‘Ask’ HKUST B-school, Hong Kong: Admissions-related thread hosted by current students

[mrkamma]

Hello friends,

Thank You very much for comming up with this idea. i have been looking for this kind of info for about a month now. i am a sales engineer and if i am not mistaken most of us here are related to IT in some sort.

i know there are IT related electives but do u see engineers going for finance or marketing and actually landing jobs in those fields with the help of HKUST MBA?do u think the program is going to help us get there in just 16 months? do u think it's better for techies just to go for IT management/consulting ? i appreciate u r advice and insight on this issue.

once again thanks a lot.

[hkust2007]

Originally Posted by mrkamma

Hello friends,

Thank You very much for comming up with this idea. i have been looking for this kind of info for about a month now. i am a sales engineer and if i am not mistaken most of us here are related to IT in some sort.

i know there are IT related electives but do u see engineers going for finance or marketing and actually landing jobs in those fields with the help of HKUST MBA?do u think the program is going to help us get there in just 16 months? do u think it's better for techies just to go for IT management/consulting ? i appreciate u r advice and insight on this issue.

once again thanks a lot.

I know exactly what you are referring to. We had a tough time getting info on this school ourselves. That's the reason we came up with this thread.

Yes, we do have a lot of success stories of succesful switches from IT to Finance (Indians too) among our alumni. That doesn't mean it's a cake-walk as I am finding out with my internship search so far. But what I've heard is that if you are committed and can show the commitment and skills for it, you should be able to make it.

Regards,
Randhir

[mrkamma]

Thax a lot and i really wish u all the best for u r search

[pitbull]

Originally Posted by sick_mind

Hi,

Some queries from my side -

1. I have read that a lot of focus at HKUST is in finance domain. At the same time I read at the HKUST's website that they specialize in China business, Financial Services, and IT Management. But looking at the elective courses, i find very few subjects actually concentrated in technology domain. I look forward to taking a blend of IT and general management courses at HKUST. So how beneficial will a HKUST MBA be in my case?
2. Can you also give me an idea about the job prospects for an Indian after completing the MBA course at HKUST? Also ,is it really easy for an Indian to live in Hongkong (considering the cultural and language differences.
3. Thirdly, looking at curriculum, I find most of the subjects concentrating on China economy. Seeing that, will HKUST MBA be able to provide a global outlook?

Looking forward to you response.

Hi S-mind,
1. HKUST is a finance-heavy school, as the local industry is mainly Finance-oriented. Most global i-banks have huge operations in Hong Kong. You dont have to compulsarily pick IT Mgmt as a specialisation, you can also graduate with just a 'general' MBA but take as many Tech/related courses you want. I am also focussed on Tech + Strategy Mgmt.

I too had the same doubt, but after coming here I now run out of credits to take the available courses and now i m budgeting credits to include other interesting courses as well. eg, Giving up some tech courses to take 'Negotiations' course.

2a. If the new rule comes into impl, students in Fulltime courses dont need a visa to work for internships. Also, I never come across someone who was refused a visa to work here. Infact, Hong kong is one of the most welcoming places on earth. You apply for visa, you ll get it. [assumption: you have a job offer].

2b. Culturally, HK is a cosmopolitan city/country. you dont need to learn a word of Mandarin/Cantonese to go around and do your job. All boards and docs are bi-lingual [English + Cantonese/Mandarin]. But, I m learning mandarin just as my 7th language. Well, If you want a Marketing job...then you need local language skills in any country. Most profs are 'International' , even the local profs have PhD from Chicago/MIT/Kellogg and are simply outstanding in their work.

Food: You better be accomodative in your taste, and open to adopting [and not adapting] a new taste bud. Indian food is hard to get Having said that, we have 3 pure veggie Indian students in our batch.

3. This is a global MBA and the Macroeconomics course is called 'China in the global economy' is taught like in any other school, but with examples from China. Learning about a country growing at x% is not boring. Further, there are students from 21 [?] diff countries in a small batch size of 75students and was ranked 2nd globally by EIU in terms of diversity [i m not keen on ranks, but the diversity is true]

Typical class in MacroEconomics... or 'China in global economy' as we call it

Faculty: concept 1..xyz
Student 1: no, in Russia...example
Student 2: I agree but in Japan, during deflation...
Me, thinking:... what do i say?
.
.
.
Student 10: Comes up with a Summary of diff countries/policies.

It cant get better than that.

Hope I ve answered your queries.

[sam_pune]

Hi HKUST,

First I would like to thank you for starting such a helpful threads.
This type of threads really helps.

I have decided to apply to HKUST MBA by 15 Dec deadline.
My profile is 680/4.5
TOEFL 107.
Work Ex : 3 years ( Satyam and IBM ) in SAP.
For the last two months I am running my own venture which is totally diffrent from the IT . And till I start the MBA I plan to work for that only and will also be working in an NGO to which I always wanted to give more time but not able to give because of the work.
How will the adcom look at this type of exp.

Cleared CFA Level 1 and ready for L2 in June.

