INTERNSHIPS
Reports
8-weeks Summer Internship
2022-09-17
張仲忻
Cheung Chung Yan
匯賢智庫
Savantas Policy Institute
香港
Hong Kong
The summer internship at SPI was a unique experience that allowed me to try many new things. The internship provided me with a variety of jobs, which helped me to gain insights and meet people from a wide range of industries and backgrounds.
I assisted in research on the learning experiences of ethnic minority students during the pandemic. By researching this topic, I learnt about the impact of distance learning on students and the education policies for ethnic minority students in Hong Kong. For example, "designated schools" were abolished to allow equal distribution of non-Chinese speaking (NCS) students in schools. This research broadened my understanding of a group of people who have been in Hong Kong since the 19th century. I also took part in interviewing NCS students to understand their learning needs and difficulties. It was challenging for me as interviews were conducted in English. I learnt to change my tone and questioning style according to the interviewee’s age. After several interviews, my English skills have improved considerably, which will surely benefit my future.
Besides the research, I had the opportunities to attend seminars on the latest country’s policy. As Lao Tzu said, "A sage does what he does not do and teaches what he does not say". I learnt a lot about the development direction of China in recent years. Although it was a "teaching without words" experience, my colleagues at SPI were friendly and willing to answer my questions patiently, which gave me a human touch in the organisation I am interning in.
