Program Reviews

After taking four months of Mandarin at University of Melbourne, I felt very little cultural shock as I was able to at least communicate to people at a basic level. My day experiences at work were wonderful as I was put in an office with primarily Chinese staff which is what I wanted. I learned each day some new things about chinese business culture whether at the office or during lunch breaks. For instance, Chinese love to order multiple dishes and then share all those dishes, something I didn't do in other parts of the world. There were certainly some difficulties I encountered especially the weather since China was quite hot, humid, and rainy often. The commute to work was fairy easy but the amount of people on the metro was a challenge as you had to really push yourself to get in. That was something I wasn't used to.

Doing a marketing internship in Hong Kong was definitely the best decision I've made before graduating, and going with NSC has made that decision so much easier. They helped me with placement with a great company, organised my visa (which saves a lot of hassle!), and set me up with a serviced studio apartment in Soho - the best location of town!

Having constant contact with Ray who also showed me around my office and my apartment, made things a lot easier for the first few days of settling into the Central area. Although there wasn't as many social events as I hoped for, I did make some lifelong friends with the other NSC interns through the NSC events - and even though we've all gone back to our home country, I know we'll keep in close contact.

Now that I've lived and worked in Hong Kong for two months, I realise that I definitely want to work in this city and move back now that I've graduated. I would definitely recommend for anyone who's still studying, or not sure what they want to do, to just go for it and do an internship overseas. You learn a lot about your line of work, but also about yourself - you meet a lot of amazing people, discover a new city - and NSC definitely encourages interns to make the most of their internship experiences.

The language barrier that comes with being abroad is scary enough without having to worry about safety and understanding cultural faux pas. NSC was incredibly accommodating and kind through out my entire experience. Since I didn't speak Chinese, they helped me with everything from translating with the cleaning people to buying train tickets and booking plane trips. They ensured I was safe and quickly handled all challenges. Highly recommended.

NextStepConnection's support team was literally there for me every step of the way - from arrival to departure - during my stay in Shanghai. As a matter of fact, my plane was delayed 8 hours in San Francisco, causing me to arrive in Shanghai in the middle of the night. It was 2am and I was worried that I would be stranded; yet, two employees - Virginia and Sabrina - left their beds to come rescue me during these late night hours.

The remainder of the trip went very smoothly, helping with translation, logistics, securing and introducing me to the firm for which I would intern, and arranging cultural events and dinners to experience.

We then all got to meet many other NSC students who were coming from various countries. This allowed me to meet new friends and have people with whom I could enjoy these experiences, not to mention it expanded my network.

I came in as a pre-MBA candidate looking to gain a new global, professional experience. This was the perfect medium through which to do so. I am confident that this experience, when woven into my graduate school essays, truly helped me get into both UPenn's Wharton School of Business and Harvard Kennedy School for a dual MBA/MPA degree.

The internship is great! Did an internship with an equity research firm then with a private equity fund. Gained a tonne of exposure to the China market, and start to really understand how things work at the local level. It is something you cannot learn from sitting in a classroom (even at an Ivy League institution).

The best thing is that management team is excellent. They are expatriates themselves who understand how things work in the local Chinese market. They are very friendly, approachable and helpful, with great work ethic (something scarce in a Chinese context), and willing to go well beyond what is needed to help their clients and students. A place where you will find Western standards in the (promising yet chaotic) China workplace. Would highly recommend this to anyone interested in getting some China experience!

Overpriced for what you are getting. I was so excited before getting to SH. I thought that paying over $5000 to them would guarantee a phenomenon experience. Guess what? Everything sucked besides the fact that I met some real cool friends (but seriously I didn't need to pay 5 grants to do that). first of the internship sucked. We were 4 interns and 3 of us hated it. We felt like useless the whole time. I am not sure about the 4th one since he joined 1 week before all 3 of us finished our internship. We were over it and didn't try to know the kid. I had the chance to talk to a bunch of other NSC interns and most of them (I would say 95+% of them, no joke) complained about their internships. Only 2-3 liked theirs out of over 50 people. The companies that we were placed in were small and sketchy ones. Trust me you will most likely do crappy jobs and feel useless the whole time. Some of the interns were so upset and fed up that they quit and found their own internships by themselves. Not to mention that housing also sucked. I don't know how NSC thinks. If your internship were in Puxi they would put you in Pudong for housing and vice versa. Had a pretty bad experience and felt cheated at the end of it. Glad I made some real friends out of this experience. But definitely not worth the 5K you paid them. Would not recommend to anyone.

I found Next Step Connection's web through google search. Before I applied their internship programme. I communicate with the programme advisor via email. After all of my questions being solved, I decided to join the NSC internship programme.

My internship experience is way more exciting than what I have had expected. I am working in a Hong Kong company called MEGA Group Holding (HK) Limited. When I just started my internship with MEGA, I had no working experience at all. Luckily, my co-workers are very nice and they are willing to teach. Since I am working in a SME, I am able to work in different departments, meet all of the stuff in the company and have a better idea of how a company operate.

The NSC internship programme doesn't only give me a job, but also real working experience. Now, I have been working for the company for 3 months and become their full time staff 2 months ago. I enjoy working with MEGA. Although there are lots of things I need to learn from my job and my colleagues, I can see how I grow during my first quarter with MEGA.

NSC gave me a safe and reliable way to both explore the culture of China and broaden my professional and academic horizons. While participating in this program, I was able to sample Shanghai's social scene, bargain at markets, try local delicacies, and of course, gain invaluable experience going to work events and meetings. The NSC staff was always available and willing to accomodate our needs, which was especially comforting considering I was 7000 miles from home and didn't speak much of the language at first. This is definitely a program I would recommend to anyone interested in spending time in China.

Upon arrival getting picked up in a van by someone who spoke no English was an interesting experience but nerves were soon calmed after meeting the programs friendly staff and seeing the good housing.

NSC does a great job in finding you an internship and although there are times when you feel you want to be doing something else within your internship company it is hard to blame NSC for this.

Socialising with fellow interns and the free monthly meal and planned events are always fun.

Overall I've met some great friends, learnt a lot about myself and a new culture.

Thank you NSC!

I found my internship to be very helpful to me in my career. Through my internship, I was able to make the connections to land a full time job. I don't think that would have been possible without the networking events Next Step set up. Also through my internship, I was able to see what it was like to be an expat in Shanghai.