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

[BOSVIN]

Ok. I take your point on that. BUt lets talk about ROI. I treat my MBA as a heavy investment in my career. After graduating from HKUST i think the best way forward would be to find a good finance job in hong kong itlself.

so currently what's the job trend in hongkong. I've heard investment banking jobs are slowly fading. Is it so? Are there newer roles in the baking and finance sector that are emerging. WHats your take on the current scene and future trends in hongkong.

Also wats the general attitude of companies towards foreigners especially Indians. And is the govt very strict about foreign workers coming into the country. I've read that as long as a company is willing to hire you, the govt will easily grant a work visa. do correct me if I am wrong here

You've mentioned time and again that language has not been an issue for you throughout your mba programme. But how about at the workplace. I'm sure you've done some research on that. I think not knowing the language will certainly put some restriction on the types of roles that one can apply for.

Fianlly, if you decide to learn the chinese language would it be mandarin or would it be cantonese? and why?

Cheers and have a nice weekend.

Jose.

[pitbull]

Originally Posted by josevin2000

Pratap and Randhir, thanks a ton for this wonderful thread. You have certainly made HKUST look much more appealing to us Indians seeking a foreign MBA.

I began my quest for a foreign MBA last November. GAve my GMAT and scored 750. My Profile

Hope to keep hearing from you guys about HKUST. All the best with your internships. do share your experiences.

The pics you posted on flickr were really nice. do send us a link as and when you upload more.

Cheers,

Jose.

Thanks for your comments Jose ! As they say...the photographer is more important than the camera

Another news: Randhir and I have launched our own separate companies here in HK, helped by HKUST. Hope something measurable [or immeasurable] comes out of this. We have already learnt a lot abt entrepreneurship, commercialisation of tech, pitching to VCs, Biz Plan et al bcos of these ventures. More on this later.

[pitbull]

You are right, it is great way to begin your career [in HK]. You can also look for jobs in your exchange schools, most exchange schools [US+EU] open their placements to HKUST students. You will also gain Alumni status at these schools [totally 2, HKUST + Exchange school alumni so better network].

Jobs in HK are not bad despite the financial turmoil sweeping most western markets. Another trend, loads of US-bschoolers doing internships in HK now...this is a worrisome trend, now you will have to compete against global students not just the local ones.

No visa restrictions in HK, infact the school can give/issue you a work approval for internships [or before you graduate]. HK govt is encouraging international students to come to HK and work here for a while. ex-HKUST ppl/faculty/students are in the top roles in HK govt, so no worries !

Indians dont face any problems in finding jobs, unless you want a role focussed on marketing in mainland China [without knowing mandarin...it s impossible]. Most top mgmt comprises several indians, so you wont find any issues.

I didnt/wont face any problem of chinese lang in workplace, my colleagues are Germans.

Mandarin is the lang of future in China,while Cantonese is spoken only in southern China/Hk. Canto ppl are also learning mandarin, so you better directly start with mandarin. HKUST conducts a 1month full time class in mandarin for those interested souls - like me. I call all my Chinese classmates/ friends with their original chinese names, trust me it helps in building relationships ~ esp with gals.

Chinese grammar is easy, verbs and nouns are interchangeable. pronunciation is difficult...so you need to talk with someone [or to everyone,, like me].

~prathap
of late, my blog has turned into a picture blog...hope i find something nice to write about

Originally Posted by BOSVIN

i think the best way forward would be to find a good finance job in hong kong itlself.

so currently what's the job trend in hongkong. I've heard investment banking jobs are slowly fading. Is it so? Are there newer roles in the baking and finance sector that are emerging. WHats your take on the current scene and future trends in hongkong.

Also wats the general attitude of companies towards foreigners especially Indians. And is the govt very strict about foreign workers coming into the country. I've read that as long as a company is willing to hire you, the govt will easily grant a work visa. do correct me if I am wrong here

You've mentioned time and again that language has not been an issue for you throughout your mba programme. But how about at the workplace. I'm sure you've done some research on that. I think not knowing the language will certainly put some restriction on the types of roles that one can apply for.

Fianlly, if you decide to learn the chinese language would it be mandarin or would it be cantonese? and why?

Cheers and have a nice weekend.

Jose.

[hkust2007]

Hi XXXXXXXXX,

Please check out my blog Random thoughts, HKUST MBA, From Cradle, through Cubicle, to University!, Dimsum Diaries for some stories on life at HKUST.

In addition check out http://www.pagalguy.com/forum/intern...hool-hong.html (‘Ask’ HKUST B-school, Hong Kong: Admissions-related thread hosted by current students) for some frequently asked questions on HKUST. Let me know if you have more questions.

Brief answers to your queries: Food is a minor problem. But you can make do with it .. especially if you have a family (read wife who's a good cook )
There are a few families in the program (all non-indians so far) and they are doing quite well in the program. The only negative about being with a family is that you cannot right now live on Campus ... not sure if they make exceptions if you request them.

