STUDENT REPORT
Name of the University:
Names of the students:
Exchange semester:
University of Hong Kong
Erik Nikolai Staubo, Elisabet Paulsen, Jonas Meland
Spring, 2011
I GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL
The University of Hong Kong (HKU) is situated on the North-Western part of Hong
Kong Island called Pok Fu Lam. The campus is only a short distance from many of
Hong Kong’s major attractions. HKU consistently ranks among the world’s best
universities, currently ranking 26th (1st in Asia). The student population consists of
some 22,000 students. 6000 of those are non-local. Out of the 6000 non-local
students, many are from mainland China.
II PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Information before you leave
Upon being accepted as an exchange student at HKU, we received an e-mail asking us
to choose classes and so on. We received an information package in the fall prior to
the exchange. There were some difficulties in choosing classes; however you will
have ample opportunity to add or drop classes later. When you choose classes you
have the responsibility to make sure the classes don’t overlap.
Visa Procedure and travel experiences
The visa procedure was quite simple. Almost all necessary forms were sent to us, and,
though extensive, they were easy enough to fill out, some of the forms you had to
seek up yourself but it was relatively easy to navigate the HKU sites to find these. The
cost of the visa is not high (roughly 200-400 NOK), and HKU can charge it on your
credit card. We purchased one-way tickets a couple of months prior to each trip. The
cost of a one-way ticket was approximately 4000 NOK. You could probably save
some money if you buy a round trip ticket right away. I recommend checking out
www.zuji.com, as they are usually quite cheap for flights to and from Hong Kong.
Academic Calendar
We arrived in Hong Kong January 6th and the first day of school was January 10th.
The introductory week included a lot of information about what to expect and how to
cope with living in Hong Kong. The last day of teaching was in the 21st of April. And
the examination period lasted from late April to mid-May. There were a few different
holidays during the semester, including Chinese New Year, Reading week, and a few
days for Easter.
Reception
We did not apply to have buddy to meet us at school since we went together, so we
cannot give any recommendation of that. Some people said that the buddies were
helpful; other people did not have the same experience. If you go alone I would
recommend it, but if you travel together with other students it’s not necessary. When
you arrive at your student hall you will meet people who have been there a semester
already or a week, and it was easy to get the information and help to get around the
first couple of days.
Housing
We choose to stay in dorms, which were located 5-10 minutes from the school in bus.
We shared room with one other exchange student, and bathroom and common room
with the floor. The standard is ok for a semester, but don’t expect luxury. The big
advantage of living in dorm is the cost of approximately 5000 NOK for half a year,
while renting an apartment is a bit more expensive than Oslo prices. I would
recommend staying in dorm because it is easier to get in touch with both local
students and other exchange students. You don’t spend a lot of time at home and all of
them are located near the school or near another library.
Costs
Since we lived at a dorm, the cooking opportunities were not very good. Each floor
had one kitchen distributed on approximately 30 students so we normally ate in
restaurants or canteens. The prices varied a lot but you can eat for 20-30 NOK for “a
typical Chinese meal”. It’s easy to buy enough groceries to eat breakfast at home and
have some easy snack and food in your dorm. This is a bit cheaper than Norwegian
groceries but cheaper than eating breakfast every day at school. Books and stationary
at the university bookstore, is about half the Norwegian price. Transportation costs,
including taxi, are also low. Going out is pretty expensive and many of the nightclubs
charge entering fees.
The International Office
There is an international office at the University. The international office functions
largely like that of BI. We received some information prior to the semester. They
were also quite helpful in answering questions regarding housing, etc. We had little or
no contact with the international office during the semester. They are very busy with
dealing with 6000 foreign students, and it took some extra time for them to assist us in
adding or dropping the classes, because of the lack of the new online system.
Exchange promotion
The University had no “exchange fair” where we could promote BI. The closest thing
to an exchange fair is the Global Lounge, where they have a lot of information about
different countries and schools.
Social Activities
There were a lot of parties during the semester, but mostly with the exchange
students. The local students don’t go out as much as the exchange students. The best
places to go are Lan Kwai Fong (LKF) or Wan Chai. As mentioned earlier, it is quite
expensive to go out, and you have to pay almost the same for a drink in LKF as in
Oslo. However, it’s possible to find bars with cheaper prices outside or near LKF.
We had access to two different sport centers with the ability to use football, tennis and
basket pitches, athletic track, weight rooms, swimming pool etc. We also joined the
football team for our hall, which was a good way to get to know locals.
