Former Warwick student receives scholarship to intern in China

Jessica Stubbs, University of Warwick Alumna, has received the CRCC Asia-British Council Scholarship for a Student with a Disability to undertake a one-month professional internship in China with the British Council, Shanghai in June 2013.

CRCC Asia received over 120 highly competitive applications from UK university students across the country, successfully enlisting the public support of individuals including Mr David Blunkett MP, Ms Anne McGuire MP, Mr Stephen Fry, and Mr Liam Burns, president of the National Union of Students, as well as the majority of UK universities to ensure that students with a disability were aware of this exciting opportunity.

The CRCC Asia China Internship Programme was created for university students and graduates to develop personally and professionally, whilst obtaining first-hand experience of China’s dynamic and unique business and cultural environments.

Jessica graduated from Warwick last summer was a 2:1 in Italian. She applied for the scholarship but did not expect to receive it.

Jessica said: “I was informed that there were over 120 applicants for one place, so I suppose the criteria must have been quite rigorous but since I’d only applied on a whim, I was definitely not expecting to get the place.

“I’ll be working for the British Council in Shanghai. My role will include working in marketing and communications – preparing press releases, for example – and getting involved with equality, opportunity and diversity projects, which is something that, as a person with a disability, I am very much looking forward to.”

Mark Petit, Government and public relations manager from CRCC Asia Ltd said, “CRCC Asia are delighted to be welcoming, thus far, 15 students from the University of Warwick for our summer program and beyond for 2013.”

All participants will live together in the centre of Shanghai or Beijing, in a four-star apartment-hotel in flats for three people.

He added: “The programme affords participants the opportunity to drastically increase their employability and to showcase themselves as a ‘global graduate’ to future employers.”

30 percent of the participants have been offered further employment in China by their host company after completing their internship, and, 86 percent of participants obtain a graduate-level job upon their return home within three months, if they are immediately seeking employment.

Jessica expressed what she hopes to gain from the experience: “In general, I hope to gain a better understanding of how the British Council fits into China’s corporate sphere, and of China’s corporate environment itself.

“Networking is also a big part of business culture in China – so I hope not just to gain a name to put on my CV, but to also make contacts and friends for the future.”