From AR gloves to Australian labs: meet FLASS’s internship all-stars

In the 2024/25 academic year, the Faculty introduced the Dean’s Outstanding Internship Award (DOIA) to recognise FLASS students for their exceptional performance during internships. The Faculty continued to present the award in 2025/26, honouring ten students from its five undergraduate programmes whose internship achievements distinguished them from their peers. Seven of the ten awardees attended the presentation ceremony on 16 March to receive their awards.

Among this year’s ten awardees was Sabrina Wu Yu-tung, a fourth-year student on the Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Integrated Environmental Management (BSc(IEM)) programme. Sabrina completed her internship at the prestigious School of Life and Environmental Sciences at the University of Sydney, where her work mainly involved conducting experiments in genetics and nutrition for a research team under the school. As she had little prior knowledge in these areas, the experience was both challenging and eye-opening.

During the internship, Sabrina had the opportunity to discuss the disposal of chemical, biological, and clinical laboratory waste with her supervisor, and she even made suggestions for increasing the use of renewable materials from lab waste. “Because I had limited experience handling laboratory waste before, these discussions and hands-on tasks were particularly valuable. My supervisor Dr Tahlia Fulton and members of the research team really gave me lots of support and encouragement during my internship. I’m truly surprised and grateful that Dr Fulton spoke so highly of my internship performance. It means a lot to me,” Sabrina said with a shy smile.

Another awardee was Ethan Yu Shing-hei, a fourth-year student on the Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Sports Science and Coaching (BSc(SPSC)) programme. He completed his internship at AESIR, a social enterprise that uses augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) technologies to enrich learning, social connection, and the well-being of people with special needs. “During my internship, I helped my teammates at AESIR to produce videos, organise events and serve the elderly. I went to many elderly homes with my teammates to teach elderly people to use AR and VR for physical exercises. Elderly people often lack exercise and suffer from stiff bodies. Leading them through stretching exercises can increase their muscle flexibility, which means a great deal to their overall health,” the sports major said.

One of Ethan’s most memorable internship experiences was helping to organise the “Geron-Tech Olympics” (樂齡科運會). “At the elderly Olympics, we used AR technology to guide participants through chair‑based exercises such as seated leg lifts and sit‑to‑stand movements, as well as strength and resistance training including single‑leg stands. These exercises helped the elderly to strengthen their core muscles. Participants also had the opportunity to play VR-assisted competitive games such as basketball, badminton, and fencing. Discovering that the elderly genuinely enjoyed exercising and playing sports brought us a great deal of satisfaction. It is very meaningful to promote an active lifestyle among elderly people through events like this," Ethan said.

Jessica Wang Yunqi, a fourth-year student on the Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Artificial Intelligence and Educational Technology (BSc(AI&EdTech)) programme, completed her internship under the supervision of Professor Philip Yu Leung-ho from the Department of Mathematics and Information Technology. Professor Yu spoke highly of her performance, noting that she had demonstrated exceptional research and technical ability in conducting literature reviews, designing AI model architectures, debugging code, identifying datasets, and leading numerical experiments and data analysis. Her verbal and written communication skills were also highly praised.

The BSc(AI&EdTech) student was particularly grateful to Professor Yu for encouraging her to write and submit academic papers on AI application in education. “These papers were ultimately accepted by two international conferences, which helped build my academic profile and secured me a place on a master’s programme in AI at Imperial College London (ICL),” Jessica said. Looking ahead, she believes that AI technology will fundamentally change people’s lives. “After graduating from EdUHK this summer, I will go to ICL for my master’s programme. It will be my first step into the world of research. I am considering pursuing a doctoral programme when the time is right,” the awardee shared.

Dean of FLASS Professor Li Wai-Keung extended his warmest congratulations to all ten recipients. “Their internship accomplishments reflect their solid academic grounding, strong work ethic, and drive for excellence. Their results are a testament to their outstanding personal qualities. The ten awardees have also brought honour to their programmes, the Faculty, and the University. They have demonstrated the calibre of students we strive to nurture,” Professor Li said.

In addition to the BSc(SPSC), BSc(AI&EdTech), and BSc(IEM) programmes, the Bachelor of Social Sciences (Honours) in Sociology and Community Studies (BSocSc(SCS)) and the Bachelor of Social Sciences (Honours) in Social Entrepreneurship and Development Studies (BSocSc(SEDS)) programmes each nominated two students for the Dean’s Outstanding Internship Award. All ten awardees received a certificate recognising their achievements and a cash coupon as a token of encouragement.

Awardees of the award: