CU iBUS (November 2012), CUHK Business School

CU iBUS

Published by the Undergraduate Office, CUHK Business School

November 2012

To experience, to learn

- Explore Business School’s experiential learning activities Our Business School puts the same weight on developing students’ soft skills which are essential to successfully working in the business world. That’s why every year UGO organizes a string of enrichment programs for our undergraduate students.

Faculty Spotlight Prof. Dennis Fan Cathay Pacific - First Class? World Class!

Also in This Issue 06 A fruitful and enlightening experience 08 Our students aim big - The birth of Borizon 10 Lightbox - Time to say goodbye 15 Column - Matt Ng 16 Newsroom Click to download the full issue

From the Editor Business School

UNIVERSITY

Message from the editor

Dec 1 Master’s Degree Graduation Ceremony

Dec 2 CUHK Alumni Homecoming Day

Life in business school is not just about classes, textbooks and homework. We encourage our students to actively engage in various co-curricular activities, for example, workshops, seminars and case competitions. This combination is what we call Experiential Learning. Read our Cover Story to explore what CUHK Business School offers to you.

Dec

2

CUHK Business School Open House at Homecoming Day

Dec

6

The 72nd Congregation for the Conferment of Degrees (honorary and doctoral degrees)

Dec 14 Happy Hour Networking Event, hosted by The BBA Alumni Association

Dec 24 Christmas Eve Candlelight Vigil: Holy Night. Silent Night

Jan 10 IBM Global Business Services Business Consulting Course Orientation Gathering

Jan 14 Commencement of the Second term

PAGE 01 Professors form close relationships with students in CUHK. In this issue’s Faculty Spotlight, you will get a “behind the scene story” about me. I enjoy talking with young people, and that’s why I make it a point to write a brief message to all of our business students every Monday morning. In return, our students enjoy talking with me as well. Two months ago, a group of five passionate students showed me their creation - Borizon, a student-run business magazine. I was moved by their determination and entrepreneurial spirit. Now, let me share their story with you in the Spotlight section of this month’s CU iBus.

PAGE 08

Prof. Dennis Fan Editor-in-chief, CU iBUS

cu iBUS November 2012 EDITORIAL

CONTRIBUTORS

Contact us

Editor-in-chief Prof. Dennis Fan

Ms. Noren Chan Mr. CW Chau Ms. Diana Law Ms. Claire Li Ms. Clare Ng

Address Room 616, Cheng Yu Tung Building, 12 Chak Cheung Street, Shatin, N.T.

Members Dr. Susanna Kwok Ms. Carol Ho Mr. Joseph Tong Mr. Nan Yi

Telephone 3943 7746 Email bba@cuhk.edu.hk

Cover Story 01

To experience, to learn Explore our Business School’s experiential learning activities

Experiential Learning Unit of UGO >>

Have you seen one or two (or more) of your

classmates pictured in a photo in an issue of CU iBUS? Or have you seen a few of your friends racing to get to a workshop after a class? This might be because they are participating in one of the experiential learning activities organized by the Undergraduate Office (UGO) of CUHK Business School.

There is no doubt that the Business School helps students strive for academic excellence through a quality business education so that they will then be well versed in different professions after graduation.

The School also puts the same weight on developing students’ soft skills which are essential to successfully working in the business world. That’s why every year UGO organizes a string of enrichment programs for our undergraduate students. In this issue, Erica Chu and Joseph Tong, Project Coordinators will walk you through the experiential learning initiatives offered by UGO.

8

Workshops in 2012/13 and more to come

403

Ms. Erica Chu

Attendance records in the past eight workshops

17

Outside program / competition opportunities offered and more on the horizon

Mr. Joseph Tong

Experiential Learning Workshop Series

Student Editorial Team

A series of workshops have been held since the start of the new academic year. These workshops can be categorized into two series, career planning and personal growth. For career planning workshops, UGO helps connect students with practitioners from popular industries such as consultancy and marketing by inviting veteran business leaders in these disciplines to share career or inside secrets of their respective fields. In addition to providing students with a better understanding about different markets, we help students pursue their dream jobs by introducing CV and interviewing skills workshops with the speakers who are among our outstanding alumni.

