Name of the University: Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
Names of the students: Ida Fredrikke Martinsen and Sandra Wessman
Exchange semester:
Fall 2010
I GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL
1. Describe the school and its surroundings
HKUST is situated in the lovely clear water bay; it overlooks scenery of lush green
surroundings and outlaying islands. The university is a 30 min drive from central Hong
Kong.
2. Current faculty divisions and special areas.
The school has three main departments; science, technology and business. The business
schools EMBA program got rated the best in the world in 2010 according to financial
times.
3. Number of students - graduate and undergraduate – number of exchange students
There are approximately 6000 undergraduate students and 3000 graduate students.
Hence, these two categories are to a large extent separated both with respect to housing
and lecture environment.
4. Study structure
The study structure is quite different from BI. You will be evaluated on several different
criteria such as; mid-terms, assignments, participation, contribution, finals and
presentations.
II PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Information before you left
The first information package was received in May and a second package in July. There
was a constant flow of information and we did not encounter any problems or lack of
information. However, there are a lot of forms to fill in, so we recommend starting as soon
as you receive any forms.
All information sent to us, came through Wendy, whom is responsible for all exchange
students at HKUST. She is an amazing woman whom will help you answer whatever
enquiries you may have.
Visa Procedure and travel experiences
 HKUST will do the Visa procedure for you, all you need to do is to fill out the forms that
they will send to you and return it to the school.
 There will be many travel opportunities during the semester; however, if you wish to stay
longer at any destination (more than a few days) we would recommend to travel before or
after the semester, since almost all courses have mandatory attendance.
We booked our return ticket to Hong Kong via Kilroy, they have student discounts.
Academic Calendar
 Arrival date – introductory week
We arrived on the 25th of August and semester started on the 1st of September, it is nice
to have a week or so to get yourself settled, there are a lot of paperwork to be done
before you can enjoy Hong Kong.

The semester starts on the 1st of September and the final date for final exams is the 21st
of December. Mid- terms are usually in end of October; therefore it is practical to travel as
much as you can before the mid-terms start.

Upon arrival there will be several activities for exchange students; this is a great
opportunity to get to know all the other exchange students.
Reception
When we arrived the school was still fairly empty, there are however staff to help you, and
everyone is assigned a buddy whom you can ask to guide you through the administrative
work upon arrival.
Housing
 HKUST offers housing on campus, all rooms are sharing, the standard of housing
facilities differs slightly from hall to hall. When you apply, try to apply for hall 6 or 7 since
these are the newest ones and the most hygienic.
Costs
 Housing expenditure is around 5000 NOK for the entire semester, compulsory literature is
half price, compared to Norway. Living expenses in general are very hard to determine
since Hong Kong is so diversified that you can find all different kinds of prices on all
products. It is still cheap compared to Norway, hence one of the most expensive places in
Asia.
The International Office
Wendy Cheung is responsible for all incoming exchange students, she will send you all
relevant information and she will do it on time. Upon arrival, you can meet her in her office
and she will explain all the things that you need to do. There will also be held meetings where
course registration and administrative work will be explained.
Exchange promotion
 In September we attended the exchange fair, which is very similar to the one held at BI
for outgoing students.
Social Activities
 There are a vast amount of social activities to engage in at HKUST. Toy will be assigned
a local buddy whom will show you around in Hong Kong and attend orientation activities
with. The Uni-bar is an excellent place to meet and socialize with other exchange
students in the beginning. The exchange students on campus quickly bonded and we
arranged travels, parties and excursions together.
The exchange students at UST create a great environment to learn about different
cultures, you will not only create a network in Asia, but also across the globe.
There are also several student organizations available for membership, including all kinds
of sports and interests. There is a fair each semester where all organizations present
themselves and enroll new members. If you are interested in joining any of the sport
oriented activities, sign up early since there is a limited amount of spaces.
Culture and Language
 All professor are fluent in English, at least in the business department, there are however
occasions where administrative staff are struggling with English, hence there is always
someone fluent in English around.
 The university offers language courses in Cantonese and Mandarin, a great experience
but very demanding. Since local students are fairly kept to themselves a great way to get
to know them more is to choose to share room with them in the Hall, hence be aware that
their hours are very different and they hardly sleep at all.
