Support for SMEs

To encourage STEM* students to gain innovation and technology ("I&T")-related work experience during their studies and foster their interest in pursuing a career in I&T after graduation, as well as to encourage STEM students of other places to gain first-hand experience and understanding of the local I&T ecosystem and boost their confidence in pursuing a career in I&T in Hong Kong.

*STEM refers to the academic disciplines of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.

Internship Placements
Internship places can be newly created or belong to existing in-house internship programmes of the companies/organisations. They have to meet the following requirements –

• local or non-local full-time placements lasting at least 28 calendar days; and
• offer meaningful I&T-related work (internship places arranged by universities will be subject to the vetting of the respective universities).

The Scheme has adopted a broad definition of I&T under which an internship place will be regarded as I&T-related as long as its actual work contains I&T elements (e.g. technology-related intellectual property work, digital marketing, data analysis for the manufacturing industry, etc.). Participating employers, the five government-funded research and development centres (R&D Centres) and the Hong Kong Productivity Council (HKPC) may pay an honorarium during the internship period on top of the allowance under the Scheme. They have full discretion in determining the honorarium level (without affecting the allowance received by the student interns under the Scheme) with reference to their internal policies, industry benchmarks or market rates.

Allowance and Funding
The student interns will receive the allowance subject to the arrangements of individual participating institutions. The allowance for each student intern under the Scheme is HK$11,190 per month with effect from 1 April 2023, with a cap as prescribed by individual participating institutions, but not more than 90 days in each academic year. Innovation and Technology Commission (ITC) will disburse the funding to the participating institutions on a reimbursement basis.

Participating Institutions
Designated local universities including the campuses they established in the Greater Bay Area (GBA), the five government-funded R&D Centres and HKPC are eligible to participate in the Scheme. A full list of the participating institutions and their contacts is available at the Scheme's website. Individual participating institutions may supplement further requirements and make specific arrangements to suit their own circumstances.

Students
Both local and non-local undergraduates and postgraduates majoring in full-time eligible STEM-related programmes offered by the participating universities, including their GBA campuses, are eligible. Non-local students are allowed to enrol in internships in Hong Kong only, subject to the conditions of stay of their visa/entry permit issued by the Immigration Department. For the Scheme operated by R&D Centres and HKPC, undergraduates and postgraduates majoring in full-time eligible STEM programmes in local or non-local universities will be eligible. Student interns receiving the allowance under the Scheme cannot concurrently benefit from other internship subsidies provided by the HKSAR Government.

Employers

• All companies/organisations are welcomed to offer I&T-related internship places for, and recruit interns benefited from the Scheme, subject to the arrangements of individual universities. Participating employers are expected to provide proper supervision for the student interns.
• Participating employers may pay the student interns an honorarium on top of the allowance under the Scheme with reference to their internal policies, industry benchmarks or market rates. Companies/organisations should not receive other subsidies from the HKSAR Government for engaging any student interns under the Scheme.

•  Individual participating institutions are responsible for administering the Scheme and prescribing their respective application procedures and arrangements. Interested students are welcomed to approach the respective participating institutions.
• It is at the discretion of individual universities to decide whether an internship place offered by a company/organisation is I&T-related and meaningful, taking into account the feedbacks of past student interns, and to set a ceiling on the number of student interns under the Scheme in each company/organisation to enrich student experiences. Interested employers are welcomed to approach the respective universities.