Adding to workshops related to personal growth such as grooming, this series helps students understand the current market environment and increase their employability.

Business is fast changing, and hence UGO is just as open to change. Looking ahead, there are some new initiatives in the pipeline, one of which is the Student Editorial Team. “Coupled with the launch of a new double degree option, the Bachelor of Business Administration (Integrated BBA) and Bachelor of Social Science (Journalism and Communication), the Student Editorial Team will be created as a platform where business students can beef up their communication skills in a practical way,” says Joseph Tong, Project Coordinator.

Sherry Tang, a Year 2 International Business and Chinese Enterprise student got a deep and vivid insight into the marketing industry after she joined a workshop related to brand building. “Usually, what we learn in our classes are theories and cases, but the workshop gives a well-rounded explanation of what your role is in building a brand and how the whole functional team is organized. Also, I can see what quality and features are needed to become outstanding marketers through observing the speakers.”

“Students may notice that different workshops are targeted at different groups of students. For example, the grooming workshop is targeted at the freshman and year 2 students while the case interview workshop is dedicated for the final year students. We believe such an arrangement can better match students’ needs with corresponding resources and make the workshop series more systematic,” explained Erica Chu, Project Coordinator.

As the name implies, one of the key roles of the editorial team will be covering events and programs held by different units and student associations in the Business School. Student reporters can suggest their own story ideas and work on them. The team can also contribute photographs or computer artwork if they have such interests. Please refer to the recruitment ad for details.

Different workshops are targeted at different groups of students... [this] can better match students’ needs with corresponding resources and make the workshop series more systematic.

Cover Story 03

Student Ambassador Scheme

Inter-university programs / competitions

Another new initiative is the Student Ambassador Scheme. Interested students can sign up as ambassadors at which time UGO staff will be in touch with them for different occasions ranging from Academic Cup to the graduation ceremony. Roles and duties are as diverse as the events; this means there will be a broad range of activities to suit the interests of different interested students. These include (but are not limited to) being the master of ceremony at an event, serving as a student usher and many others.

Coaching or briefing will also be provided as needed.

Other than the experiential learning activities within the Business School, UGO also connects students to outside programs or competitions ranging from business courses to case competitions. Take note of the mass emails advising new events and postings on the student database where you will find dozens of opportunities. Below are programs / competitions which are open for application. Carpe diem (seize these opportunities)! To learn by doing, to grow by trying and to excel by practicing through some of these opportunities to test your skills and stretch your limits.

“Serving as a student ambassador in events and programs can definitely extend a student’s network through connections with peers, alumni and even outside recruiters. This will also allow students to get behind the scenes access to the various events.

Such experience will be beneficial when they have to organize student events of similar kind on their own,” explains Joseph.

Programs / competitions

Deadline

zEnterprise Contest 2012

Nov 30, 2012 (Last chance!)

L’Oréal BRANDSTORM 2013

Nov 30, 2012 (Last chance!)

Seed2Success - Your chance to build your own business

Dec 10, 2012

Guangdong - Hong Kong ICT Dec 28, 2012 Young Entrepreneur Program Ace Manager (BNP Paribas)

Mar 26, 2013

Join us!

Student Editorial Team If you fulfil the requirements, no more hesitation to join the Student Editorial Team by sending your CV and portfolio (sample writings, photos, or artworks) to josephtong@baf.cuhk.edu.hk.

Deadline: December 31, 2012 Enquiry: 3943 7643

Cover Story WHAT’S NEW

Student Development Portfolio There are different activities you might be interested in participating in. For instance, you may be interested in joining the workshop series. Perhaps you may find the Student Editorial Team or Student Ambassador Scheme attractive. Or you may be eager to participate in inter-university programs or competitions. Throughout this wide range of choices, one thing all these enrichment programs have in common is that they can all be recorded in the Student Development Portfolio (SDP), newly launched by the Office of Student Affairs for all CUHK students.

least 24 hours can be recorded in the portfolio. What is the intention behind this limitation?

