Shanghai Internship Program with CRCC Global

I did my product engineering internship with CRCC Asia in Shanghai, working at an international early-stage startup building a companion robot. The English-speaking environment was perfect, and I loved the mentorship I got; my manager invested a lot of time in my growth, showing me around Shanghai and its tech scene. The work itself was fun and not overly demanding. The one thing I'd have wanted was a more experienced mentor specifically within my own field, since I was the only one on the team working in it. Outside of that, I learned a huge amount across other fields too.

The biggest benefit of the whole program was that CRCC Asia handled everything; I didn't have to do any of the administration myself, and that was huge, especially not being familiar with the local processes and language. Visa, accommodation, healthcare, employment contracts, app setup, mobile phone; all of it was sorted for me, so the entire experience was stress-free from the moment I landed.

Housing was spacious and mostly clean; I lived with five people, which was adequate for the space. The best part was the location: close to the metro, food, a convenience store, pharmacy, and supermarket, about a 15-minute walk to the nearest metro station. Some things did break during my stay, but issues were mostly resolved quickly, and housing support was available almost 24/7. My only wish was that the kitchen was better furnished and the interior a bit more modern, but overall I was very satisfied with my own bedroom.

Social culture was great; not too different from home (NZ), and I integrated quickly, though being Chinese myself probably helped with that. Nothing felt drastically different, aside from how fast technology adoption is and how much quicker everyday things move: traffic, pace of people, that kind of thing.

The food scene was excellent; really good and super accessible. Delivery through Meituan was fast, and the service was great overall. I loved China's online ordering system in general; there are tons of discounts you can stack to bring prices down even further, and the food itself is already so cheap compared to back home. My top tip: get a local phone number as soon as you can, it opens up way more apps and discounts, so you can really make the most of it. Honestly, the food is what I miss the most.

The University of Auckland didn't prepare or support me directly for this, since I did the internship externally rather than through the university. That said, the soft skills and professional skills I picked up through my degree definitely helped; they set me up well to excel in the workplace and socialize with my peers.

Shanghai felt very safe overall; there's constant surveillance throughout the city, and I never ran into any unsafe moments during my time there. I'd highly recommend it as a host city. My main safety advice for future students is just the standard stuff: stay responsible, keep your wits about you, and you should be fine.

I did have a bit of a healthcare experience; I caught a cold that lingered longer than usual, and CRCC Asia's support recommended I go to the hospital. They stayed on top of it the whole way, checking in regularly to see how I was doing. The hospital itself was easily accessible, and CRCC Asia handled all the logistics of getting me there; I just had to show up. Nothing major stood out as a prevalent health issue in Shanghai. My main recommendation is to get whatever vaccines are recommended for the program before you go, and stick to basic hygiene precautions: wash your hands, avoid tap water. Shanghai itself is a clean city overall, so it's really just those small precautions that matter.

Before I went to Shanghai, I had never lived in a big city, never interacted so regularly with non UK citizens as I grew up in rural Northern Ireland. From my initial application, the support from the CRCC Asia staff and the people I had the pleasure of entering with. This internship opened me up to a range of opportunities, increasing competitiveness in the job market.

I met some amazing friends, experienced a culture very unlike my own. I loved it, the food, the chaos, the working public transport. I had a fantastic time in Shanghai. It was a shock to move from the sticks in NI to a megacity like Shanghai, working in Shanghai tower. But it is an experience unlike any other. Take it, find out for yourself what China or any of the other locations open now are like. Incredibly worth it for the people you meet, connections made, cultural opportunities, the access to local contacts from day one. If you're looking for value, bragging rights, conversely valuable career procrastination that sounds like career growth (it definitely is though!)

Just do it. What's 3 months in the sum of a career? For me, very memorable, very worth it! The CV entry alone is worth a fortune, especially in an increasingly competitive graduate market and early in your career. Socially as a result of the programme, I've friends in Sweden, the Netherlands, Belarus the US and around the UK. Best excuse to travel is to see an old friend.

Funded by the British Council, I embarked on an internship in Shanghai, China as a magazine journalist for City Weekend, an ex-pat focused lifestyle magazine. Orientation before starting the job (which lasted 3 months) included lots of activities to meet my CRCC cohorts, setting up things like a bank account and SIM, cultural and social orientation to better understand Chinese business culture in particular, and free Mandarin lessons! The accommodation was in a good location in Pudong with all of my CRCC buddies and an amazing roommate (shoutout to Gavin!), and close enough to my office near the Nanjing Road by metro. The internship (which I sourced myself but received support from CRCC in navigating) was one of the best things I ever did for my career. The role involved reviewing michelin-starred restaurants, cocktail bars, events, and more, and was a whirlwind in both newsroom skills and the moneyed nightlife of one of the world's most exciting cities. Because of this opportunity, I have since gone on to work as a journalist in top-tier newsrooms at public broadcasters and private publications alike, and this experience has always led to a lot of very interested conversations in job interviews. Although I have since left journalism and now work in PR and political consulting, this internship also proved very useful for getting my foot in the door, especially since I have worked with PRC-based clients. If you are considering doing the CRCC thing, this is your sign to take the plunge and do it now! You will not regret it.

