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Hong Kong Life Sciences Society (HKLSS or the society), established in September 2018, aims to attract, nurture and retain talents in the local life sciences sector through knowledge exchange, collaboration and engagement to build and a dynamic life sciences and biotech ecosystem. Summer Internship Program is returning for the third year and has almost come to an end, over 30 selected interns will be completing their six-week internship in mid-August.
The program includes internships in a number of biotech start-up, venture capital firm, healthcare or pharmaceutical companies, as well as a series of visits and activities organized by the Society to allow interns to broaden their horizons and gain a deeper understanding of the development of the local life science and biotech ecosystem.
Overwhelming Responses Received in 2021 Summer Internship Program
Since its debut in 2019, HKLSS Summer Internship Program has gradually achieved positive feedbacks and support from the industry. It has also been highly regarded by life sciences undergraduates and post-graduate students in Hong Kong and overseas. Stepping into the third year of the HKLSS Summer Internship Program, overwhelming responses of 250 applications from more than 30 institutions in Hong Kong, United Kingdom and United States were received this year. After rounds of interviews and selection, more than 30 interns were selected for the program. HKLSS plays the role to offer the best internship match between employers and interns, based on the interns’ academic profile and preferences, whilst fulfilling the needs of the participating companies. More than 20 renowned life sciences companies and local start-ups were participating this year, including Sanomics, Novus Life Sciences Take2 Health, Belun Technology and, Opharmic Technology (HK). Interns will be arranged to one of the business units in the assigned company during the internship program, including research and development, business development, investment, policy research, regulatory and marketing, to learn and experience outside the classroom for more comprehensive development in the industry.
Series of Laboratory Visits and Guest Talks Broadens Intern’s Horizons on the Latest Developments in Life Sciences and Biotechnology
Series of guest talks, laboratories visit, exchanges, and workshops are another key highlight of the summer internship program which allow students to have a better understanding of the biotech ecosystem. This offers valuable opportunities for the interns to connect with professionals and broadened their horizons on the latest developments in life sciences and biotechnology industry. The opening ceremony of the Summer Internship Program and the Hong Kong Science Park visit was successfully held on June 29. HKLSS was honoured to invite Mr Eugene Hsia, the Chief Corporate Development Officer of Hong Kong Science Park for giving a welcome speech. Representatives of ACT Genomics and HiFiBio Therapeutics were also invited for introducing their latest research directions and business developments. As to facilitate the understanding of the contribution of HKSTP in the life science and biotechnology industry, interns were given the opportunity to visit a series of latest establishments including the InnoCell, Biomedical Technology Support Centre and Experience Centre. Interns also visited the Centre for Eye and Vision Research, a research collaboration between The Hong Kong Polytechnic University and the University of Waterloo in Canada.
Various biotechnology panel discussions were also held in July, Dr Eddy Wu, Founder and CEO of Artic Vision and Mr Stanley Sy, CEO of Sanomics were invited to share their insights and unforgettable journey as a bioentrepreneur. HKLSS has also invited Dr Wilson Wong, CEO & Co-Founder of Novus Life Sciences, and Ms Yan Chan, Deputy General Manager (Business Innovation) of Nan Fung Group in another panel discussion to share with the interns, their insights on the importance of innovation in developing and reinforcing a business. Interns had also taken the opportunity to visit the production space at Mills Fabrica and joined the guided tours in the Mills, to learn about the integration between innovative technology, business development and the local community.
Infusing New and Postive Energy into the Industry
Jennifer Tsui, master’s student majoring in Ophthalmology from the University of Hong Kong, who joined the internship program again this year, mentioned that in addition to the day-to-day routine of her job duties, different activities hosted by HKLSS has enabled her to have deeper understanding of the industry and allow her to establish industry network, which is very beneficial to her future career development. She also hopes that through the program, she can learn more about different aspects and possibilities of the life sciences industry.
The “Exploring Craft Beer Brewing Process” workshop was held on 23 June 2021. Mr Phillip Rankmore, Head Brewer and Ms Mariana Zavagna Witt, Quality Assurance Specialist from Hong Kong Beer Co. shared the steps and the principle behind brewing craft beer. The participants received a tasting kit and tasted different types of craft beers during the workshop.
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The "Panel Discussion Series 2021: Understanding the Employer’s Perspective on Hiring Life Sciences Graduates" was held on 9 June 2021. Mr. Tony Yung, CEO of Take2 Health and Mr. Michael Chu, Business Manager (Life Sciences) of Hays Hong Kong shared fruitful messages with us. The participants learnt more about the criteria and preference in hiring life science graduates as well the tips to prepare for an interview.
The recap is now available.
(The Standard, 28 May 2021) — For those embarking on a journey to achieve professional success in any field, venturing alone can pose unpredictable obstacles and elusive difficulties. In a particularly technical field, like those in life sciences, a mentor or brief internship may be exactly what is needed.
