as a Commercial Relations Intern in Singapore’s Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (HKETO) which represents HKSAR Government to enhance understandings and strengthen the bilateral relations between Hong Kong and part of the ASEAN region. He helped prepare the Thailand trip for HKSAR Government Secretary of Transport and Housing, conducted a research on tourist attractions development and joined the preparation of Chinese New Year celebration reception. Ka Yu was impressed by the efficiency of Singapore Government and reflected how it could be applied to Hong Kong being the freest economy in the world.

Instead of joining the government sector, Yiu Leung got the chance to work in a startup TechSociety Private Limited which provides technology education service as summer business associate. Yiu Leung’s duty was to prepare proposals and quotations for bidding projects and conduct research for setting up new courses. In view of his outstanding performance, he was offered to work in another startup AbleSociety to serve the visually impaired people. They had to develop the startup from scratch and it’s a golden opportunity for Yiu Leung to experience the whole process of establishing a startup including business model setup and product design. 

Another two awardees, Year 3 students of Dual Degree Program in Technology & Management, WANG Ta Wei, Arthur, and YAO Xinjie, Abby, gained exposure in a financial media startup at London and a venture capital fund company at Silicon Valley respectively.

Arthur joined Clear Path Analysis as a Business and Marketing Analyst to publish reports on current trends of financial markets. The supervisors coached him with patience and details in doing research for financial reports on major events. Arthur had produced two articles on financial blogs and company’s official website. Through this internship, he learned the skills to analyze connections between news events and different industries and was inspired of how marketing and business development can be done practically.   

Abby traveled to Silicon Valley - tech-lovers’ dream workplace - to work for a venture capital fund company, Comet Labs, as an investment analyst. She got to meet and talk with many entrepreneurs, industry leaders, engineers etc. from diverse fields which had opened up an amazing world for her to further pursue her great passion in robotics and artificial intelligence.      

In 2016/17 academic year, 7 IPO students were awarded with the scholarships to exchange or take up internships overseas. Some of the awardees met with donor representatives Mr Ryan Wong and Mr Roland Wong, Directors of Wong Chak Chui Charitable Foundation, on 7 September 2017 to share how the sponsorship benefited them.

The Wong Chak Chui Charitable Foundation was set up in the memory of the late Wong Chak Chui and supports projects related to education, health and social welfare.  Financial needy HKUST students with business-related major can apply to sponsor their international enrichment activities. For 2017/18 academic year, the Foundation will allocate new funds to sponsor students who participate in enrichment programs in the One-Belt-One-Road countries. IPO will soon invite applications for Wong Chak Chui International Enrichment Scholarship 2017/18. Please stay tuned!