Thematic Youth Internship Programmes to the Mainland 2024

The Home and Youth Affairs Bureau announced the launch of a new round of the Thematic Youth Internship Programmes to the Mainland to provide young people with thematic internship opportunities in cultural, nature conservation and scientific research institutions on the Mainland. Six internships will be rolled out under the new round of the Thematic Programmes, including: "Hong Kong-Macao Youth Internship Programme at Palace Museum", co-organised with the Palace Museum in Beijing "Youth Internship Programme at Wolong Region of Giant Panda National Park", co-organised with the Sichuan Provincial Administration of the Giant Panda National Park "Youth Internship Programme at Chinese Academy of Sciences", co-organised with the Chinese Academy of Sciences "Youth Internship Programme at Dunhuang", co-organised with the Dunhuang Academy "Youth Internship Programme at Shandong on Marine Sciences", co-organised with Laoshan National Laboratory at Qingdao "Youth Internship Programme at Wuyishan on Biodiversity Conservation", co-organised with the Wuyishan National Park Administration   Programmes OverviewThe internship programmes will commence from June to August this year and last for three to six weeks, providing Hong Kong youths with more than 110 thematic internship positions covering areas such as cultural heritage preservation, scientific research and technology, and ecological and environmental conservation. Through the internship, participants will gain an in-depth understanding and participate in the work of national cultural, nature conservation, and scientific research institutions, and acquire unique work experience by undertaking various training and research projects under the guidance of experts. Apart from internships, the co-organisers will also provide training, field trips and other cultural exchange activities for participants, thereby deepening their understanding of the local culture and industry developments. EligibilityApplicants should be local full-time post-secondary students (including sub-degree, undergraduate and post-graduate students) aged between 18 and 30, and holding a Hong Kong Permanent Identity Card or a Hong Kong Identity Card. Please visit the website of the Youth Development Commission for programmes information and application details.

Youth Start-up Internship Programme 2024 offers 200 Internship Positions

The Home and Youth Affairs Bureau partners with the Hong Kong Cyberport Management Company Limited (Cyberport) and Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP) to launch the Youth Start-up Internship Programme 2024, with a view to providing young people with internship opportunities at local start-ups and fostering their interest in pursuing a career in innovation and technology. In addition, the Programme also aims to help start-ups nurture talents and drive the development of the local innovation and technology related industries. Key Features The Programme offers 200 internship positions in total across various disciplines, such as data analysis, fintech, artificial intelligence, business development and marketing. Participating companies may engage interns in full-time, part-time or mixed mode. Each internship position will be entitled to a salary subsidy up to HK$11,200 per month provided by the Government. Participating students will be able to: ．apply acquired knowledge to gain work experience;．develop and sharpen their specialised and transferable skills through participating in a series of training and entrepreneurship activities provided by Cyberport and HKSTP;．get an opportunity to visit start-ups in the Mainland cities of the Greater Bay Area to learn about the entrepreneurial ecosystem there;．gain a career head start in the innovation and technology related industries; and．build network with professionals and leaders in the start-up community. Eligibility ．Hong Kong Permanent Identity Card holder or Hong Kong Identity Card holder aged between 18 and 30;．Full-time student from a local post-secondary or tertiary institution (including students of sub-degree, undergraduate and postgraduate programmes); and．Not a beneficiary concurrently under any publicly funded internship programme. Internship Period 3 to 6 months Application and Enquiries Interested young people should submit applications to companies online. Upon receipt of the applications, participating companies will conduct assessments and selection for implementing the internship arrangements. For more information, please visit the webpages of Cyberport and HKSTP.

United Nations Volunteers - Hong Kong Universities Volunteer Internship Programme

