Student Report
Name of the University: City University of Hong Kong.
Exchange semester: Fall, 2014.
Students: Veronika Reinhaug (Trondheim), Kaare Traaseth (Nydalen).
I. PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Before leaving Norway
- I received an information package from the university in June, which included letter of
acceptance, information about the welcome week, a map over Hong Kong, and some
other practical information. In addition we were in contact with the Business
Department over mail, and they were very helpful whenever we had any enquiries.
Applying for a visa
- The university provided us with all the papers needed to apply for visa. We had to pay
a small fee, and the visa was delivered on our door a few weeks before departure. This
was not a problematic process, and if there were any problems both BI’s international
office and CityU could be of help.
Travel
- I travelled by flight from Oslo, with one stop in Moscow before arriving in Hong
Kong. I got a shuttle bus provided by CityU from the airport to the university.
- I (different student) travelled by flight from Oslo, with a stop in Bangkok before
arriving in Hong Kong. I took the local bus from the airport to the university, due to a
recommendation from a friend.
Housing
- I stayed at the student residence, which is located right next to the academic buildings
where all the classes were held. For a double room I paid 5.400 HKD. I shared room
with a lovely local girl, whom showed me around town, and gave me
recommendations for places to visit and things to see during my stay in Hong Kong. If
you manage to get a letter from your doctor it is also possible to apply for a single
room, then you would have to pay a bit more, around 10.000 NOK. There’s free WIFI
all over the university, but it doesn’t work in all of the rooms in the resident’s, so there
you have to use a LAN-cable. My room key stopped working during my stay, but I
arranged with my roommate to use hers until I got a new one, free of charge.
- I (different student) also stayed in the student residence, and paid the same fee of 5400
HKD. I shared a room with a local boy who was rarely there, not even for sleeping.
My roommate was however, very considerate and I had no issues at all during the
stay. I also accidentally broke my chair in my room, but I only had to notify the
janitors-office, and then they fixed it within a day, free of charge.
Costs
- Approximately per month
Rent
Books
Food
Transport
Other
1.100 NOK
100 NOK
2-3.000 NOK
300 NOK
4.000 NOK
Rent
Books
Food
Transport
Other
1.100 NOK
200 NOK
3-4.000 NOK
500 NOK
3.000 NOK
Culture and language
- Most people in Hong Kong speak pretty good English. Most professors speak
understandable English, and you get used to their accents quite fast. It could however,
be a slight problem, since it can be harder to concentrate in some classes. The majority
of the students are quite good at English as well, but if you end up in a group alone
with only local students they will, at least in my experience, rather speak Cantonese.
- Some parts of HK is very western, but if you manage to get some local friends they
are usually happy to show you themselves, or just recommend more Chinese places
for you.
- Hong Kong is very crowded and it can be a little intense in the beginning, but you get
used to it quickly. The locals also walk very slowly, actually causing quite a bit of an
annoyance after a while. In my experience, the older locals you meet in the city are
fairly rude, while the local students and staff are more polite.
II. ABOUT THE SCHOOL
-
CityU is a relatively large school, with around 20.000 students, where 6.000 is from
College of Business. It’s located in Kowloon Tong, which is not too far from
everything, but still not really close to the city. Still, it’s practically located at a huge
shopping mall, not far from the metro, and the bus to the airport goes past the student
residents. The buildings are modern and nice, and there are several canteens and
places to study around campus. Most classes are in classrooms with up to 60 students
in each class. Even though it’s hot in HK during summer/fall it gets cold in the
classrooms because of the air condition, often so cold that it is recommendable to
bring some warmer clothes for indoor.
Course registration
- I applied for courses before I left, and got a schedule when I arrived. I was able to
change this schedule as much as I wanted as long as I got the courses approved and
there were any free seats left in the class. The add/drop period ended after the first
week of classes.
Academic calendar
Arrival date:
First day of the semester:
Last day of classes:
Examination period:
Any special events/holidays:
Other:
August 25th
September 1st
November 29th
December 8-20th
Sept. 9th, Oct. 1-2nd
Arrival
- In the introduction week we went on a trip with the exchange students from College of
Business to Lantau Island. They also had other events we could choose to participate
in, such as guided tours around the university and free shuttle buses to IKEA. There
were also events throughout the semester for those interested, and many opportunities
for hiking.
The International Office
- The International Office has been very helpful answering questions about the
exchange program both before and during the exchange. Also the respond-time has
been fairly quick.
Promoting BI and Norway
- I did not do any promoting for BI or Norway at CityU.
Social activities
- Most exchange students stick together and it’s easy to make friends within this group.
The local students tend to be very interested in getting to know exchange students too,
but they might be more reserved than the western students. There is also a big
difference if what the locals do for fun, versus what the exchangers do for fun. The
exchangers are more interested in going out, for partying and eating out, while the
locals stay more around campus and hang out in the student residence.
III. ACADEMICS
In the classroom
- The lectures are mostly in classrooms with up to 60 students. The professors often
expect the students to be active and ask questions, but it varies how active the students
actually are. Many classes have group work with assignments and presentations as a
part of the grade, in addition to individual assignments. This might take some time, as
it requires group meetings in several classes. I would say the workload is heavier, but
the content is easier. Most lecturers take attendance, and have a limit of how many
classes you are allowed to miss.
- Of my five classes, only two took attendance, so it was less class participation than
expected. The formality level was also less strict than I thought, and the local students
usually made more noise than the exchangers. The learning environment, in terms of
formality, was pretty similar to Norway in my opinion.