D: Among the different activities and services which vary in nature and format, those with a relatively more comprehensive structure and substantial content allow students to experience and learn through the process and hence benefit from them considerably. Therefore, activities with a minimum accumulation of involvement time will be recorded in the SDP. Upon discussion, the Committee on Student Development Portfolio which consists of members from the different colleges and faculties recommended that 24 hours be adopted as the minimum aggregate time. This threshold will be reviewed after a period of implementation.

C: How can this portfolio benefit students, especially business students?

D: The experiential learning activities (ELA) Students can gain access listed in the SDP are to the experiential categorised systematically learning activities under the I•CARE organized by university Framework. Students units via the SDP; online can assess their personal registration is also development by regular available. They can also review of their portfolio record on their own and hence better manage accord their participation their ELA participation. in other student-initiated The ELA Report also events. A report on serves as a complement experiential learning Prof.

Dennis Ng explained that SDP provided a roadmap for to students’ academic activities will be issued to opportunities on offer.

records. This is conducive students upon graduation. students on the experiential learning to their career development, further studies and Prof. Dennis Ng, the Associate Pro-Vice-Chancellor, other personal goals. Business students who shared with us further details of this SDP. actively participate in various ELA’s will undoubtedly benefit from the SDP by being able to show interested parties their all-round development C: CU iBUS during their university studies.

D: Prof. Dennis Ng C: Why did CUHK launch the “Student Development Portfolio”?

C: Looking ahead, are there any further developments on the portfolio?

D: To facilitate the whole-person development of students under the new four-year undergraduate curriculum, SDP has been established. This portfolio is meant to provide a roadmap for students on the experiential learning opportunities on offer, guide them through their university experience and allow them to assess their personal development needs.

D: The SDP is now ready for use by student support units and students. It will be continuously enhanced in light of feedback collected from users. The Committee on SDP will also review the system regularly. This electronic platform will be fine-tuned in terms of the completeness of its functions and user-friendliness so as to facilitate the student support units and students in organising and applying for activities respectively.

C: Only those activities with an aggregate time of at

Faculty Spotlight 05

Prof. Dennis Fan

Associate Dean (Undergraduate Studies), CUHK Business School What drives you to write the weekly message to all undergraduate business students? What do you want to convey?

I love talking with young people and I have much to share with them on values, the meaning of life, etc.

If we can affirm our purpose(s) of life, we can live a purpose-driven life. There may not be a uniform life purpose for every person though.

About CUHK In your opinion, what has changed the most at CUHK or with CUHK students since you joined the University?

The degree of internationalization. Yet, we still have much to accomplish in this regard.

| Lives in Hong Kong | Born on Jan 2 | Serving CUHK since 1991

About your profession How did you become a Professor?

I started my dream career as a politician in early 1980.

When I subsequently found out that it was a no-go for me, I went to the U.S. on a full scholarship to study economics and finance. Then I became a professor. It was kind of accidental.

What is your favorite corner at CUHK? The Institute of Chinese Studies Building and the University Museum adjacent to it. When I had classes at the mid level, I often left my office ten minutes earlier than I needed just for the purpose of visiting the Museum before class.

About yourself What are your hobbies?

Too many: music, sports, travelling, meditation, debating, reading books on history, philosophy, sciences, biographies…

Could you name one of your most sentimental moments?

We often listened to music at home while having dinner together. One evening twelve years ago, we were listening to Chopin’s Impromptus Fantasia. I said to my son Eric who was 9, “I have a dream that one Is this the profession you were always dreaming of? day my son can play this piece.” A week later, when It was not. I aspired to be an influential politician. I I returned home from work, Eric said to me, “Dad, sit admired Margaret Thatcher and Bill Clinton, and I still do. down and listen.” He then played the whole piece by memory. It was really touching.

What is the topic of your most recent research project?

I have been working on a book titled: A History of the How and when did you meet your wife?

Future: An Institutional Change Approach to We were high school classmates, but did not have the Understanding the Evolution of Civilizations. So far, opportunity to know each other well until after I have written about a third of it. graduation, when we both joined a social service group as volunteers.

Do you have any advice for students who wish to major / concentrate in business?

Is there a book, song, or movie you would like to 1. Do not be too focused on a specialized area to start recommend to our students? with; A book: 《古詩十九首》, it is just beautiful.

