Student Report
Name of the University: Hong Kong Univercity of Science and Technology
Exchange semester: Fall, 2015
I. PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Before leaving Norway
Before leaving, you will receive some emails and a physical information packet. The packet contains
various forms that will have to be completed prior to departure, such as visa application forms and a
guide to course registration. This is a fairly standard procedure and we recommend starting to look at
this as early as possible.
This is also a great start to begin to look at what courses you would want to take abroad.
Applying for a visa (if applicable)
The visa process is fairly straight forward, but will take time so make sure to apply it in in time to avoid
any difficulties. You will receive a form that needs to be filled out in the information packet, in
addition to a checklist for other forms that needs to be submitted. The visa application form is very
straight forward, just fill out details such as your name and passport number, and you will be done in
no time. Other forms you may need are evidence of financial capability. This can be obtained from
both Lånekassen and your bank, simply send your bank an email and ask.
Travel
We all travelled different routes to Hong Kong. Oslo-Dubai-Hong Kong was the cheapest route with
Emirates when we checked, the flight is roughly 16 hours with a transfer in Dubai. The fastest route is
with SAS via Stockholm, 14 hours but this may vary from year to year.
Before booking tickets to Hong Kong, consider whether you want to travel before or after the
semester. Booking roundtrip tickets might save you some money, but you loose out on a fantastic
opportunity to see what Asia has to offer. Some of us travelled before the semester started and some
travelled after the semester ended. This is highly recommended!
Housing
Housing is provided by HKUST, the halls are of varying quality. The only halls that has not been
renovated, is hall IV and V, all the other halls are renovated or new, and meet descent standards.
There are 9 halls on campus, every one with its pro’s and con’s. Halls 7-9 are the newest ones while
the rest are a bit older with lower standards. Depending on your hall you can end up sharing
bathrooms with a whole floor or just the room nextdoor.
This semester was the first one the university did not accommodate any exchange students’
preferences. This means you are not given a wish list and are assigned to halls randomly.
You will also need to fill a form where you could choose if you want to live with a local, a friend, or an
exchange student. We recommend living with a friend or an exchange student, however, living with a
local can be a good way to get to know more local students. Some of us lived with exchange students
and some lived with locals. Your roommate will have a large impact on your stay at campus so
remember that before you choose. No matter who you end up living with, it is important that you set
some ground rules that you both feel comfortable with, such as silent hours, cleaning, bringing in
friends etc. It is better to do this sooner than later.
Costs
Life on campus is fairly cheap, provided you do not leave campus, once you enter the city, things get a
lot more expensive. We all mostly bought all food on campus trough either canteens, starbucks, kebab
shop and Parknshop (supermarket). There is also a very good grocery store called “Taste” at Hang
Hao if you are looking for high quality food, but this comes with a price. Also worth noting there is a
bar/restaurant called “Unibar” at campus. They have some good meals for dinner but the price is
around 70HKD compared to around 20-40 on the canteens. One alternative to eat at
canteens/restaurants is to buy a induction plate and a pan, and prepare your own meals.
Rent
9-10.000 NOK (whole semester)
Books
2.000 NOK (whole semester)
Food
3.000-6.000 NOK (month)
Transport
200 NOK (month)
Other
1.000 NOK (month)
Culture and language
Do not expect employees on campus such as your hall receptionists to speak English, mostly you will
have to ask for translation by a random local student. This will be frustrating at first, but you will get
used to it. The same goes for a lot of employees in cafeterias and restaurants, the language barrier is
sometimes significant.
The culture in Hong Kong and Asia is extremely different than the Western-culture, so you will
experience something entirely different, but that is a part of going on exchange and a good reason to
choose Hong Kong as a destination.
If you are looking to travel there will be created various exchange students groups on Facebook,
where students announce trips to local beaches, hikes or even going to another country. Depending
on the workload and difficulty of the courses chosen, there is possible to experience a lot during the
semester, especially if you manage to not have lectures on Fridays. Most courses do take attendance,
expect participation and give homework, so be aware of that.
Hong Kong have a lot of beautiful nature, beaches, hikes and other places to go, so try to experience
all of this before going to another country.
II. ABOUT THE SCHOOL
Compared to BI Oslo, the school is enormous. In addition to a very large academic building, the
campus is also home to all the housing facilities for students and staff. On campus you will find tennis
courts, pingpong tables, a gym, swimming pools and a football field.
The business building is one of the newest buildings and have high standards compared to the rest.
There is a restaurant, coffee shop and a kebab fastfood chain located in the building. This is a great
place to study because it is less crowded, especially during midterms and finals. This is also where we
had most of our lectures.
For independent studies and preparation for exams and other class assignments the university
provides a 24-hour (on most days) learning common (LC) with both quiet zones and group study
rooms. This is one of the most crowded areas but closes to most of the canteens. Some of the newer
halls also have their own gyms and study rooms in the building.
Course registration
The course preference list is handed over in line with the instructions given by the university before the
exchange semester. Depending on the popularity of the courses you may or may not get your
preference. The first days can be a bit frustrating in the add/drop period but most of us got all the
courses we wanted. Just speak to the professors or Wendy if you are facing difficulties. They are more
than happy to help.
