BCDA Student Relishes Rewarding Real Work Experience in Data Analytics from Internship at Deloitte

Solid work experience is essential for building a successful career in the fast-changing business and information technology world. Students at the Department of Computer Science take part in different internship or placement programmes to gain professional hands-on experiences prior to graduation.

BSc in Business Computing and Data Analytics (BCDA) undergraduate student Song Yijin was offered the opportunity to serve her internship in one of the Big Four accounting firms, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, from December 2021 to April 2022.

During the four-month internship, Yijin was attached to a data analytics team, supporting data analytics in audit engagements. Under the guidance of team manager Gary Wong and other team members, she gained solid experience in data skills, business knowledge and audit procedures.

First being responsible for reconciliation and simple trend analysis of financial data for data types focused on traditional industries, Yijin later moved on to export the possible anomalies that she had identified during her analysis, checking the reasonableness of the outliers by communicating with professional auditors.

“I learned how to handle work in detail,” she recalled. “I also gained a better understanding of the fluctuation factors in different industries and how to present and communicate anomalies or trends clearly.”

Throughout the entire internship, she thinks the most interesting and challenging part is having the chance to work on an e-commerce analysis project alongside the professionals. “My manager guided me to think about the meaning of different data combinations to reflect the behaviour and design the tests logically. He also guided me to present the results logically and visually,” she said.

To her, the most valuable experience that she gained from the internship was to deal with problems systematically and take full responsibility of her tasks.

During the four-year undergraduate programme, all BCDA students are required to undergo international exchange or internship. Dr Jean Lai, the Programme Director of BCDA, also Internship and Career Coordinator of the Department shared, “It is important for students to gain solid work experience in financial technology and data analytics. By participating in internship, students can strengthen what they have learned and put it into practice by working in a real workplace and alongside professionals in the industry.”

BCDA is an interdisciplinary programme jointly offered by the Department of Computer Science, Faculty of Science, and Department of Economics and Department of Finance and Decision Sciences, School of Business, aiming at equipping the next-generation of business leaders with the latest technical knowledge of fast-changing business technologies.