Internships in China introduce students to global economy

Wed, July 15, 2009 |

More than 20 Valparaiso University students recently completed an intensive five-week program during which they immersed themselves in Chinese culture and gained first-hand experiences in an increasingly global workplace.

As part of Valpo's eighth annual Summer in China Program, students worked at a dozen different Chinese companies and institutions to boost their readiness to work in an international setting.

The students interned for four weeks at a variety of Chinese businesses located in Hangzhou, a business and industrial center in eastern China with a population of more than 2 million. Students held internships with a variety of companies, including Hikvision Digital Technology, a leading supplier of digital video surveillance products; Insigma Technology, an information technology service provider; Tefle Language, an English language education institution; Confuway, a law firm that focuses on domestic and international finance and corporate law matters; and Hangzhou Zhonghui Public Accountants.

Alex Smith, a junior new media-journalism major from Howard City, Mich., completed his internship at Intouch Zhejiang, an English language magazine and newspaper based in Hangzhou.

"The internship experience in China has helped me view my journalism major in a completely different way," Smith said. "Before my internship started, I had a lot of questions about how journalism could thrive in a communist nation, particularly the ethical considerations that reporters face and the difficulties they might encounter with the government. I learned much about their day-to-day operations and got to experience news reporting in a completely different country."

Dr. Zhimin Lin, an associate professor of political science and chair of Valpo's Chinese and Japanese Studies Program, said the internships provide a valuable learning opportunity to students such as Smith.

"Working in China provides Valpo students with a unique perspective into another culture," Dr. Lin said. "Having an international background is extremely valuable in the 21st century, and gaining that workplace experience in another country helps prepare students to work with people of different backgrounds and the challenges and opportunities of internationalization."

Smith said he gained a greater awareness of cultural differences during his internship, which included conducting interviews with people from a variety of countries in Hangzhou, writing cultural experience columns and editing stories.

Completing Valpo's summer China program has encouraged Smith to think globally about his career.

"I would love to work internationally in the future," Smith said. "My visit to China was my first trip outside of North America and I appreciated the opportunity to experience this vastly different culture."

In addition to their internships, students also took courses at Valpo's Hangzhou Study Center, a University-operated center at Zhejiang University, and visited sites of cultural and historical significance throughout China.