Programme: Shanghai-Hong Kong University Alliance: 2020 Fall Internship in Shanghai
Partner Institution: Shanghai-Hong Kong University Alliance
Period: October - December, 2020
I am very happy that after the epidemic in Mainland China slowed down and stabilized, I came to Shanghai for a two-month internship trip through the "Shanghai-Hong Kong University Alliance: 2020 Fall Internship in Shanghai" program in October.
In Shanghai, my internship unit was FamilyMart convenience store under the Taiwanese company Ting Hsin International Group, and my position was a brand marketing intern.
Different from the financial and Internet companies that are currently in the industry, FamilyMart is a more traditional retail and supermarket industry. Therefore, most of my colleagues are not the same age, but seniors who are older and have more professional experience than me. When I first started working with my family, I was worried that the age and experience gap would cause problems in my interactions with seniors. However, the reality is completely opposite to what I imagined. The colleagues in the company are very friendly to other intern students and me who are from Hong Kong. In addition, company leaders and colleagues will also take the initiative to invite interns to have a meal after work and have more in-depth exchanges and understanding at the dinner table.
When it comes to the most interesting part of internship in FamilyMart, it must be to participate in new product tasting sessions. At the beginning and the middle of each month, the company will launch new foods in stores. Before tasting new products, colleagues in the food department will invite employees from other departments to try them and collect internal opinions. For example, in the tasting meeting, I would eat different flavors of glutinous balls, drink different varieties of lattes, and then give feedback to relevant colleagues. For me, who loves to eat very much, this kind of activity is very interesting. Furthermore, this kind of activities is meaningful and helpful as it helps the company launch better and more popular products.