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The year 1988-1989 was an exciting year for all of us. During that year, we were dispatched from our home land, the City Polytechnic of Hong Kong, to various companies to exercise all the technical skills we have acquired in the first two years of our studies. The goals of industrial placement (Module CS0914), as stated in the course document, were listed below :-
To place students in a working environment such that their level of maturity, self discipline, self confidence, and ability to communicate will increase.
To enable students to practice some or all of the theoretical discipline learned on the course to date in the condition of a real working environment.
To develop an awareness of their own strengths and weaknesses which will carry them forward into the selection of their first job.
To develop an awareness of the differing factors involved in selecting one's first employer.
Starting from April 1988, one after one of us was interviewed by large and small companies that were interested in recruiting students as temporary staff. These companies ranged from major computer vendors to small software houses (refer to the listing below).
Then, we suddenly found our lovely girls turned into mature, attractive ladies and our naughty boys behaved like gentlemen. Well-tailored suits and skirts covered the bodies of our classmates. I believed many of you have kept many photos of those (what-a) sights.
Whether you were placed in large and small companies, the important thing is: we could demonstrate our ability to solve real business computing problems. Thus, our ability could not be measured by the amount of salary received during the placement period! Placement was just a period of testing ourselves.
The placement period, to most of you, was full of happiness and bitterness. During the whole year, we were forced to wake up at 9:00am and go seizing for buses or MTR. Were you the one who have been complaining about these? We lived a routine nine-to-five life.
At the end of each week, we needed to complete a placement job log sheet - the Yellow Page, and had our work supervisors signed. Sometimes it was quite a painful task to fill in the Yellow Page because of the bits and pieces nature of our assigned tasks.
Our placement supervisors would drop in our companies periodically. You might have worried what your work supervisor would tell him or her. But after all, our supervisors were friendly. Have you ever had a cup of tea with your placement supervisor ?
We faced real-life pressure of finishing a project on schedule. We felt the responsibility in delivering a bug-free, reliable system. And many times, we were asked to perform duties that were not interesting at all.
Moreover, we were the only B.Sc.(Hon) in Computer Studies students who needed to attend evening classes. The modules were Workshop, Distributed System, Data Management and Computer System IV. It was really painful to attend classes after a full day work.
But then, we began to appreciate the holidays when we could gather together and chat with each other. We went watching movies, playing football, gossiping in lounge. Our friendship was never stronger before.
Approaching the end of placement, we saved a certain amount of money. Many of us started planning trips to various countries: Round-trip through Europe, USA, Thailand and Taiwan. Others spent their earnings in upgrading their own personal computers. More important, we could assist our parents to pay for the increased tuition fee for our final year of study. But the utmost important job was to finish the placement report.
The placement report was an account of our adventure in the host companies. We briefed their organization structure, the projects and assignments involved and possibly the achievements we made. The last but not the least important part was a self analysis.
I think nobody would forget what you have encountered in the industrial placement: the pressure, the new friends, and the working environment, the practical knowledge. They would shed their individual shadow in our road of growth. I believe they will be a part of our memory forever.
Geoffrey & Donkey