Sofia Gronvall, Sweden
Feb.2009, 4 weeks Intensive Mandarin program
March 2009 - May 2009, Reporter of the China Drive Department For China Radio International (CRI)
 I started off my internship with summarizing articles and writing questionnaires. As time went by I received more and more responsibility and I started writing my own articles from interviews I made together with a Chinese colleague. Being interested in clothing industry I focused on writing reports that related to this topic. So far I’ve had interviews with the owner of one of the few vintage stores located in Beijing, the director of the official website of Beijing Fashion Week -09 as well as the chief designer of a major Chinese label.
When I wasn’t busy reporting in Beijing I was sent out of town to take part in trips. Travelling as the only foreigner in a group of 20 Chinese reporters from different media gave me an exclusive insight on China through the eyes of a reporter, an experience which in today’s society I consider being priceless.
Through the internship I visited places like Shanghai, Hangzhou, Wenzhou and Suzhou to mention a few, and practiced my skills as a reporter when interviewing important people at press conferences and events taking place throughout the journey.
Jose Arce, Spain
Oct. 2007 – Feb.2008, 10 week Intensive Mandarin program
Feb.2008– July 2008, Sales department for Beijing MuYao Wood Product Science
& Technology Co. Ltd.
 My internship started with a 10 week intensive Mandarin course. In a small class, the course was personal and the teaching staff was very helpful for whenever I needed assistance. I would have to say that this is the most effective language course I have taken. Now I can communicate the basic terms in Mandarin and be ready to improve my Chinese on an every day basis.
After my course, CIP found an internship to match my personal characteristics. They placed me in a
small company, which I prefer because I can learn more and get the “real” Chinese experience. I have
great workmates that help me every day in my job. I had the opportunity to take company trips, to get
some insight on what the company is about. I got to visit the suppliers in the Shanghai region, as well as
the major clients and the commercial teams from other regions.
My intention is to return to Spain and use my new knowledge and experience to
create a new company, or even work for an import company. Maybe I can
extend my life in China because it is a really amazing place with a different
point of view. It is an exciting place to be, especially with the Olympics just
around the corner and the country constantly changing without losing their
cultural roots.
I would like to thank the CIP staff for giving me personal attention for all my
necessities. They helped me find accommodation, start my life in Beijing,
organize activities, getting me involved in the country. I recommend this
program to anyone who is looking for a new cultural experience.
Carl Javier, Australia
December 2008 - February 2009, Telecommunications for China Radio International (CRI)
 I had always set a goal to obtain international experience before I finished my undergraduate degree. I had one semester left and I wanted to utilise my summer holiday break. Having local experience in my field was not enough in this day and time especially with the world’s economic crisis. In order to stand out from the rest, I believed international experience was the key.
Why international experience? Well why not? Firstly I wanted to prove to myself that I could survive in another country. An internship in China was an excellent choice for this kind of experience as it was totally different to what I was used to in Australia. Different culture, different lifestyle and most importantly a different experience. A three month experience would definitely test my adaptability and versatility. Skills and attributes that all future employers look for.
Having not spoken a word of mandarin, in the first month in China I undertook a one-month intensive mandarin course so I could get by in the country. My small class had only four people, which made learning quick and easy. It was also great to meet other people who were new to China. Being able to get around on your own in a foreign country where limited English was spoken is a very rewarding feeling. I also used this opportunity to discover what China had to offer by visiting all the touristy spots. After my language training I was placed in the technical team at China Radio International in their English department for two months.
I was given a variety of technical tasks to complete through out my two-month stint at CRI. These included things such as implementing an email server, attending to IT issues around the office and to developing an online broadcast platform for the department. Each task had a timeframe, which I had to adhere to. To complete these tasks, it required me to apply previous skills I had acquired at University but also I had to learn a lot of new things as well. For example I was familiar with the first task where I had to build an open source email server, but the second task required me to develop a Microsoft Silverlight application. I had never experience any Microsoft programming so this required some intensive research and experimenting. In the end I produced a prototype with full documentation for what my supervisor could further develop and implement.
