Fifteen Taiwan companies in Dongguan, Guangdong province, are offering 128 internship positions to students from eight Taiwan universities to allow them to gain knowledge of business operations.

The students will spend nine months starting September at the companies in the program jointly organized by Dongguan University of Technology, the Humen branch of the Taiwan Businessmen Association Dongguan and eight Taiwan universities, including the Taiwan University of Science and Technology, and the Taipei University of Technology.

The program is much longer than previous internships in Dongguan offered to Taiwan students by other organizations, which mostly covered two months in the summer vacation, says Chen Wei, the dean of the Guangdong-Taiwan College of Industrial Science and Technology, of the Dongguan University of Technology.

It will allow the students to gain more knowledge of the mainland and get accustomed to the local environment, he says.

Hu Chien-min, the secretary-general of the Taiwan Businessmen Association Dongguan's Humen branch, sees significant demand from Taiwan students for the internship, adding that the internship program may have to be extended next year.

The Taiwan companies also need "fresh blood" who are accustomed to Taiwan-style management, he says.

The members of the Humen branch comprise more than 260 companies, and they are engaged in manufacturing of garments, machinery, electronics and cables.

Taiwan companies in Dongguan numbered 3,447 at the end of last year, according to the city's commerce bureau.

Meanwhile, the number of Taiwan companies in Guangdong stood at 27,173 as of March, and involved $63.46 billion in investment from Taiwan.

Trade between Guangdong and Taiwan accounted for about one-third of all cross-Straits trade, according to the provincial Taiwan affairs office.

Students in the internship program in Dongguan will be paid a monthly salary of 5,000 yuan ($735), with free food and accommodation, for positions at companies mainly producing electronics and home appliances, says Hu.

The academic credits gained from the internship in Dongguan will be recognized by their universities and the Taiwan education authorities, says Chen.

The Dongguan University of Technology will tutor Taiwan students taking the internship as its Guangdong-Taiwan College of Industrial Science and Technology has about a dozen teachers from Taiwan.