Student Report
Name of the University: University Of Hong Kong
Exchange semester: Fall 2013
I. PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Before leaving Norway
We received a package from the exchange university with a lot of relevant information about
applying for a visa, housing, course descriptons etc months before our departure. If we had
any further questions, we sent an email to the university, and they were very helpful.
Applying for a visa
How to apply for a student visa was explained in the package we got from HKU. We had to
fill out several forms and attached a copy of our passports. We sent the documents to BI´s
International office, who forwarded it to CEDARS (Centre of Development and Resources for
Students). CEDARS is taking care of the rest, including sending it to the immigration office in
Hong Kong, for a small fee.
Please note that this is a process that will take some time, so send it as soon as possible to
make sure that you receive your visa before the departure.
Travel
We both booked flights from Norway to Hong Kong with one ….
When we arrived in Hong Kong we took a taxi from the airport to the halls, even though it´s
less expensive to take the airport train or a bus.
Housing
We stayed in halls on campus with walking distance from HKU. We both shared a room with
another international student for a very small amount, compared to renting an apartment
privately (which is extremely expensive). To stay in halls is an interesting experience, and
you will get in touch with a lot of different people, including locals. We will definitely
recommend you to apply for on-campus housing.
Costs
The renting fee in halls was very low. We paid approximately 6000-7000 NOK per semester
for a shared room, which included a “High Table Dinner” with all our hallmates twice during
the semester. How much money you´re spending on books will vary according to you course
selections.
In Hong Kong you can either spend big amounts per month, or you can live relatively
cheap. Transportation such as bus, taxi etc is also low-priced.
Culture and language
All the teaching is done in English, so this will not be any problem. Some of the teachers who
comes from Mainland China or Hong Kong may have a strong accent, but this is something
you get used to very fast.
While I was there, I did not meet anyone who did not speak English. However, for some
students this is a bigger challenge than for others, escpecially for those who have not used the
language as much as we have during our years in school.
In Hong Kong you have great possibilities to experience the country and the culture. It is
possible for exchange students to visit local families, and there are trips that are arranged by
students societies where you get to explore the island. You can also get a lot of information
about the culture during the clasess, depending on which courses you are taking.
II. ABOUT THE SCHOOL
Please describe:
The university is located in Pokfulam Road and has over 20 000 students, with almost 7 000
non-local students. The school consist of 10 different faculties and is one of the highest
ranked universities in Asia. The main campus covers 160 000 square meters of land, and the
university of Hong Kong has some of the few buildings which comes from British Colonial
architecture.
Course registration
You apply for the course you want to take before you arrive Hong Kong. On the first
introduction day you will be informed which of the courses you received. If you end up not
receiving all of the courses you wanted, you can look up other courses to replace them with
during the first two week of the semester. Here you can apply for a large number of different
courses and try them out before the final date for course enrolment. This way you get to
experience some of the course material to see if this is a class that interest you. This add/drop
period ended after the first two weeks of the semester.
Academic calendar
Arrival date:
First day of the semester:
Last day of classes:
Examination period:
Any special events/holidays:
26/08/2013
02/09/2013
The last day of classes
is depending on which
course you are taking.
The exam period is
depending heavily on
which classes you are
taking. You may end
up being done 6th of
December, but the last
exam schedual is 22nd
of december
You have a long list of
different holidays in
Hong Kong, these can
easily be found online.
Other:
Arrival
In the introduction week there are a lot of different arangements for the student so that you get
a good chance to meet the other students at HKU. Parties are arranged and trips around the
island is a good way to get to know other students as well as see more of Hong Kong. Also,
the different halls where the students live arrange different types of arrangements so that you
get to know the people you will be living with.
The International Office
During the add/drop period there were some problem with the courses, and there was some
problem getting in contact with the international office, but in the end everthing worked out
fine.
Promoting BI and Norway
We were not involved in any activites to promote exchange to Norway.
Social activities
There is no doubt that the international students stick together, and the native students stick
together. However, if you get a place in a hall, this is the best way to meet and get to know the
local students. There is also a lot of group projects in the classes, but the exchange students
have received a bit of a bad reputation because a lot of these students care more about
travelling and experience Asia, and may focus less on the quality of the schoolwork.
There are different types of activites and organisations for exchange students which gives you
a great opportunity to meet other students studying abroad.
III. ACADEMICS
In the classroom
The teaching style variates a lot depending on what you are studing, and which classes you
are taking. As a business student, there is a big variation in the teaching style. In almost every
classes you have group project which counts for a certain percentage of your grade in that
class. It is also important that you attent do most of the classes, since the teacher most likely
will control the absence of all the students. You also have to be active in class, and there will
be some presentation. The final grade is usually divided by your effort in all of these activites.
When it comes to the workload, it will remind you more of high school. There is a lot more to
do during the semester. However, there will not be a big final exam, so the end of the
semester is not so stressfull as back home at BI.
Course materials
I did not buy any books for any of my classes. Again, this varies a lot by which courses you
are taking. You will receive a lot of articles in class, and powerpoint is also very much used.
Exams
I only had one exam which was based on the course material. The course was evaluated from
everything to attendance, activity in class, group project and presentation, individual papers
and midterms/final exams. In many courses you had to prepare for the class and its course
material to be able to participate enough to give you a good grade. Some of the teachers focus
more on attendance and participation in discussions than other teachers do.
Library and technology
Some of the lecture rooms are old, and there are a lot of classrooms where the lectures will be
more like sitting in a high school class. However, they also have some new buildings with
very good and modern equipment. They have recently opened up a new library which is open
24/7 during the exam period with new computers and IMacs. The main building which is used
for business and economic students is fairly old.
Description of courses
Please list below all the courses you took while on exchange. Your comments are useful for
BI and for future exchange students, include information on the qacadmic level, challenges,
relevance to your studies, if the course was practical/theoretical, any enrolment issues, etc.
Course code & name
Master/
Bachelor
Exam form
Prerequisites
Approved
as
Comments
FIN123 Finance
Bachelor
Midterm and a 3hour final exam
None
Finance
Operations and Quality
Management
Bachelor
No exam
None
Strategy
International Marketing
Bachelor
Midterm and a 2hour final exam
None
Elective
Supply Chain
Management
Bachelor
Midterm
None
Elective
Business and
Communication Skills
Bachelor
No exam
None
Elective
We also had
four group
homework
assignments,
this course
took a lot of
time
We had an
Individual
paper
assignment
and a final
group
presentation
, didn´t have
too much
work to do
in this
course
We also had
two group
presentation
s and
several class
quizes
during the
semester
We had a
few
homework
assignments
and a final
group
presentation
Two group
presentation
s and two
individual
assignments.
This was an
easy course.
On a final note, how will you sum up the exchange experience?
- E.g. the experience from an academic, cultural and social point of
view, influences to your future career possibilities etc.
(We would like to use some of these comments as testemonials in future exchange
brochures. Please indicate here whether we can use your comments)
To do a semester in Hong Kong was an absolutely amazing experience. We got to learn more
about the Chinese culture as well as we got to know a lot of different people from other parts
of the world. A semester abroad can open for various future career possibilities, and I
strongly recommend it.
Camilla
Deciding to study in Hong Kong is probably one of the best decisions I have ever made in my
life. It was truly an amazing experience. You get to see a completely different culture, meet
different people from other countries and make new friends for life. With the location in Hong
Kong, it will be easy for you to travel to other parts of Asia, and it will give you an
opporutinity to see some of the most amazing places on earth. It is also a very good
experience to do something completely different and you challenge yourself in a completely
new way. Studing in Hong Kong is something I strongly recommend.