The Government has collaborated with the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) and 3 other local volunteer organisations (namely the Agency for Volunteer Service, Hong Kong Volunteers Association and The Peace and Development Foundation) to implement the UNV-Hong Kong Universities Volunteer Internship Programme since 2015. The purpose of the programme is to encourage the selected undergraduates to develop their personal capacities and global vision, as well as contribute to global peace and development through participating in the volunteer internship. Participants of the Programme are funded by the Government to undertake 6-month assignments in the field units of various United Nations agencies overseas. These assignments cover specific disciplines such as health and education, environment and innovation management. Programme Highlights No. of places in 2024-25 25 participants Service Locations Armenia, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Nepal, Tajikistan, Thailand, Uzbekistan and Vietnam Field Units • United Nations Children's Fund • United Nations Development Programme • United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization • United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women • United Nations Volunteer Fieldwork Volunteer interns will have the opportunity to participate in short-term field work organised by the United Nations agencies to experience the frontline work of the local service units (such as refugee assistance, disaster response, climate change, etc.), and to gain better understanding on the related issues. Internship Period 6 months (from July to December 2024), not including the pre-departure training activities and the debriefing session after the volunteer internship Allowance • Round-trip air ticket from Hong Kong to the service location; • Monthly living allowance during the volunteer internship period; and • Medical / life insurance allowance during the volunteer internship period. Partner Universities (in alphabetical order) City University of Hong Kong Hong Kong Baptist University Hong Kong Metropolitan University Hong Kong Shue Yan University Lingnan University The Chinese University of Hong Kong The Education University of Hong Kong The Hang Seng University of Hong Kong The Hong Kong Polytechnic University The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology The University of Hong Kong Eligibility being holder of valid Hong Kong Permanent Identity Card/ Hong Kong Identity Card that aged 18-30; enrolled in a full-time undergraduate degree programme in one of the partner universities at the time of application submission; recommended by own university with good reference; proficiency in spoken and written English; knowledge of other languages of the working destination will be an asset; volunteering experience in or outside Hong Kong; high motivation, enthusiasm and intercultural competence; strong sense of national identity, global vision and sustainability; good communication and interpersonal skills; and literacy in computer skills including Word, Excel, PowerPoint and social media. Application and Enquiries The closing date for application for this round is 25 January 2024. For more information, please visit the website of the Agency for Volunteer Service.

[Interns' Sharing] United Nations Volunteers - Hong Kong Universities Volunteer Internship Programme

With a view to furthering youth volunteerism, the United Nations Volunteers - Hong Kong Universities Volunteer Internship Programme funded by the Home and Youth Affairs Bureau has been launched by Agency for Volunteer Service with support from Hong Kong Volunteers Association and Peace and Development Foundation. It allows local university undergraduates to participate in a 6-month volunteer internship under the United Nations (UN) Youth Volunteer modality serving under UN field units or agencies in oversea. For programme details, please click here to visit another story. Interested in joining the programme? Videos on programme introduction and interns' sharing are as follows for you to know more! Programme Introduction   Interns' Sharing    

Maximum of HK$8300 subsidy for work placement in "Digital Tech Recruits" Scheme

Cyberport, the Labour Department and Employees Retraining Board (ERB) have joined hands to present digital talent cultivation programme “Digital Tech Recruits”.This scheme aims to provide 100 tech-related work placements, provided by Cyberport community companies, to ERB trainees who have completed or are currently enrolled in "Innovation and Technology" training courses. The scheme facilitates trainees of the ERB to apply their knowledge and gain practical experience working in I&T companies, matching the needs for digital tech and  I&T talents in the labour market and bringing more human resources to the industry. Participants of the Digital Tech Recruits will be matched with Cyberport community companies according to the “ABCDE” training courses they took (the mnemonic “ABCDE” stands for Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain, Cloud Computing, Big Data and eCommerce). During the placement, participating companies will provide participants with on-the-job training, and assign an experienced staff member to be their mentor. Upon completion of the 30-day placement, each participant can receive a maximum of HK$8300 subsidy, and part of the amount will be covered by the participating companies. In addition, Cyberport Academy will work with the community companies to organise career orientation and technology skills training, providing a complete career development path in the I&T industry for participants to consider. For the vacancies of the tech-related work placements, please visit the website of iTalent.

