Co-op Program

Introduction

The Co-op Program strengthens students' industrial experience before graduation by allowing students to complete an industrial project that resembles a Final Year Project (FYP) in a company under the supervision of an Industrial Supervisor from the company and an Academic Supervisor from HKUST while undergoing a 5-month internship at the company. Upon successful completion of the Co-op Program, the student meets both Industrial Experience and FYP graduation requirements.

Background of Final Year Projects

Final Year Projects (FYP) aim to provide an opportunity for students to apply and integrate the knowledge acquired throughout their undergraduate studies. The projects also aim to develop the capabilities of students in analyzing and solving complex and possibly real-case problem and to develop the skills of students in the systematic development, documentation and presentation of a significant piece of work.

Arrangement

  • The Co-op program MUST be at least 5-month long. It can take place in either the Fall semester (e.g. September to January of the following year) or the Spring semester (e.g. February to June). The exact start and end dates are to be discussed and agreed between the company and the student.
  • Students are expected to work full time in the company during Co-op. They may take Leave from Study during the Co-op period.
  • Students are not encouraged to defer their graduation because of the participation in the Co-op program. They should plan in advance and consult with their advisor(s) on their plan of study and credit overloading so as to complete the degree program within the normal duration of study.
  • Final year and penultimate year undergraduate students in COMP, COSC, DSCT, DDP-COMP programs are eligible to apply for the program.

Assessment

  • Students will be enrolled in (COMP 4910 Co-op Program), a 6-credit course. Students are NOT required to enroll in (COMP 4981/H Final Year Project/Thesis and COMP 1991 Industrial Experience).
  • Students should submit all assignments on the following platforms by the respective deadlines set:
    1. Final Year Project Management System
      • Proposal Report (Deadline: end of 1st month)
      • Progress Report (Deadline: end of 3rd month)
      • Final Report (Deadline: end of final month)
      • Project Poster (Deadline: end of final month)
      • Final Presentation (Deadline: end of final month)

      * The Final Presentation will be assessed by a panel including the Industrial Supervisor, Academic Supervisor and 1 extra faculty member from HKUST.
      * Since the Co-op period of each student is different, individual students should refer to the Final Year Project Management System for the exact due dates of his/her assignments.

    2. Internship & Industrial Training System
      • Application Form & Contract/ Offer Letter (Deadline: end of 1st week)
      • Supervisor Feedback Form (Deadline: end of final month)
      • Internship Report (Deadline: end of final month)
      • Survey (Deadline: end of final month)

      * To be assessed by Internship Coordinator of the student's Academic Department/ Program.
      * Students should indicate in the Application Form and Internship Report that the internship is part of the Co-op Program.
      * The Internship Report should include student's learning reflection, description of matters learnt during the internship etc. It CANNOT be a repetition of any of the assignments in A.

Benefits

To the Co-op Student:

  • A Co-op student can earn 5-month industrial & work experience with a salary or stipend
  • With advanced planning, a Co-op student can complete the Co-op (and fulfil Final Year Project and Industrial Experience graduation requirements) without delay to graduation
  • A Co-op student will work on an Industrial Project under the supervision of 2 supervisors (1 from the company as Industrial Supervisor and 1 from the student's Academic Department in HKUST as Academic Supervisor)
  • A Co-op student may receive a return offer from the company

Responsibilities

Of the Co-op Student:

  • Complete the Industrial Project and submit all required assignments on or before the respective deadlines set
  • Complete other tasks assigned by the Industrial Supervisor
  • Meet with the Academic Supervisor ONCE every month (A Co-op student must be proactive in identifying a date and time convenient for the company for him/her to return to HKUST to meet with his/her Academic Supervisor)

Key Points

To be noted:

  1. The assessment items of Co-op FYP are different from the regular FYP. Please submit the assessment items of Co-op FYP according to the specific timelines in FYPMS. In the FYPMS, you can ignore the submission items which are not required in Co-op FYP such as monthly reports and individual ethics essay.
  2. Due to the limitation of the FYPMS system, you will not receive emails sent by system reminding you to do submissions such as proposal report etc. As such, you have to submit your assessment items according to your own timelines in FYPMS on time.
  3. You are required to take study leave during the Co-op period. When you resume your study in HKUST, you will be enrolled in COMP 4910. As a result, you will only receive the final grade when you have finished your Co-op FYP and resume study in HKUST.
  4. As you are also required to take LANG 4030, please enroll in LANG 4030 and seek instructor's consent when you resume study in HKUST after finishing your Co-op FYP.
  5. For the arrangement of final presentation, please take note of the following:
    • Find a common timeslot between you, your supervisor, industry supervisor and 2nd reader at least 3 weeks before your final presentation date
    • Inform Ms. Sharon CHIU () by email about presentation time and date of your final presentation
  6. For poster submission, please submit your poster to your second reader and cc it to your supervisor and Ms. Sharon CHIU () by email.
  7. For submission of documents to fulfill the internship's requirements, you should have access right to the Internship & Industrial Training System and submit the documents. However, if you could not be able to access the system, please email Center for Industry Engagement & Internship (IEI) at to enquire about the issue.

Timeline

The timeline for Co-op Program 2024-25 is as follows:

  • 15 February - Deadline for companies to provide co-op opportunities for 2024-25 round
  • 21 February - CSE would invite eligible students to apply for co-op
  • 6 March - Deadline for students to apply to respective companies
  • 10 April - Deadline for companies to notify CSE which student(s) are selected for the projects
  • 10 April - Deadline for students to confirm the company he/she would like to go and send the information to including:
    1. Company Name
    2. Project title
  • 17 April - Deadline for students to find faculty supervisor from CSE; students would also need to provide the below information to :
    1. Signed contract between you and the company
    2. Confirmation email from faculty supervisor that he would be your co-op supervisor

Enquiries

Dr. Kenneth Wai Ting LEUNG
Department of Computer Science and Engineering
Email: