Co-operative Education Scheme (CES)

About the Scheme

The Co-operative Education Scheme (CES) is a placement programme for final year students. It begins in September and lasts for a period of 8-12 months. The CES comprises two components: final year project and industrial placement. The former is a graduation requirement. The training company is expected to provide students with appropriate technical and logistical support. The placement component involves day-to-day work in the training company to familiarize students with the practice of the industry. During the training period, students take courses on a day-release basis for no more than one day per week. The distinct feature of the CES is that upon conclusion of the scheme, students are immediately available to continue their employment with the host company.

Support from Industry and Institutional Partners

Students can work in Hong Kong and the Pearl River Delta. When recruiting an intern, the host company is expected to:

Provide a training programme relevant to the student’s major study.
Assign an industry-based project for the student who will take it as a Final Year Project.
Allow the intern to attend class on a day-release basis.
Provide a training scholarship for the student.
Assign a mentor who will work with the CityU Supervisor to co-supervise the student.
Provide lodging, meal and free transportation between factory and dormitory/border checks for students posted to Mainland China

General Information for Host Company

Insurance	Students are covered by the University's a Group Personal Accident Insurance Policy. For those who need to travel outside Hong Kong, they are also covered by the University's Group Travel Insurance Policy.
Minimum Wage	The Minimum Wage Ordinance does not apply to internship.
Mandatory Provident Fund(MPF)	During the attachment period, the interns maintain their status as full-time students of CityU. There is no employer-employee relationship between the intern and the company unless the two parties enter into such a relationship by way of an employment contract. If an employer-employee relationship is set up, contribution to MPF may be necessary. Interested companies can register as Training Company Registration.

Student Disciplines

Students joining CES are in their final year from the following disciplines:

Biomedical engineering
Electrical engineering
Materials science and engineering
Mechanical engineering
Systems engineering

Interested students should submit their application in March. Please refer to Work Schedule.

Course Registration

FS4001 Co-operative Education Scheme (CES)

All students joining CES will be registered on FS4001 by the Co-operative Education Centre.
FS4001 is an 8-credit unit course assessed on a Pass/Fail basis. Failure to complete the training will result in failure of the course and this will affect the student's GPA significantly.
FS4001 cannot be used to fulfil any programme requirement. The status of FS4001 in a programme or how each programme recognizes this course is dependent upon individual programme requirements. Students are advised to contact their parent department for queries.
The grade for FS4001 will only be issued after the student has given the final presentation and submitted the duly completed logbook.
Credit distribution: Semester A (4 credit units) and Semester B (4 credit units)

FS4003 CES Placement Project

FS4003 is a 6-credit unit course and is equivalent to most of the Final Year Projects (FYP) offered by departments. Students who are not enrolled on FYPs will be registered on FS4003.
The project under FS4003 follows the assessment schedule and criteria of the parent department of the student. It is also supervised by the academic staff of the same department.
A student is declined to have failed the course if he / she is unable to complete the training, which will be probably lead to delay in graduation.
Credit distribution: Semester A (3 credit units) and Semester B (3 credit units)

Note

The maximum number of credit units permitted for a degree is as follows:

4-year degree: 144 credit units (Academic Regulations 4.1)
Advanced Standing I: 114 credit units (Academic Regulations 6.4.1)
Advanced Standing II: 84 credit units (Academic Regulations 6.5.1)

Students who have exceeded the maximum credit units permitted will not be allowed to register for further courses in subsequent semesters / terms except for (a) those pursuing a double major or double degree by paying the extra credits; or (b) those who have been granted special approval to exceed the maximum credit limit due to change of home major. For details, students are advised to check with the Academic Regulations and Records Office (ARRO) and/or their parent department.

If a student anticipate that he/she will exceed the maximum credit limit upon the enrolment of FS4001 (8 credit units) and / or FS4003 (6 credit units), they should seek advice from the Co-operative Education Centre and his / her parent department before submitting the application.

Work Schedule

Events	CES
Promotion to NEW training companies	November to April of the following year
Class visits/ Information sessions	Late January / Late February
Promotion to EXISTING training companies	Mid-December to Late February
Company visits (if any)	January
Training companies to confirm offers and job specifications	January to March
Information days & experience sharing sessions (Cantonese / English)	Early March
Student online application	Early March
Department screening	Mid-March
Company interview	March to May
Signing acceptance of an offer	Immediately upon confirmation of the offer
Student briefing	Late August
Report duty	Early September
Supervisory site visit	1st: Mid-September 2nd: Mid-January Final: Final month

Online application

Eligibility

Full-time undergraduates students, local or non-local, in College of Engineering.
They should be in their penultimate year at the time of application.
For non-local students, the final approval rests with the Immigration Department of the HKSAR
Students on outbound exchange programme in Semester B can apply through the online system. However, students who can attend the interviews in Hong Kong will stand a higher chance.
For students on Overseas Internship Scheme, they also need to submit an application in March if they wish to join the Co-operative Education Scheme, as other fellow students.

Important notes

Event	Important Notes
Before application	The Co-operative Education Centre will send all students a link in March for account activation. Students are advanced to review the study load carefully before making an application. During the internship period, students cannot: take more than 2 courses per semester in addition to FYP & FS4001 or 1 summer course if the internship period covers the summer term Application is not recommended if a student still has too many incomplete courses in Year 4.
Application	No new posts will be uploaded during the application period. Students shall apply online and the Online System is best viewed with MS Internet Explorer. For enquiry about online application, please contact Miss Jessica Ng (3442-6177). The receiving time recorded by the system will be observed. Late submissions will not be processed.
Department interview	Departments will arrange interview for their students. Selection is based on attitude, team-building ability, maturity, commitment and academic performance.
Company interview	Students will be notified of the interview details by email. Students are advised to check their email regularly to make sure that they do not miss the interview date. The interview notification can be as short as one evening. Only one interview at one company for one post will be processed at any one time. Once an offer is made, the student is expected to accept it. Please consider carefully before making an application. The staff of the Co-operative Education Centre will only accompany the student to the interview if conducted in China. Please have a valid travelling document ready.
Confirmation	Upon confirmation, students are required to sign an Acceptance of Offer and a Course Registration Undertaking and attend the Pre-attachment Training. If these two requirements are not met, the internship will not be offered.
Pre-attachment training	Student are required to attached the pre-departure workshop and the final briefing at the end of May. Failure to attend will result in the immediate termination of the internship and failure of the course FS4005 Overseas Internship Scheme.