Please refer back to this blog post for regular updates on the effect of Covid-19 on our partners and partcipants, and everything we are doing at Pagoda Projects to continue to bring you extraordinary and safe work experience.
If you’re a student signed up to one of our programmes or are thinking about enrolling and have any questions, feel free to give us a call on 0161 818 8824 or send Ali an email at ali.hashemi@pagodaprojects.com
Thanks, stay safe everyone!
PAGODA NEWS: COVID-19
Monday 19th October
We had a little success story last week as Paul Yeandle, Director of Programmes, made it back into China after nearly 7 months in Vietnam.
A few negative COVID-19 Tests and, 14 days of quarantine in Guangzhou later – Paul was back in Chengdu. Keeping a routine, home exercise, Netflix and, of course, some work and engaging Pagoda team meetings kept boredom at bay!
Paul is now back in Chengdu where he’s linked up again with the Chengdu office and remarked at the way China has gone back to business following tough lockdowns and strict measures on the borders. It’s a price worth paying, according to Paul, to return to his wife, cat, and, an open economy!Thursday 24th September
This week marked the start of our #Funded50 Remote Internship Programme where 50 recent grads or placement students have been given the opportunity to intern remotely with companies in Greater China, Vietnam and Mexico.
Pagoda Projects secured a grant from Ā Innovate UK, the UKās innovation agency, to develop our online internship programme as well as a tech platform here interns can access all aspects of the programme;Ā internship management & support, online events and the cultural mentorship. Throughout the internship, the interns will not only gain valuable international business insight from their day to day roles but also through workshops and events with industry leaders including LinkedIn Learning.Friday 18th September
It is safe to travel to Taipei for our year-long placement programme! Our participant completed his 2-week quarantine and today completed his first day at his company, Winnoz!
Quentin had the following tips for quarantine: proactively do some remote work for your host company, keep active in your room with bodyweight exercises and commit to a couple of series on Netflix!
In Vietnam, the second wave has been well controlled and Danang, the centre of the outbreak, has eased its lockdown. The borders have become to open foreigners, but still focusing on business experts, which is similar to the situation in China. Life goes pretty much as usual in the new normal – with masks and hand sanitiser.Thursday 30th July
Unfortunately after 100 days, Vietnam has recorded it’s first community transmissions of COVID-19 in Danang City.Ā This has come as quite a shock to the community given how successful they had been at controlling the spread. Nevertheless, as usual, the government and people have reacted quickly by implementing social distancing, isolating those who may have been at risk of infection and contact tracing all those with possible connections.
Whilst it is a bit of a damper on the success so far, we remain confident in the measures being taken to effectively tackle this new wave of infections.Wednesday 22nd July
Somehow we are almost at August – where has this year gone? We were delighted a couple of weeks ago to host our first public webinar ‘Failures: The Secret to Success’ in conjunction with our Remote Internship Programme. We were joined with three great panelists from Zhuhai, Taipei and HCMC who shared on the challenges that they have faced to get where they are today.
As remote working / WFH has now become somewhat the norm, we enjoyed hosting a Remote Working Workshop yesterday as part of our Remote Internship Programme. As University of Dundee students come to the end of their internship after 8 great weeks, we are now joined by students from universities across Wales, England and Australia working for organisations all around the world for the next 8!
With August around the corner our UK team are looking forward to potentially heading back into their new office in Manchester. Fingers crossed!Thursday 2nd July
Vietnam has now gone 77 days without any community transmissions of COVID-19. Whilst the borders are still closed except for āexpertsā working on projects of national significance and repatriated Vietnamese with mandatory 14-day quarantine on arrival, business very much goes on as usual within the country (as does the traffic!).
All facilities, shops and services have now reopned, and since many have vacation at this time, domestic tourism is restarting with hotels, resorts and tourist attractions reopening up for business. Temperature checks and face coverings are only required in notably crowded places and there is certainly a sense of ease amogst the population towards the lower threat of the virus.
Vietnam has fantastically recorded no deaths, with the most serious patient making a remarkable recovery from the virus over the last couple of weeks.
Monday 29th June
Taiwan Celebrating NO NEW LOCAL CASES in over 88 days!
Only a few cases have been imported but contained.
Status report on daily life in Taiwan – Face masks are still required to be worn on entering public transport (metro and buses) but masks can be removed on the metro if a safe distance of 1.5 m can be maintained… Which is unlikely during rush hours!
