Students from the Department of Computer Science at City University of Hong Kong (CityU) have seen the number of internship opportunities dramatically increase this year.

Over 370 placements are on offer through the IT Professional Placement programme, a compulsory component in the Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Computer Science programme, which requires students to take on a one-year internship in the third year of their four-year study.

This represents an increase of 15% compared to last year, and 38% compared to the year before that. Altogether 91 Year 3 students from the Department of Computer Science will be participating, each one with an average of four choices.

The success of the IT Professional Placement programme, which was set up 19 years ago, is due to the hard work and achievements of CityU students in the work place, according to Professor (Chair) Frances Yao Foong, Head of the Department of Computer Science.

According to a survey conducted by the Department of Computer Science, over 90% of employers rated the overall performance of CityU interns as “excellent”, “very good” or “good” over the last three years. CityU students’ communication skills, team work, initiative and diligence also came in for high praise.

“The information and communication technology industry in Hong Kong is now out of the doldrums,” Professor Yao said. “So there is a great need for more professionals to join the industry to sustain its rapid growth. This is reflected in the rising number of job placements offered by the industry.”

The number of organizations participating in the IT Professional Placement programme has increased every year since it started, and there are more than 80 local companies offering placements this year. They include Hongkong Electric Holdings Limited, Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited, IBM China/Hong Kong Limited, Hospital Authority, Hong Kong Monetary Authority, and many small- and medium-sized enterprises.

CityU is committed to professional education, integrating practical work experience with book knowledge in its undergraduate programmes. The aim of this approach is to enable students to better understand the requirements and demands of the job market.

“Students will not be able to fulfill their professional requirements with book knowledge alone, which is why we have included internships as part of our programme,” Professor Yao said, adding that this kind of work experience helps to broaden the development of CityU students.

The Department of Computer Science also works hard to develop overseas internship opportunities, combining work and study. For instance, two students will be going to the University of Kent, UK, for one semester this year and will then work as interns in IBM UK Limited.

In addition to those arranged by individual programmes, summer internship opportunities in Hong Kong and major cities in the US, Europe, Southeast Asia and mainland China are arranged through the Faculty of Business, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering, School of Creative Media and School of Law.