2. Explore as many disciplines as possible; 3. An understanding of a wide spectrum of A movie: Any of Steven Spielberg’s movies. Spielberg non-business subjects will benefit your career is by far the greatest movie director, in my opinion. (By development in ways you would never imagine. the way, he chose to drop out of university.)

A fruitful and enlightening experience

Oct

21 World Resources Forum, Beijing

Adam Wong (third right, standing), together with the other nine students from different countries, joined the World Resources Forum as a student reporter.

A

dam Wong, a Year 4 IBBA student, was awarded with the Best Student Award for one of his interviews in World Resources Forum held in Beijing from October 21-23, 2012. Together with nine other students from different countries, Adam was selected to join the forum as a student reporter and was led by a group of international and transatlantic staff writers. Here Adam shares his insights in this enlightening experience.

Actually, at the forum there were a lot of different businesses discussing their global and regional sustainable development strategies which were very rewarding for a business student like me. HewlettPackard (HP), for example, is putting heavy investment on developing recyclable materials. They also develop different regional approaches to encourage product recycling.

When I told my friends and family that I would serve as a student reporter at the World Resources Forum 2012, they all asked me questions like - ‘When did you become an environmentalist?’ ‘Do you have relevant technical knowledge for the forum? You are a business student!’

Apart from the knowledge and skills that I learned from this experience, the best part of this journey was to meet people and work within a diverse group. From thought leaders to my team members, I really got inspired by their ideas, passion and their unique ways of thinking. For instance, Dr. Mohan Munasinghe, a Nobel Prize winner said, “We need to consider environmental and social aspects while developing our economic development in order to achieve sustainomics”. I really hope that this idea can be widely spread to the new generation so that the business world of the future will be built upon the ideas of fairness and sustainability.

This forum, held outside of Switzerland for the first time, covered a lot on many green ideas and technical topics regarding different resources but at the same time, the main theme of the forum - sustainable development - actually matters a lot to a business student nowadays.

When different businesses are placing higher priority on sustainable development and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), it is definitely high time for us to understand these ideas from a global perspective.

It was truly an enlightening experience for me and now I am able to view global development from a sustainability perspective.

Spotlight 07

Student reporters in action

A highlight of Adam’s work during the forum Adam was awarded with the Best Student Award for one of his interviews, “To Repeat or Not to Repeat The Future of Resource Consumption in Emerging Economies”. It is a video interview with Dr. Yi-Heng Cheng, CEO of Kunshan Quanta K&M Consulting and Shanghai Microtech Co. Ltd. on the future of resource consumption in emerging economies. Here are some highlights from the interview: 1. Dilemma in Emerging Economies Emerging economies like China and India are facing a dilemma in that they need more resources to develop and industrialize but the developed countries try to restrict their resource consumption because of the resource depletion of our planet.

2. Developing own approaches – key to sustainability for emerging economies There has been a large flow of technology and knowledge from developed countries over the past few years. Emerging economies should not blindly adopt all Western ideas but should restructure these ideas and incorporate them into their own development strategies.

3. International Cooperation is a must Resource sharing among countries and long-term global resource strategies and roadmaps are needed.

Global cooperation with suitable measurement tools and policies are the keys for better resource allocation.

About Student Reporter Student Reporter, jointly organized by oikos and the Mercator Foundation Switzerland, provides media coverage of events worldwide and student training in online journalism and academic blogging.

Student Reporter, is composed of undergraduate and graduate students the majority of whom major in business and economics. They broaden the global reach of conventional business or economics events by reporting via a range of online outlets on sustainability themes in a creative and critical manner. Student work includes in-depth, well-informed media coverage, commentary and opinion pieces, as well as photos and video. Real time training for student reporters is also provided.

For further details, please check out http://www.studentreporter.org.

Spotlight

Our business students aim big

The birth of Borizon

From left: Joseph Lau (Statistics, Class of 2012), Kelvin Sham (IFAA Year 4), Louis Pang, Marek Chiu (QFRM Year 4), and Billy Lo, the five partnering students behind this start-up

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hat’s your favorite business magazine? If you happen to find the Young Post of South China Morning Post to be less business-oriented, and Bloomberg Businessweek overly sophisticated, then maybe this new title - Borizon - will draw your attention.

