November 2012 Published by the Undergraduate Office, CUHK Business School

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

Faculty Spotlight -Prof. Dennis Fan

Cathay Pacific - First Class? World Class!

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.

Also in This Issue06 A fruitful and enlightening experience08 Our students aim big - The birth of Borizon10 Lightbox - Time to say goodbye15 Column - Matt Ng16 Newsroom

Click to download the full issue

CU iBUS

From the Editor

BuSInESS SChool

Dec 1Master’s Degree Graduation Ceremony

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

Jan 10IBM Global Business Services Business Consulting Course Orientation Gathering

EDIToRIAl

Editor-in-chiefProf. Dennis Fan

MembersDr. Susanna KwokMs. Carol HoMr. Joseph TongMr. Nan Yi

Cu iBuSnovember 2012

unIVERSITY

Dec 2CUHK Alumni Homecoming Day

Dec 24Christmas EveCandlelight Vigil:Holy Night. Silent Night

Jan 14Commencement of the Second term

MESSAgE FRoM ThE EDIToR

Life in business school is not just about classes, textbooks and homework. We encourage our studentsto 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.

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.

Prof. Dennis FanEditor-in-chief, CU iBUS

Dec Dec2 6CUHK Business School Open House at Homecoming Day

The 72nd Congregationfor the Conferment of Degrees (honorary and doctoral degrees) PAGE 01

PAGE 08

ConTRIBuToRS

Ms. Noren ChanMr. CW ChauMs. Diana LawMs. Claire LiMs. Clare Ng

ConTACT uS

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

Telephone3943 7746

Emailbba@cuhk.edu.hk

01Cover Story

To experience, to learnExplore our Business School’sexperiential learning activities

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.

Experiential Learning Unit of UGO >>

Ms. Erica Chu

Mr. Joseph Tong

8Workshops in 2012/13 and more to come

403Attendance records in the past eight workshops

17Outside program / competition opportunities offered and more on the horizon

Experiential learning Workshop Series

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.

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.

Student Editorial Team

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.

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 aretargeted at different groups of students... [this] can bettermatch students’ needs with corresponding resources and make the workshopseries more systematic.

03Cover Story

Student Ambassador Scheme

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.

“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.

Inter-university programs / competitions

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.

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 Young Entrepreneur Program

Dec 28, 2012

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, 2012Enquiry: 3943 7643

Cover Story

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.

Students can gain access to the experiential learning activities organized by university units via the SDP; online registration is also available. They can also record on their own accord their participation in other student-initiated events. A report on experiential learning activities will be issued to students upon graduation. Prof. Dennis Ng, the Associate Pro-Vice-Chancellor, shared with us further details of this SDP.

C: CU iBUSD: Prof. Dennis Ng

C: Why did CUHK launch the “Student Development 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.

C: Only those activities with an aggregate time of at

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) listed in the SDP are categorised systematically under the I•CARE Framework. Students can assess their personal development by regular review of their portfolio and hence better managetheir ELA participation. The ELA Report also serves as a complement to students’ academic

records. This is conducive to their career development, further studies and other personal goals. Business students who actively participate in various ELA’s will undoubtedly benefit from the SDP by being able to show interested parties their all-round development during their university studies.

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

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.

Student Development

Portfolio

Prof. Dennis Ng explained that SDP provided a roadmap forstudents on the experiential learning opportunities on offer.

WhAT’S nEW

05

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.

Is this the profession you were always dreaming of?It was not. I aspired to be an influential politician. I admired Margaret Thatcher and Bill Clinton, and I still do.

What is the topic of your most recent research project?I have been working on a book titled: A History of the Future: An Institutional Change Approach to Understanding the Evolution of Civilizations. So far, I have written about a third of it.

Do you have any advice for students who wish to major / concentrate in business?1. Do not be too focused on a specialized area to start with; 2. Explore as many disciplines as possible; 3. An understanding of a wide spectrum of non-business subjects will benefit your career development in ways you would never imagine.

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.

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 day my son can play this piece.” A week later, when I returned home from work, Eric said to me, “Dad, sit down and listen.” He then played the whole piece by memory. It was really touching.

How and when did you meet your wife?We were high school classmates, but did not have the opportunity to know each other well until after graduation, when we both joined a social service group as volunteers.

Is there a book, song, or movie you would like to recommend to our students?A book: 《古詩十九首》, it is just beautiful.

A movie: Any of Steven Spielberg’s movies. Spielberg is by far the greatest movie director, in my opinion. (By the way, he chose to drop out of university.)

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

Prof. Dennis Fan Associate Dean (Undergraduate Studies), CUHK Business School

Faculty Spotlight

Adam 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.

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!’

