Student Report
City University of Hong Kong Fall 2013
Before leaving Norway
I received my information package in June, which included a letter of acceptance, a map of
Hong Kong and some information about the welcome week, and options for this week.
Applying for a visa
During the online application process in February (which was very long), I had to fill out the
VISA form, which was given to me. I had help from the international office to fill it in. I think
it was about 100 NOK. This was not problematic at all.
Travel
I travelled with Finnair from Oslo to Hong Kong, with a stopover in Helsinki. This is the
fastest and most comfortable way, in my opinion. I arrived in Hong Kong three days before
the welcoming week started, so I could explore the city a little on my own.
Housing
You are not guaranteed Student housing, but I got it. Most of the exchange students got the
campus arrangements. It was an experience, which I will remember forever. It is right by the
school, it has a small gym, computer rooms, laundry services, and common rooms for
cooking. I was assigned to live in a shared room, which meant that I lived in 10m2 with a
local student. This went very well, and it is a very social way to live. I highly recommend
applying for the student housing. It cost about 3500 NOK for the whole semester.
Costs
Rent
Books
Food
Transport
Other
NOK 800
NOK 800
NOK 2000
NOK 600
Vary
Notes: It really depends on the subject if you need books or not. In some classes they tell
you to buy a book, while in other classes the lecture notes are sufficient. PS: Bring your BI
calculator if you have a financial course. I mostly travelled around HK with the MTR (same as
the T-bane in Oslo, only 100% more efficient), which is really cheap. But I also took taxis
quite a lot, as it is very cheap, compared to Norwegian standards.
You can buy meals as cheap as 30 NOK, but at western restaurants you will have to pay
around 100-300 NOK.
Culture and language
The local students have very various English. Some are really difficult to communicate with,
and will most likely not speak a lot in a social setting, while others are fluent. You will find
exchange students in almost all classes though, so it will not be a problem. The same goes
for the teachers. The first classes were a bit hard, when you are not used to the Cantonese
accent, but after a while you get used to it. Now, I miss the accent.
The taxi drivers and etc. know very little English, but you get a long way with a few
Cantonese phrases.
The city is perfect for students and foreigners. Most signs are in Cantonese and English, and
you have everything you need in one city.
II. ABOUT THE SCHOOL
Please describe:
The school is located in Kowloon Tong, which is north on the Kowloon peninsula of Kowloon.
It is divided into three major buildings, with one connecting the campus with the student
residence. The school has a large swimming pool, a big gym and a basketball court. The area
has lots of nice places to hike nearby, where you have great views of the city.
The school has about 18 000 students and in total around 800 exchange students. What you
will notice is that most of the exchange students attend the College of Business.
It is very easy to go anywhere in Hong Kong by the MTR, which is right next to the school.
The school is also located right next to a huge shopping mall called the Festival Walk, which
has everything you need like the Apple Store, Hollister, H&M, Starbucks, all kinds of
restaurant, an indorse ice rink, a cinema, food court, MCD, Marc Jacobs, and the list goes on.
This is also where you find the MTR station.
The school has three cafeterias, and two cafés. Some of these are really good, and they are
all super cheap. You can eat your breakfast here for 30 NOK.
Course registration
I think that this process was the most difficult and time-consuming part of my exchange. The
first time I registered was in February, when I was filling in the online application. The next
time I heard from the University was in July. I was told that some of the classes where full,
some were cancelled and I didn’t have the prerequisite for one of my core courses. I had to
contact Ada Kwok, who is very helpful. I think there were three add/drop periods where you
can add and drop classes online. This was very new to me, but the good thing is that you can
add and drop, so the classes with your preferred schedule, so you can have all our classes in
three days, for instance.
I had a lot of difficulties with one course though, where I had to add/drop on paper and talk
to the course examiner after school started. It all worked out in the end though.
Academic calendar and Arrival
The arrival date for the Student residence was set to August 26th. This is the check-in date
set by the campus. If you arrive on this date, they provide a free shuttle busses from the
airport to the student residence. This is when you get your residence card, and all the papers
you need. You will have to get your student card when school starts.
The first week is welcoming week, where you have several activities with the college of
business, where you get to meet a lot of the people you will be studying with. You will meet
new friends instantly! The actual semester started on Septemter 2 nd.
The last day of classes was in November, and the examination period really depends on your
classes. I had my last exam on December 20th, while some students had their last exam in
early December.
The International Office
The international office is very helpful, and responds quickly by E-mail. This has been very
helpful since form the beginning of the application process, to after the exchange.
Promoting BI and Norway
The College of Business has an International fair, where all the countries are represented.
We served hot chocolate and had a ski game at the Norwegian stand. There was also a
fashion show, singing and some festive dancing from various countries. We got money from
the school to set up our booth.
