Program Reviews

NSC was great help in letting me find an internship. They provided constant support and were always prompt in replying to any queries i had, wheather it was for visa requirements, about the industry or just about life in Hong Kong
They made the whole process as smooth as possible. I would definetly reccomend NSC if your looking for an internship in Asia as they have great contacts and are very professional.

My 3 months Hong Kong internship has exceeded my expectations. Being the key getaway to one of the world's largest economy, Hong Kong serves as a main platform where various international firms establish their presence into China and Asia. Because of this reason Hong Kong offers a major opportunity to gain practical business experience and a good start point to a bright career. Aside of the challenging and competitive business environment, Hong Kong diversity in culture is another aspect that makes this city the ultimate internship destination. Like many expats from every part of the world, I am amazed with the fusion of Chinese tradition and modern western influence that has resulted into an interesting culture in itself. In this vibrant city that is indulged with diversity, I never ran out of exciting things to discover. Next Step Connection (NSC) local support in Hong Kong have provided me with more than the needed service to adapt in this new strange city. They are always available and ready to assist whenever necessary.

Most of all through this experience, i have gained a strong bond friendship with the NSC team.

Hong Kong was always a dream destination for me. I made that dream into a reality when I decided to take a finance internship there with NSC. This was my first time interning abroad and thanks to the helpful staff at NSC, I had a great experience and broke out of my comfort zone. I loved the NSC group gatherings including fun cultural activities with other international and local interns. Through my internship, I had a chance to work with finance professionals, get a taste of a real working life, and become independent. I discovered my professional side and strength to adapt to a foreign country. I would recommend everyone to intern abroad to discovery yourself and the rest of the world.

When I took two months of intership in Bangkok earlier this June, I expect to get exposed to another face of Asian culture. Next Step Connections has been really helpful in facilitating and make sure that I get those cultural experience, while at the same time also challenge me to continuously improve my capacity as holistic learner. In short, I learn many things during the internship. And having it in Bangkok means that its not only during my working hours, but also everytime & everywhere in the city. Thank you NSC!

My experience in Hong Kong was awesome. Even though we were there to research the manufacturing industry in Hong Kong we still managed to have loads of fun sightseeing and going on outings during the weekend. Visiting Disneyland Hong kong, and the Big Buddha were the highlights of my trip. As well as, exploring various street markets, and experience new types of food.
Accomodation during the trip was great, Holiday Inn Express provided our group with excellent customer service, and an excellent experience overall.
Our guide, Jacky, was really friendly and engaging. He was always well presented, and willing to answer any questions and provide directions and recommendations of places if we wanted to go anywhere.

My stay was great! The team made me feel very welcome in a really unfamiliar place and helped me to settle in. The included tours allowed me to see a lot more than I thought I could in two weeks. The business visits were an insight and gave me heaps to write about in my research. Overall I was able to step out of my comfort zone and enjoy a trip that I was initially nervous about.

My trip began with a sight-seeing trip of Hong Kong Island, where we visited the beautiful Victoria Peak (a great selfie opportunity!), the Aberdeen fishing village, and the Stanley Market. The team introduced us to the MTR system early on which made it so easy to get around. Our business visits included Li & Fung, Qualidux, Memorigin, and Jetta. These gave us an insight into the manufacturing industry in HK. Some of the more memorable experiences involved trying new foods -BBQ pork buns, egg waffles, and even fish stomach -, catching a show in Macau, and haggling in the markets. Even though this was a research study tour, the cultural experience has taught me so much and encouraged me to try new things. Definitely something I won’t forget!

I didn't have the re entry visa for Hong Kong. Initially, I did not even know how to reach there. The staff of Next step (Jacky) was very helpful as I needed a re entry visa into Hong Kong. He took me to the immigration of HK and help me along the application process. This is because I have a different passport than other participants. I didn't realised until I was going out of HK just one day before. I would say it was fun and seen government offices and buildings besides my visa issue.

NSC Shanghai Internship is a great program for intern overseas. The staff members are very helpful; it's very easy to get in touch with them. I learned a lot from this internship. During my work, I've strengthened my communication skills, time management skills, and work efficiency. In addition, the co-workers in my company are very friendly. They helped me gain a lot of work experience.

All in all, participating in this program is very fruitful for me. I will never forget this experience.

I spent 2 months and a half in this shocking, amazing and sometimes difficult city. It is huge, full of contrasts and apparently, completely different from the western standards I am used to. When I arrived I was scared because I didn't know anything about the culture and the language, so everyday I kept asking myself "How can I survive here?" In the end I survived. Chinese people are the kindest people I've ever met, always trying to help you, just give them time to know you. I was working in a small company of 25 Chinese people, just three of them could speak English, and I can't speak a word of Chinese, so at the beginning it was kind of difficult but in the end I felt so sad leaving. I was doing marketing, so for all the period I was there, I had to do marketing analysis of clients, sometimes it was very boring, but I really can't complain, I learn how to segment the market and to create a marketing plan. When I needed Next Step Connections, Next Step was always there, fixing Internet when it was not working, helping me getting Internet on my mobile phone (not so easy if you really can't speak ONE word of chinese) and creating occasions to meet the other interns. The flat also was really nice. I have really appreciated their effort.

For the most part, being in the city center was pretty good. One of the things I found to be hard was the hotel location being 1.2 kilometers away from the nearest subway station (it would have been nicer to be 500 meters or less). Also, it would have been easier if there was a supermarket within walking distance of the hotel. As for the hotel, the best part was the big living space with living room area. Otherwise the plumbing needed to be dealt with three times and the wifi reception was terrible. The hotel staff seemed to respond better to Chinese-speakers than those who couldn't speak Chinese. It was nice having a Family Mart downstairs though. Otherwise going to work was easy with options of taxi, subway, or bus. The food was absolutely amazing, the supermarkets were huge, and the malls were even bigger.