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The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (HKETO) in Singapore today (December 1) extended its ASEAN Internship Scheme for Hong Kong Higher Education Students (previously the ASEAN Internship for University Students of Hong Kong Scheme) to cover three more Hong Kong higher education institutions, bringing the total number of participating institutions to 11.
The Scheme was launched by the HKETO in Singapore in 2014 with an aim of widening Hong Kong higher education students' international perspectives and enhancing bilateral relations between Hong Kong and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). In the two rounds launched in 2014 and 2015, a total of some 290 higher education students from the eight University Grants Committee-funded institutions had taken up internships in eight ASEAN countries, namely Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Participating organisations have included private companies, international organisations, academic institutions, think tanks and arts and cultural organisations.
"This internship scheme provides Hong Kong higher education students with more exposure to ASEAN, which comprises 10 economies with great diversity. ASEAN is the second largest trading partner of Hong Kong if taken as a bloc, and is a fast-growing region with which Hong Kong enjoys long-established ties," the Director of the HKETO in Singapore, Mr Bruno Luk, said.
Responses from students who have participated in the Scheme have been very positive. One student who took up an internship in the HKETO in Singapore said that the internship had changed her perception of working in the Government and was very fruitful. Another one who interned at an international organisation based in Bangkok, Thailand, said that the internship inspired her to consider a career in international organisations. A student who took up an internship in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, found that, unlike what she originally thought, Cambodia is in fact very safe and full of business opportunities.
"Echoing the 'Belt and Road' initiatives of the Central People's Government, which aim to enhance, among others, people-to-people bonds, we are pleased to extend the Scheme to cover three more Hong Kong higher education institutions in the 2016 round: the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts and two self-financing institutions, namely Hong Kong Shue Yan University and Hang Seng Management College. We hope that more Hong Kong youths will have the opportunity to take up internships in ASEAN, and we will enhance our efforts in securing more internship opportunities in the ASEAN region," Mr Luk added.
More details of the Scheme are available at www.hketosin.gov.hk/internship.
Ends/Tuesday, December 1, 2015
Issued at HKT 16:01
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