Guangdong summers are long and hot with plenty of sunshine and the occasional typhoon. UICers have taken advantage of this long summer break by improving themselves and gaining practical experience through internships. The following personal accounts are from students of the Division of Business and Management (DBM).
Li Xushan, Accounting
This summer, I was fortunate to join KPMG (Guangzhou), which is a multinational professional services network, and one of the Big Four accounting organisations, along with Deloitte, Ernst & Young, and PricewaterhouseCoopers. I was an intern in the audit department and even though it was only short internship of just over a month, it has benefited me a lot.
Li Xushan spends the summer working with KPMG
In my opinion, practice is the only way to test whether we really understand what we have learned in class. While working in the audit department, I was often required to understand and communicate with the customer and elevate the date presented to me in addition to having knowledge of the disclosure status. I applied what relevant accounting knowledge that I had learnt in the classroom when dealing with different situations at work. Applying your own knowledge to your work and solving practical problems is a very rewarding.
Due to KPMG being a large company there were always huge projects with urgent deadlines that required the team’s full attention. When I first started and experienced this type of pressure, I felt uncomfortable but slowly I was able to calm my mind and devote myself to busy work.
What I have learnt about myself is that I can quickly adjust and adapt to a high-intensity working environment. A large part of the reason is due to the "cultivation" of the three-year university life at UIC.
In addition to my work, I also joined various workshops to gain further knowledge in different fields. I participated in the CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) department of the company to assist a group of children, and also got to meet a group of like-minded and enthusiastic partners. I think this is also one of the meanings of internship: to actively participate in various activities organised by the company, to give you a chance to show your abilities, and to learn to deal with different people.
Li Xushan joins various workshops throughout her internship
UIC's curriculum is rich, and after-school homework is also a combination of individual efforts and teamwork. This encourages every UICer to continuously learn how to adjust the mindset in a timely manner, time management, and complete each task efficiently and with the highest of quality. I am very grateful for being able to put what I have learnt in the classroom and use it in a real practical working situation.
Lin Bojun, Applied Economics
As a member of the Macau Aviation Cultural Exchange Association, I was fortunate enough to be invited during July to visit the Embraer's latest E195-E2 jet at the Macau Airport for a couple of days.
Lin Bojun is invited to Macao to experience the Embraer E195-E2 jet
In Macao, I boarded the latest Embraer E195-E2 and experienced the interior, three-cabin layout as well as cockpit of the aircraft. Through communication with Embraer's staff, I learned about the current developments in the aviation industry and the development trends of the global aviation industry.
In addition, I had the privilege of learning and interacting with the Macau Airport, Air Macau, Macau Business Jet Center, Macao Air Traffic Control Industry, seniors and pilots. I gave an introduction of UIC to the seniors of the Macao Aviation Cultural Exchange Association. They expressed that they would welcome UIC students to understand the aviation industry and even suggested that UIC students could travel to Macao to learn about the aviation industry in the future.
Yang Junhan, Accounting
This summer, I worked as an intern at the audit department of PricewaterhouseCoopers Guangzhou. During the internship, the project team was responsible for the mid-term audit of the Guangzhou Rural Commercial Bank and the A-share IPO (IPO), and my reporting department was responsible for communicating with the bank.
Yang Junhan has an intership during the summer at PricewaterhouseCoopers
To my surprise, my project manager as well as one of my colleagues were UIC alumni. They helped me a lot during my internship and gave me a better understanding of the industry.
Yang Junhan (left) and UIC Applied Economics Graduate, Donn (top) and UIC Finance Graduate, Hanker (bottom)
I learned a lot about hard work and persistence during my Internship at PricewaterhouseCoopers. When working on a project, every colleague works from 10am until midnight, and sometimes later. However, in such a high-intensity work environment, they are still taking time to improve themselves and this unremitting spirit has affected me.
Ding Zixi, e-Business Management and Information Systems
I took an internship in the information planning department of China Datacom Corporation Limited in Guangzhou during the summer break. China Datacom Corporation Limited is affiliated with China Telecom and is the only partner of SAP in Mainland China.
When I worked for the company, they were in the late development period for researching its latest ‘easy payment’ system, Easy Pay. Easy Pay is salary based software based on SAP SuccessFactors technology. It is designed to be a one-stop compensation problem management solution.
During my internships I discovered that UIC’s professional courses have allowed me to quickly understand the principles of the technology, so as to better understand the concept and function of the product.
I participated in the data collection of the compensation accounting algorithm during the development phase. In understanding the product’s development process, I learned the policies of different regions and the salary ideas of companies of different natures. During the preparation period, I used the business knowledge that I had gained at UIC to assist in the PPT and poster production for the product’s introduction, and also independently completed the teaching video of the product. The experience at this internship has provided me more specific planning towards my professional future.
Thanks to the study at UIC, I have a solid professional foundation. In the following study, I will combine the practical experience and textbook content to accept new knowledge and express myself more.
Wang Yijun, Marketing Management
I have a strong interest in hospitality so this summer I chose to have a two-month internship in the Marketing Department of the Conrad Hotel in Guangzhou. Conrad Hotels are a high-end brand under the Hilton Group, and its marketing communications department is responsible for the day-to-day promotion and public relations of the hotel.
Wang Yijun (first from right) and colleagues at the Conrad in Guangzhou
My role during my internship was participating in the warm family package planning of the guest rooms. I engaged with strengthening the brand power and word-of-mouth effect of the hotel. My department mainly manages the hotel’s official social media accounts which include WeChat and Weibo, so we would create content and address the public’s comments as well as cooperate with third-party online travel agencies as well as some merchants. In the process, I learned how to manage a platform as well as how to manage comments.
Wang Yijun participates in the warm family package planning of the guest room
Wang Yijun assists in media shooting
In addition, I was honoured to follow the team during the internship and learn from them, especially the importance of communication in the workforce, which resulted in me being trusted to contact several media outlets who came to take photographs.
Editors: Samuel Burgess, Deen He (MPRO)
(with thanks to the ELC)