All shops, offices, restaurants, cinemas (showing old western movies and new Taiwanese movies), parks etc are still fully open to the public. Large malls and some restaurants are still performing temperature checks upon entrance with alcohol spray for the hands.
Weather is sunny and hooooot as per usual šTuesday 2nd June
As lockdowns and restrictions have been eased slightly around Europe we have been very excited to onboard over 70 students onto our first Remote Internship programme. As interns have remotely settled into their new workday and host company throughout the week, we have held an Employability Skills Webinar and Virtual Fireside Chat with Louise Nicol, Founder and Director of Asia Careers Group.
Alongside their internship, interns have been paired with a Cultural Mentor to exchange stories and knowledge about the intern’s home country culture and their Host Company country’s culture. It’s been great to see their cultural journals, hear about their conversations and witness development of intercultural awareness.Ā Even the Pagoda Projects team are learning new things!Thursday 7th May
Vietnam is Back! Of course with cautious optimism, but over the last two weeks shops, restaurants, cafes and sports facilities are back open for business, with care taken to the numbers inside and the ability to safely distance. Schools are slowly going back and as Vietnam celebrated Reunification Day last week; 45 years after the end of the Vietnamese War, the country has supported each other and worked together to keep the virus at bay.
The picture is the view from famous Nguyen Hue towards the Saigon Opera house as people enjoy the cool city evenings. We haven’t been able to see this view for several years because of construction work to the Saigon metro, but this station is now finished!
Friday 24th April
A quick Vlog from our Vietnam Branch manager Vicki Offland today, chatting about the situation in Ho Chi Minh city at the moment regarding Corona Virus as successful government measures have helped keep the virus at bay which is leading to a phased relaxation of social distancing.
Vicki also reveals what Pagoda Projects has been doing to keep morale up š
Tuesday 14th April
A couple of rays of good news from Taipei today!
Taiwan’s Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) announced today that there are no new cases of Wuhan Coronavirus (COVID-19) to report for the first time in 36 days!
It appears the CECC’s efforts at quickly identifying, isolating, and tracing confirmed cases have held the virus at bay, for now…
Another trick up Taiwan’s sleeve is their new ‘Mask Vending Machine‘ which is being deployed across the city.
To help alleviate the queues at 7/11’s and pharmacies, the government have set up vending machines which can dispense up to 2000 masks per day! Costing only 45NTD for a pack of 3 ($1.5 / Ā£1).
Thursday 2nd April
Our InternVietnam team are now working on developping our Remote Internship Programme for the University of Dundee from home! They are also planning for the arrival of our scheduled employability programmes in August/September 2020.
Vietnam has entered day two of a 15-day country wide voluntarily lock-down in order to prevent community transmission of COVID-19. Many of the population were already maintaining good social distancing and following government health advice. All non essential business are closed except in cases of delivery which maintain as normal and is making less inconveniences for the population.
As of today 62 out of 222 cases recorded have recovered and many business and organisations are adapting to this new way of working online through online webinar and workshops.
Friday 27th March
We are EXTREMELY excited to announce the imminent launch of a remote internship programme for our partners at the University of Dundee! The University of Dundee programme will be taking place this summer in a slightly different format. Take a look below to find out more. We will be expanding our remote internship opportunities to our other valued partners in the near future. Watch this space for announcements!
Company? ā click here to find out more
University? ā click here to find out more
Tuesday 31st March
Well, we have entered the second week of lockdown in the UK and seemingly more uncertain times lay ahead. All of us at Pagoda Projects just wanted to share a quick message to all our participants, alumni, partners and everyone going through challenging times.
Look after yourselves, whether that’s with crazy new home workouts,Ā becoming a jigsaw master or learning how to light a Zoom call like a Hollywood film set.
Friday 27th March
Although our InternMexico programmes for June & July 2020 have also sadly been postponed, our InternMexico Branch Manager James is busy planning the launch of our newest initiative from the comfort of his own home in Mexico City.
Friday 27th March
Our InternVietnam team waved goodbye to the final few participants on our Ho Chi Minh City programme this week. They are on their way home to the France, the UK and Germany, hopefully taking lots of fond memories of Vietnam with them.
All InternVietnam programmes for participants due to head out to Vietnam until July 2020 have been postponed but the InternVietnam team are still planning for some arrivals in August and September 2020!
