University of Macau Semester Fall 2012
Student Report
Name of the University: University of Macau
Exchange semester: Fall 2012
NB: The students of fall 2013 will be welcomed by an entirely new campus. The campus will
be built on another location, thus our information about the campus and dormitory is not
representable for what new exchange students will experience. The new university is
considered as a prestigious project by the Macanese Government and the standard of the new
campus will be a great improvement of the old one.
A video of the new campus can be seen here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFzDxP4Vqkk
Facts about Macau
Macau was colonized by Portugal in 1887 after being an important trading port throughout the
16th century. Macau was handed over to China in 1999.
Macau is under the policy of “one country, two systems". Macau maintains its own legal
system, police force, monetary system, customs policy, and immigration policy. The Central
People's Government in China is responsible for the territory's defense and foreign affairs.
Macau (and Hong Kong) is referred as SAR – Special Administrative Region.
The main income in Macau is generated from tourism and casinos. Macau has the highest
revenues in gambling in the world. In 2010 only one casino (named Sands) had higher
revenue than all the casinos in Las Vegas.
One can use both Pataca (MOP) and Hong Kong Dollars (HKD) in Macau.
Approx 1 MOP = 0,7 NOK, and 1 HKD = 0,75 NOK.
PRACTICAL INFORMATION
We were group of four students, in which two of us came from BI Nydalen, and the latter
came from BI Bergen. As soon as we enrolled and received the letter of confirmation, we got
in touch and started to get to know each other.
Moreover, we were requested to send a medical examination, including x-ray the lungs and
our vaccine cards. Details are provided in an email, so the doctors know exactly what to do.
Read the description carefully and do not forget to send in the reports, as this will stall the
final step of your inauguration.
As soon as the letter of confirmation was received we booked our tickets, most conveniently
is to book a flight to Hong Kong, and travel by ferry to Macau. The ferry ride is only an hour
long and is a safe, cheap and fast way to travel. We decided to book our ticket one week
before the semester started, due to the urge of exploring HK as a tourist and browsing the
rental market in Macau before the school started.
University of Macau Semester Fall 2012
Housing
The dormitory was cheap and very close to the school. Facilities such as gym, tennis courts
and restaurants were located within 500 meters. If the main focus of the exchange trip is to
travel, experience Asia and mingle 24/7 with other exchange students we recommend staying
at the dormitory as the alternative which is to rent an apartment will absorb a lot of money
from the student loan.
However, we decided to rent an apartment all four together. Including the agent fee, the
monthly rent was 16.800 kroners. This was by no means a cheap apartment, but the standard
was very high. The building was entirely new with a gym, barbecue area, library and
swimming pool. The building, which went under the name of “Buckingham” was a ten minute
walk to the campus.
There are many housing agents in Macau. They are very reluctant to rent out apartments for
only 4 months, mind you. An advice is to be ambiguous and say that you are considering
staying there for 12 months, but still want an open contract.
Costs
Rent
Books
Food
Transport
Other
NOK
NOK
NOK
NOK
NOK
4200
1500
3000
100
2000
It is very easy to live cheaply in Macau if you want to. It can also be a very expensive place if
you get too used to the “good life”. A meal of roasted duck and rice, which we ate daily, was
as cheap as 25 kroner. However, if you go to non-Chinese places, you can expect prices fairly
close to a Norwegian restaurant. Furthermore, grocery stores in Macau are plentiful and are
filled with lots of food that is both cheap and easy to cook.
Travelling by bus is a non-existing cost when compared to Norway. With a bus card, you are
charged apx. 1.5 kroners when you enter the bus for shorter distances. A taxi-meter starts at
11 kroners. Taxi driver do not speak any English, so get a map, learn Cantonese or get
addresses written.
Macau is an excellent place to be when it comes to explore Asia, as the airport flies to various
countries, and the busses/train opens up an easy way of exploring China. With a wellmanaged budget, exchange students can travel a lot!
Culture and language
The school itself, along with the students were surprisingly comfortable with talking English.
Students were happy to help you if you needed help. We never experienced any sort of
problem directly linked to cultural or language related to University of Macau.
University of Macau Semester Fall 2012
Cultural and social effects from the exchange experience
As Macau is the very definition of decadence and the general mind set might be as far away
from the “law of Jante” we ever experienced, it is impossible to say that the exchange
experience of Macau didn’t have a genuine, warm impact on us. The overall culture that
shines Macau is not reflected in the students at the university; as they are humble and very
modest.