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 priorityon sustainable development and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), it is definitely high time for us to understand these ideas from a global perspective.

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. Hewlett-Packard (HP), for example, is putting heavy investment on developing recyclable materials. They also develop different regional approaches to encourage product recycling.

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.

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

Oct21World Resources Forum, Beijing

A fruitful and enlightening experience

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

07

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 economiesThere 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 mustResource 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.

Spotlight

Student reporters in action

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.

What’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.

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.

our business students aim bigThe 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

Click here to read Borizon’s latest issue.

Spotlight

09

Download our latest undergraduate business programs brochure >>

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

TIME To SAY gooDBYEStudents “capping” their CuhK experience - it’s graduation day!

Nov29The 71st Congregation for the Conferment of Degrees

“The congregation marks a milestone of ourundergraduate 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

11

TIME To SAY gooDBYEStudents “capping” their CuhK experience - it’s graduation day!

Lightbox

hong KongBrand Series #04

Cathay PacificFirst Class? World Class!

Brought to you by the Department of Marketing, CUHK Business SchoolCU: 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 name, a name that grows with Hong Kong, the city and its residents. Since the establishment of CX in 1946, Cathay Pacific has expanded from a regional to an international airline offering scheduled passenger and cargo services to over 110 destinations around the world. CX currently has more than 22,000 employees in Hong Kong and a fleet of 137 wide-body aircraft.

As a Hong Kong brand, how does Cathay Pacific survive in the competitive aviation industry? How does it stand out from its rivals around the world? Let’s welcome Mr. John Slosar, Chief Executive of Cathay Pacific Airways. He has the answers.

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.

From time to time, it is good that we remind ourselves that our vision is “to be the world’s best airline”. Being the best means that we always strive to excel in everything we do. Our dynamic team provides the highest quality service so that our customers are happy with their choices of Cathay Pacific. In addition, we support Hong Kong. As we are deeply committed to our home base, we constantly make substantial investments to develop Hong Kong as a world leading aviation hub.

Standing out from the rivalry

CU: The aviation industry is volatile and competitive. 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

13

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 understandwhy 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.

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

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

137Aircraft in CX’s all wide-body fleet, with 96 firm orders for delivery up to 2019

$790The 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.

Front Row 13

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.

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 corporatecampaign - “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 InternationalizationBrand 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

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.

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).

Credit: Singapore Airlines

Credit: Cathay Pacific Airways

15Column

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.

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 thetricks, a few bucks can take you along way as well.

Let’s start with something verybasic, staying in a hostel. Stayingin a hostel doesn’t mean the quality of your accommodation iscompromised. To me, it is actually even better than stayingin 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

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.

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 speakingabout 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.

Matt ng Alumnus, Quantitative Finance, Class of 2012

Traveling on a budget (1)

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.

Note from the Japanese traveler I met in Mumbai

Matt recommends the following hostel booking websites:- www.hostelworld.com- www.hostelbooker.com

Read the reviews and you will find your personal favorite hostel.

TIPS

Washington University in St. Louis (WUSTL) and CUHK have had an exchange program since 1997. Ms. Tammy Orahood, Director of International Programs and Global Initiatives from WUSTL visited CUHK Business School on Nov 13. Apart from meeting with Prof. Dennis Fan, Associate Dean (Undergraduate Studies) and Dr. Susanna Kwok, Assistant Dean, Ms. Orahood also met with Ms. Cindy Yuwei Lu, the WUSTL student who is currently on exchange at CUHK to learn about Cindy’s life here in Hong Kong.

On Nov 16, Prof. Federico Pasin, Secretary General (Associate Dean) of HEC Montréal, Canada paid a 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.

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 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 Growth Markets) - the largest such study ever carried out!

CEOs talked about how technology is transforming their competitive environment and how they are using technology to make their organizations more open. They plan a major expansion of their use of social media and other tools. CEOs are using these technologies to build new relationships with their employees, their customers and their business partners, in order to drive collaboration, innovation and growth.

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

Over 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.

Date: Tuesday, November 13, and Friday, November 16, 2012

Date: Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Exchange partners visit CuhK Business School

guest lecture on global CEo Study

Date: Thursday, November 8, 2012

nlP - Tips and tricks for better performance

17

outreach efforts - admission talksDate School Speaker

Nov 13 HKU SPACE Community College

Mr. CW Chau, Project 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 / GLEFMr. CW Chau, Project Coordinator

Newsroom

The student society of Global Economics and Finance (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 career-building activities for GLEF students, thereby creating a heightened sense of community among them.

The Asian Business Studies stream (ABS) offered their 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.

Date: Monday, November 5, 2012Date: Saturday, November 24, 2012

Establishment of glEF student society

A half-day social innovation tour for ABS students

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.