In a time when ambiguity fogs the future for Hong Kong and the world, students now more than ever need a guiding hand to get their foot in the door. For those in the life sciences, the Hong Kong Life Sciences Society might have just the fix.
Learning with a little help
Although the chaos surrounding the pandemic has dwindled slightly over the past year, identifying exactly when and how things will end is a matter that is still entirely unknown to all. Because of this, now more than ever may be an especially pertinent time to ensure a steady pipeline of talent into Hong Kong’s life sciences sector for the health and development of our society. The Hong Kong Life Sciences Society (HKLSS) aims to do just that with an internship scheme and mentorship programme for prospective life sciences professionals in Hong Kong.
The internship scheme aims to provide participants with an opportunity over a summer to work with experienced researchers to acquire practical skills, while the mentorship programme pairs senior executives with students over a long period so that the students can learn directly about the industry they are interested in.
Ken Wong, Executive Director of HKLSS, hopes to create a cycle where “current mentees developing their careers in the industries become our future mentors to nurture successive generations of talents.” While the programmes are similar in their eventual goal, Ken points out how they are markedly different.
“Our Mentorship Scheme is designed to provide life sciences/ biotech students with guidance and opportunities to network. The Summer Internship Scheme allows undergraduate and research students to gain life sciences/ biotech related full-time job experience and explore different career.”
However, it is important to note that mentees are not solely a part of the programme so that they can learn as much as they can from their mentors: the opposite is true, too. As Ken puts it, “We believe that there must be something that mentees can learn from the mentors, and mentees can also bring new perspectives to our mentors… the Society ensures that mentors and mentees will enjoy and benefit from their counterparts.”
Options outside the lab
Mired by a lack of opportunity in her course to apply the laboratory skills and knowledge acquired during her undergraduate study, Vanora Chan – a biotechnology and business major at HKUST – sought an internship where she could do so. Luckily, she received more than she bargained for at a 5-week internship programme at a biopharmaceutical company at the HKSTP, facilitated by the HKLSS.
“During the internship programme, I gained hands-on experience to practice my lab skills and understand the development of cancer treatment,” she said. “I [also] found the weekend activities held by HKLSS supportive and inspiring. Professionals and entrepreneurs from the healthcare industry were invited to share their experience working in Hong Kong and mainland China.”
Though she was fortunately able to receive the guidance she was looking for, there were potential challenges standing in the way of her success. Despite the pandemic, Vanora was still able to capitalize on the chance to learn what she could.
“At first, due to the sustained community outbreak of Covid-19, I was afraid that my learning process and on-job training would be affected a lot. Fortunately, I still learned more than I expected throughout the internship. During the period of working from home, I was assigned to do some literature review on the research and get prepared for working in the wet lab.”
For those on the fence, Vanora does not hesitate to eagerly “recommend this summer internship to those who are passionate about life sciences and eager to develop their profession in the healthcare industry.”
An assured choice
For one student looking to solidify her career choice and understand the various constituents of the life sciences sector, both programmes were a clear pick. Ailene Chan, an HKU student and future Computation and Neural Systems PhD student at Caltech, completed both the mentorship programme and internship programme with great success.
Ailene joined the mentorship programme first, studying under Prof. Tom Cheung, the current S H Ho Associate Professor of Life Science at HKUST. With great experience in academic research, Cheung was an excellent match for Ailene, as she was considering a future in academic at the time.
“I wanted to make sure that I am choosing the right path, right programme and am working towards my goals. Having talked to my mentor for around a year, I have reaffirmed my decision to pursue a graduate degree, and eventually a research career.”
With newfound confidence, Ailene pressed ahead and participated in the internship programme soon after, working at the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) as a part-time assistant. Fortunately, the exposure to the commercial aspect of the life sciences was what she was looking for, as most of her previous internships had been in research laboratories.
“The skills I learnt in those four months were pretty useful and transferrable, so I don’t regret choosing to work at BCG. I worked with consulting teams based in Shanghai and assisted in projects in healthcare, automobile and education industries.”
Moving forwards, Ailene now has clearer ambitions as she “looks overflow forward to what the future holds for life science talents in Hong Kong”.
The Panel Discussion Series 2021: Understanding the Employer’s Perspective on Hiring Life Sciences Graduates will be held on 9 June 2021 (Wednesday). In this online panel discussion, Mr. Tony Yung, CEO of Take2 Health and Mr. Michael Chu, Business Manager (Life Sciences) of Hays Hong Kong will share the requirements and preference in recruiting life sciences graduates.
For more details and registration, please visit the event page.
The "Promoting Yourself on LinkedIn" workshop was held successfully on 17 March 2021. Participants enjoyed a fruitful sharing of useful tips and techniques for polishing an appealing profile from our instructor Celina Kwong, Senior Account Director of Talent & Learning at LinkedIn Hong Kong.
This content is only available in Traditional Chinese or Simplified Chinese.
HKLSS is hosting an online workshop: Promoting Yourself on LinkedIn on 17 March 2021. In this online workshop, you will learn about personal branding and why it is important. For more details, please visit the event page.
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