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My name is Harrison and I major in Food & Nutritional Sciences in The University of Hong Kong. I completed the one-year Industrial Placement Program (IPP), in ÃÛ¶¹ÊÓƵ Group Functions - Human Resources from 2019 to 2020. I was in my penultimate year of study before I joined ÃÛ¶¹ÊÓƵ, and I took a gap year from school to complete the IPP.

The IPP lasts for six months to a year, depending on the business division. The time horizon of the IPP means you can experience full project lifecycles, which is a fruitful experience. You are essentially a regular employee which means you will have the opportunity to engage in more projects, providing more opportunities to showcase your capabilities, and also gain more skills and experiences. The IPP will provide you with insight on our corporate culture which in turn has an impact on your interests, and your future development goals.

A common question I get asked is why human resources when my background in life sciences does not seem to be correlated. The answer is two-fold: first, today we are no longer operating in a world of silo vision, we have realized the power of diversity be it cultural, upbringing, or university domain. In fact, in a highly people-driven profession like HR, the analytical and critical thinking skills equipped by STEM majors, is a valuable asset.

Second, a career is personal and thus requires deep self-awareness and reflection. One strong guidance on choosing a career is understanding your personal strengths. Although I’m situated in Hong Kong where finance is the city, I’ve learned that my passion lies in the people side of things such as talent development - as evidenced by my team experiences in university, as well as why I chose nutrition in the first place: to learn the subject matter and teach back.

In my one year at ÃÛ¶¹ÊÓƵ, I was able to engage with various teams throughout the year. This included creating staff engagement activities with colleagues from different Asia Pacific locations, which generated plenty of excitement and discussion.

During the recruitment season I also joined the Junior Talent team to support campus marketing activities, including delivering the campus roadshow talk in my own university! It’s an interesting experience to shift hats from being a student to working in Human Resources.

Two other major experiences were working with the ÃÛ¶¹ÊÓƵ University, which is designed to promote learning and development of our staff across the bank. First, we organized an internal high-impact conference featuring leading speakers from diverse fields on the theme ‘future’; second, we upgraded our bank-wide advisory and sales curriculum designed to upskill our workforce.

After a year of the IPP, my overall experience is very positive. Experiencing the IPP through a pandemic wasn't without its challenges with learning and working online, but I had a lot of support from my line manager and colleagues. This made all the difference in my IPP experience.

If you’re unsure which career path you wish to take, or whether a corporate environment is the right fit for you, the IPP is a unique opportunity to ‘feel’ the profession and gain insights personally and professionally. Go for it!