STEM Internship Scheme launched

In the 2020-21 Budget, the Financial Secretary has set aside $40 million to subsidise undergraduates and postgraduates taking STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) programmes in universities funded by the University Grants Committee to enrol in short-term internships. The Innovation and Technology Commission (ITC) has set up under the Innovation and Technology Fund the STEM Internship Scheme to encourage STEM students to gain innovation and technology (I&T)-related work experience during their studies and to foster their interest in pursuing a career in I&T after graduation, so as to enlarge the local I&T talent pool. (The video is provided by the Innovation, Technology and Industry Bureau's Facebook Page, click here for more stories) Eligibility of StudentsThe Scheme is open to undergraduates and postgraduates who are -1. local students in accordance with the classification by the Education Bureau for the purpose of admission to post-secondary programmes; and2. enrolling in one of the full-time STEM programmes offered by the eligible Universities. Internship PlacementsInternship places can be newly created or belong to existing in-house internship programmes of the companies/organisations. They have to meet the following requirements -1. local or non-local full-time placements with duration of at least four consecutive weeks; and2. offer meaningful I&T-related work, subject to the vetting of the universities. The Scheme has adopted a broad definition of I&T under which an internship place will be regarded as I&T-related as long as its actual work contains I&T elements (e.g. technology-related intellectual property work, digital marketing, data analysis for the manufacturing industry, etc.). Participating employers may pay a monthly honorarium during the internship period on top of the allowance under the Scheme. They have full discretion in determining the honorarium level with reference to their internal policies, industry benchmarks or market rates. Allowance and FundingThe student interns will receive the allowance subject to the arrangements of individual universities. The allowance for each student intern under the Scheme will be HK$10,500 per month, with a cap as prescribed by individual universities, but not more than three months in every academic year. ITC will disburse the funding to the universities on a reimbursement basis. Application Procedures and ArrangementsIndividual universities have prescribed their respective application procedures and arrangements. Interested students and employers are welcomed to approach the following universities -The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology - Career CenterTel: (852) 2358 6688Email: [email protected] University of Hong Kong - The Centre of Development and Resources for StudentsTel: (852) 3917 2317Email: [email protected] Chinese University of Hong Kong - Ms Zoe FongTel: (852) 3943 9639Email: [email protected] The Hong Kong Polytechnic University - Mr KK Ng (Employer matters)Tel: (852) 2766 4651Email: [email protected] Hong Kong Polytechnic University - Miss Genette Cheung (Scheme details and application)Tel: (852) 3400 3121Email: [email protected] City University of Hong Kong - Miss Cherry ChongTel: (852) 3442 4481Email: [email protected] Hong Kong Baptist University - Miss Penny Lo (Career Centre)Tel: (852) 3411 5278Email: [email protected] Education University of Hong Kong - Career Development ServiceTel: (852) 2948 6246Email: [email protected] Please visit ITC website for more details.

Exchange and Internship

One-Stop-Information Platform on Internship and Exchange Opportunities The Youth Development Commission and Home and Youth Affairs Bureau, through organising or sponsoring a variety of youth development programmes, provide our young people opportunities to display their talents to the fullest. You can use the search engine on the One-Stop-Information Platform on Internship and Exchange Opportunities [Chinese version only], to search the funded programmes in "Thematic Youth Internship Programme", "Pilot Scheme on Corporate Summer Internship on the Mainland and Overseas","Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Youth Cultural Exchange Programme", "Funding Scheme for International Youth Exchange" and "Funding Scheme for Youth Internship in the Mainland". Thematic Youth Internship Programme In 2018, the Home Affairs Bureau (now reorganised as Home and Youth Affairs Bureau) has organised Thematic Youth Intership Programme [Chinese version only] under four different themes to provide diversified opportunities for young people. Scheme on Corporate Summer Internship on the Mainland and Overseas Young talents can get an internship placement in some major enterprises by participating in the Scheme on Corporate Summer Internship on the Mainland and Overseas. There will be around 280 internship places in different provinces and Mainland cities (including the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area) and many other countries (including those along the Belt and Road routes). The internship covers a wide range of industries including financial services, real estate, construction and public utilities. United Nations Volunteers - Hong Kong Universities Volunteer Internship Programme Participants in United Nations Volunteers - Hong Kong Universities Volunteer Internship Programme will undertake a six-month assignment in various field units of the United Nations in Southeast Asian countries.  These assignments cover various disciplines including health and education, environment and information technology.. Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Youth Cultural Exchange Programme Young people aged 18-35 and currently studying in a tertiary institution are welcomed to participate in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Youth Cultural Exchange Programme [Chinese version only].  Through activities including exchange sessions, visits and seminars held in Hong Kong, Macau and the Mainland, young participants from these three places can have a better understanding of one another. The Programme is free of charge. For details, please contact your institution. Working Holiday Scheme By joining the Working Holiday Scheme, young people can gain invaluable experience while holidaying and working abroad.  Such experience would help enhance their self-confidence, resilience and interpersonal skills. So far, the Government has established bilateral agreements with the Governments of New Zealand, Australia, Ireland, Germany, Japan, Canada, Korea, France, the United Kingdom, Austria, Hungary, Sweden and the Netherlands.