Broaden the horizon

One day, Billy Lo (Hotel and Tourism Management Year 4) ran into the Undergraduate Office, unable to hide his excitement to show us their latest work, Borizon, an initiative by five passionate students of the CUHK Business School to publish a business magazine for students by students. “The name Borizon stands for our vision to broaden our readers’ horizons,” Billy explained. “This is a bi-weekly student magazine with the aim to let our fellow students from all majors to gain a better insight into the commercial world. It serves as a bridge between students and different industries.”

What is offered in Borizon can be broadly categorized into four streams. ‘Market Updates’ is a quick review of the stock market, ‘Companies & Industries’ is where readers can look into various industries, ‘Career Coach’ shares the internship experience of senior classmates offering practical career guidance, and ‘People’, which are short interview summaries with industry leaders.

“Although we are publishing every other week, the stock market changes even faster. That’s why we also publish a standalone Market Updates issue each week to supplement our regular Borizon publication.

Click here to read Borizon’s latest issue.

Starting from 2013, we will even work with students from Imperial College London to cover the European markets in Market Updates”, Billy added.

Share the spirit The birth of Borizon was inspired by a student-run business newspaper in the U.K. “When I first read that newspaper, I was on exchange in Britain,” Louis Pang (Quantitative Finance and Risk Management Science Year 4) said. He benefited from the industry insights and career planning advices offered by the paper, and thus decided to share this spirit with all of the students in Hong Kong. “Since I returned to Hong Kong after the exchange, creating a similar publication has become my dream.” Today, Louis Pang and his team have realized their dream.

Keep the momentum

“They showed me the debut issue of Borizon two months ago,” said Prof. Dennis Fan, Associate Dean (Undergraduate Studies), “and I was so delighted to see that the entrepreneurial spirit is growing in our students’ minds. To me, facing obstacles or even failing to keep Borizon running won’t be a big deal at all. What really matters for them is to sustain the entrepreneurial spirit.”

Borizon has just published its fourth issue. Let’s join together to support them. Let’s keep the momentum going.

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“

I am Linc Yiu. Find my story in the latest undergraduate business programs brochure! �

Download our latest undergraduate business programs brochure >>

Nov

29

The 71st Congregation for the Conferment of Degrees

TIME TO SAY

Students “capping” their CUHK e

“The congregation marks a milestone of our undergraduate studies!”

- Henry Pai, Integrated BBA, Class of 2012

“It’s sad to say goodbye to the beloved teachers, Business School and CUHK.” - Wenis Lui, Integrated BBA, Class of 2012

Y GOODBYE

experience - it’s graduation day!

Lightbox 11

Hong Kong Brand Series #04

Cathay Pacific

First Class? World Class!

Brought to you by the Department of Marketing, CUHK Business School CU: Prof. Leo Sin, Dr. Susanna Kwok, Department of Marketing CX: Mr. John Slosar, Chief Executive of Cathay Pacific Airways

Cathay Pacific (hereafter CX) - a well-known brand

From time to time, it is good that we remind ourselves name, a name that grows with Hong Kong, the city that our vision is “to be the world’s best airline”. Being and its residents. Since the establishment of CX in the best means that we always strive to excel in 1946, Cathay Pacific has expanded from a regional to everything we do. Our dynamic team provides the an international airline offering scheduled passenger highest quality service so that our customers are and cargo services to over 110 destinations around the happy with their choices of Cathay Pacific. In addition, world. CX currently has more than 22,000 employees we support Hong Kong. As we are deeply committed in Hong Kong and a fleet of 137 wide-body aircraft. to our home base, we constantly make substantial investments to develop Hong Kong as a world leading As a Hong Kong brand, how does Cathay Pacific aviation hub. survive in the competitive aviation industry? How does it stand out from its rivals around the world?

Standing out from the rivalry Let’s welcome Mr. John Slosar, Chief Executive of Cathay Pacific Airways. He has the answers.

CU: The aviation industry is volatile and competitive.

Born to fly high CU: What’s the vision of Cathay Pacific?

