Kelvin Chiu from Canada, CUMBA Class of 2013, shares his first impressions of Hong Kong

"It is hard to believe that this time last year I was preparing my MBA applications/studying for my GMATs. Now I find myself on CUHK campus in Hong Kong. I have been here a little over a week and it has been quite eventful. First of all, I need to reiterate how hot Hong Kong gets in the summer. I enjoy warm weather and have enjoyed many hot climates on vacation, but the heat and humidity here is off the chart. It is definitely an adjustment for someone coming from Canada where it is winter basically for eight months a year!

The CHUK campus is very green and beautiful. It is situated on the side of a mountain overlooking the Tolo Harbour in the New Territories region of Hong Kong. Hong Kong comprises more than 200 islands and you can see at least a dozen of them from the highest point on campus.

Orientation and registration stretched over two days and this is where I met my full-time MBA classmates for the first time. It is not a big cohort but there are over 90 students from 16 different countries in the Class of 2013. We met on campus the first day and the MBA office gave presentations which detailed the course selection process, student involvement activities and the pre-term outward-bound teambuilding training. The second day, we met at the CUHK MBA town centre located at the Bank of America Tower in Central district to go over more academic related items.

That evening was the welcome reception at the Sky Lounge (29 floors up overlooking the Victoria harbour). We all had a great time and afterwards, some of us kept the night alive by going to the world famous Lan Kwai Fong street for some local nightlife.

It was great to finally meet everyone in the programme. It was funny because it felt like I had already met many of them thanks to technology (Facebook/Linkedin). Orientation was a bit like the first day of high school, arriving in a foreign environment and not knowing what to expect. However, I could sense lots of excitement from everyone once we were settled in. I think we have a great class and I am thrilled to be spending my next 16 months with so many intelligent people

As mentioned earlier, the course selections for the entire year was completed this week. There were four concentrations I could choose from: finance, China business, marketing, and entrepreneurship. As I am looking to change career into consulting, I will be majoring in finance for my MBA. I don’t have any previous academic experience in finance so I hope I will be able to manage the course load. After Year 1, there is a four-month exchange option which I plan to take. I will have the choice of completing my studies at one of more than 40 top business schools around the world. Also, as an option during Year 1, there are three week-long business field study trips I can go on (Beijing/Los Angeles/St. Petersburg).

I am happy to report that I have found a place to live so pitching a tent is no longer required! I am living with two of my fellow classmates in an apartment that is a 10 minute minibus ride from campus.

An MBA programme is really what you make of it. I am looking forward to all the possibilities and opportunities this coming year!"