Course materials
- Some of the courses have books, these are quite ok, and a lot cheaper than at home.
Still, there are some courses that don’t have books, where only the slides from the
PowerPoints are the course material.
- In one course (Strategy and Policy), you need to purchase the book to have access to
an online business-game. Otherwise, you can come by without purchasing the books.
In the course Comp. and coop. in diverse contexts you also have to pay a fee for the
negotiation cases used in the course.
Exams
- The exams were based on both the course materials and the lectures.
- How was the course evaluated?:
o Final exam (written, oral)
o Mid-term exam
o In-class quizzes throughout semester
o Small assignments and/or papers
o
o
o
o
Presentations
Group work
Class attendance
Class participation/debates
Library and technology
- The library is quite good, with computers, printers, books and quiet places to read.
Sometimes it could be a long line to use the printers in the library, but there is also
other places to go where it usually were a shorter line. If you are in a rush, there are
printers you can pay for (you have 1600 pages of free printing every semester at
designated printers) and it’s about the same price as at BI.
Description of courses
Course code & name
MKT4637 Event
Marketing
CB4303 Strategy and
Policy
Master/
Bachelor
Bachelor
Exam form
Bachelor
-2 hours written
exam, multiple
choice and essay
questions(40%)
-Simulation
game(35%)
-Group
presentation(5%)
-Class discussion,
participation(20%
)
-Mid-term(25%)
-2 group
presentations(40
%)
-Individual
assignment(20%)
-Class
participation/
discussion(15%)
Prerequisite
s
-Marketing
-Introduction
to Marketing
Approved
as
Marketing
course
Management
Strategy
Comments
Quite easy
course were
most of the
content
were
common
cense, at
least if you
have
participated
in hosting
any events
before. No
books in
this class.
It depends
on your
lecturer
how many
presentatio
ns you need
to give,
some have
4, while
others have
1. This will
again affect
how heavy
the
workload in
this course
will be.
Since you
also need to
do the
simulation
game with
GE1207
Organizational and
Personal Image
Management
Bachelor
-Class
discussion(30%)
-Individual
assignment(30%)
-Group project
(40%)
None
Elective
GE1217 Competition
and Cooperation in
Diverse Contexts
Bachelor
-Class
None
contribution(15%)
-Individual
assignment(10%)
-Group
project(40%)
-2 hours written
exam(35%)
Elective
CTL2956 Mandarin
for Non-Chinese
Bachelor
-Homework(20%)
-Class
Elective
None
your group
it is wise to
get a good
group with
people you
enjoy
spending
time with.
No books
in this
class. I
thought the
part about
organizatio
nal
manageme
nt were the
most
interesting,
sadly this
was only a
very small
part of the
course, and
the focus
were
mostly on
personal
image.
A fun and
interesting
course
where you
learn how
to
negotiate.
You need
to prepare
for your inclass
negotiation
s nearly
every
week, and
these
preparation
s count for
your grade,
so there is
some
workload
throughout
the year.
If you
really want
Speakers 1
participation(10%
)
-3 quizzes(40%)
-Written and oral
exam (30%)
CB4303 – Strategy
and Policy.
Bachelor
-2 hours written
exam, multiple
choice and essay
questions(40%)
-Simulation
game(35%)
-Group
presentation(5%)
-Class discussion,
participation(20%
)
Management
Strategy
EF3320 – Security
analysis and portfolio
management.
Bachelor
Group
assignment,
participation and
individual
assignments
(30%)
Final Exam (70%)
None,
according to
the course
outline.
Finance
EF4312 – Mergers
and Acquisitions.
Bachelor
Pitchbook,
presentation,
participation and
assignments
(60%)
Final Exam (40%)
CB3410
Financial
Management
or
FB3410
Financial
Management
Finance
to learn to
speak
Mandarin
you will
have to
practise on
your own,
in class we
mostly
focused on
writing.
The course
material is
quite good
to study on
your own,
and you
will learn
some basic
sentences
and words.
The game
was pretty
fun, but it
takes up
most of the
semester,
and you do
not learn
that much,
in my
opinion.
Otherwise,
a neat
course.
Helpful
course with
a good
teacher.
The teacher
uses a lot of
examples
and made
the lectures
very
interesting.
Very good
course,
learned a
lot but the
work not is
very heavy
compared
to the other
courses.
GE2231 – Business,
Media and Society.
Bachelor
Three
None
presentations
(45%)
Mid-semester
quiz (15%)
Final Exam (40%)
EF4321 – Derivatives
and Risk
Management.
Bachelor
Assignments
(20%)
Mid-Term Exam
(30%)
Final Exam (50%)
CB3410
Financial
Management
or FB43410
Financial
Management
EF3320
Security
Analysis and
Portfolio
Management
EF4320
Advanced
Security
Analysis and
Portfolio
Management
Elective
Finance
Great
teacher, but
do not
recommend
the course
to
exchangers,
due to the
amount of
work.
Very easy
course.
Mostly
talking in
class, with
some
presentatio
ns. Teacher
was good
and trying
to
encourage
discussions.
Tough
course.
Very smart
teacher, but
bad in
English,
made it
very hard
to follow.
Quite a bit
of work if
you want to
succeed.
On a final note, how will you sum up the exchange experience?
I really liked the experience. It was very interesting to visit a part of the world I had never
been to, and having the possibility to travel around in South-East Asia. Also met a lot of
interesting people, and it was a little tough to leave at the end. I think you grow a little from
this, just from constantly meeting new people and seeing new cultures/societies. We highly
recommend Hong Kong as a destination for exchange-students!