Shanghai Internship Program with CRCC Asia

I worked in the British Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai, the executive director said to me it was up to me what I wanted to get involved in so you really have to throw yourself into it and be proactive and get involved in all of their events/projects going on.

I was involved in copy writing for the website for example articles about events, as well as attending and helping to run events and business development.

The office is very small made up mostly of chinese staff who are all nice,and a great way to learn more abotu Chinese culture

I went to lots of events and at first felt a bit out of your comfort zone as business etiquette is very different to ours! lots of job opportunities and networking events where people ram their business cards into your hand and want to see what they can get out of you!

You get out of your internship what you put in so be proactive and engage and everything they do.. lots of post work chamber events which I pretty much went to all of them and got involved in the running of the event

Be approachable and offer help, you'll only get something out of it if you put the effort in.

I participated in the program this July-August and had an absolutely wonderful time! I met fantastic people from all around the world, Shanghai is a beautiful city (the people take a bit of getting used to), my internship was awesome, and the CRCC staff are great. They really try to do everything in their power to make your trip worthwhile. I've read some of the comments here and a lot mention its hit or miss on your placement, and I would say that may be true to a degree but a bigger factor is what you make out of it. If you can show initiative, build a relationship with your boss, and show you can do quality work you will truly get a lot more from the internship than those that just sit at their desk and wait to be given work. The job is what you make it and I know many that loved their jobs and made great connections, I still email with my boss all the time. But by far the best part of the internship is interacting and exploring Shanghai with the other interns. An experience I will never forget!

An internship in China... who would have ever thought about it?? But WE thought & WE got it, WE went, WE worked & WE learnt, WE lived the CULTURE of CHINA.

Being an International Business Management Student, China was the best choice for an internship as China is the fastest growing economy in the world. It is a learning curve for all business students as it relates to the transition of international trade to global trade and serving the entire world as one supermarket, where China is considered the major outsourcing hub.

How to deal with situations where you know no one, nor can you speak in the local language? Shanghai presented us with such situation every day since people rarely speak or understand English and we didn’t Shanghainese or Mandarin either. So the solution was to learn basic Mandarin…..CRCC Asia provided us with the schooling facility where you can learn basic Mandarin and now we can rely on our Mandarin communication if we happen to visit CHINA again.

2 months in China, spent in meeting new people, friends, colleagues, learning business etiquette and Chinese culture and climbing the GREAT WALL of CHINA...…..time just flew…. CRCC Asia made it a visit worth with their excellent hospitality, celebrity accommodation and of course round the clock support for any single thing you ever thought about. CRCC Asia has the best people employed who look after all your needs and they are just a phone call away.

I miss orientation, welcome and leaving drinks parties, banquet, charity events and business seminars.

What a fantastic experience we had!

I took this program during the peak summer seasons with a lot of other people. Even so, people's experiences seemed to fall into 2 firm camps. Some people found their internships fantastic; they loved their companies, had worthwhile work to do and they made fantastic connections. Others had a terrible experience that was a waste of time for everyone involved. Examples of the horror stories I heard: Whole days spent sitting emptily at a desk, bosses seemingly devoid of a heart and who couldn't care less about you, telemarketing for 2 months in English to a population that virtually only speak Chinese.

But I still think this program is worth it because of two things. If you have never been to China, spending 2 months in either Beijing or Shanghai will deepen your understanding of this country and really, really widen your global perspective. Two, if you don't like your internship placement, request a change, immediately! The CRCC support staff are wonderful and personable, and they work really hard to accommodate requests and listen to what exactly it is what you want. Without them my summer could have gone a whole lot worse, and many of the folks who started out with awful internships also took this step and found their second placement much, much better.

most of us are very unsatisfied about the assignment. Most of them are kinda small and even not doing a real business. Most of interns doing nothing at work. However, the life experience is great and living cost are relatively low.

The internship program is very organized and all worked perfectly, they offer support to the interns and the housing is a very nice place and very central as well. The placements themselves aren't that good, the group of interns that went to Shanghai at the same time I went, less than 5% where happy and satisfied with their placements. Besides the internship itself it was a great experience.

The best part about this program is that it is very hands off. They pretty much drop you in Shanghai and say, "Go have fun!" You see the event staff every week or so, and they are sure to always answer phone calls/text/emails if you need them. They also bring to work/class on the first day so that you have an idea on how to get there and back. However, for the most part you can be completely independent and have a fantastic time. This program had a combination of travelers from all over the world. Interacting with them, while discovering Shanghai, was a great experience that I would never give up. Though the program itself was lacking in terms of the actual internship, I preferred feeling independent, which is why I would enjoyed this program so much.