Apart from the technical tasks I was given, I also had the opportunity to be involved in some media tasks. As I came from an English speaking country I was sometimes asked if I could read English articles that some of the local editors had written. This was an extra precaution just to make sure their articles made sense. Most of the time their articles were excellent and never needed any correcting, but I was pleased that they involved me in their writing process. Another non-technical task was when they needed someone to do English voice-overs. I was put in a recording booth to do voice overs for an ad or story they were creating. And thirdly I was asked to be in an advertisement video, which I also assisted with the video editing, which was a lot of fun.
My time in China has been one of the greatest experiences so far in my life. I honestly would like to thank the entire IES global team for their support during my stay. In the future I plan to revisit China and maybe if the opportunity rises, live there. I highly recommend this program because of its great flexibility and reward you take after completion.
Finally I would like to say “我愛中國 ！” (I LOVE CHINA!).
Lisa Liu, Australia
June 2008 - July 2008, Assistant in the Online English Department For China Radio International (CRI)
 Working at CRI has been an interesting and rewarding experience. CRI is China’s largest international radio network, covering over forty different languages worldwide. I was positioned in the online English department. My four week internship was divided into the news team and the webcast team. In the news team my role was to translate and polish articles from Chinese to English as well as writing my own articles to be published on the website. Whilst I have some basic Chinese language foundation, I found these tasks challenging because the Chinese news writing style is different from English in structure and content.
he most fulfilling part of the internship is being able to attend media events and practice interviewing techniques. For the webcast team, I participated as a journalist in the opening ceremony for the Olympic Family Hotel, a media promotion for a Cairo Opera at the National Centre of Performing Arts and a media conference for the launch of Olympic commemorative bank notes. I was responsible for writing the news feature, making audio recordings and editing photographs which were published on the website.
I was also fortunate enough to film video recordings of news and feature stories to accompany written articles for CRI. Without any formal camera presenting training, the filming process proved to be an eye-opening experience. I was astonished by the amount of time and effort that was put in to produce a ten minute segment. The filming practice played a crucial part in developing and improving my confidence levels and speaking skills.
During my time at CRI, I have established good connections with my colleagues and they are always eager to learn more about the west. With the support of CRI and IESG I was able to integrate smoothly into with the Chinese working life, sometimes working overtime on weekends to meet deadlines as well as participating in their annual swimming competition. I have thoroughly enjoyed the internship and through it, I have gained a better understanding of my future career direction.
Look at Lisa's reports: Beijing: Heart and Sole and Beijing Hutongs Double Up As Olympic Family Hotels
M. Du, Australia
April 2008 - September 2008, Assistant to the Director of Service Delivery Department in Lenovo Group
After graduating from Monash University with a Bachelor of Business Management and Economics, it was rather difficult to find a job in the real world as a manager. I turned to CIP for help. CIP had offered me a wonderful opportunity to learn from the fastest growing organization in China and the world's third largest computer manufacturing company: The Lenovo Group.
Lenovo is the major Olympic partner for the 2008 Olympics Games here in Beijing, China. The best thing about working in China is that you learn a lot more about yourself. The rich Chinese culture makes living here so different from home and learning how the Chinese do business is probably one of the most valuable lessons I have learnt here to date. You learn how to manage from an Eastern perspective and once you combine this with what you've learnt from the West it will be of great importance. My role at Lenovo is working in the Service Delivery Department reporting to the Director who is in charge of all Service Related issues in China. My primary role is to learn how each of the other the managers do their job, but there is only one specific task that I am given to do: The Lean Six Sigma.
The best aspect of the internship is not only do I have great support from the people here at Lenovo Shanghai, but that CIP are on standby to help whenever I need the help. They keep consistent contact with you to ensure that you are doing okay at your host company. I felt like they really cared about the wellbeing of my work-state. This I felt was very important. When I return home later this year, I hope to continue my Chinese language studies as well as start work full-time. Where I work is yet to be written! But I know how I will get there. Thank you CIP!!
|
|
Programs Description 