I am sure that I want to specialize in Financial Service and hope that I will be able to do a smooth transition from IT to finance.
I would also like that how many people from last batch came directly back to India. Are there many company who can provide job directly in India. I am keen on returning to India asap after the MBA.

What do you say about my chances ?
Thanks in advance for reply,
Sam

[hkust2007]

Originally Posted by sam_pune

Hi HKUST,

First I would like to thank you for starting such a helpful threads.
This type of threads really helps.

...

I would also like that how many people from last batch came directly back to India. Are there many company who can provide job directly in India. I am keen on returning to India asap after the MBA.

What do you say about my chances ?
Thanks in advance for reply,
Sam

Don't mention it. Just doing our bit.

I think I mentioned it in the OP. Your chances are as good as you think it is. Believe in yourself when you apply and you have a good chance of making it. I too am keen on returning to India and so are majority of the Indian batch-mates. Only we might end up working here for 2-3 years before going back. The HKUST disadvantage in India is the Alumni network in India is very weak because of which the Brand name is also not very big (not even as big as NUS since NUS recruits Indians in big numbers and large number of them return to India). So to be realistic, don't count on being able to return to a good position back in India very easily.

Of course, your graduation is still a good three years away and a school ranked World# 20 (EIU) will be recognized sooner or later even in faraway India. But to be more pragmatic, work on the assumption that you might end up working here for a bit before going back.

Congrats on getting your CFA before coming here. That's surely a good idea since you are planning to switch to Finance.

[pitbull]

Originally Posted by sam_pune

Hi HKUST,

I have decided to apply to HKUST MBA by 15 Dec deadline.
My profile is 680/4.5
TOEFL 107.
Work Ex : 3 years ( Satyam and IBM ) in SAP.
For the last two months I am running my own venture which is totally diffrent from the IT . And till I start the MBA I plan to work for that only and will also be working in an NGO to which I always wanted to give more time but not able to give because of the work.
How will the adcom look at this type of exp.

Cleared CFA Level 1 and ready for L2 in June.

I am sure that I want to specialize in Financial Service and hope that I will be able to do a smooth transition from IT to finance.
I would also like that how many people from last batch came directly back to India. Are there many company who can provide job directly in India. I am keen on returning to India asap after the MBA.

What do you say about my chances ?
Thanks in advance for reply,
Sam

Hi Sam,

HKUST is one of the best schools for Finance, esp with Hong Kong- a major FIN hub- being the backdrop. There are loads of ibanks recruiting here and a Ferrari dealership- and ibankers from HKUST tend to talk abt both a lot

Some of the ibanks that came for recruitment on campus : UBS, Deutsche, BoAmerica, Citi, Goldman etc. I m not majoring in Fin, so i cant give you the complete pic, but friends say HKUST is the easiest route to working in ibanks. Infact, many working here are also recruited from leading US Bschools.

Your profile looks interesing, esp with your own venture and commitment to Fin by having completed CFA-1. Please mention all your key differentiators in your essays.

[pitbull]

Originally Posted by muthuraman

Hi,

Thanks for taking time to answer our queries. I am currently preparing my MBA applications and was looking at HKUST and had a few questions about IT management specialization.

Post my MBA I would love to join corporate strategy planning team of an org. I am currently in IT industry and so post my MBA I prefer joining IT industry in this particular area. I am looking at an MBA to help me for this shift. My questions were mainly related to this.
1). How many pple generally pursue IT management specialization every yr. at HKUST? This is because if there are too less people is there any disadvantage or advantage to it?
2). Is such a career shift from delivery side to corporate strategy side possible with HKUST MBA?
3). Will I get these kind of opportunities at Hong Kong? Because I see that Hong Kong is a major financial hub not sure about IT majors (I could be wrong).

Thanks,
Muthuraman.

Hi Muthuraman,

I am looking at similar roles myself..

1. around 5 ppl. It is only an advantage, except for the lack of internal network. but the IT Dept is full-fledged with lots of Profs.

Remember, HKUST is a research focussed school and therefore the quality of resources are top notch.

2. Easily

3. HK has several Asian headquarters for IT majors. You should nt have any issues. Also, major financial firms have their IT Operations here, so the possibilities are endless.

[mrkamma]

hi all,

i now belive that HKUST is famous for Finance from the discussion so far . i am aiming for the same but i have no prior Finance knowledge other than some self learning.

1) do i need to have some sort of financial academic background if i ever want to get to HKUST ? do i have to be certified at some stuff?

2) is it common to see students with no prior finance background actually majoring in Finance at HKUST?

3) does it require us to find a job with in certain time frame after graduation or leave the country? i am comming from the USA angle where it is 11 months as some of us might know.

i would like to close again by thanking you guys for doing such a great job for HKUST aspirants . good luck with the internships and the jobs guys.

[shameel]

Hi,
Could you please inform me the type of activities conducted by consulting club? Any link to get the information.

In these club activities, is there any special focus on NGO or community activities.

Really liked the initiative.. though u said not to mention it.

regards,
Sha