Now that I’m a little over 2/3 of the way done with my time here in Hong Kong, which is crazy to think about, I’d like to take a second to reflect about the workplace at Hong Kong, in the University, and my overall work experience here.
One of the biggest differences I’ve noticed between this co-op and my previous co-ops is the difference in time. When I was working in manufacturing, I would have to be at work at 7am for meetings right away. In Hong Kong, I arrive at work at 10am after a 20-40 minute commute via bus or MTR (subway), versus my previous jobs which I drove to. Additionally, lunch breaks here average about an hour, sometimes longer on Fridays or when you go out to eat with your supervisor, versus my previous co-ops which has a strict half-hour lunch policy. From what I understand, this is pretty standard practice across different businesses in Hong Kong and not exclusive on the University level.
From a workplace design perspective, hierarchy and titles are much more significant here than in the United States. Many supervisors prefer to communicate over email rather than face-to-face, and while the University setting is more relaxed than others, some even consider it rude to address your supervisor or someone with a higher title than yourself. Learning these customs and even small idiosyncrasies, such as starting every email with “Dear _______,” has taken some adjustment but has not been dramatically different. Additional fact: business cards are huge over here. Having a business card is a mark of being important in your company, and some bars will even give you free drinks if you bring in your business card!
Working at Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) has also given me great opportunities to network; one professor in particular has acted as a great mentor figure to me, despite not being my supervisor, and has given me the opportunity to work in his lab, help with wastewater sampling, and broadened my mind to areas of study that I did not previously realize existed. Additionally, being a research university, PolyU has had some great guest lecturers that I have had the opportunity to attend and learn about the future of water management, biofuels, and water reactors with perspectives from academics around the world.
In my own department, I have continued to help author and edit scientific research papers, compute statistics on student performance, and even help create educational videos to help PolyU students in their classes.
Orchid Trees and Octopi 