CX: When one walks into Cathay Pacific City, our global corporate headquarters right next to the Hong Kong International Airport, one will notice that we have placed our vision statement in front of every lift.

How does CX equip itself for the competition?

CX: It’s interesting that in the aviation industry, airlines do not compete against each other on every route.

Those competitors who really share a similar brand base as we do are Singapore Airlines, Emirates, and British Airways.

To stand out from our rivals, first, we offer different

Front Row 13

FUN FACTS

4th

Place ranking by Skytrax among the World’s Top 10 Airlines in 2012. Skytrax also awarded Cathay Pacific Five Star status in its Global Airline Ranking, one of six airlines to be awarded this status

137

Aircraft in CX’s all widebody fleet, with 96 firm orders for delivery up to 2019

$790

The heavily discounted “fanfares” to Shanghai, which is CX’s latest promotional campaign

DID YOU KNOW? Geographically, Hong Kong is located at the heart of the Asia-Pacific region. From Hong Kong, you can reach nearly half the population on earth within a five-hour flight time. This makes Hong Kong a leading aviation hub. In 2011, the Hong Kong International Airport handled 54.9 million passenger trips corresponding to 339,000 air traffic movements.

Mr. John Slosar, Chief Executive of Cathay Pacific Airways, talked about the uniqueness of CX. Credit: Ming Pao

routes and destinations; second, we strive to deliver a unique and consistent in-flight service - what we call the “CX style”. Through customer surveys, we ask our passengers whether their flight experience with us fits what was portrayed in our ads. We believe it is vital that the customer experience of the brand should be equal to their perception of the brand. And we are happy to find that it matches in our case; customers recognize the “CX style”. In this way, we have already given our customers two reasons to fly Cathay Pacific.

In addition, as CX is based in Hong Kong, a gateway to Mainland China, we have a strong association with China. We reinforced this bond through our acquisition of Dragonair in 2006 and tighter cooperation with Air China.

CU: As a premium airline, how does CX balance between Economy Class customers and customers in the higher classes?

CX: In this industry, airlines have to deal with every customer segment. CX looks at the entire market to

understand customers in each segment, to understand why they pay for the trip. Economy Class travelers are more price-centric and sensitive to discounts. That’s why we display our promotional offers and travel packages on the web. It may surprise you to know that one other feature that our flyers are excited to find is our StudioCX in-flight entertainment system.

Our passengers do enjoy watching movies on their seat-back personal TV screens.

As for value-conscious customers, they pay more and in return, expect more. To attract them, the first element is destinations. At minimum we should make our flights available to those cities where our target customers wish to go. Second, flight frequency. We ought to cover as many time slots in a day as possible.

Adequate flight frequency ensures enough choices for business travelers and drives their loyalty. Third, products and services. CX has learnt that travelers prefer a better seat more than a newer model of aircraft. Thus, we have kept upgrading our seats to offer the most comfortable flight experience.

Front Row

We know their journeys begin as early as they start to plan and book their itineraries. That’s why at CX, we look at the entire journey.

We take care of our passengers [both] on the ground and in the air.

Credit: Cathay Pacific Airways

Great service; great people CU: What makes CX so special?

CX: If we put ourselves into our customer’s shoes, we know their journeys begin as soon as they start to plan and book their itineraries. That’s why at CX, we look at the entire journey. We take care of our passengers on the ground and in the air, from booking, to arriving at the airport, checking-in, onboard and even after they get off the plane.

Credit: Singapore Airlines

The “People. They Make an Airline” campaign (above) is all about real Cathay people with real names, real lives and real stories. It is quite different from the Singapore Airlines’ strategy (below).

Manpower is CX’s most valuable asset. It is our dynamic and energetic team who delivers great service, ensures a great travel experience and who makes us CX. You may discover how we treasure each and every Cathay person through this year’s corporate campaign - “People. They Make an Airline”. In this campaign, we feature our pilots, cabin crew, ground staff as well as back office personnel. The campaign is all about real people with real names, real lives and real stories. We draw our staff closer to the public, instead of setting up an isolated image of role model like Singapore Airlines’ Singapore Girl.