Academic calendar
Arrival date:
27.08.2015
First day of the semester:
01.09.2015
Last day of classes:
30.11.2015
Examination period:
08.12.2015-19.12.2015
Any special events/holidays:
Mid-autumn festival: September 27th
National day:
October 1st
Arrival
Do not expect an introduction week like “Fadderullan”. The introduction week is however full of other
activities. You can join in on a few tours of the city during the first days of the semester, then there is
an event where you meet your “Hong Kong Buddies”, they will show you around in the city after you
get to know them.
On arrival at the airport, you have several choices. Some of you might have buddies that will pick you
up with bus, and help you back. An alternative is to take a cab directly to HKUST at the cost of
≈300HKD. As earlier mentioned, the English skills are not always good; to be on the safe side, tell the
driver to take you to “Få ge daj ho” (the school’s name in Cantoneese).
The International Office
You will receive updates from BI’s international office from time to time, check your email reguralry.
Promoting BI and Norway
There is an exchange fair at HKUST, and we represented BI with a stand. We received some T-Shirts
from the international office, and printed some materials to decorate our stand. Do not expect local
students to approach you, be proactive and make them come to your stand.
Social activities
During the first weeks you will meet a lot of fellow exchange students from all around the world. Use
this opportunity to get to know as many as possible. After a few weeks people usually find their
“gangs” so knowing as many people as possible makes it easier to always join a trip, a party or other
activities.
It is far easier to get to know other exchange students, local students seem to keep more to
themselves. Locals can be shy and afraid of exchange students. However you will most likely work
with them on varius group projects to use this opportunity to make friends with them. There are a lot of
student unions and sports teams that can facilitate this and exchange students are mostly free and
wanted to join these.
III. ACADEMICS
In the classroom
The teaching style resembles a Norwegian High School with smaller classes and a more personal
relationship to the lecturer than what you are used to at BI.The workload is highly dependent on the
course you choose. In most FINA and ECON courses you can expect higher workload than MGMT
courses, but this is definitely manageable. Compared to BI, the workload is more or less basically the
same, but you will have to participate in group projects and such which will consume a lot of time.
Since your final exam counts from 30-40 % in some courses you have to work consistently troughout
the semester to achieve a good grade.
Also worth noting that achieving top grades is very difficult. You are graded on a curve which makes
this harder. In some courses the mean can be as high as 92-95 %.
Course materials
Usually you will not need the books, the powerpoint slides are usually what the exams are based on.
Exams
The exams are, as mentioned above, mainly based on the powerpoints from lectures
How the the courses is evaluated:
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
Final exam, usually written
Mid-term exam, usually written
In-class quizzes throughout semester, only in some courses
Small assignments and/or papers, in most courses
Presentations, only in some courses
Group work, in most courses
Class attendance, only in some courses
Class participation/debates, only in some courses
Activities outside of the classroom, only in some courses
The total grading will depend on the weighting of the various activities, usually the mid-term will make
up roughly 25-30 percent, and the final 35-40 percent, the rest will be based on participation and
hand-ins etc.
The midterm and final exams are therefor very different from what we are used to at BI. On some
exams you will have very limited time and you may end up not being able to finish all the questions.
Also worth noting that some questions on the exam can be really weird. Our experience is that in
some courses preparation will take you to a certain level, after that you have to rely on your intuition
and guess.
Library and technology
The library is huge and goes over 5 floors, but is outdated compared to BI Oslo, there are too few
seats as well. Prepare to get up early if you want a good seat. You can however expect an amazing
view from the library so this is worth mentioning. In the business building all equipment is new and is
more similar to BI.
Description of courses
Course code &
name
Master/
Bachelor
Exam form
Prerequisites
Approved
as
FINA 3014,
Investment analysis
and portfolio
managament
Bachelor
2- hour written
midterm,
3-hour written final
exam,
group assignments
Finance and
Accounting 1+2
Mandatory,
Approved as
Finance
ECON 3014,
managerial
microeconomics
Bachelor
4-hour written
Microeconomics
Elective
ECON 3334,
introduction to
econometrics
Bachelor
4-hour written
Statistics
Elective
MGMT 4210,
Corporate Strategy
Bachelor
2-hour multiple choice
midterm,
3-hour multiple choice
final exam,
group presentaion,
group assignment
Organizational
Behaviour
Mandatory,
Approved as
Strategy
MGMT 3140,
Negotiation
Bachlor
Midterm exam
multiple choice, Final
exam multiple choice
None
Elective
GBUS 3030, Global
Business Case
Studies
Bachelor
7 Case Presentations,
Non-presenting team
assignments,
Creating a industry
website,
No final exam
For GBUS students or
students with consent
from the instructor.
