APPLY FOR placement
Through the Impact Lab course, you can gain hands-on experience in a whole range of social business areas and with different organisations (listed below), ranging from established charities and enterprises, pre-incorporated ventures, as well as creating social enterprises from scratch.
WHO CAN APPLY
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Full-time & exchange* students from any faculty of the University of Hong Kong (HKU)
* there is no difference in the application process for the exchange students
IMPORTANT NOTICE
Most of the tasks can be done remotely; however, the final decision lies with the company the student is interested in joining and whether for the nature of the engagement it is possible to do so remotely. The course follows all the preventive measures as set by The University of Hong Kong.
SELECTION & ENROLLMENT
Students cannot add the course on Moodle by themselves but need to apply by sending their CV & Motivation Letter through an application form linked on this page and receive an offer from the Impact Lab Partner company first. The selection of students is done directly by a social enterprise(s) to which the student applies.
Once the student is offered a placement by a company s/he will receive a link to register for the course. After the student finishes registering, the information is sent to the faculty administration for enrollment which can take a couple of days or weeks (e.g. in case the student has a credit overload issue or provided the wrong student ID/name/faculty it can take longer).
TIMELINE FOR THE SPRING SEMESTER 2023
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Application period: 03 Jan-17 Jan 2023
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Selection period: 03 Jan-20 Jan 2022
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Placement duration: apx. 16 Jan - 29 Apr
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Course Onboarding:
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Course Briefing (Zoom): 18 Jan (Wed), 7-8pm*
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Course Orientation & Teambuilding (f2f): 1 Feb (Wed), 7-9pm
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TIMELINE FOR THE FALL SEMESTER 2023 - The application will open in August
Please check our FAQ for further questions regarding this course.
* If the deadline passed but you still want to be part of the course, send us an email with your resume and motivation letter, and state which companies and types of positions you are interested in. We will get back to you if there are any spots available. There will be no possibility to join the course after the add/drop period.
NOTE:
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Please, do not apply to unreasonably many partner companies. Doing so shows a lack of etiquette and dedication.
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Please be specific in your cover letter. It is easy for a manager to spot the difference between a generic cover letter being copy-pasted to several partner companies versus a genuine specific cover letter. Provide clear information on why you are interested in the specific company and role - and why you are qualified for the job. We are all eager to support your personal development, so also help us understand your career aspirations (e.g., tell us about where you hope to be / what you hope to do 5 years from now).
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For credit overload and administrative questions, please contact your faculty
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If you are an exchange student, check whether you can apply with your home university (we can provide a letter of support if needed - please send us a request if that is the case stating what your university requires)
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Add/drop period for courses ends on 06 Feb (Mon), 4pm (spring)
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For more information about the course and the application process, see the "About the Course" page
IMPACT LAB
PARTNER COMPANIES
MYEO - Myanmar Youth Empowerment Opportunities
MYEO, an acronym for Myanmar Youth Empowerment Opportunities, is a social impact-driven EdTech. Our mission is to equip all of Myanmar's graduates with the skills to become valuable members of the workforce and community.
A large youth population is one of Myanmar’s major strengths. The country may benefit from a “demographic dividend,” a large population engaged in productive work, supporting a smaller share of older and non-working people. However, youth are in a vulnerable employment situation, unemployed or underemployed. At the same time, organizations in Myanmar urge more qualified employees.
Despite the challenges in work conditions for youth and low skilled workforce, Myanmar presents an encouraging opportunity for the adoption of mobile technology: +27 million people in the country use Facebook or Messenger. Therefore, MYEO has created a mobile-based online solution. It nurtures youth employability and paves the way to build a high-skilled workforce for organizations in Myanmar.
Placement Opportunities:
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We are looking for enthusiastic students who are passionate about our cause and willing to empower the youth in Myanmar through their contribution
Address your applications to Hnin Wai Wai Khine, Human Resources Manager.
Foundation for Shared Impact
Foundation for Shared Impact (FSI) is a foundation aimed at fostering social innovation and entrepreneurship. It is an exciting new venture that will, among others, create unique fundraising events and programs tailored for social enterprises, work on social business incubator aspects, develop unique overseas experiential programs, and more.