Friday 27th March
Our Taipei team are hard at work and continuing to plan for participants wishing to embark on our Taipei programmes from September 2020 onwards.
Participants on place in Taipei are exercising caution and looking out for themselves. We are supporting these participants in their decision to either continue with their placements or to return home early, dependant on advice from official government channels such as FCO, DFAT, MFAT and GAC.
Our participant insurance policy will continue to cover those hard-working interns who are eager to stay under the current circumstances. However, we will be reassessing the safety of these participants daily in case of further developments and will remain in close contact with our insurance providers as things progress.
If you have any concerns regarding a participant currently on place in Taipei, please donāt hesitate to get in contact with Daniel (in Taipei) or Clare (in the UK).
daniel.miller@pagodaprojects.com
clare.harding@pagodaprojects.com
Thursday 26th March
Our InternChina teams are slowly emerging back into the world after a period in lock-down. Our Chengdu Branch Manager Liam is thrilled to be back working in the office again.
Programmes that were due to take place in Mainland China in April or May 2020 have sadly been postponed in light of current travel and visa restrictions.
All of our study tours along with Australian and New Zealand Government and University programmes have already been postponed. Some of the InternChina programmes that are due to take place in June, July and August 2020 on behalf of students studying in the UK may also be postponed. We will stay in close contact with the participants and ongoing applications hoping to take part on these programmes about any changes to over the coming weeks.
This includes those applicants hoping to take part on the GenerationUK Programme this year, your programme dates may be subject to change. Please keep your eyes on your inboxes for an update and thank you very much for your patience and understanding in the meantime.
Thursday 26th March
Just as our participants, alumni and faithful partner universities and companies across the world are striving to endure, adapt and thrive through the escalation of the COVID-19 pandemic, Pagoda Projects are doing the same!
From all of us at Pagoda Projects, our thoughts and best wishes are with medical workers and governments who are doing their best to heal and protect.
Get in touch:
The President of the Peopleās Republic of China, Xi Jinping, will be visiting the UK later this year during what will be the first official state visit of a Chinese leader in a decade.
Did you know that in order to be considered an āOfficialā state visit, the Royal Family has to formally hand out an invitation called a āmanu regiaā?, something that Prince William did by hand earlier this year during his visit to Beijing.
During the visit, Xi Jinping will be staying at The Queensā London residence, Buckingham Palace, before traveling across the UK to various cities including Manchester; a city that is home to (among other things!), InternChinasā UK office. I’ll be on the look out!
Both the UK and China have increasing levels of foreign investment, trade and communications between one another. Part of Xi Jinpingās visit will be to talk about the ever tightening ties between the UK and China, and most likely state what Ā he expects the future relationship to involve.
The programmes we have available through InternChina will allow you to gain invaluable experience with Chinese and Western companies big and small in Qingdao, Zhuhai and Chengdu; learn mandarin, and choose your accommodation. Why not take a look at some of our past internās video referencesĀ of their time living in and exploring China.Ā
If you’re keen seeing what all the fuss if about, why not Apply Now!
Hi, everyone,
My name is Ali, I am turning 25 this year (sadly) and currently live in Manchester UK. Iāve been luckily enough to work for a worldwide bank in a very successful sales role where I was rewarded significantly for my efforts there in my first ever job fresh out of college as a fresh faced 18/19 year old.
I am so immensely proud to be joining the InternChina team as their first ever full time UK employee! Itās my first few weeks in the role of Bookings Administrator and it has been very busy but I have enjoyed every minute so far. Our managing director Jamie has made me feel very welcome along with all the other staff based in the Chinese offices.
After spending a considerable amount of my free time in Manchester as all my friends were located there, I decided to take the plunge and move to a big city. There I was successful in acquiring a role for the government as an Information Advisor for the UK public in relation to their employment rights. In this role that I highly enjoyed, I meet some fantastic people but when I found out InternChina was hiring I put all my efforts into pursuing a career that meant more than just your average 9-5 role.
Fortunately in the last 10 years I have been able to visit a few countries around the world with friends and family. These include going to the Caribbean for a family wedding, touring through most parts of Europe with friends on skiing and summer holidays and the best trip of my life to Asia in spring 2014.
