Program Reviews

Two months have passed and I still feel like I haven't covered the whole of Vietnam. Hanoi, HCMC, Dalat, Mekong, Halong, Ha Giang... it's a long list but only the cusp of what Vietnam has to offer. Places like Hoi An, Da Nang and Siem Reap still spring to mind.

Having done something every weekend, I already am getting re shock culture shock being back in New Zealand. The lack of bikes, people, street food and tall buildings will be a thing of the past. The thing I would miss the most would be the cheap, tasty vietnamese food. It's really become a part of my life during my stay here. As I write this, I want to say how grateful I am to be here and enjoy the fruits of this country.

During my two month finance internship, I have acquired skills of cultural agility and adaptability coming into a new country with new cultures and expectations. These skills I believe cannot be learned from staying in New Zealand all my life, so to be given the opportunity to work in Vietnam is something special.

It is not unusual for students to graduate University feeling ‘lost’ and overwhelmed. I was no different. I wanted to obtain more legal work experience and I saw this opportunity at my University's career fairs and I decided to apply for the Beijing programme. It was the best decision of my life, as now I am sure of what I want to do.

In October 2018, I started my programme. I was mesmerised by the county. China is an amazing country, with such a developed economy and vibrant culture! There is something for everyone in Beijing, from clubs, opera, fine dining and historical places!

The CRCC Asia programme was fantastic and I recommend it to everyone. The accommodation provided was at a very high standard, in a nice area, close to transportation, supermarkets and even provided a gym and swimming pool.

The CRCC Asia team did a great job matching me to the right company! I was able to work for a corporate law firm in a securities department! It was a new area of law and I was very exited! I was able to learn from the most aspirational female leaders in the legal industry!

Once a week, we had Mandarin classes, where we had the opportunity to develop our Mandarin language skills. In addition, we also had many cultural events, community events and business seminars organised by CRCC Asia.

I loved this experience so much, that I began looking for another internship in Beijing and I was able to obtain an internship at the Embassy! Moreover, after adding this experience to my LinkedIn profile, I already had many job offers from all over the world!

I strongly recommend this China internship programme as it has allowed me to gain international work experience, build up an international network of contacts, and even learn a new language in the process, which will support my goal of becoming a successful international female lawyer.

In October 2018 I began a 2-month internship programme in Shanghai with CRCC Asia. Having just returned from China, I am now looking forward to beginning an internship in January 2019 with a London-based organisation.

My host company in Shanghai was a non-governmental organisation (NGO) which specialises in providing legal advice and expertise to other NGOs, both domestic and international. During the internship, my primary role was conducting research across several different topic areas, including foreign NGO law, social enterprise regulations, disability rights and animal welfare protections. In particular, I carried out research on laws in the UK and US in order to inform comparative legal studies between China and other countries. The internship significantly developed my legal research skills, and also provided me with experience of conducting research in a professional environment. As a result of this experience, I have decided that legal research is an area that I want to work in in the future.

During the internship, I also liaised between my host company and their partner organisations in the UK. I became particularly interested in the work of one London-based partner, A4ID, and have since secured an internship position with this organisation as a result of my experience working with them through my host company. The internship in China has therefore directly helped me reach the next step in my career by providing me with invaluable networking opportunities. My next internship will also involve legal research and I am looking forward to bringing the research skills I learnt during my internship in Shanghai to my new position, and developing these even further.

One particularly memorable part of my internship was a community law event which I attended with a colleague. The purpose of the event was to inform members of the community about the work of the local people’s court. I was interviewed by a local news channel about my thoughts on the event. The interview was broadcast as part of the event’s coverage on the local news channel and their website. Appearing on a Chinese news channel was certainly something I didn’t expect during my internship, but it was an interesting and memorable experience!

I would certainly recommend the CRCC Asia internship programme in Shanghai to graduates looking to broaden their international experience. I have found the internship to be a huge talking point in interviews, and potential employers have been genuinely interested to hear about my experience of working in China. For me, it has been critical in progressing my career and ensuring I reach the next step in pursuit of my professional goals.

The program helped me with employment because it added to why I stood out as an application written terms, then later a candidate in subsequent stages too with increased confidence. I got offered another job towards the end of my internship.