Cultural and Social Effects from the Exchange Experience
 Our time in Hong Kong has been an experience of a life time. Hong Kong represents
endless opportunities to learn about different cultures from all over the world both through
the extraordinary city where east meets west and also as a great travelling platform for
further travels in Asia.
 We have gained valuable knowledge about the way of life in Hong Kong/China. There are
social norms here that can solely be understood through experiencing it. We believe that
this will be an advantage for our future career as China is getting greater importance in
world business.
III ACADEMIC INFORMATION
The Teaching situation
 All courses within the business faculty are taught entirely in English, some professors
have a heavy Asian accent, however it never caused any problems.
 The academic level is fairly similar to BI, however the workload is heavier. Almost every
week there is some form of exam or assignment and participation is graded in almost all
subjects. Teaching methods is more of a combination of practical and theoretical
compared to BI who focus more on theoretical means of teaching.
 The professors at HKUST encourage more interaction, and we experienced a more
personal relationship with the professors since classes are in general smaller than at BI.
Required Literature
 All required literature is in English, the academic level of the material is similar to that of
BI. Some courses focus more heavily on literature whereas others focus more on case
and lecture notes.
Exams
 Most courses have several forms of examinations, it is usually a mixture of participation,
cases, assignments, presentations ad mid- and final exam. There requirements to pass a
course does not necessarily have to be more difficult than at BI, hence the workload tend
to be larger, since there are many small examinations rather than one big.
Other
 There is a large library, four floors containing individual study spots as well as group
rooms and computer barns. The university uses a computer system called LMES which is
similar to BIs Its learning and provides you with all the academic information you may
need,
Description of Courses
Please list all the courses you are taking in the form below:
 Name and code of the course
 Prerequisites, if any
 Exam form
 Comments: Relevance, Difficult/easy, Practical/theoretical, Enrolment problems
BMGB 201
Global Perspectives
A course based on presentations and discussions of articles covering aspects of
globalization. A very interesting course that widens your perspective on several aspects on
the wide topic of globalization. Strongly recommended there is no equivalent at BI. Your
grade will be weighted on your participation in discussions, presentation of articles and a term
paper in the end.
ECON 233
Econometrics
A very demanding course with heavy emphasis on quantitative skills. You will need to have
prerequisites in math and statistics. Examination is divided into two mid-terms, homework
and a final examination. It is a very time demanding course; hence the hard work pays off.
The closest equivalent at BI should be empirical methods in finance.
MGMT 331
Entrepreneurship and small business studies
A good course if you are interested in starting your own business, gives you a good overview
of all the different stages in setting up a business. The course contains two midterms, elevator
pitch and the final examination is to hand in a ready-to-go business plan. You will also be
given a lot of guest lecturers as well as meet successful entrepreneurs
FINA 221
Portfolio Management
A very good finance course that introduces you to portfolio management and investment
analysis. The workload is heavy but rewarding. The grade is valued upon participation,
homework, mid-terms, peer-evaluations and a final exam.
MGMT 321
Corporate Strategy
Teaches approaches for implementation of corporate strategies: internal and external
analysis of the firm, and how to choose between the strategic options. It was a fun class with
mostly exchange students, and we learned a lot. Examination based on participation
(important here), cases with each a quiz and discussion, midterm, project with group
presentation and the final exam.
ACCT 220
Managerial Accounting
This class was quite difficult for me. I was the only exchange student in the class, and most of
the other students were accounting majors. The teacher went through the different topics very
quickly, and it was hard to keep up. But since the grade is not only valued upon the midterm
and the final exam, but also participation and group homework, it’s still possible to end up with
a good grade. The teachers are also very nice.
ENVR 526
Environmental Policy and Management
This is a course is actually for post graduate students, but I applied for it and they allowed me
to enroll in the class. It is about global warming issues and environmental policies; not
particularly hard, but I felt that the other students had an advantage in the final exam since
they had already had a lot of knowledge about the subjects. The course is graded upon the
midterm exam, a group project and presentation, participation and the final exam.
MGMT 335
International Management
About globalization and companies going international; how to overcome the possible
difficulties with the economic, social, cultural, legal and technological differences. Mostly
exchange students. It’s an easy and fun class, but the workload is quite heavy. We had two
group projects with presentations, case readings with quizzes and discussions, participation
important, midterm and the final exam.
Any other experiences:
Names and e-mails:
Sandra Wessman – wessmansandra@hotmail.com
Ida Martinsen – ida.fredrikke@gmail.com