Regd.ing ISB and INSEAD, HKUST is ranked higher than ISB in the FT Rankings and from what I've heard about ISB and what I've seen of HKUST, I'd rate HKUST higher for the experience ... especially for an Indian. ISB is full of Indians and probably IT Engineers and this takes away a lot of the learning from peers. But the quality of students in ISB (read GMAT, Grades focus, etc) is probably higher leading to a lot more focus on studies, grades, etc which in a way might be good. In other ways, its bad.

HKUST is great for diversity - My class has 20 or 21 countries represented. But it’s a smaller class - Only 60-75 vs 400 for ISB ( I guess they split this into 2 classes).

INSEAD - Paris is a great school from what I've heard. I've to say I applied to both ISB and INSEAD and got a ding in both. But in hindsight, I think it was good for me. Especially ISB. INSEAD, I do not know enough about it to comment.

ISB has a strong Consulting Focus I believe. HKUST is great for FINANCE and FINANCE related positions - with HK being a Financial Hub and all that. The faculty is easily comparable to the best in the world. If you've heard of the Kellogg-HKUST e-MBA program (Rated World#1 by FT), most of the faculty there take courses for us. You really can't beat that.

That's my brief about the program. Go through the FAQs and let me know if there is any qn. Unanswered.

Regards,

Randhir Hebbar
MBA Candidate,
Class of 2007-09,
HKUST, Hong Kong


-----Original Message-----
From: XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Sent: Thursday, June 26, 2008 6:52 PM
To: XXXXXXXXXXXXX
Subject: need info on HKUST mba programme..

Hi Randhir

I am XXXXXXX and happen to come across your profile on Linkedin. I have recently written my GMAT and have 6 yrs of experience in semiconductor industry. I have a few queries regarding the relatively new HKUST program and would like you to answer some of my queries if it is fine with you.

Some of my queries are - I am a married person with a kid and wanted to know the comfort level of a family staying on HKUST campus. Also I am a veggie - hope food is not a big issue . More seriously how do you compare with the HKUST program with schools like INSEAD and ISB (Hyderabad).

Finally, how are the chances of coming back to India after a HKUST mba degree?

Thanks and regards
XXXXXXXXXXX

[hkust2007]

Just posted a query that I received. Will continue to do that (with names hidden to ensure privacy of requestor). Hope the people who've mailed me have no objections.

Any volunteers to take over the mantle of the ownership of this thread. I'm not giving up on this yet .. but I also realize that I'll have lesser and lesser time in the near future and also once I go on exchange in September (to LBS), I will not even be in HK to get first hand information to reply to queries.

[BOSVIN]

Hi Pratap,

Thanks for the reply. Your words are encouraging and eggs me on to pursue my HKUST MBA. Personally for me I feel a new place and a fresh start is what I need to bring back the spice into my work life.

Hope to pull this off with guidance and suggestions from you guys.

So buddy tell us about your new venture in Hong Kong yaar. Would love to hear about it. Its amazing that you had the confidence to start something on your own so soon and that too in a foreign country.

By the way the pictures at your blog speak a thousand words so keep them coming.

Cheers,

Jose.

[BOSVIN]

Originally Posted by hkust2007

Any volunteers to take over the mantle of the ownership of this thread. I'm not giving up on this yet .. but I also realize that I'll have lesser and lesser time in the near future and also once I go on exchange in September (to LBS), I will not even be in HK to get first hand information to reply to queries.

Hay buddy please dont give up on this thread as yet. I assure to take over the mantle if i make it to HKUST in the coming academic year.

I cant wait for the admissions to open. I wanna make sure I;m the first one to show up

All the best with your exchange program. But of late I;ve been readdin of huge layoffs by top I-BAnks in London and New York. Any idea if fresh graduates are also facing the heat.?

[kuldeepch]

To the current MBA students, going to be students and aspirants

I am planning to apply for the next year, the application website will however open up in October.

In the meanwhile I want to start drafting my essays.

Can someone please respond with the essay topics from this year's application, with respective word-limits if possible.

Thanks a bunch !

[BOSVIN]

I don't think the essay topics will be displayed until admissions open. Will be surprised if you do manage to get hold of the topics.

[satish sahoo]

Hi All,
Not sure if the Thread is still active,but still taking my chances..
Had basically two queries.
1) Got a sense by going through all the previous messages in the thread that
HKUST values international experience a lot.In that regard I would appreciate if some one (existing students)can let me know how much of a value would be middle-east exp in IT for an Indian IT professional?Or would it be negative?or is the story bout International Exp is over done a bit?
2) Really saw a overwhelming number of queries and hence responses about MBA in Finance.But really little about Supply Chain Management and logistics.
Considering that Hong-kong is one of the Logistics hub for the world and the school does focuses a lot on China don't understand why that story is underplayed?Does the school give good logistic and SCM exposure ?What is the job scenario?And more importantly changing stream from IT to Logistics with zero relevant experience..How feasible that would be??
.......
As they all do!!here goes my profile..
3 years In IT(4 by the time I join)
Decent Acads -B.Tech(Electrical)
GMAT-690
Extra Curric-Not much to write home bout