DESIGN INTERNSHIP PROGRAMME
Hong Kong and China
January 2020
The time spent
in HK was absolutely amazing. Thanks to Eden Travel's well organised study tour and excellent assistance, the month spent there was rich with outdoor tours and events. I'd definitely recommend this experience to anyone...
Marco Staines, Auckland University of Technology (New Zealand), January 2019
Programme Summary
Objective: The objective of our programme is provide students with the opportunity to spend time exploring the fashion and design industries in a specific country, while building connections that will last a lifetime.
Duration: 4 weeks (1 week orientation, followed by 3 week corporate internship)
Companies: Students will be placed in a role relevant to their skill set at a design focused company. The portfolio of companies includes production and fashion houses, product development and sourcing specialists, sustainable fashion labels, architectural firms, interior design companies, 3D gaming and animation developers, games and toy developers, fashion-focused brand and PR strategy consultancies.
Internship areas: Fashion Design, Product Design, 3D Gaming and Animation, Interior Design, Communication Design
Location: Hong Kong and Guangzhou, China
What makes our internship programmes unique
They are designed in conjunction with Massey University and Auckland University of Technology, ensuring they are of the highest standard, are most relevant to the student’s academic background and professional needs, and are safe, secure and well managed.
Each internship begins with an “induction week”. During this week, the students visit a specially curated list of companies to ensure they have a broad understanding of how different companies within the design and fashion space operate within a particular country.
The programmes focus on a 360 degree experience, including professional development, social networking, cultural awareness and just having an awesome adventure. To achieve this, interns are encourage to participate in weekly cultural events and social activities to make the most of their time abroad!
The “Induction Week”: Students begin with a week of site visits, to give them a broad understanding of the professional environment in a given country and how different companies within the design and fashion space operate. For fashion students, this will include sourcing companies, markets, design studios, fashion labels and retail spaces. For design students, it will include companies that cover product design, architecture, interior design and urban planning, as well as virtual reality and gaming companies (Hong Kong).
The internships: Students will then break up to pursue different internships; enabling them to gain independent experiences most relevant to their academic and professional interests, while staying together to ensure unity and knowledge sharing.
Cultural experiences: The programmes incorporate weekly experiences, in which the students will come together with the programme coordinators to share their experiences, and have a “check in” from both a programme and governance perspective.
Programme Details
Included:
All accommodation (sharing dorm rooms of 3 persons per room)
One week induction with professional and academic site visits across HK and China
A cultural guided city tour in Hong Kong
Weekend trip exploring factories and fabric markets in Guangzhou, China
Pastoral care with weekly experience catch ups (including a traditional wet market dinner, night at the Races, dim-sum making class, Aqua Luna junk and “Art Jamming”)
Wrap-up industry event
All transfers and transport
Visa assistance for your internship placement -type of visa will depend on where your internship is, but application process could take up to ~8- 10 weeks)*
Not included:
Inbound and outbound flights (return to Hong Kong International Airport)
Tourist Visa for China
Food, unless stated (we recommend budgeting ~NZ$40 per day)
Travel and health Insurance. However, it is compulsory that all students taking part in the programme are appropriately covered;
Any additional (optional) activities
* Visa applications can be complicated. While you can apply independently, we have partners on the ground who can provide assistance with your visa application - a service we highly recommend using.
“I really enjoyed the opportunity to network, it has been an amazing opportunity to meet new people and understand what brings others to Hong Kong. I think the programme was amazing”
Corban, Auckland University of Technology (New Zealand), January 2019
Click below for Corban’s wrap up video, and a preview of what a Hong Kong internship involves.
Eligibility
The programme is open to students who:
Are in their third or fourth year of study in 2020;
Are NZ citizens or permanent residents;
Are currently enrolled in any design related course at Massey University or AUT. These include:
Visual Communication Design
Fashion Design
Textile Design
Industrial Design
Photography
Spatial Design
Creative Media Production
Bachelor of Design (AUT).
Students must also meet the home university’s eligibility requirements.
To Apply
Applications for 2021 are not yet open.
To be kept up to date, please register your interest by emailing info@edentravelint.com.
What the host companies have to say…
Fotorama (Games and toy developer, Hong Kong)
“The internship was a real success. Corban felt very comfortable in the team from day 1 and got on with everyone.
Thanks to Eden Travel International we got to be in touch few weeks prior to his arrival, which allowed us to plan better for his 3 weeks internship with us. He arrived prepared and delivered great quality work throughout.
His project was a huge help to our team, and it showed all of us a different point of view, which is really refreshing.
Corban is a great designer and I have no doubt he will be very successful as a professional in the future.
A huge thank you to Melissa and Katie who were really helpful since the start, from the recruitment process through to keeping us informed of the itinerary and schedule, everything was well planned and with no surprise. I would happily sign up again for this programme!”
Concept4 (Product development and sourcing, Hong Kong)
“We are so impressed with Eden Travel for organizing the internship program. They were extremely helpful along the way, and prepared us for the arrival of our intern Sophie. They even arranged time to chat with her prior to her arrival and let us know what she would be doing in the time that Sophie was not spending with us.
They arranged so many activities and cultural experiences for all the interns, which I believe helped them to relate to the day to day in the office better.
When Sophie arrived, she was just amazing. We were so impressed with her and her ability to get the job done. She is extremely mature and came in at one of our busiest times of the year, but placed herself in as one of the team as if we knew her forever. She was even participating in our customer meetings and giving feedback along the way. She was such a pleasure to have around, not to mention extremely talented.
We are very happy with our experience and would like to participate in this program again!”