My name is Natalis Leung, and I am a 15-year-old secondary school student at the German Swiss International School.
I spent around two and a half weeks working at InnoPort. It was my first internship experience and I found it very educational and interesting; I could not only do the work I expected to do but also learn new skills and participate in an interview with a professor on a social innovation project she aims to create.
The main highlight of my internship is undoubtedly being able to assist in the interview for Professor Suzanne Lo. It was an eye-opening talk and I enjoyed listening to her past as a nurse and understanding how that related to how she wanted to help people with hand spasticity using a hand spa massage and VR. The entire interview session was two hours long and it introduced me to an extremely lesser-known but at the same time important issue that I started to become interested in; I was even able to ask some questions that I wanted to know the answers to as a secondary school student.
While that was the main event during the internship, something I was very happy with was the new skills and experiences I was able to gain. The time outside of the interview was either spent doing other work such as writing articles or creating social media posts, neither of which I was very used to prior to the internship. But, after looking at some examples and practicing I became quite proficient at doing these things for InnoPort. The seminar “Happy Hour cum Mini Impact Symposium 2024 – Learn Science to Better the World” I was able to attend was also a core, memorable experience.
Overall, I enjoyed my time spent here at InnoPort; the work was suitable for me, I was able to learn a lot and I am looking forward to coming in in the future.
Thoughts After Interview
Dr Lo has introduced me to an extremely unique type of social service in Hong Kong. Compared to lower limb rehabilitation, upper limb – arm and hand treatment is severely overlooked, even though it would create a huge impact in the lives of people dealing with hand spasticity. It is so important for these people to receive care from the community, and I think Dr Lo’s solution of connecting passionate volunteer women as well as modern solutions like VR simulations is a brilliant way to improve the lives of her future clients. This rehabilitation service, amplifies the importance of the message that the smallest act of kindness can leave a huge impact on the receiver.