Social activities
I would say that the locals are very different from Norwegians, which I did not expect. Some
of them are very interested in foreign culture, and they are in general very sweet. I had a
local roommate, and a Chinese bathroom mate, which was very nice. I also attended some
of the floor dinners, in my hall, which was held by locals on my floor. Other than that, I
spend most of my social time with other exchange students. Since there are so many
exchange students, you make a lot of new friends fast. There are things to do every single
day, so you will defiantly not feel bored.
Most people want to travel, since Hong Kong is in the middle of South-East Asia, so if this is
something you want to do; get travel buddies right away. It is really easy and cheap to travel
to places like China, Singapore, Taiwan, and Malaysia etc.
The nightlife in Hong Kong is very good. There are plenty of clubs, bars, and nice restaurants.
Whatever you are looking for, you will find it. Most of the students go out on Wednesdays
and Thursdays.
III. ACADEMICS
In the classroom
The style, the course material and the exams really depend on the courses you pick. My
financial management class was the one class that was the most similar to what a lecture
would be like at BI. Other then that, the classes are both practical and theoretical. I had
mostly lectures, but some tutorials as well.
The biggest difference from BI is that you have various group works ALL the time. They also
take attendance in some of the classes, and you will probably have a presentation or two.
I would say that you have to do more throughout the year, but less for your exam. The level
is similar to BI, but the workload throughout the year is heavier.
Course materials
Some courses had textbooks and lecture notes, others had only lecture notes.
Exams and Courses
CB3410 Financial management - COMMON
This class was based on lectures and a little bit from book. But the lecture notes were the
most important, and nothing beyond that was curriculum. I think the exam was 50%, the
midterm exam and group works were 50% in total. We were only three exchange students in
this class. This class was very relevant to my studies, and it was approved as “Finansiell
Styring” at home, which it was very similar to. It is based on a lot of thing which I have had
before, but I was also introduces to many new things in the finance world.
CTL2956 Mandarin for non-Chinese speakers - ELECTIVE
This class was based on the textbooks. We just went through the book in class. The grades
were based on our home- work (20%), in-class quizzes (40%), class participation (10%) and I
had an oral and a written exam (30%). This sounds a lot, but I highly recommend this class!
You learn a lot of characters, and basic sentences and words. If you enjoy learning
languages, this is a class for you!
CB4303 Stategy and Policy - COMMON
This class was based on the book. We “played” a business strategy game in this class for the
first months, which is very time consuming. This was not an elective, so I had to take this
course. I had a lot of trouble getting this class in the first place, as I did not have the
prerequisite, which was Management. This was new from 2013.
You have a lot to do in this course; so most people dropped it if they could. The grade is
based on which result you get in the simulation game (35%), the group report from the
game (5%), A individual research paper (20%), and the written exam (40%). You definitely
learn a lot about strategy, but the workload is pretty heavy.
MKT4677 Chinese Business Decision Making - ELECTIVE
This class was based on the lecture notes, but I bought the book as well, even though it was
unnecessary. The grade is based on performance in class-participation (30%), group report
and presentation (40%), Take-home exam (30%).
This class is very interesting, and it is fairly easy to get a good grade. If you are interested in
doing business in China, this is definitely a helpful course.
GE2237 Business and Hong Kong Society - COMMON
This course was originally based on around 10 very heavy articles and readings, but the class
completely changed in the middle of the semester. I am not sure why, but a lot of people
complained about the teacher and how the course was set up. The university handled it very
professional, and they said that this was the first time that something like this has happened.
We didn’t have any classes after this; we only worked on our group projects. So the grade
ended up being based on Team presentation and written report (50%), peer evaluations
(10%) and the exam (40%). I cannot give any recommendations on the course, as I don’t
know how it will be in the future. It ended up being very interesting, and I learned a lot from
the presentations.
Library and technology
The school has a very large, new and equipped library, where you can study, work in group
rooms etc. There are more people in the library from week one, compared to BI. But it gets
crazy in the examination period. You have to get there really early to get a place. The locals
tend to enjoy sleeping in the library, they generally like hanging out in the library. But there
are plenty of other places to study all over the school as well.
On a final note, how will you sum up the exchange experience?
This was definitely my best semester “at” BI. I cannot describe how much I recommend it.
Hong Kong is such a cool city, where you can literary find everything. The exchange
environment in Hong Kong (all the schools) is very good, and you will meet new people from
all over the world. This is definitely an experience of a lifetime, and I learned so many things
that I would never learn in Oslo. Not only about Hong Kong culture, the relationship
between Hong Kong and China, academically, but about so many different countries and
cultures, as you really meet people from all over the world.
I can for sure see myself returning to Hong Kong. I don’t think I met a single person that was
not satisfied with his/her exchange semester. Hong Kong is really the place to do your
exchange! The worst part about my exchange semester was leaving.