During the interview, I was able to talk about transferable skills I gained such as Facebook Advertising, which I currently apply now in the role. It was

CRCC Asia have great team members within their Shanghai staff who are kind, engaging, and funny. Also, I liked the sector-specific knowledge imparted through 5 key learning objectives.

Shanghai is an awesome city with loads to do and they actually arranged a variety of events for us to attend and take part in at regular intervals. The Chinese language teacher was one of the best I have ever had.

CRCC Asia helped provide me the necessary support and connections to work within Tokyo during my 2 month duration.

The housing was spectacular, clean, and the staff was happy to assist with questions or complaints.
There was more than enough information for someone to comfortably navigate the cultural differences. CRCC provides seminars and books on this topic.
24/7 help line as well as check in messages from CRCC. They would be around housing often to check in and meet with you in person as well. They always seemed to genuinely care about and act on any concerns and often went out of their way for us. I.E. bringing medicine to those who are sick, taking time out of their personal lives to meet with you, introducing you to contacts that may benefit your future.
From interview to post departure, the CRCC staff have been incredibly friendly, helpful, and honest. They really do love their jobs and this greatly benefits the program. The Tokyo Team is absolutely fantastic!

Overall my experience was fantastic and I made many long lasting friendships and gained a lot of new insight into myself and what I want from my career.

My internship with CRCC Asia was not only a valuable professional experience, but also an enlightening opportunity to see life in a different corner of the world. I was fortunate enough to work for a small environmental company in Shanghai, which finally enabled me to feel like I was making a difference in a field that I cared about. I conducted research, wrote reports, assisted with translations, prepared company contracts, and collaborated on a number of other company projects, all of which undoubtedly helped me prepare for a career in the 21st century. I would highly recommend this experience!

Through CRCC, I was able to gain experience in a Chinese IT company. The company itself has seen huge success offering blockchain and cryptocurrency related services, and the department that I was placed in offered me the opportunity to gain meaningful development experience in this dynamic new field!

As part of CRCC’s “Intensive Mandarin” program, the experience that I gained in my Mandarin courses that preceded my internship were absolutely invaluable in helping me to make the most out of this experience. I was able to learn from my peers about IT, language, culture… So much more than if I would have just gone in on my own. CRCC helped me set myself up for success with my host company.

As a result, I’m walking away from this experience able to come back to live and work in China, and utilize the skills in data science and machine learning that I continued to develop this summer!

In the Summer of 2018 I spent a month working at Jingshi Law Firm in Beijing; and it was such an incredibly interesting and rewarding experience. It was exactly the type of firm I was looking for when I applied through CRCC Asia, so I was very grateful to have the chance to work there.

I thoroughly enjoyed going into work every day (even if it did mean leaving the great accommodation we were in!) and I found that I was assigned much more responsibility and tasks than I imagined considering I am not a Law student, which was fantastic.

Whilst I am by no means a linguist, and probably never will be, the optional Mandarin lessons provided by CRCC were not only useful and informative, but also rather entertaining.

I think my internship in Beijing was extremely rewarding and worthwhile, as I have gained a huge amount of knowledge, not only about the legal sector, but also about business and culture in China. This experience will benefit me greatly in applying for jobs in the future, as it should make my CV and applications stand out!

My experience in Shanghai with CRCC Asia is one I am very grateful for. The opportunity to live and work in a culture so vastly different than my own is one that very few people get to experience. While the hustle and bustle of Shanghai is not something I was used to, I ended up loving the fast paced culture I was immersed in. Not only have I boosted my workplace skills and employability but also my life experience. The memories made are some that will last a lifetime as they were once in a lifetime.

Being immersed in Beijing for two months was certainly a challenge and having been to China before it prepared me for the experience. During my time there I had the opportunity to travel outside Beijing to the city of Qing Dao and this was great time to relax after the two months.

The CRCC Asia program was great, they placed me in a international division of a marketing company. The company had a Chinese and International team. I worked in the International team. The accommodation was very good due to it's convenient location as there were many restaurants, cafe's and bars.

The staff was very friendly and this made the program less stress-free. The networking provided with new opportunities me opened more doors back home in London and I would highly recommend the program for one who is looking to widen their network and gain more experience.