You will be responsible for providing practical business solutions for social impact organizations and small businesses run by ethnically diverse entrepreneurs, including outreach, consulting, and developing a database of resources. This opportunity is suitable for those who want to use their skills in Marketing, Data Management, and more to have hands-on experience in helping small businesses reach their full potential.
If you are willing to work in a dynamic environment, ready to take up challenges, and eager to join an energetic team, then FSI will be your choice. It is especially suitable for highly entrepreneurial and proactive students who excel at taking an idea and bringing it to life.
Placement Opportunities:
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Community Business Support: You will be responsible for creating business solutions for social impact organizations and business leaders, including consulting, providing business support, and developing a state-of-the-art database solution. This internship opportunity is suitable for those who want to have hands-on experience in helping social impact organizations reach their full potential and maximize their reach, impact, and efficiency.
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Communications & Marketing: You will be responsible for creating digital marketing campaigns, generating social media content and website content, assisting with research for article and newsletter write-ups, and other projects and initiatives to support FSI's partner companies.
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Community Connections: You will be responsible for assisting with the day-to-day operations of this program that connects corporates with social impact organizations to accelerate change. Your work will range from sourcing high-impact organizations that need help with capacity building, and marketing the program to running the impactful Connection Sessions.
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Shared Data Project: You will be responsible for helping us create a database of all charities in Hong Kong which will be shared with the public to create a more efficient and transparent industry. This early-stage project entails everything from research, Python/information scraping, website building, marketing matters, volunteer engagements, and more. Students with Python scraping experience will be heavily favored.
Address your applications to:
- Community Business Support: Vivian Seo
- Shared Data Project & Operations: Jon Pedersen
- Communications & Marketing: Tung Ching Li & Erika Makino
- Community Connections: Claudia Anticona
GREEN Hospitality
GREEN Hospitality's mission is to share knowledge, foster collaboration, and bring about innovative solutions to the sustainability challenges of the hospitality industry. We are a nonprofit platform dedicated to working with hotels, restaurants, supply chains, start-ups, civil society organizations, and the government to catalyze the transition into sustainability for the hospitality industry in Asia and beyond.
Placement Opportunities:
We are looking for passionate students to join our team as event producers, digital marketers, sustainability consultants, business development executives, and business administration specialists to work on a wide range of projects from research to training to podcasting.
Check out all our placement opportunities here!
Address your applications to:
- Marketing & Communications: Fernanda Alfani
- Project Development, Fundraising & Finance: Luciane Zanella
- HR & Admin and other positions: Lucia Loposova
EmpowerU
EmpowerU’s mission is to provide high-quality education to those on the margins, so they can find their voice and use it to create a better future.
By combining technology, community, and award-winning educators, we have created a unique impact-based learning pedagogy that aims to empower ethnic minority students and migrant domestic workers to create a generation of leaders who'll usher in sustainable social impact in their communities.
Learn and engage with some of the over 380,000 domestic workers in Hong Kong. Make your university life more productive in helping these workers, understand their culture, and share your knowledge with them through direct interaction. Here is your unique chance!
HKU students will embark on a journey to experience leadership through an administrative managerial role in the creation and management of different educational programs and activities for domestic workers and ethnic minorities. Students will help advocate and promote cultural understanding, inclusion, and respect for these populations in Hong Kong.
Placement opportunities with EmpowerU can be found here!
Address your applications to Bradley Aaron (Program Director).
Weava
Weava is a fast-growing local HKU EdTech startup that focuses on improving the productivity of students, professors, and academic staff using technology. With our popular Google Chrome extension and mobile app, users can highlight, organize, and create their research documents all in one place — and we have lots of plans for further improvement! We now have 700,000+ registered users from 1,000+ educational institutions in 100+ countries using our tool to stay productive online.
Placement Opportunities:
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Marketing & Sales (digital marketing, partnerships, corporate communication)
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Customer Support & Bus Dev (business analytics, user research, support handling)
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Software QA Engineering (software development, product testing, automation)
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Software Angular Programmer (software development, coding)
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Accounting & Admin (helping us keep our stuff together!)
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Designs (UI/UX design, graphic design, videos)
See all internship opportunities in detail here!
