CRCC Asia’s Decade in Review

A lot can happen in ten years. Just before the start of the last decade: Barrack Obama was inaugurated as US President; Avatar dominated the global box office; and words such as Instagram, iPad, and Spotify were yet to enter the public’s vocabulary. All things considered, it’s fair to say the 2010s will largely be remembered as a period of change. A trend that is reflected in CRCC Asia’s own journey throughout the last decade.

We’ve added several new program locations, we’ve agreed key partnerships with a number of prestigious institutions, and we’ve picked up a couple of awards along the way. It’s been a strong decade for everyone at CRCC Asia. To show you our journey we’ve put together a timeline of our key achievements – keep reading to see our transformation throughout the years!

2010

CRCC Asia starts the decade strongly by winning the New Horizons prize at the Cathay Pacific China Business Awards. The award is in recognition of initiatives that displays compelling evidence of dedication to China through business innovation, research projects, or examples of environmental or corporate social responsibility activity.

The foundation of our nomination was our Beijing internship program. The judges felt that the program not only fostered business links between the UK, the US and China, but also helped to improve cross-cultural understanding between the West and the Far East.

2011

Building on the strength of our now award-winning Beijing internships, CRCC Asia expands the program by launching in China’s most glamorous city: Shanghai. The program proves to be an instant hit, with interns applying en masse for the unique opportunity to live and gain tangible working experience within China’s financial hub.

In addition, to better support its interns from the US and Australia, CRCC Asia opens local offices in those countries – expanding its operation globally and in China in the process.

2012

The awards keep coming! 2012 sees CRCC Asia crowned ‘Entrepreneur of the Year’ at the British Business Awards.

On winning the award CRCC Asia CEO Dan Nivern said, “We were hoping to give a big boost to all of our teams around the globe who work hard to provide great programs for international students in China. Winning the Award is a big thank you to all of them… With such a great stamp of approval, we now aim to spread our reach even further and try to bring more and more young people to have a once in a lifetime opportunity in China.”

2013

A true milestone year for CRCC Asia as they see off fierce competition to win the contract for the British Council’s renowned Generation UK initiative. Generation UK was established to boost British students’ long-term job prospects and global mobility whilst also strengthening partnerships with China. To do this the British Council plans to sponsor 80,000 students, by 2020, with funded internships and study opportunities in China.

As part of the agreement, CRCC Asia becomes the British Council’s exclusive internship provider in Beijing, Shanghai, and their newest program location: Shenzen – known as the ‘Silicon Valley of China’.

2014

CRCC Asia expands once again, this time with a focus on better supporting it’s growing list of university partners. Dedicated Student and Partner service offices open in London, San Francisco, and Brisbane – allowing us to provide direct support in real-time to all students and universities who need our assistance.

Through our newly expanded University Partnership teams efforts we’re accepting more students onto the program then ever before, each with support from the university they’re studying at. Applications begin to surge from Australia, New Zealand, Europe, the United States, and Canada. We’re deeply proud of the fact that partnerships we established in 2014 with great universities such as UT Austin, University of Queensland, and University of Sussex are still in effect to this day! 2020 will be the seventh straight year we’ve provided international internships to students from these universities.

2015

Chinese network and telecommunications giant Huawei selects CRCC Asia as a delivery partner for its ‘Seeds for the Future Program’. Seeds of the Future gathers IT and computer science students from across the globe to see Huawei’s facilities up-close from behind the scenes. The 3 week intensive program is fully funded and includes mandarin classes at a Beijing based university; after which, the participants are flown to Shenzhen to tour Huawei’s state of the art factories and attend workshops related to the future of tech. To date, Seeds for the Future has accepted over 4,700 students from 108 countries worldwide.

CRCC Asia was chosen to facilitate the program due to its strong links with students globally and our already established programs in Beijing and Shenzhen – Huawei’s two main bases of operation.

2016

By working with our key partners, at Arizona State University and the University of Florida, we’re able to provide faculty-led programs to students of these universities. As part of this program both universities sends members of their faculty to Beijing in order to support students with their coursework and academic study. It’s the best of both worlds for interns as they get the full internship experience without compromising on their studies.

In 2020, Arizona State University and the University of Florida will both sponsor a faculty-led program for their 5th consecutive year.

2017

Manchester, UK has the proud honor of becoming CRCC Asia’s first program location outside of Asia. The program – which is run in partnership with the Manchester China Business Forum – includes events with high-profile organisations such as the BBC and Manchester United.

Another key accomplishment in 2017 is the creation of the China-Israel Internship Program in partnership with The Ministry on Foreign Affairs of the State of Israel and the China-Israel Joint Economic Task Force. As part of the program, Israeli citizens with two years of work experience are eligible for fully funded 3-month internships in Beijing. CRCC Asia is the exclusive provider of this initiative.

2018

Recognizing the need to do more to support individuals from underrepresented communities, CRCC Asia launches its corporate social responsibility and inclusion initiative. As part of the initiative, five fully funded scholarships were created exclusively for BAME students, students with disabilities, students from foster/care leaver communities, women in STEM, and Jewish students. In addition to the scholarships, the initiative requires each member from CRCC Asia’s 12 global offices to spend a day volunteering for local charities and contributing to local causes. In 2019, the office charity events varied from collecting donations for children’s charities to cleaning rundown pagodas.

Program expansion continues with the unveiling of two new internship destinations: Tokyo, Japan and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Tokyo being a true global powerhouse in terms of its economy, rich heritage, and pop culture influence – makes it a welcome addition to our program offerings. Whilst Ho Chi Minh City’s rapidly growing economy, amazing work-life balance, and breath of natural beauty also make it a prime choice for an internship abroad.

2019

With the end of the decade nigh, CRCC Asia becomes the first first international internship provider to offer a dedicated online internship curriculum: CareerBridge. CareerBridge was built to enhance our intern’s employability in the global workforce and to ensure their transition into a foreign working environment is as smooth as possible. CareerBridge accomplishes this by educating interns on the crucial cultural differences found across each of our program locations; whilst also providing guidance on general professional development aspects which interns can utilize to get ahead in the workplace.

On the back of the previous year’s successful program launches, CRCC Asia marks 2019 with the addition of another two program locations: Seoul, South Korea and Osaka, Japan. Seoul – the undisputed entertainment capital of Southeast Asia and home to tech giants Samsung and LG – is a complete no-brainer due to its fantastic social and professional offerings. Osaka is also the next most logical choice due to its status as a tech hub, its reputation as a culinary paradise, and for its lasting cultural legacy.

2020 and beyond

What does the future hold for CRCC Asia? In 2020, we expect to reach the 10,000 program participants milestone – an absolutely huge achievement and one we’re planning to celebrate when the time comes.  As part of our new short-term programming – consisting of internship durations which are less than 3 weeks – we will be welcoming over 150 students, 60 of which are journalism students who will be specifically reporting on the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

It’s been a memorable decade at CRCC Asia with plenty of highs and proud moments to reflect on. Our biggest achievement undoubtedly, however, is helping the thousands of interns who’ve participated on the program to advance their career and ultimately land their dream job. Continuing to support our interns throughout the new decade is our top priority. To get started, we’re offering a $500 USD discount on our programs in Seoul,  Manchester, and Ho Chi Minh City! Find out more on our special offers page.