“PolyU SPEED Work-Integrated Education & Summer Placement Programmes Gratitude Dinner 2017” concludes successfully 47 enterprises engage PolyU SPEED students to learn at workplace

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University-affiliated School of Professional Education and Executive Development (PolyU SPEED) held its “PolyU SPEED Work-Integrated Education & Summer Placement Programmes (WIE & SP Programmes) Gratitude Dinner 2017” on 20 October 2017. The event was joined by about 200 guests, students and staff of College of Professional and Continuing Education¹ (CPCE) and PolyU SPEED.

A total of 47 enterprises had pledged their support for the “PolyU SPEED WIE & SP Programmes 2017” with a sponsorship amounting to around HK$1.7 million. The sponsorship was used to offer scholarships and/or internship opportunities to about 180 PolyU SPEED students, benefiting more than 10% of the total student intake and spanning various disciplines of the School. Held mainly during summer, the WIE & SP Programmes provide valuable opportunities for PolyU SPEED students to experience real business operations, understand job requirements, enhance communication skills and competitiveness so that they can be well-equipped for the career market. With the guidance and support of the employers and PolyU SPEED lecturers, participating students could acquire valuable work experience. To express its sincere gratitude for the support of the employers and recognise students’ efforts, PolyU SPEED hosted a dinner to celebrate its fruitful collaboration with the employers.

Dr Jack Lo, Director of PolyU SPEED, said in his welcome speech that he encouraged students not only to work hard on studies but also take internship opportunities to enhance their employability. To express his gratitude to the participating employers for providing students with valuable internship and/or scholarship opportunities, Dr Lo presented souvenirs and certificates of appreciation to the employer representatives during the dinner. Students who had accomplished the Programmes were also presented with scholarships by the employer representatives as a token of encouragement. The 47 enterprises which supported the PolyU SPEED WIE & SP Programmes or provided scholarships were listed below:
 

To show their appreciation to the employers, the participating students sang a song “Red Sun” together. The lyrics of this song encouraged youngsters to carry on in the face of adversity in their work. The dinner came to a close when Dr Lo offered his words of advice to students that they have to keep equipping themselves to improve their lifetime employability. Once again, he expressed his deepest gratitude to all the employers, and appealed for their continuous support for the “PolyU SPEED WIE & SP Programmes” to help students lay a solid foundation for future career development.

¹College of Professional and Continuing Education (CPCE), founded in 2002 by The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU), focuses on the provision of high quality self-financed programmes at the post-secondary level. The programmes are offered through CPCE’s two education units, namely Hong Kong Community College (HKCC) and School of Professional Education and Executive Development (SPEED).