My holiday to Asia was great for so many reasons, none more so than the amount of places I was able to fit in to the trip. Starting out with a few days Hong Kong, I then got the ferry to Macau where I made it rain in the Venetian, that was followed by some eventful to say the least nights out in Zhuhai and Shanghai. From there I took the cultural element of the trip a little bit more serious and went on to visit the giant pandas in Chengdu, the Terracotta warriors in Xiāan, and the Great Wall of China in Beijing. The trip which lasted just over 3 weeks then sadly came to end in Korea where I had an equally fantastic time in Seoul.
All in all I couldnāt recommend Asia more but in particular China! From the incredibly friendly and warm locals to the amazing cities, landscapes and superb cultural experiences on offer it most certainly has something for everyone.
I am now really excited to start my career with InternChina, help the company grow to best of my abilities and hopefully get to visit China and Asia on many more occasions.
If you follow us on Twitter or like us on Facebook, youāll probably have been aware of an event InternChina was a part of last week called āExperience Asia 2014ā. InternChina helped organise it in conjunction with the University of Manchester by working closely with our connections at the university.
We managed to attract several prominent organisations from across the UK that were able to offer students opportunities to travel, work, intern and study in Asia ā itās always great to meet people working in a similar field to you!
The number of enthusiastic students that came to talk to us at the InternChina stand was brilliant. Itās great to see so many young people intent on travelling to China to gain invaluable experiences.
Suffice to say, the event flew by, and many of the hundreds of students that attended, left with exiting new plans to go to Asia this year! Donāt worry too much if you were unable to be a part of the event, itās not too late to apply for an internship with us this summer. We also have funding opportunities available so be sure to take a look!
Weāre hoping to attend future Experience Asia events and look forward to the next one with keen anticipation.
Do you want to join those going to China this summer inĀ Qingdao, Zhuhai or Chengdu? Join in the adventure here!
As you can see from the number of InternChina blog posts on the topic, Chinese New Year is the most exciting time of year for us! Like Christmas to many westerners, Chinese New Year is a time when families get together and everybody enjoys a holiday. Now that I’m back in Manchester I wanted to see what the local Chinese community did to mark the occasion and I was pleasantlyĀ surprised!
On the night of Chinese New Year we took some friends to an authentic Chinese restaurant in town – Han Dynasty. This was quite simply the most authentic Chinese food I’ve ever had outside China. We love the northern-Chinese style ‘Jia Chang Cai – 家åøøč’ such as Aubergine, Pepper and Potato (å°äøé²), Chinese Schnitzel (é
å
č), Egg n Tomato (č„æēŗ¢ęæēéø”č) and Garlic Shoots with shredded pork (čč¹čäø). These were all on the menu (so we ordered all of them!), as well as a huge range of dishes, full hot pot selection and on-the-table BBQ. Our friends were amazed and we have been talking about the food there for days afterwards! The restaurant also has a nice feeling of Authentic China, with Karaoke rooms downstairs and no other westerners (čå¤) in sight!
On the Sunday after Chinese New Year there is a festival to mark the New Year in Chinatown, with traditional performances, street food, some random fairground attractions and fish n chip stands (not very Chinese, but who cares!) and all culminating in a spectacular firework display. It was fun to celebrate with Chinese people in Manchester and made us miss China a lot! ę°å¹“åæ«ä¹!
I am currently based in our Manchester office and dealing with all Generation UK applications, for more information about this please visit here!
Calling All UK Students – GenerationUK Programme
Weāre delighted to be working with the British Council China as part of the Generation UK campaign.
The initiative aims to encourage and support more young people from the UK to gain international experience in China. The Generation UK campaign will provide funding for our 2 month placements in the sectors we have available – see www.internchina.com/programmes/internships. Funding is available to UK citizens (British passport holders, including Irish passport holders for Northern Irish domiciled) enrolled at a UK university or a recent graduate from a UK university at the time of application. The British Council aims for over 15,000 UK students to participate in a study abroad placement by 2016, so thereās never been a better time to apply!
Here at InternChina, we have placed in excess of 1000 students in China over the past seven years with companies in industries from IT to Education and Finance to Photography. Because of our new UK office in Manchester, weāve built strong links with all the surrounding universities, as well as those further afield.