Having studied in Macau and travelled around in mainland gives a vast understanding of the
history and the people of the power house called China. We all learned Chinese through a
language course, and met many great people, not only from China, but from all over the
world.
ABOUT THE SCHOOL
As the University will relocate to another area, with entirely new facilities and departments,
we will recommend students to check out this link for more information:
http://www.umac.mo/new_campus_project/
As for the study structure, one must attend 80% of the lectures to give exams. Not all teachers
are very strict about that. Most classes are 3-4 hours a week. Tests, assignments and
presentations during the semester are also very common and most of it is group-work in
groups of 5-6 people. The exam period is around two weeks at the end of the semester. Don’t
be surprised if you have an exam during the weekend or two exams at the same day. If you do
not attend all classes, lectures will deduct as much as 10% from your grade.
Course registration
Do not spend a lot of time selecting courses before departure, as the chances for getting all of
them is low. Many of the pre-selected and approved courses were either full or at the last
semester. At arrival we were surprised that there was a lottery for the course enrolment as
well. If there is a course that you really want, just write a serious mail to the international
office and stand your ground; they’ll give in.
They do have an add/drop-system for one week, and BI was fast with approving courses once
they were enrolled.
Academical Calender
Arrival date:
First day of the semester:
Last day of classes:
August 18-20th
August 28th
Late November, early December (all depending on
which classes you have)
Examination period:
Any special events/holidays:
Other:
6th-18th December
Some days off throughtout the semester
University of Macau Semester Fall 2012
Arrival
At arrival we were greeted with friendly employees who registered our arrivals and in
a flash worked out dorms and student IDs.
The introduction week was full of activities and sightseeing around Macau, and every
night we had dinner at different types of restaurants. All in all it was a great week
where everyone got the chance to get to know each other. The orientation week was of
course optional, but we would recommend joining as much as possible.
The International Office
The international office was an active part of our stay, as the “care takers” didn’t
hesitate to join social gathering. They became a natural and comfortable part of the
exchange period. If you needed help getting Visa or needed someone to take you to
the hospital, the care takers were on a 24/7 duty.
Promoting BI and Norway
One of the many activities at the university consisted of a cooking contest and an international
competition; both made for the exchange students to promote our countries. We made salmon
sandwiches which the locals loved, and we won the international competition by dancing folk
dance. In general, Norway was indeed promoted, and medals were received! BI should be
proud of our efforts.
Social activities
They buddies, all locals or Chinese were ready to meet us. The relationship with the
native students and the exchange students was very good. They are very interested to
get to know you, and don’t be surprised if you are asked out for a dinner after two
minutes of communication.
From the very beginning all the international students got to know each other and we
all became very close and had a lot of fun together. There were many tears during the
farewell party, and a reunion party is on the verge of a realization.
Like BI, Macau offers a great number of activities for the students. One of us joined
the debate team, and others joined the football team and won the universities
championship. It is highly recommended to get involved in activities, as they are
social indeed and a great way of trying out something new!
III. ACADEMICS
In the classroom, exams and workload
We want to be as clear as possible when it comes to the quality of the lectures at Macau. If
you are pursuing an exchange trip in which the academics are the highest of priorities, study
somewhere else. Consider yourself lucky if you get an enthusiastic teacher, with original
University of Macau Semester Fall 2012
teaching methods. The students tend to sleep during classes and lack any enthusiasm to take
an active part in lectures. Discussions and dialogue does not exist. Due to this, it is easy to
make a positive impact on the teachers, and it is general easy to get good grades.
The teaching methods are heavily focused on their Powerpoints. Usually, definitions and
assignments are directly cut/copy from the books. This makes it very easy to follow the
courses if you are using the books actively.
Our recommendation is to choose courses you know you are genuinely interested in, or those
you know is easy for you. Some took really hard courses, due to ambitions and high hopes of
the school. It is not recommended! Set up a schedule that fits with your own ambition of
travelling and to current knowledge from BI that you may want to improve.
If there are many exchange students in class the lectures tend to be more fun and feasible.
The workload is higher than BI, but the work do not demand too much of you. We were
handed out cases and assignments, as well as mid-terms. The workload keeps you at your toes
when it comes to completely forget that you actually are at Macau to study, and not on a
holiday. It also helps you to perform better on the exams, which are usually in the form of an
easy multiple choice-exam.
Library and technology
The library was well equipped enough to provide a computer and a spot for every student that
needed one. Teachers distributed information through three different channels, much like the
BI IT-system.