To sum up, first of all, Cathay Pacific delivers an excellent travel experience more broadly. Second, we make big investments in the seats we use. Third, we keep a young and efficient fleet and in doing so, ensure an adequate flight frequency. Last but not least, after years of experience we have mastered a service style appropriate to our premium travelers, the style with the same kind of uniqueness one can feel when he or she walks into the Peninsula Hotel.

(Click here for the full version at University Hall of Branding, Chinese version only)

Brand Internationalization Brand Internationalization refers to a process where a local brand assesses the global market and sets a vision and strategy to move beyond its home base to establish a world-class brand image.

Next issue: Lan Kwai Fong

Column 15

Matt Ng

Alumnus, Quantitative Finance, Class of 2012

Traveling on a budget (1) When we decide to start a journey, it seems budget

would be the most obvious constraint. Food, shelter, transportation, sightseeing, each has a dollar sign in front. And this becomes the most frequently cited reason for people not being able to travel.

recharged and nothing more. In these hostels you meet travelers from all over the world, their backpacks loaded with amazing stories from the road. They travel for a clear purpose, with dreams yet to be fulfilled.

Nonetheless, it all comes back to how badly you actually want it. When there is a will, there is a way. On the road I met so many travelers with nothing in their pocket at all, but somehow they all make their way through the most remote, spectacular areas on this planet.

Even if you are only wandering down the streets in Hong Kong, if you put on the right glasses, you may find yourself bathing in the joy of traveling as well.

But this short article is by no means a philosophical essay.

Let’s be practical. If you know the tricks, a few bucks can take you a long way as well.

Note from the Japanese traveler I met in Mumbai

TIPS Matt recommends the

following hostel booking websites:

- www.hostelworld.com

- www.hostelbooker.com

Read the reviews and you will find

your personal favorite hostel.

Let’s start with something very basic, staying in a hostel. Staying in a hostel doesn’t mean the quality of your accommodation is compromised. To me, it is actually even better than staying in a 5 star hotel if you are on a budget. Because they know exactly what a tight budget traveler needs - a hot shower, a clean bed, free WiFi, a kitchen, laundry service and information to get in, get out and get around within the city, while a hotel charges you for literally everything.

Each hostel has its own personality and charisma.

Some are crappy. Some are the party-hostel sort for those teenage travelers who plan to “party all night & sleep all day. Usually I go with the basic, cheap hostel which offers a place for travelers to take a break, get

I found it hard to believe how all these random, yet unique souls could gather under one roof. In Uruguay, I had a two hour conversation with a truck driver working in Antarctica and a food scientist (a red-wine expert as well) from the U.S., each speaking about their own dreams and aspirations. In the next morning we set off into three different directions and head towards three different countries. There was another time when I was staying in the cheapest (and probably the worst) hostel in Mumbai, I met a Japanese traveler who truly inspired me.

We were both covered in dirt and were totally filthy when we met at the hostel, yet he is one of the most respectable people I have ever met.

One said, in the worst hostel you often bump into the most incredible travelers, and that makes up for everything else.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Matt Ng took his first backpacking trip to Nepal during the summer of 2009, and since then he can’t stop traveling.

During his one-year exchange studies in Switzerland, the same backpack took him through Europe where he experienced all the highs and lows of being a hitchhiker, a farmer, a lost and robbed traveler, and a homeless street sleeper. Matt has just returned from a five month adventure traveling through Southeast Asia, Africa and South America. In this column he shares with us stories from his journeys and international volunteer experiences.

NLP Tips and tricks for better performance

Guest lecture on Global CEO Study

Date: Thursday, November 8, 2012

Date: Tuesday, November 13, 2012

O

ver 70 undergraduate business students found tips and tricks in boosting up their confidence after attending a workshop related to Neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) with the trainer as Swani Wu, an IBBA alumna and a Certified Neuro-Linguistic Master PractitionerINLPA SNLP NLPU ABNLP who specializes in coaching and personal development.

Held on November 8, 2012, the workshop first reinforced the importance of staying positive to master one’s mindset and state to achieve great results. Students were also taught to express their views with influence by building rapport through body language, tone and even content. All these skills could be applied to different aspects such as job interviews, presentations and exams.

