Student Report
Name of the University: City University of Hong Kong
Exchange semester: Fall 2015
I. PRACTICAL INFORMATION
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Before leaving Norway
When and how did you receive information from the exchange university, and did you
encounter any difficulties?
The school did give us a lot of information beforehand and it was easy to follow up. Started
early to get information about school, residence and courses etc. Everything went throught
email, but after a while we got access to the school's website (ala. @bi). They replied quickly
at out emails, but remember to be clear what you ask for in your email. They need to have it
question by question if you want an answer to all your questions. Best thing is to set up 1, 2,
3, 4 for all your questions. Remember to keep the deadlines for everything.
Applying for a visa
How did you apply for your visa, what did it cost and did you have difficulties?
Also here we got a lot of information from school. They sent us some scheme we had to fill
in and send back to them. Guidelines for how to fill out VISA application was provided. We
had to pay a small fee, around 200 NOK. Remember to do this early when the VISA has to
be sent back from Hong Kong via post.
Travel
How did you travel to your destination?
Took a flight from Oslo - Gardemoen, transferred in DOHA. We used Qatar airways and
Cathay Pacific. Round-trip was about 5200 NOK. We arrived in Hong Kong before the
school provided shuttle buses, so we took a taxi. If you arrive on the check-in date the
school will give you information about shuttle buses from the airport directly to the school. It
is very easy to get from the airport to the school/city, either by express train, mtr or bus.
Housing
Was housing provided by the university? If not, did you receive support from the school?
We both applied for a room at residence, but only one of us got it. For the whole semester at
the residence you pay 5100 HKD (ca 5600 NOK). This is for a double room. I shared it with a
local girl that was quite nice, but really shy. I really enjoyed living at the residence as it is
social and a 1 minute walk from school. In my hall we had access to a movie room, piano
room and a fitness room in the ground floor. This made it possible to have social gatherings
in the evenings. Each floor has a common room where you can do simple cooking, and to
get the groceries it is a 5 minute walk from the residence.
One of us had to find a flat which is a bit more expensive here in Hong Kong. I lived at a
place called Apple Dorm in Sham Shui Po. You can choose between a normal room (3400
HKD/month or a room with a bunk bed (3800 hkd/month). The rooms are really small, but it
works. I shared 3 toilets, 3 showers and 1 fridge with 20 people. Renting a flat here in Hong
Kong is not like in Norway. It is a very social place with a roof top where people, mostly
students, interns and people working in Hong Kong, meet every night. A lot of events
happening there. I recommend, if you have to find a flat by your own, to find a place close to
school. The first two months I lived at Hong Kong Island, but got really tired of travelling 40
minutes to school every day.
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Costs
Approximately how much per month did you spend on rent, books, food, transportation, and
other personal expenses?
Rent
1200
NOK
Books
300
NOK
Food
2500
NOK
Transport
350
NOK
Other
2000
NOK
Rent
3740 NOK
Books
500 total NOK
Food
3000 NOK
Transport
350 NOK
Other
2000 NOK
Culture and language
Some of the professors have an accent, but it takes only a couple of lectures to get used to
it. We found it difficult to communicate with taxi drivers sometimes, smart to always have
your address in Chinese. If not there is always some locals around you that are willing to
help.
By the time you are in Hong Kong you will most likely experience some culture differences,
some in good ways and some in bad. It doesn’t take a long time before you are used to that
many people and the Hong Kong Citizens.
II. ABOUT THE SCHOOL
Please describe:
The school is located in Kowloon Tong, Kowloon side. Right next to the school you can find
a big shopping mall called Festival Walk, this is also where the MTR(metro) is. This can
bring you all over Hong Kong, and the system is really easy. It only takes 25 minutes over to
Hong Kong Island where you find Soho, the financial district, LKF(party street), Causeway
Bay (shopping area) and Wan Chai (Night club area).
The campus is big, with around 20.000 students. At campus you can find a swimming pool,
fitness center and a lot of places to eat, the food in the canteen is really cheap and quite
good.
Course registration
We registered for courses before we left Norway, and got them confirmed by CityU some
time before we arrived. We still had time to change our minds, because in the first two weeks
you have an add/drop period where you can add and drop the courses you would like. The
add/drop period is online on AIMS, a portal similar to @bi.
Academic calendar
Arrival date:
21st of August
First day of the
semester:
1 st of
September
Last day of classes:
28 th of
November
Examination period:
8-19
December
Any special
events/holidays:
Sept. 9th, Oct.
1-2nd
Other:
Introduction
week 21 st of
August- 1st of
September
Arrival
The introduction week at CityU contained campus tours, trip to Lantau island and orientation
day with DimSum dinner (Local food) together with other exchange students. Through this
week you get to know a lot of people that you will spend more time with throughout the
semester. You also attend a speech with the dean of College of Business, where relevant
information is provided.
The International Office
The International Office provided us all the information that we needed before, under and
after our stay in Hong Kong. They were really helpful, and responded quickly to our requests
on email.
Promoting BI and Norway
Both of us attended the student exchange fair, where we promoted Norway and BI. We had
to bring 10 different things from Norway that represented our school or our country.