Description of courses
HOSP506 STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT
This course provides students with the challenge of integrating different functional skills and
applies them to actual business cases. Consequently, strategic management is a capstone
course, where students will deepen their understanding of how competitive advantages,
business strategy, corporate strategy, and international strategy impact the success or failure
of companies.
Pre-requisite: None
FINC210 FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT
This course introduces the basic principles of financial management. It provides students with
a scientific framework for evaluating assets and investment opportunities. The course is
divided into three main parts. The first part discusses about the institutional settings and the
relationship among different players in the financial market. The second part focuses on the
capital budgeting decision. Here, different types of investment evaluation techniques will be
discussed and compared. As for the third part, the key variable of capital budgeting – the cost
of capital will be given.
Pre-requisite: ACCT100 Principles of Financial Accounting
CHIN113 - Chinese for Non-Native Speakers
I:
University of Macau Semester Fall 2012
In this course, we learn Mandarin Chinese at a beginning level. It aims at students who have
had no prior knowledge of the Chinese language. In the class, students work on massive oral
exercises in order to build up and improve their Chinese pronunciation skills. The course
helps students better understand Chinese by introducing them to fundamentals of Chinese
syntax and morphology. The course also introduces various aspects of Chinese culture in
order to reduce the cultural obstacles to Chinese language learning.
GAHM200 INTRODUCTION TO GAMING MANAGEMENT
This course is aiming to provide students with an overview of the composition and attributes
of the gaming industry. Both demand-side and supply-side issues are to be tackled. In
addition, public policy and managerial issues associated with the practice of the gaming
industry are discussed with reference to the general and unique features of various societies.
To enhance students understanding of the characteristics of gambling products, common
forms of games offered by the casino and non-casino sectors are introduced respectively.
Lastly, the evolving and accelerating role of technology in the gaming industry, hence related
managerial issues are reviewed. After completing this course, students are expected to possess
the basic knowledge to pursue their junior and senior studies in other gaming-related subjects.
Pre-requisite: MGMT110 Principles of Business Management
BECO306 - Money and Banking:
This course introduces to students the nature and functions of money and the principal
institutions involved in the money or financial side of our macro economy. After this course,
students would be able to gain skill and practice in the analysis of economic situations,
events, and policies, particularly those directly involve in money, banking and financial
market.
Pre-requisite: BECO101 Principles of Macroeconomics
Project and investment analysis
This course studies basic issues in the evaluation of business and public projects and
decisions. Topics include: evaluation of business projects and decisions-capital budgeting,
cash flow, risk, strategic options, and valuation by ratio; cost and benefit analysis of public
projects and decisions–investment/decision criteria, identification and measurement of costs
and benefits, discount rate, risk, cost effectiveness analysis, and income distribution.
Pre-requisite: BECO308 Intermediate Microeconomics AND FINC210 Financial
Management
MKTG426 EVENTS MARKETING:
Events marketing covers the field of conferences and meeting management and marketing.
The different types of meetings and conferences and the types of organizations that stage such
events are examined. Topics include: the role of the planner; setting objectives; site selection
negotiations; programme design; budgeting; contracts; speaker selection; registration; on-site
logistics; transportation; and security and legal issues. The use of convention centers and
multi-hotels in relationship to housing and participant registration systems, vendor contracts,
and union staff is also explored. This course was a fun course as it is a very practical course
where you have to stage an actual event in the end of the semester.
Pre-requisite: MKTG220 Principles of Marketing
MKTG422 RETAIL STRATEGY
This course discusses the various activities and decisions that retailers face everyday. It
introduces and integrates business, consumer and social concepts to provide an effective
University of Macau Semester Fall 2012
framework for the study of retailing. After taking this course, students should be equipped
with the knowledge of selecting a store location, managing the retail operation, developing a
merchandise plan as well as communicating with customers.
GAHM308 Hotel and Resort Management
This course provides students with the essential knowledge of managing hotels and resort
from both macro and micro perspectives. Students will learn the basic terminologies used in
the industry and study and analyze the major issues in the management of hotels and resorts
with an emphasis on casino hotel and gaming resort operations. Examples from Macao would
also be used to enhance students' understanding of the issues. The knowledge that gained
should benefit students in their future careers as destination tourism administrators and hotel
and resort managers. This course is an introduction course, it was an easy course and we got
to visit different types of hotels and resorts throughout the semester.
GBMT300 Global Business Environment
This course introduces students to the dimensions and complexity of global business
environment. Students will learn what modern business corporations need to adapt in the
global business environment and develop individual sensitivity and competence in the global
work context.