An unconventional programme for triple-win

HKSTP is one of the industry partners of CUHK’s new Co-operative Education Programme (Co-op@CUHK), which is Hong Kong’s first university-wide Co-op Programme. Penultimate and final year students enrolled in the programme will participate in six to eight months of credit-bearing, paid, full-time job placements at a variety of companies and organisations. Co-op@CUHK also enables employers to engage with promising students and capture the right talent early.

Dr John Lai, Director of the Office of Co-operative Education Programme, said, “Unlike conventional internships, Co-op@CUHK gives students more opportunities to dive deep into the operations and culture of their host companies, and make impactful contributions.” He added that he was elated to see Co-op@CUHK students develop professionalism and become more self-motivated to learn what they need for the workplace and their careers.

Alvin Wong, a student majoring in biomedical sciences, is working in the core facilities team at HKSTP’s Institute for Translational Research. “The placement has helped me gain insights from industry experts in lab rotation and visiting biotech companies. Through the pre-employment courses, I am better prepared to meet challenges in the workplace,” Alvin said. The state-of-the-art facilities impressed him, too: “It’s amazing to see advanced technologies such as super-resolution microscopy, mass spectrometry and flow cytometry.”

Regan Jaehyun Park is a Korean economics major serving at STP Platform, helping industries transform for the data age and Hong Kong thrive in a data-driven world.. He has contributed by supporting banking and finance companies as they learn federative learning, and presented to his department on how synthetic data could protect companies’ sensitive data. The Co-op placement has widened Regan’s perspectives. He explained, “Being involved in the department’s meetings helps me understand the mindsets of different leaders. It also helps me better understand business in a real-world setting.”

Discomfort brings possibilities

Challenges could be seen as nutrients for personal growth. Wilbert Averil is an Indonesian economics major working at InnoAcademy. He recalled an experience of cold-calling a tech talent who rejected collaboration opportunities. “As a shy person, I was very nervous. I was afraid I would make a bad impression, so I paid too much attention to how I performed. After self-reflection, I’m determined to listen to people’s needs and jot down notes during the phone conversations,” he said. 

Albert encouraged students to embrace what is meaningful or even uncomfortable. He shared a nerve-racking experience when he had to present an M&A proposal worth US$200 million to the legendary CEO Jack Welch at the GE headquarters. “I was only 38 and I was unfamiliar with the M&A process in the US. But I needed to work with various senior GE staff from diverse backgrounds, such as legal, management, human resources and information technology.”

He had sleepless nights for a week. “All I could do was make the best preparations for the proposal.” The acquisition was ultimately successful, and GE assigned him roles in business development and product marketing. “When you face challenges, you can choose to confront and grow from them.” These days, he teaches M&A at CUHK and HKU, as well as nurturing technology companies and talent at HKSTP.