I interned with a digital marketing agency specializing in e-commerce where I conducted research and created decks and spreadsheets on brands in the Chinese market. I later went back to China as a part of an international masters’ degree program in Global Commerce and now work for a creative advertising agency back in the U.S. where my background has given me a unique POV on my clients’ business. I also think the personal growth and skills of resilience and cultural adaptability honed through CRCC and beyond has been foundational for my career growth over the last decade.

I spent an incredible month in China with CRCC Asia, where I interned at a dynamic startup focused on mobile games. My role involved coding projects, which offered invaluable hands-on experience. However, what truly stood out were the networking opportunities and the friendships I formed. We traveled around China, indulged in amazing food, and embarked on countless random adventures that made the experience unforgettable. Additionally, we had the chance to learn Chinese, which added a unique cultural dimension to the internship.

This experience was pivotal in my career. A few months after returning to university, it directly led to my first paid internship, setting me on a path towards a future of working abroad. When I reflect on my time there, I’m filled with fond memories and gratitude for this journey. I highly recommend CRCC Asia for anyone looking to combine career growth with cultural immersion and global connections.

If you’re looking for an opportunity to pack up and leave to live and work somewhere else, the CRCC program is a great choice. Shanghai is a great location if you’re looking for the familiarities of home as well as authentic Chinese food and people. Living and working in China for an extended period of time can be very hard to organise yourself, so having CRCC to guide and navigate the process really helped. My only criticism of the program is that there is very little involvement from the intern in where you work (despite the industry selection).

Great opportunity to gain working experience in Asia. The business seminars really help and the mandarin lessons are a plus! This internship is truly what you make of it, the more effort and enthusiasm you put in your work, the more productive you feel. Please don't forget to travel, since you travelled all the way to China! My recommendations are Huangshan for hiking and Hangzhou if you go there make sure you visit Longjin Village. This village has great tea and beautiful sceneries. Best places!

Initially, I applied to the CRCC internship scheme as I wanted to improve my employability. Graduate jobs in the UK can be so competitive and so I was looking to gain unique experience abroad that would help my CV stand out amongst the rest; demonstrating global networks is particularly important in today’s globalised world. I thought that an internship would be a really good opportunity to get a flavour for the media industry, as well as gain valuable hands-on experience, better preparing me for what to expect for media-related roles back in London. I would say that the internship met and exceeded my expectations in this respect.

Whilst working for Shanghai Family magazine, I was kept extremely busy by my supervisor almost every day. My tasks involved editing content on Adobe InCopy to cut down on words and check that grammar, spelling and information was correct, as well as improving the articles for them to read well. I also wrote my own content for both the company’s WeChat subscription page and the cover story of the magazine. I found it super rewarding to see my name printed in a magazine as ‘Assistant Editor’! Of course, there were some challenges at times, such as juggling my own deadlines, being thrown numerous different tasks that were to be done quickly and efficiently, but I found that I thrived more from being busy at work than when work was a bit slow. I learnt to write to a standard I was proud of in much shorter time frames. I attended events, represented the magazine and mingled with the expat community in Shanghai. However, one regret is not integrating more with my Chinese colleagues, which perhaps would have aided a more authentic China experience.

Nonetheless, I found living in China to be an exciting challenge. The language was way more of an obstacle than I imagined it would be (which, in hindsight, was perhaps a bit naive of me), but luckily, my supervisor was native British and so the language barrier was not too apparent in the workplace, and more when it came to weekend trips away. Difficulties such as VPNs and menus entirely in Chinese were still apparent despite Shanghai being more cosmopolitan and ‘Western’ in comparison to the rest of China. I liked that traditional Chinese culture was easy to find, even just in the local park on my walk to work every morning.

I really gained a lot from the experience in China. I learnt that I am pretty resilient person, and I proved to myself that I am capable of thriving, professionally and personally, whilst being completely out of my comfort zone. I was genuinely surprised at just how strong my support network was whilst I was in Shanghai. I feel as though made friends for life through the CRCC scheme and I am extremely grateful for the experience.

China is an incredibly vast country, with such a distinct culture, I feel like I barely scratched the surface - 7 weeks is such a short amount of time! Although I have no immediate plans to return as of yet, I am sure that I will return to China in the future. Going forward, I feel more confident to seek work both abroad and within the media industry.