Former Intern and MMU Student Joseph Fry left this comment after being placed in China through us – āit would have taken three years to accumulate the professional experience in the UK which I was able to accrue within 3 months in Chinaā.
www.youtube.com/embed/e2MTSHnctW0
The British Councilās āGeneration UKā initiative indicates how highly valued work experience in China is, and the wide-spread enthusiasm behind the scheme means more UK residents can take advantage of the internships we offer. To discover if youāre eligible, head to www.internchina.com/generationuk for full T&Cās and the application process.
For more information you can either email our team at: info@internchina.com or call our Manchester office on +44 (0)161 8188823.
Hi, Iām George. Iāve recently started assisting InternChinaās GM, Jamie, in the Manchester office. Iām reading Marketing at MMU here in Manchester and will be working on various initiatives during my time here.
Although itās only been a couple of weeks at InternChina, Iāve been struck by what a pleasant and helpful everyone here is. Iāve been welcomed with open arms, well metaphorical arms for the most part, as communication with colleagues in China is all done over the Internet! It took some getting used to at first, but after mastering coping with the time differences Iāve got the hang of it!
As I mentioned earlier, Iām at university ā to be more precise, my second year of university. Last week marked the end of something called āfreshersāā. Iāve done some research and found that other countries have various different names for it ā orientation, welcome week, frosh week etc. If none of those words mean anything, essentially, itās just the start of the first term of the academic year.
I must be frank and truthful and say that here in the UK, freshersā is typically a week (or two) long, predominantly spent socialising with new acquaintances usually over a drink or ten. Alongside this, itās a time to sign up for societies and gather everything needed for a years independent study.
In other countries, it seems a very similar affair, with socialising, drinking and preparation being the key focuses of the week.
However, I couldnāt find anything about university students in China starting their first year. Iām curious to know if thereās an equivalent āeventā. Unfortunately, Iām not lucky enough to have travelled to China yet, and so am not completely sure of such cultural differences.
Has anyone reading this experienced the Chinese equivalent of freshersā?
I hope to eventually travel to China – maybe then Iāll find out!
Iām looking forward to the work ahead with InternChina, and wholeheartedly recommend them to anyone and everyone!
Apply now for an internship in Chengdu, Qingdao or Zhuhai.
Written by William
Me
Hello, Ni Hao, Salut, Hallo, Hola, Ola, Ciao, Namaste, Czesc and Marhaban everyone (sorry if I missed any language out, Iām not actually fluent in all of these languages by the way!)
I am a 20 year old Marketing student from MMU in Manchester and Iām the new intern at InternChina in the Manchester office. My name is William Yau and I have been helping the General Manager, Jamie, with marketing work using something called the internet.
I grew up in a relatively rural town called Shrewsbury, located in the midlands of England, and I have been living in Manchester for the past 2 years due to University.
Itās very peaceful and traditional so it would be brilliant for an older person however; it lacks 2 things ā 1) a bustling culture you can only find in a city and 2) an international scene. Thatās where Manchester comes in.
This summer I, furthermore, adopted an extremely tourist persona and spent a month in Thailand, an experience that altered my perception on life.
Work
Why did I choose InternChina? As an ethnic Chinese I was born with a gravitation towards all things Oriental! The company seemed an exciting opportunity with a market I could relate to. Iām delighted that this opportunity came to fruition.
Soā¦ what have I been doing? Twiddling my thumbs all day and sleeping would be a lovely answer; however I am compelled to tell the truth. I was tasked with several internet based marketing activities such as blogging and search engine optimisation. Itās been very hands-on and Iāve had a lot to do (not just making tea!)
Itās interesting working in a different time zone to InternChinaās other offices because when I get to the office theyāve already been working for hours, itās a difficult concept to grasp initially. However, it does mean the company is productive almost 24/7!
I believe this is a brilliant company that offers a wonderful service to its customers. The one thing I have noticed the most about them is how well they uphold their ethics, this is great as I would hate for anything to disturb my sleep at night.
āA quiet conscience makes one strong!ā – Anne Frank
Advice
For future interns in Manchester I would advise you to get your 8 hours sleep, caffeine is not a sustainable substitute in my opinion, save any useful sites you use.
If you read all, half, a quarter, or even one line of this then thank you very much. I think InternChina is a great company and I hope to intern over in China soon to see the other side of the company.
Would you like to support InternChina in Manchester or in Chengdu, Qingdao or Zhuhai? Send your cover letter and CV info@internchina.com