Our floor had floor meetings every Monday, but many of the meetings were in
Chinese so we did not participate in many of them.
Culture and Language
The language of teaching at the school is English. And with only a few exceptions, we
experienced only minor difficulties with the language. All professors and most
students speak English well. Concerning other locals, the English skills are much
more varied. Most taxi drivers and other people in the service industry speak some
English, while others don’t speak it at all.
If you go on exchange to HKU in the spring semester, you will have a lot of holidays
and breaks. Since Hong Kong is centrally located in Asia, you have plenty
opportunities of traveling relatively cheap.
During the Chinese New Year we spent a week at Boracay in the Philippines together
with many other exchange students, and during the reading week which is in the
middle of the semester, we had a 12 days long trip to Thailand, Laos and Cambodia.
We highly recommend you to go to Beijing and see The Great Wall and The
Forbidden City, and also take the ferry from Hong Kong to Macau, which in
2006 took over the throne from Las Vegas as the world's largest gambling city. Tens
of giant casinos are waiting for you, but don’t have too big hopes of getting rich!
Cultural and Social Effects from the Exchange Experience
A semester on exchange has, no doubt, changed us somewhat. We have gained insight
into, and knowledge about, the Chinese / Hong Kong culture. It seems self evident
that this is going to be helpful in opening up future career possibilities. However,
don’t expect to come back from a semester in Hong Kong, speaking Chinese and
being just about ready to do business with the Chinese. The semester only gives you a
sample of some of what China and Hong Kong have to offer.
III ACADEMIC INFORMATION
Changing classes after arrival
HKU started with a new system, where you can add and drop classes online, but in the
setup they had a lot of problems, and only a couple of the faculties, not including the
Business and Economics faculty, had all of their classes available online. This meant
that we had to do it manually through the International Office. The process was slow,
but we expect the online system to be better next year.
The Teaching situation
All courses, except Chinese language classes and medical courses, are taught in
English at HKU. Most professors, as mentioned, speak English just fine. The biggest
difference between HKU and BI in terms of studying is the fact that at HKU you will
have a workload that is more evenly spread out over the course of the semester. HKU
has a more practical approach than BI. Most courses have various assignments and
projects throughout the semester. It is not uncommon to get homework from one week
to another. Like at BI, the structure of the classes and the workload will depend on
the class. However, in general, the classes are much smaller than those at BI. As a
result, you should expect to have a more personal relationship with the professors. In
most courses we had normal classes and tutorials, in the tutorials we were divided into
groups of approximately 10 to 15 people where we would go through questions and
have class related discussions together with the tutor.
Required Literature
All required literature is, naturally, in English. All books are available at the
university bookstore. The literature is used, mainly, to give you a more in-depth
knowledge. For exams you need to have a detailed knowledge of the course contents.
Some of the courses did not have books, instead the teacher gave us updated articles
online.
Exams
We had mid term exams in almost each course, many of these midterms was multiple
choice. We also had group presentations and papers in many of the courses. Most
exams consist of a multiple-choice part and an essay question part. The time available
on each exam varied between 2 or 3 hours that only counted for 30 – 50 % of your
grade. We did not have any 5 hours exams as we often have in Norway. After
discussing the level required to pass compared to BI, We think it was about the same
as at BI.
Other
The library and IT facilities at the University are fine. You have adequate access to
both library resources and computers. Just like in Norway, it has a tendency to get a
little crowded during the final exam period.
Description of Courses
Course name:
Prereq.
Exam
Real Estate Finanace
None
Group-project/Exam
Investment and Portfolio Analysis
Accounting
Group-project/Exam
Economic History of China
None
Essay/Exam
Foreign Trade and Investment in China
None
Group Essay/Exam
Financial Markets and Institutions
None
Exam
Advanced Business Communication Skills
None
Group-Project/Essay
Globalization and information society
None
Essay/Group presentation
Comments:
Among the courses we would recommend Foreign Trade and Investment in China, the
course is a good introduction into how investment in China works. We also liked
Investment and Portfolio Analysis, even though it is some work to do during the
semester, we learned a lot, and hence recommend it since is a good course.
Names and e-mails:
If you have any question, just send us an e-mail.
Erik Nikolai Staubo
Elisabet Paulsen
Jonas Meland
staubo_88@hotmail.com
elisabet.paulsen@gmail.com
Jonas.meland@gmail.com