Exchange partners visit CUHK Business School

We had the pleasure to invite Mr. Steven Davidson,

Partner, Strategy and Transformation Services Leader for Greater China IBM Global Business Services to provide us a guest lecture on November 13, 2012 in respect of their Global CEO study - Key challenges and opportunities faced by CEOs across 64 countries.

Every two years IBM and its Institute for Business Value carry out a major study to understand the key challenges and opportunities facing CEOs and how they are responding. IBM’s 2012 Global CEO Study, the Date: Tuesday, November 13, and Friday, November 16, 2012 fifth in the series, is titled ‘Leading Through Connections’. It is based on face-to-face interviews with over 1,700 CEOs globally (including 32% in ashington University in St. Louis (WUSTL) and CUHK have had an exchange program since 1997. Ms. Growth Markets) - the largest such study ever carried out!

Tammy Orahood, Director of International Programs and Global Initiatives from WUSTL visited CUHK CEOs talked about how technology is transforming Business School on Nov 13. Apart from meeting with their competitive environment and how they are using Prof. Dennis Fan, Associate Dean (Undergraduate technology to make their organizations more open.

Studies) and Dr. Susanna Kwok, Assistant Dean, They plan a major expansion of their use of social Ms. Orahood also met with Ms. Cindy Yuwei Lu, the WUSTL student who is currently on exchange at CUHK media and other tools. CEOs are using these technologies to build new relationships with their to learn about Cindy’s life here in Hong Kong. employees, their customers and their business partners, in order to drive collaboration, innovation On Nov 16, Prof. Federico Pasin, Secretary General and growth.

(Associate Dean) of HEC Montréal, Canada paid a

W

visit to CUHK Business School. HEC Montréal and our business school have finalized a new agreement on undergraduate student exchange. It is expected that student exchanges will start in 2014 / 15. Founded in 1907, HEC Montréal is the largest business school in Montréal, offering bilingual (French and English) and trilingual (French, English and Spanish) degrees.

Around 80 students attended the lecture with active participation during Q&A session.

Newsroom 17

A half-day social innovation tour for ABS students

Establishment of GLEF student society

Date: Saturday, November 24, 2012

Date: Monday, November 5, 2012

The Asian Business Studies stream (ABS) offered their The student society of Global Economics and Finance

students a half-day social innovation tour to rediscover once popular Hong Kong industries of yesteryear such as the old salon, Chinese wedding dress, old music lounge, and hand-made weighing scale on Shanghai Street. There are many old Chinese masters possessing different skills and craftsmanship in Hong Kong. Sadly, time moves on so as these old masters pass on, their skills also disappear. Students joined this tour to speak to these old masters, learn about their skills and stories and enjoy some of their services.

The tour also featured a visit to Gingko House in Prince Edward. It is a social enterprise restaurant offering employment to senior citizens. Students were impressed by its financially sustainable business model which simultaneously benefits society at large.

(GLEF), a program that was newly launched this year, has been officially established. This society, known by the acronym of GEFS, is officially recognized by the Student Union of CUHK. Our students held a GEFS preparatory meeting on Nov 5, 2012 during which the first cabinet was elected. The cabinet, which holds office from January 1 to December 31, 2013, is named Gleminence (「鎏金創經」), signifying a combination of glory and eminence. The mission of GEFS is to plan, organize, and promote academic, social, and careerbuilding activities for GLEF students, thereby creating a heightened sense of community among them.

Outreach efforts admission talks Date

School

Speaker

Nov 13 HKU SPACE Community Mr. CW Chau, Project College Coordinator Nov 15 PolyU Hong Kong Community College

Mr. CW Chau, Project Coordinator

Nov 16 A Mainland secondary school

Mr. CW Chau, Project Coordinator

Nov 26 PLK Ngan Po Ling College

Prof. Chow Ying-foon, Co-Director of QFIN / QFRM / GLEF Mr. CW Chau, Project Coordinator

A pearl grey serves as the Business School’s secondary color, representing the professionalism and confidence of the School and also a subtle tribute to the location of the School and its presence in the Pearl River Delta.