One of the mandatory pre-term activities at the CUHK MBA programme is an excursion course with Outward Bound Hong Kong (OBHK). The purpose of the trip is to teach students about teamwork, leadership, perseverance and determination through taking part in physically and mentally challenging activities in an unfamiliar environment. As someone who loves the outdoors, I was very much looking forward to this voyage with my fellow classmates. I am a firm believer that many of life’s skills can be discovered through sports or challenging activities and this trip definitely provided a unique experience.

From hiking through the forest at night with heavy gear to constructing a water raft from scratch, the activities we took part in taught us to conquer these obstacles not as individuals, but as a team (groups of 10-12) with only the bare minimal essentials.

OBHK taught us to overcome barriers and challenge our limits even when we were out of our comfort zone. As we continued through the OBHK course, there was an increased sense of camaraderie within the teams. The activities became a test to see if we could work harmoniously together, despite opinions and inputs from multiple team members.

OBHK presented us with a great opportunity in which to discover our strengths and weaknesses so that we could continue with the good but improve on the weak.

The trip also helped me establish friendships with my new classmates. I have to say my team was up to all the challenges and each member took on a leadership role at some point. Despite numerous mosquito bites and a few bruises, my team all had big smiles as we left OBHK and hopefully, everyone in my class brought back something they learnt and can apply it towards their MBA studies.

It is natural to feel discouraged by something that is unfamiliar or challenging. Instead of trying to dismiss it, we need to be determined to overcome it knowing that there are others who can help us along the way.

For me, there are going to be assignments, courses, or projects that I will have difficulties with during my studies, but it is important to remember to break the big problem into smaller, more manageable, portions. Once the smaller aspects of a problem have been solved, it is only a matter of collecting everything together to produce the final product. These last few days have reminded me to have purpose and direction in everything I do. It is important to have clear objectives and goals before setting out to accomplish a task or solve a problem. Failing to plan means I am planning to fail.

Nobody really knows their limits unless they have something that pushes them to the brink. As they say at Outward Bound: unearth your potential…to strive and not to yield.

Congrats to all members of the CUHK MBA class of 2013 for completing their Outward Bound Challenge Course!

- Kelvin