Four students from City University of Hong Kong will begin their internships at China's major nuclear power operator, China General Nuclear Power Corp, marking the first time the industry has opened its doors to Hong Kong students for internships.

Of the four students, two will have internships at the company's branch in Britain, where they will take part in power projects including the large Hinkley Point C nuclear installation.

Those two students, from the university's mechanical and biomedical engineering department, will fly to London in early July.

The other two will intern at CGN's research institute in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, working with 1,400 researchers there, of whom nearly 60 percent are postgraduates or have doctor's degrees.

The company will provide accommodations and other work and living support to the students to help them adapt to the new environment and focus on their internships, said Huang Xiaofei, spokesman for CGN.

"We are very willing to provide a platform for Hong Kong youths to broaden their horizons, display their talents and realize their value in life by giving play to the company's advantages in the nuclear power sector," Huang said.

"We welcome more Hong Kong youths to intern at our company, to strengthen exchanges with the mainland, learn from each other, understand each other and integrate Hong Kong's growth with the country's development."

Pan Chin, chair of nuclear engineering at the university, said the students have high enthusiasm for the internships, and the opportunities offered by CGN will help them get more hands-on experience while significantly widening their horizons.

City University of Hong Kong is the only university in Hong Kong that has a nuclear power-related major. The nuclear department has a strong teaching team, of which many are nuclear experts from the United States, Britain and other countries, Pan added.

"I believe the university can make contributions to the country's nuclear industry, and especially to CGN, in terms of research and development of advanced nuclear technology, engineering staff training and exporting technology," he said.

Luk Bing-lam, chairman of Hong Kong Nuclear Society, said he is happy to see Hong Kong students have the opportunity to intern at CGN and learn from the country's advanced third-generation nuclear engineering technology.

"Because of historical factors, engineers and university graduates from Hong Kong have good knowledge of engineering and law systems in Britain. I hope Hong Kong engineers will have more chances to contribute to the country's nuclear exports," he said.