HONG KONG — Angelika Lisek, a Polish finance student at the University of Glasgow, is no stranger to working during the holidays: waiting tables, selling books door to door or helping her mother at her architecture company. But she knows that her two-month internship in Shanghai last year is what will give her a competitive edge.

“We are ambitious — we don’t want to relax,” said Ms. Lisek, describing students like her who seek internships abroad. She was in her second year at the university when she saw a work opportunity in China.

“I had never been to Asia, and it was a new challenge,” said Ms. Lisek, who is 23 and is now attending a one-year exchange program at the University of Hong Kong.

Students are keenly aware of the importance of work experience in a competitive job market. And China, whose economy has had robust growth, increasingly looks like an attractive option.