The Beijing Center (TBC) hosted a Virtual Internship Showcase to recap the student-interns’ experiences during their Fall 2020 semester. TBC began offering virtual internship experiences to students interested in China and its growing business market as one way of adapting and modifying educational methods with the development of the global pandemic.
On 21 December, working professionals, professors, and TBC staff had the opportunity to hear from student-interns from Marquette University in Wisconsin, USA, and Sanata Dharma University in Yogyakarta, Indonesia about their individual experiences working with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and Glue Up (formerly EventBank).
The students shared their internship work and how it has contributed to improving their skills and giving them an upper hand in continuing their studies. A common topic was how they learned from a different country and company culture and how to communicate better when working with people in different time zones.
The showcase presentations concluded with a Q&A session from the audience. One of the supervisors commented on the challenges and blessings that virtual internships can bring during this particular time and how the experience of a virtual internship can help young professionals begin developing a solid remote work ethic and learning to work independently and effectively outside of the office environment.
This was the second time TBC held a Virtual Internship Showcase, the first being in summer 2020.