Undergraduates’ competence in employability has always been one of the focus of CityU’s Department of Asian and International Studies (AIS). To better prepare the students to meet the challenges ahead in the global workforce, the Department planned to host one to two career development workshops each semester for its students, and the first event of the new series was held on 12 March 2021. 

Photo 1: The trainers (top left and right) advised participating students (bottom right) to build global skillsets during their few years of undergraduate study.

Guided by two trainers from Inter-Cultural Education, one based in Hong Kong and one based at the United Nations Development Program in Bangkok, the 40 participating AIS students were challenged to more actively think about how they can identify and develop global competencies during their degree in order to present distinctive profiles to prospective employers. One issue that resonated with students was the question of whether to acquire a diverse set of above-average skills versus acquiring a deep skillset in one area, perhaps an area that holds some originality compared to peers. The workshop was well received by the participants and the students got valuable takeaways for their future career planning.

The second workshop will be held in April 2021 to address strategies for improving communication and presentation skills. Stay tuned for more career development workshops.