Address your applications to Jon Pedersen.
Migrasia Global Solutions
Migrasia is an incubator that fosters and incubates solutions to problems relating to the migration of peoples, particularly in Asia. Migrasia utilizes a multi-faceted approach to tackle the major problems associated with migration by funding and is dedicated to promoting an ethical recruitment process for migrant workers via advocacy, research, journalism, and education.
Migrasia also has a technology team focused on building technology solutions, websites, and analyzing large data sets. If you are interested in website development, big data, scraping, machine learning, or automation please apply now.
Placement Opportunities:
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Students who join Migrasia will have the opportunity to gain real-life experience working in an early-stage startup and will have the ability to take on significant responsibility and projects talking with real customers (employment agencies, employers, and governments).
Address your applications to Paras Kalura and Jessie Hsia.
Soap Cycling
Asia's first and largest soap recycling charity. Soap Cycling is a charity that works with the hospitality industry to collect, process, and distribute lightly used soap bars and bottled amenities. These life-saving items are then distributed to disadvantaged communities around the world, particularly in Asia.
Soap Cycling combines its environmental mission to reduce waste and promote recycling with a strong social focus. New programs focus on creating employment opportunities for disadvantaged groups in Hong Kong, focusing on increasing the local impact.
Soap Cycling offers a great combination of allowing students to take over the regular operations and training their entrepreneurial sense when developing new projects.
Students who are motivated and interested in building something real and long-lasting are highly desired.
At Soap Cycling, we encourage teamwork and we want student interns to become an essential part of our operations!
Placement Opportunities: for more details, please see here!
Internship prerequisite: TBC
Address your applications to Judy Kai and Michelle HY Li.
Gowld Art Centre ("GAC") is a social enterprise founded in 2017 and registered under the SEBC that pursues to become the mediator of arts in Hong Kong. GAC aims to act as the bridge between creativity and people by providing arts education to students and the general public, supporting local artists, and building broad and diverse art communities.
Placement Opportunities:
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Marketing (social media and website UI/UX design and management, skills and experience in Photoshop or Canva are preferred)
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Sales and outreach (KOL marketing, collaboration with schools and corporates)
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Curriculum and program development (creating and enhancing our art program, workshops, and other services for children and adults)
Address your applications to Vivian Seo (General Manager).
Clearbot (Open Ocean Engineering)
Clearbot is a swarm of ocean trash cleaning robots that use AI to detect trash and collect it without creating any emissions. Clearbots are all-electric, can be solar charged, and can run fully automated!
Placement Opportunities:
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Business Development Support
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Marketing & Branding Support
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Design/Technology Support
Address your applications to Sidhant Gupta (Director).
HIATUS PARTNER COMPANIES
The following partner companies/projects are currently put on hold (not seeking students). However, should you have a burning desire to revitalize or be a part of these entities then you may express your interest and you might get the chance to do so. Contact: impactlab@hku.hk
Project Evergreen (hiatus - not in operation)
Evergreen is a think tank focusing on all things “green,” with a particular emphasis on reducing Hong Kong’s carbon footprint by making energy-efficient technologies more accessible. This is possible through an innovative combination of financial modeling and environmental consultation.
Evergreen’s primary service offering is a Green Revolving Fund (GRF). Our GRF will provide low-interest loans to cover the up-front capital costs needed to install energy-efficient technologies.
Property owners then repay the loans using the cost savings from lower utility bills.
One Degree Tours (hiatus - not in operation)
One Degree is a social venture organization with the purpose to alleviate the poverty of the lower class communities in locations where tourists are traveling to. Many of these communities have wealth of natural attractions and tourism is a channel to inject currency into these economies, circulating to improve living standards across their communities.
852 Designs/HKU Apparel (reach out if you want to explore)
852 Designs is a student-run social enterprise that offers creative students a chance to design and sell apparel and merchandise for the HKU community (and beyond).
NOTE: This is a pre-incorporation project; only very entrepreneurial students should apply. Students with photography, video editing, Photoshop, Illustrator, or other design/creative skills are preferred. Also, we are looking for students with computer programming and web development skills.
If you are interested to work with us, please reach out to impactlab@hku.hk!