Over 300 university students from Hong Kong will begin their internships at both major state-owned enterprises and private companies in Guangzhou for four to six weeks this summer.

This is the fifth year in a row that Guangzhou firms have offered Hong Kong students internships, with a total of 520 posts being secured for the interns this year, according to Mr. Lei Weiju, deputy director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of Guangzhou Municipal Government.

A group photo of guests and students at the launch ceremony. [Photo provided to Newsgd.com]

Lei made the remarks at the launch ceremony of the 2019 Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Hong Kong/Macao Youth Internship Program at the Garden Hotel, Guangzhou on the afternoon of June 14th, 2019.

Initiated in 2015, the project to date has provided more than 3000 internship positions to Hong Kong students, with the aim of helping them better understand Guangzhou’s role in the Greater Bay Area, as well as the city’s economic development and cultural innovation.

Mr. Lei Weiju, deputy director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of Guangzhou Municipal Government [Photo provided to Newsgd.com]

Lei pointed out that the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of Guangzhou Municipal Government is working with the departments concerned to provide the interns with all-round service and support: providing mentorship that guides them through the program and offering tailor-made weekend activities to help them get to know more about Guangzhou.

The first group of students arrived in Guangzhou on Friday and have already started their internships, with another seven groups to arrive in the coming weeks.

Hong Kong student Han Zongyuan [Photo provided to Newsgd.com]

Han Zongyuan, a sophomore student majoring in business administration at the Hang Seng University of Hong Kong, thinks this is a golden opportunity for him to get a different perspective on both the job market in the Chinese mainland and the Greater Bay Area. Han said he looks forward to working in a financial enterprise and getting more information on the Fortune Global 500 enterprises in Guangzhou.

Hong Kong student Zou Zhiqing [Photo provided to Newsgd.com]

Zou Zhiqing, also a sophomore majoring in Chinese language and history at the University of Hong Kong, is going to intern at Guangzhou Museum, hoping to gain work experience and expand her social network. Zou said she has visited Guangzhou twice before, and hopes to visit more places and enjoy the local snacks with her classmates during her stay in the city.

Youth Professionals Alliance Convener Mr. Terence Chan [Photo provided to Newsgd.com]

Youth Professionals Alliance Convener Mr. Terence Chan told the reporter that, like Hong Kong, Guangzhou is one of the core cities of the Greater Bay Area, offering great opportunities for individual development, therefore, he anticipates that the students will not only get firsthand experience of a different way of life through the internship, but also deepen their understanding of the Greater Bay Area’s development.

The internship program is jointly organized by the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the People’s Government of Guangdong Province, Home Affairs Bureau of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, and Youth Development Commission.

Author: Monica Liu

Editor: Simon Haywood

Xu Yulan, Deputy Curator of Sun Yat-sun Library of Guangdong Province [Photo provided to Newsgd.com]

Hong Kong students attend the launch ceremony of the internship project. [Photo provided to Newsgd.com]

Hong Kong students talk with an enterprise representative at the launch ceremony. [Photo provided to Newsgd.com]

A group photo of the Hong Kong students. [Photo provided to Newsgd.com]