Foundation for Shared Impact (FSI)’s Impact Lab Course is an experiential learning course available to students at The University of Hong Kong (HKU). One of the features of this award-winning course is that it allows students to work directly with social ventures, equip themselves with essential human skills and transferable skills, and solve problems in a real working environment. It was founded by David Bishop, Associate Professor of Teaching at HKU, to provide his students with meaningful and practical internship experiences at a time when such opportunities were hard to come by. To date, over 1,300 Impact Lab students have dedicated more than 156,000 hours to assist over 40 partnering social businesses in scaling their impact.
We talked to three students from the Fall 2024 semester about their experience at FSI as Impact Lab interns. Reflecting on their three-month journey, the students shared their enthusiasm for the program, which provided them with essential skills and insights that would benefit them well beyond the internship. Sunny Li, a first-year student studying Business Administration in International Business and Global Management, and Adriel Heng, also a first-year student studying Business and Law, interned with the Community Business Support team, while Kathleen Liem, a third-year student studying Biomedical Sciences, worked with the Youth Empowerment team.
Why did you join Impact Lab, and why did you choose to work with FSI?
Kathleen: I joined the Impact Lab Course because I’m interested in entrepreneurship and want to be an entrepreneur myself. I wanted to get first-hand experience working with companies and really understand real-world scenarios. I feel like it involves a lot of creativity and critical thinking that you can’t get in classroom settings.
Adriel: I chose FSI because it allowed me to work directly with ethnically diverse businesses and social entrepreneurs. Back in Malaysia, I started my own small business rescuing “imperfect fruits” that didn’t pass the threshold to enter a supermarket and blending them to make juice. I want to continue doing something with social entrepreneurship in the future.
What were the work tasks you were assigned with?
Adriel: In the CBS team, our work tasks were assigned according to two different roles: the consultants and the creators. I was part of the consultant group, meaning I worked very closely with the participants of FSI’s Mentorship Program for Ethnically Diverse Entrepreneurs. Aside from that, we also provided direct business support to the mentee entrepreneurs to start their businesses or to push their businesses forward. We helped with many things, including website design, improving online presence, and social media marketing strategies.
Sunny: One important task was listing more businesses on the GuideFong website when we went on the regular outreach sessions to meet ethnically diverse entrepreneurs running small and micro businesses in Hong Kong. As part of the creators’ team, I promoted GuideFong’s content through reels and social media posts.
Kathleen: I mainly worked on community engagement, handling the social media page of FSI’s Impact Lab Course, and designing and distributing content. I also messaged Impact Lab students via our WhatsApp group about opportunities or events, including the Impact Lab seminars. Besides that, I was involved in strategizing ways to effectively engage with Impact Lab students, fostering greater enthusiasm for sharing their experiences. I was also in charge of the alumni membership management in the LinkedIn group for the course alumni.
What were the hard and soft skills you learned?
Kathleen: I was in charge of designing content on Canva, so I learned a lot about how to make the styles consistent and considerate towards viewers. I’ve also recently learned how to use Publer, an automation platform to pre-schedule and manage social media content. That’s pretty new to me.
My supervisor, Lucia Loposova, FSI’s Education Manager and Impact Lab Course’s Teaching Assistant, mentioned how my designs might not be convenient for some people to look at, and advised me to make sure they won’t be bombarded with information. I think it will be helpful not only for my design skills but for any other work where I need to consider other people’s perspectives and ensure I deliver my message effectively.
Sunny: I came in already having some video editing skills, but using it on a daily basis was completely different. I think I improved a lot. Another really interesting software we had to use was Airtable. I never really used it before, but it was very helpful to sort data.
I think I can understand my capacity better now. In the beginning, I tried to take on more than I was expected to because I was excited to create something that was going to be used by the company. I soon realized that I have limited time and energy and that I should not make empty promises. I had to get used to letting go of some responsibilities and trusting my team.
Adriel: One important value I learned is empathy. I got feedback from my supervisor, Adnan Riaz, FSI’s Community Business Support Program Associate, encouraging me to be more empathetic towards the mentees. I think sometimes I’m too direct with my words. I learned a lot about understanding other people.
What was the team environment like?
Sunny: Although we were divided into smaller groups, we worked very closely together. Our team knows what our strengths and abilities are, so we tried to work together and see who would be the most suitable person for a task. Adnan was also very supportive. Even though there were miscommunications, he showed me how we can navigate the difficulties. He reminded me that this is a learning opportunity for us to better understand what we can do in these situations.
Adriel: It’s so rare for supervisors to be so understanding and accommodating about work. And they’re so close to you but never bossy.
How do you think the experience will shape your future endeavors?
Sunny: The Impact Lab Course showed me firsthand what it was like to work with a team, in a company, with a direct supervisor. It has inspired me to find a career path that’s most exciting and related to my interests.
Kathleen: The time-management and prioritization skills I learned are going to be very important in my entrepreneurial journey. You have to run alongside the current trends in the market, which means you need to work fast. I think that would be very challenging if you don’t have those skills.
Adriel: I see value in the meaningful connections people make through the course and FSI’s programs. I think what I learned here is a very good foundation for my future career, especially in terms of interpersonal skills.
What was your favorite part about working in FSI?
Sunny: The best part is being exposed to diverse, exciting adventures because the nature of our work is to explore and promote the ethnically diverse communities in Hong Kong. We were given so many chances to go out, talk to people, and listen to their stories. The great thing about working at FSI was that it was never repetitive.
Kathleen: It was great seeing how I was growing in a team setting. I realized that my personal improvement can come from other people’s improvement and vice versa. When I work more efficiently, the quality of the whole team’s work changes. I saw how interconnected everyone’s work is. The best part was realizing the scale of the project I’m involved in and understanding that my work leads to a bigger objective and vision.
Who would you recommend this course to?
Adriel: You need to dedicate a lot of time to this course. But I would definitely recommend it to anyone passionate about finding practical world experience and brushing up their communication skills.
Kathleen: I would recommend this course to someone who’s bored with the typical classroom setting. If you want to go out of your comfort zone and try something new, Impact Lab is for you. Everyone here is committed to producing something with impact. It’s exciting to see people so engaged in the community.
The interns’ sharing underscores the impact the experience had on their personal and professional growth. The Impact Lab Course offers not just a valuable experience, but a chance to embark on a transformative journey of growth and impact creation with a passionate community of like-minded people.
*This blog post was drafted by Hyewon Lee, Communications and Marketing intern at the Foundation for Shared Impact (FSI) during the Fall 2024 semester of the Impact Lab Course.
