Student Tony Hui Hang-yung and three of his teammates were awarded much-coveted internships after they triumphed over almost 350 other university teams to claim the top prize in the 2015 HKICPA Qualification Programme (QP) Case Analysis Competition.
The competition required contestants to devise a business plan for a hypothetical restaurant chain struggling to operate in a competitive environment, drawing upon their analysis, presentation and collaboration skills.
For Hui, a second-year global business student at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, his two-month internship with Hang Seng Bank’s insurance division gave him a far-reaching snapshot of the real business world, as well as boosted his confidence and interpersonal skills.
“I benefitted from a number of learning points, including how to approach tasks effectively and efficiently,” he says.
During his internship, Hui was assigned to assist in compiling and collating data for Hang Seng’s asset and liability capital management division. Describing the assignment as having a “steep learning curve”, Hui was responsible for helping to condense multiple pieces of information into a presentation on liquidity and risk management for future business consideration.
“The assignment was challenging because there were a lot of concepts I was not familiar with,” Hui says. However, he quickly discovered that by asking questions and seeking help, his assignments became a lot more manageable.
Hui adds that his internship mentors did not expect him to be equipped with work-specific knowledge, but they did appreciate and encourage his self-motivated drive and willingness to learn, as well as him asking questions and showing an enthusiasm for teamwork.
Now back at university, Hui says he is able to make use of his internship experience and has more confidence to ask questions. In the future, because of his curiosity in investment banking, consulting and project finance, he says acquiring the CPA qualification will help him to achieve his career goals.
“Based on my internship experience, I discovered that the HKICPA’s qualification programme, which leads to CPA qualification, provides a good foundation for understanding business finance and the way companies operate.”
This article appeared in the Classified Post print edition as Internship winner gets glimpse of real business world.