Elective
MGMT 3130,
Judgement and
Decision Making in
Organizations
Bachelor
Midterm exam
multiple choice,
Final exam multiple
choice,
Individual assignment,
Group presentation
MGMT 4250,
Management
Consulting
Bachelor
Weekly group
presentations, Final
presentation, Peer
evaluation,
participation and
attendance
None (but the
professor requires
high GPA, CV and
motivational letter)
Mandatory,
Approved as
Strategy
ISOM3710,
Management
Science
Bachelor
Two quizzes, Final
exam (all in excel),
participation and
attendance
None
Elective
Elective
Bachelor
In-class exercises, 2
homworks, midterm
and final exam
Macroeconomics
Elective
Bachelor
2 reports, simulation
during the whole
semester and final
exam
None
Mandetory,
Approved as
Strategy
ECON 3024 Managerial
Macroeconomics
ISOM 3100 Business Simulation
and Strategic
Decisions
FINA3014, Investment analysis and portfolio management (4 Credits)
Fairly straight forward for students in BSc Finance at BI, most topics have already been covered but
are applied in a different, more practical way. You will learn about portifolio theory, options and futures
arbitrage, and other finance related topics such as fixed income and index models. Every few weeks
you have”tutorials” besides attending the weekly classes. This is a bit boring and you will be placed in
groups solving different problems.
ECON3014, Managerial Microeconomics (4 Credits)
Fairly straight forward, most topics have already been covered in microeconomics at BI, but it is
harder, slightly higher workload than most courses.
ECON3334, Introduction to Econometrics (4 Credits)
A bit tricky, has a higher workload than most courses, and the competition for good grades is fierce.
MGMT4210, Corporate Strategy (3 Credits)
Low workload, with an easy exam and midterm. The exam and midterm consisted of 50 multiple
choice questions with a case and short essay questions. The exam will be soley based on the material
covered in class. Also prepare to spend some time with group projects if choosing this course.
MGMT 3140, Negotiation (4 Credits)
This is a must have course! The professor Stephen Nason is world class and very funny. You will
negotiate in half of the semester and look at results and learn the theory in the rest. The course also
exists of lots of exchange students, making it more fun and easier in terms on the curve grading. Even
tough the course theory is farly simple the exams can be tricky and confuse you. There is a huge
waiting list so you should try to sign up as early as you can in order to get this course.
MGMT 3130, Judgement and Decision Making in Organizations (4 Credits)
This course outlines a systematic framework for decision-making, describes various biases that
influence judgment and choice, and provides important insights that can help you make better
managerial decisions.
GBUS 3030, Global Business Case Studies (4 Credits)
This is is an advanced case studies course where you apply a structured approach in business
problem solving, as used in top management consulting companies. Your teacher is a former
McKinsey employee and demands high standards. You will solve 7 cases covering different industries.
You will be assignet to a team of very smart local students that will ease the workload a bit. We ended
the course with a case competiton between all the teams, and presented our solution to the Dean of
the UG Business school, Stephen Nason and a McKinsey employee.The workload is very high so if
your planning on traveling in the semester it will impact your team.
Also note that this course is not offered for exchange students. I got this course by sending a
motivation letter and grades to the professor. I also met him and gave a good impression to why I
wanted this course.
MGMT 4250, Management Consulting (3 Credits)
In this course you will learn how managment consulting works in real life, and it will give you a clearer
picture of how it is to work as a consultant. The class was divided into groups – we could choose the
groups ourselves – and was assigned a project for a real local client, mostly start-ups. Each team then
had to work on their project throughout the semester, where the goal was to deliver a final
presentation and report to the client, just like they do in the big consultancy firms. There were weekly
lectures where we were taught the different aspects of conculting and how companies work in different
faces of a project. Every week we were to hold presentations in front of the class. These were mostly
presentations of the weekly progress of the project, and of different parts of it, e.g. market analysis,
company analysis, hypothesis.
The course requires a lot of work on a weekly basis, but it is also very rewarding. It was very interisting
to work for a local client, and to work as a consultant. All students are top performing students, and
you can expect that the professor will challenge you to deliver good results.
ISOM 3710, Management Science (4 Credits)
This is a course where you only will work in Excel. The course aims to teachstudents to use Excel as a
tool for solving and optimizing different business problems. You will be taught basic Excel skills, so
prerequisits are not required (but recommended). The course takes you thorugh different aspects of
business problems, from cost minimizing, profit maximizing, logistics optimizing and production
planning. You will use Excels built-in function ‘Solver’ a lot, as well as Datatable and SolverTable to
performe sensitivity analysis. The course is rewarding in the way that it is easy to apply the knowlage
in daily life, and in future jobs.
ECON 3024 - Managerial Macroeconomics (4 Credits)
Interesting, but demanding course. More theoretically than the demanding macroeconomics course
from BI. Moderate workload, but hard to intuitively understand the content which means that you still
need to work hard.
ISOM 3100 - Business Simulation and Strategic Decisions (3 Credits)
Another alternative to the mandatory strategy course we had to take. Moderately workload and you
are being forced to work a little every week. The simulation is a very exciting and educative way of
learning by putting the theory into practice. Good professor who knows what he is talking about, highly
recommended course.
Sum up the exchange experience
Go on exchange! Its awesome and you wont regret it.