Two students from the Department of Public and International Affairs (PIA) at City University of Hong Kong have been selected for the Chartered Institute of Housing Asian Pacific Branch (CIHAPB) Work Experience Programme 2026, which took place in the United Kingdom from 28 June 2026 to 4 July 2026.

 

The selected students were HUANG Mei Kwan from Bachelor of Social Sciences in Public Affairs and Management (PAFM), and LAU Shuk Yin from Master of Arts in Housing and Urban Management (MAHUM). Their participation in this programme reflects their strong academic performance and growing potential in the field of housing and urban management.

 

The CIHAPB Work Experience Programme offers aspiring housing practitioners and students valuable international exposure in housing management. During the programme, the students stayed as trainees at Amplius, a UK housing organisation, and gained first-hand insights through site visits to company and community settings, cross-departmental networking, and participation in high-level GEM Programme sessions. They also visited Amplius’s EPC A-rated Newborough development built by Burmor Construction, the Amplius K2 Office, and engaged with senior housing leaders, further broadening their understanding of contemporary housing practices in the UK.

 

Reflecting on the experience, HUANG Mei Kwan shared, “Before this work experience, ‘housing’ to me was basically just walls, roofs, and rent. This work experience kinda shifted all of that. I ended up seeing housing officers like bridges, not just caretakers: they weren’t only sorting out leaks or dealing with repairs, they were also linking people to employment and quietly checking if families would still have a place next year. I realized ‘social value’ isn’t some headline or a slogan, it’s more like a real question—can life keep going with dignity, or does everything fall apart. Housing goes beyond housing, and honestly this experience nudged me beyond myself too.”

 

LAU Shuk Yin said, “It was a true honor to represent CityUHK in the 2026 UK Work Experience Programme, organized by CIHAPB via the GEM scheme. Investigating Burmor Construction’s highest-safety, EPC A-rated developments and the ‘Right to Buy’ model offered fresh perspectives on enhancing housing mobility for subsidized and mixed-tenure estates. At Amplius Group, exemplary housing management practices like proactive maintenance and customer segmentation provided valuable insights for optimizing public rental housing revitalisation and resource allocation in Hong Kong. Engaging with CIH and Amplius leaders successfully bridged global insights and regional frameworks. Crucially, this journey reinforced how this program is fully recognized by the PMSA and CIHAPB for Tier 1 licensing, inspiring my aspiration to drive future industry contributions.”

 

The two students also prepared videos to share their experiences during the programme. Please click the links below to watch their highlights from the trip:

 

HUANG Mei Kwan’s video: https://youtu.be/bR7xlkZw0sY

LAU Shuk Yin’s video: https://youtu.be/5iT1ouJt1HM