Many degree programmes at the University of Macau (UM) require students to join internships to give them a chance to apply their knowledge in the workplace. In addition to academic requirements, some UM students volunteer for internships on and off campus in order to gain work experience. At UM, the Student Affairs Office (SAO) offers internship opportunities in collaboration with external organisations, while the Communications Office offers an internship programme for students in the Department of Communication. We talked to several students who hope to enrich their work experience and prepare for their future careers through an internship.
An Internship at a Secondary School
Students in the Bachelor of Education programme offered by UM’s Faculty of Education are required to undertake an internship in a Macao school during their fourth year. Cheung Pui Man, a fourth-year student in the Bachelor of Education (Integrated Science) programme and a member of Choi Kai Yau College, is currently completing a one-year internship at Pui Ching Middle School (Macau). In her internship, she mainly teaches science to students at junior secondary level. ‘My major places an emphasis on interdisciplinary skills. The programme requires students to take classes from not only the Faculty of Education, but also the Faculty of Science and Technology and the Faculty of Health Sciences,’ says Cheung.
At the beginning of the internship, Cheung had difficulty putting theory into practice. To overcome it, she sought advice from professors at UM and teachers at the secondary school and adjusted the pace of her class by incorporating more interactive activities. She also chatted with her students after class to see if they understood the course content. ‘I cannot learn these skills from textbooks as they must be acquired through practice,’ she says.
Working in the Media Industry
Du Zhiqing, a fourth-year student in the Department of Psychology and a member of Chao Kuang Piu College, is a member of the UM Reporter Programme. Du applied for an internship that is offered by the Career Development Centre of the SAO and mainland organisations. In July this year, she was assigned to the news department of a cultural service centre in Nanlang, Zhongshan city, where she mainly assisted in producing WeChat videos, writing articles, and planning promotional activities.
During the internship, Du and her colleagues visited the local nucleic acid tests centres multiples times to report on related news. ‘Whenever there is an emergency, reporters are always the first to arrive on the scene to report on the incident,’ says Du. ‘From what I see, reporters concentrate on their job of reporting even when they are dripping with sweat in the hot weather. This has ignited my passion for pursuing a career in the media industry and I want to become a diligent journalist.’
An Internship at Construction Sites
In June, Qin Zichao, a second-year student in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and a member of Stanley Ho East Asia College, worked as an intern at construction sites on the Seac Pai Van route of the Macau Light Rapid Transit as part of a project of China Road and Bridge Corporation (Hong Kong & Macau). He was mainly responsible for drawing plans and elevations of buildings and tracking the progress of the project, and he says the work was very challenging. ‘Without knowing much about civil drawing, which is taught in the second year of university, I had to quickly pick up the skills at the beginning of the internship,’ says Qin.
During the internship, Qin also learned how to get along with much older colleagues. ‘If I want to work in this industry and have a successful career, I must learn how to communicate with people who are much older than me,’ he says. Having completed the internship, Qin wants to work in this industry and plans to apply for internships in other organisations. ‘I really enjoy working in the industry of civil and environmental engineering and will do my best to pursue a career in this field,’ says Qin.
Source: My UM ISSUE 118
