Shanghai Internship Program with CRCC Asia

The CRCC internship was an amazing experience for anyone looking to stand out from the crowd when applying for jobs in the future, or wanting an international experience to learn about the working culture in China. The program is well organised so that you are matched with a host company that fits your personal profile and career aspirations. The CRCC team offer you support throughout the entire process, so you never feel alone. The accommodation upon arrival in Shanghai was amazing and well equipped with everything you need. Overall, I had an amazing opportunity whereby I learned so much more about myself and China and made some lifelong friends along the way. I now feel that the program has set me up to apply for jobs on an international scale.

I knew I wanted to work in China this summer because I wanted to develop my Mandarin skills but at the same time I wanted to gain work experience which is why when I found out about CRCC Asia I applied straight away. I ended up working at Blockshine - a blockchain-based solutions provider - and had such an amazing experience. Although I was placed in the marketing department, my supervisor was really flexible in letting me work with their Legal Counsel as well. On one hand, I did a lot of market and competitor research and on the other hand, I had the opportunity to conduct research relating to the regulation /taxation laws of digital assets in several jurisdictions. I also spent some time working at Blockchain Centre which is their sister branch focusing specifically on raising awareness of this new technology while acting as an incubator. I was quite keen on learning more about blockchain since it is just slowly being adopted by so many companies and disrupting a range of traditional business sectors; and the best way to learn about it is to be directly involved in the heart of it. On top of this, I got to attend a lot of blockchain-related events to not only learn about the technology but also network with people in the sector!

The social aspect was amazing as well. I made some incredible friends and got to explore Shanghai with them. Every weekend we did something different - I feel like I know the city quite well now even though I was only there for a month. We really made the most out of our time there. Honestly coming into this internship I didn't really consider the social aspect because I was so focused on just working and improving my mandarin but I can easily say that the people made this trip 1000000x better.

To be honest, as I am fluent in Mandarin I have not found living in China as challenging as some others perhaps. I really enjoyed my internship, as it was a very relaxed environment and I got along very well with my colleagues. Overall it was a very positive experience for me. I am very surprised and amazed by how well the cashless payment system and everyday convenience in China has developed. In general it has been extremely convenient to live there (given you have a bank account), I did not have to carry around any cash, I only needed my phone. If my phone was running out of battery I could simply borrow a charger from a box with multiple chargers for loan 24/7, same goes for umbrellas, items people usually tend to forget. You can rent bikes everywhere scanning a QR-code on the bike to access them, car hiring is cashless as well, even the smallest business has QR-payment, even very senior people know how to use modern technology. In my opinion, China might not be the country with the most original ideas, but what they are really good at is copying ideas from others and making bigger and better.
It was a truly amazing experience!!

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.

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!

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.