Throughout the fair we exchanged the things we brought with stuff from other countries. We
recommend to attend this, it was a nice event.
Social activities
To begin with there were some activities for exchange students arranged by the exchange
student union at school, but as time went by and we got to know each other better the
exchange students went together and arranged different activities and gatherings. So we
had a lot to do throughout the whole semester. From boat parties, hiking to beautiful
beaches in New Territories where we arranged beach party and monday´s at a local bar
near the school called Billy Boozer.
I play handball at home so I found a handball team and joined them throughout the
semester. They are called Hong Kong Giants. I played with them once a week + playing
matches.
III. ACADEMICS
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In the classroom
Describe the teaching style
How is the level and workload compared to that at BI?
I (marketing student) experienced a lot of different teaching styles. Some of them was really
practical with some cases, and some quite formal. The level is easier than BI, but the
workload is heavier compared to BI in my experience. This is because of a lot of groupwork,
and only with locals made this time consuming.
I (economic student) also experienced different types of teaching. Most of my classes where
theoretical because of my major, but a lot more practical than at BI. In some of my classes I
had a hard time understanding what they said in addition to all the new words in english.
There is a lot more work to do than home, assignments, quizzes and presentations, but it is
good practise. Some teachers were very formal and took attendance every class, but others
did not care if I was there.
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Course materials
Describe the course materials used
For me(the marketing student) I only had one book in Services Marketing. The rest of the
course material was powerpoints and articles found in the library.
No one of the locals buy any books here. In one course I had to buy a book and in another
course I had to purchase cases online. Power points are heavily used here.
Exams
The courses was evaluated through:
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Final exam (written)
Mid-term exam
In-class quizzes throughout semester
Small assignments and/or papers
Presentations
Group work
Class attendance
Class participation/debates
Roleplay
The exams were based on both course materials and lectures.
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Library and technology
Describe the facilities.
The library is very big, but in the end of the semester you need to be there early to get a
place to sit. Also there is a lot of air condition so it is very cold. Not allowed to bring any food
or drinks, but we sometimes managed to smuggle a coffee inside, even if there is guards
everywhere. You need to scan your student card to get into the library. There are also a lot
of places to sit around the school, but library is the only quiet place. The school consists of
academic 1, 2 and 3, but all buildings are close to each other and ac2 and ac3 is in the same
building. The first weeks it can be difficult to find your class room, but after a while you will
understand. If your class finish at 12:50 in ac1 and you have a new class that starts at 13 in
ac2, you will be late, but here all the locals are late to every class.
Description of courses
Course code & name
Master/
Bachelor
Exam
form
Prerequisites
Approve
d as
Comments
Managerial
Development in
Business
Bachelor
2 - hour
written
exam
none
Elective
Very easy course,
but interesting.
GE 1331 - Problem
solving made easy
Bachelor
Group
project
none
Elective
You should have
programing
interests for taking
this course.
Corporate Financial
Policy
Bachelor
3-hour
written
exam
basic finance
(finans og
økonomistyring)
Finance
course
Not too difficult
finance course, but
a bit challenging.
Good alternative
for the finance
course at home.
Business Economics
Bachelor
3-hour
Microeconomics
Elective
Should have a lot
and Game Theory
written
exam
Strategy and Policy
Bachelor
MARKEDSFØRING
Bachelor
Strategic Marketing
Bachelor
Event Marketing
of interest for the
topic game theory
from
microeconomics.
Quite challenging
course.
2-hour
written
exam
none
Strategy
course
10 weeks of a
simulation game
being a firm
competing with
other teams in
class. Rest of the
course is basic
strategy theory.
2-hour
written
exam
Basic marketing,
marketing
research
Strategic
course
A course that is
definitely good for
marketing
students. gives you
some knowledge
you don’t get in
other marketing
courses.
Bachelor
none
elective
A lot of common
sense, especially if
you have
participated in an
event earlier.
Services Marketing
Bachelor
basic marketing,
marketing
research
elective
Heavy work load,
but interesting if
you are into the
service industry
Marketing in China
Bachelor
none
elective
Interesting course
where you learn a
lot about the
differences in
marketing in China
compared to
western countries.
Business and Hong
Kong society
Bachelor
none
elective
A bit wage, doesn’t
go very deep and
didn’t talk alot
about business.
On a final note, how will you sum up the exchange experience?
I am so glad I chose to have a semester abroad, and Hong Kong really met my expectations.
I learned a lot about myself, and I challenged myself in a good way. I would not be without
this experience, and would recommend everyone to do the same. For me an important part
about my exchange was to improve my English to have better possibilities for working in an
international company later. I can now say for sure that my English is better, and I would feel
more secure applying for international jobs.
Hong Kong is a perfect city for exchange and I will recommend it to everyone I meet. Hong
Kong has everything, from beaches, hiking spots, shopping, partying and culture. It is also
close to all the parts of Asia if you are interested in travelling inbetween studying. Places that
was popular destinations for a lot of exchange students where Shanghai, Beijing, Taiwan,
Vietnam, Philippines and Singapore.