Study Abroad Report

Your insight is valuable for Carlson students just considering or preparing for an exchange. Please help these students out by emailing a report to Respond to as many of the following topics as you can, and be sure to include: Your Name, Program attended, Year/Term attended, current email.

Paul Helgeson

HKUST MBA Exchange

Spring 2006

Academic experiences at the partner school

  1. General academic structure:HKUST MBA program has two terms each semester and the classes meet once a week for three and half hours.
  2. Classes taken/ how they compare to courses here: Courses much less vigorous, but the Chinese/International perspective is extremely valuable.
  3. Advising: frustratingly inadequate, you’re pretty much on your own. The career center is a joke.
  4. Surprises/comparison with academic environment in the U.S: HKUSTexchange is not as academically enriching as Carlson, possibly because may of the students speak English as a second language. However, the perspective gained by studying emerging China makes the courses very interesting and valuable. The international experience was unique and invaluable, overall I’m very satisfied.

Logistics at the partner school:

  1. Orientation/Arrival: You’re on your own to get from the airport to school which is pretty easy and if you’re totally incompetent you can take a cab (just make sure to have a sheet of paper with the address in Chinese.) Once I got to schoolI had to go to three different offices before I got let into my room and took another 3 days for me to get around to getting my key. I tribute the run around to the rule based culture, rather than anything at the school.

The orientation program provided a good introduction and they took us on a nice tour of the city. Over all the administration and student body was incredibility friendly and welcoming.

  1. Housing: I lived in University Apartments, with all the other MBA exchange students. The apartment was basic and small, withprivate bedrooms. There is a tile floor and no heat which made it a bit chilly in the winter, but nothing compared to a MN winter, however I would recommend bringing slippers. Further the apartments have furniture but nothing in the kitchen (plates, flatware, cookware ect) and no bedding. Although, there is a Jusco (department store like target) near by that sells every thing.
  1. Meals: The curry man rocks. For about $5 you can get a really good plate of curry from the on campus café. There is also a food court (canteen) with a McDonalds and about 10 other options; the food is cheap and can be good in a pinch.

Hong Kong is legendary for food and there are endless options in the city. The food is incredible, you can get whatever you want, form 5 star posh trendy places to hole in the wall India restaurants. The dim sum lunches are also wonderful; just make sure to practice your chopsticks and bring your own napkins.

  1. Transportation: Simply Awesome. The MRT is what mass transit should be: cheap, efficient, clean and simple. However, the Campus is an hour from the city so trips into town are a bit time consuming. Your can negotiate the rates on cabs and get the develop a relationship with a drive. My taxi driver, Dennis, would only charge 120 HKD for a ride back home, compared to about 200 HKD for a normal fare. The airport is a bit more than an hour away and costs about $4 to get to by bus or 300 HKD by cab.
  1. Student activity groups:There are many Societies (student groups on campus) they host very elaborate parties and are welcoming to exchange students, although I never joined one.
Host Country Culture
  1. What were some surprises or insights you had into the culture of your host country/school? Three hour lunches, they are a great way to get to know people and indulge in the cuisine.
  2. What are your recommendations for ways that other exchange students can learn about and become immersed in the culture? Hang out with more than just the other exchange students.
  3. Did you have the chance to learn a second language? Why or why not? No, didn’t try.I traveled to 5 different countries in Asia so I didn’t have time to pick up the language.

Social life:

  1. How would you rate your integration with other students from the host university? Very good, if you take initiative. The Chinese students were very friendly but difficult to make friends with, so I found myself hanging out with westerns a lot.
  2. How would you rate your integration with other international students? Very good, everyone is from a different country and you get a feel for the different cultures. The Indians were very friendly.
  3. What were some of the best ways you found to make friends and meet people at the host university? LKF, Wan Chai, TST are all different bar districts, however not many local Hong Kongers go out to bars, they tend to enjoy dinning more. There were a few on campus parties which were great for meeting people. Football (soccer) leagues are also another way of getting to know people. Finally, the Shanghai trip was a great way to really get to know people.
  4. What kinds of after-hours and weekend activities would you recommend for other students? Travel. Hong Kong is a great base for traveling around Asia. Tour packages (air and hotel) run about $200 to $300 for a long weekend.
  5. If you traveled with your family, how was their integration into the host community? Did you find any particularly helpful resources for them? Hong Kong is expat heaven, it’s just a bit spendy.

Other:

  1. Budgeting: how much would you recommend students take with them? How much would you say would be the monthly living expenses in the city you lived in including rent/food/misc. expenses? Hong Kong can be cheap or incredibility expensive depending on your lifestyle. We had a cleaning lady, went out on the town and traveled a lot, so I spent more than necessary. Rent on campus is cheap, about $300 a month. Food can cheap or fancy depending on where you go and if you cook for yourself. Overall, I would recommend at least $1000 a month that will give you enough to travel and enjoy the city.
  2. Do you have suggestions on the types of students who would be well suited to this program? Anybody who has any interest in Asia or China.
  3. Did you need a visa to enter the country? If so, how did you apply for one and how long did it take to receive? I got a visa through HKUST before I left. You do need another visa for China and it would be worth getting a multiple entry before you leave the United States, if possible.
  4. What recommendations would you give to other CSOM students going on this program (to bring, to wear, etc.)? Bring as little as possible. Shopping in awesome here and you’ll buy more than you can handle.
  5. General recommendations for study abroad: Do it. We live in an age of globalization and Asia is where 2/3 of the action is.

If you would be willing to be contacted by prospective students to this program, please let us know how we can reach you! Your preferred e-mail (for student contacts), and address/phone (for our office) would be much appreciated!

Please return your report (preferably as an e-mail attachment) to:

Joe Mosher, International Programs

Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota

321 19th Avenue South, Ste. 4-104

Minneapolis, MN 55455