Industrial Attachment Scheme (IAS)

About the Scheme

The Industrial Attachment Scheme (IAS) takes place from June to August for a minimum of 6 weeks and is offered to students who have completed their third year of studies. Jointly supervised by an academic supervisor and a company mentor, a student can gain an exposure to industry through a structured project or day-to-day work in the company.

Support from industry

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

provide a training programme relevant to the student’s major study.
provide an allowance to the student.
assign a mentor to co-supervise the student with a CityU supervisor.
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 Group Personal Accident Insurance Policy. For those who need to travel outside Hong Kong, they are covered by the University's a Group Travel Insurance Policy in addition.
Minimum Wage	The Minimum Wage Ordinance does not apply to student 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 interns 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, and submit the job specification before March each year.

Student disciplines

Students joining IAS are in their third year from the following disciplines:

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

Course Registration

FS4002 Industrial Attachment Scheme (IAS)

Students accepting the IAS offer will be registered on a 3-credit units course FS4002 Industrial Attachment Scheme by the Co-operative Education Centre in summer. Students of the Department of Electronic Engineering (EE) will use IAS to fulfil Engineering Training II and registration will be done by the Department. Students of the Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering (ACE) will be registered on either FS4002 or an ACE course as advised by the Department. The status of FS4002 in a programme major varies from department to department. Students are advised to consult their respective departments.

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 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 anticipates that he / she will exceed the maximum credit limit upon the enrolment of FS4002 (3 credit units), they should seek advice from the Co-operative Education Centre and his / her parent department before submitting the application.

Event	Date
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 Interview	Mid-March
Student-initiated IAS Deadline	Mid-May
Company Interview	March to May
Signing Acceptance of an Offer	Immediate Upon Confirmation of the Offer
Student Briefing	Late May
Report Duty	Early June
Supervisory Site Visit	1st: 2nd week of training Final: Final week

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. The IAS must begin in early June. There is little room for adjustment to meet individual needs.
Students pending offers of the Overseas Internship Scheme and wish to apply for the IAS as backup should submit an application in March. The Co-operative Education Centre will withhold their IAS applications until rejection/withdrawal from OIS is confirmed.

Important notes

Before application	Co-operative Education Centre will send students a link in March for account activation.
Application	Early March 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. The receiving time recorded by the system will be observed. Late application will NOT be processed. For enquiry about online application, please contact Miss Jessica Ng (3442-6177).
Department screening	Departments will arrange interviews for their students. Selection is based on attitude, team-building ability, maturity, commitment and academic performance.
Company interview April – May	Shortlisted students will be notified of the interview details by email. Students are achieved to check their email regularly to make sure that they do not miss the interview date. The interview notification can be a short as one evening. Students are allowed to apply for two posts simultaneously until they accept an offer from a company. The staff of the Co-operative Education Centre will 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.
Pre-attachment training	Students are required to attend the pre-departure workshop and the final briefing at the end of May. Failure to attend will result in immediate termination of the internship and failure of the course FS4002 Industrial Attachment Scheme (IAS).

Student-initiated IAS

Students who wish to bring in an IAS post or IAS company need to seek approval from the Co-operative Education Centre. They must secure the internship position before the Co-operative Education Centre contacts the company to explain the IAS requirements to them. If the company can fulfill all the requirements, the placement at the company can be counted as IAS.

Commitment

The submission of an application is a firm commitment of participation in the IAS. Once an offer made, the students will be given 2 working days to consider it. Once they have signed the Acceptance of Offer and the Course Registration Undertaking, they will not be allowed to withdraw. Withdrawal will result in failure of the internship and of the course FS4002 Industrial Attachment Scheme (IAS).