A quick question to the current students out there....
how strong are the entrepreneurship clubs at hkust? also, how supportive is the alumni and do you get to meet them often or maybe during reunions etc?

i got a diplomatic answer from the adcom team but really want to get a first hand experience from the current students.

Also, can you guys point out to some blogs of the current hkust students, if any...will also certainly help the rest of the group out here....

Entrepeneurship club is very strong this year. We have several real life projects working with real companies on the go. There is a strong relationship with ithe technology incubation centre where we get technologies from which we can create our own companies and enter business plan competitions with them with the option to go ahead and start the business if agreed.
Lastly, there are a few initiatives from current students to start new companies. What will happen next year will depend on the drive and determination of the next batch, but we have definitely creasted a strong base with the entrepreneurship centre here.

As for alumni, there are regular 'biztrals' where students can mix with alumni in social gatherings. There are also regular talks arranged by the Alumni association who inform students about various job roles, industries and current market situation.

Also, there is a strong link between the MBA students, faculty and the American Chambers of Commerce which is a strong networking opportunity.

I submitted my app. today. well (read a few hours) before the first deadline.

@Preeti, Togafoot, and everyone
- Any idea, by when one can expect a call for interview.
- Approx, how many people get a call for interview,, is HKUST very selective or calls almost everyone for interview (in approx. percentage)
- How many make the final cut (in approx. percentage)

TIA

I got my interview invite late December/ early january, and had the interview 1 week later. Offer came middle of February, most offers are given around the same time for round 1.

They are quite selective for interview due to limited resources, so getting invited to interview means you have a strong chance of getting admitted.

In HKUST the clubs are formed as per the interests of the batch . Currently we have Finance , Consulting , General Management , Net Impact and Japan club . However youcan always start a club , if there are a certain number of pple interested in the same function/area.

Hope it helps .
Preeti

I can elaborate (I'm one of the people responsible for clubs for this years batch)
Because the course is 16 months with an exchange, there are not many second year students around when the new batch arrives. As such, the clubs are formed on demand and how well a club performs is based on the commitment of the club members.
This year, as mentioned above there are those 5 clubs, and also a Marketing club, Enterpreneur/Family business Club and a Sports Club.

Finance club have been conducting resume reviews and educating each other about the different finance career options
Marketing club have been trying to get in guest speakers to talk to them about marketing options
Consulting club have been practising for case interviews (a key thing to do in this club)
General Management club have started to arrange some speakers to talk about what type of roles and what recruiters look for in General Managers and a compiling a list of electives they would like to see in the course.
Japan Club have arranged a visit to Japan with talks from 3 executives from Japanese companies.
Entrepreneur club have established links with the entrepreneur and Technology centre, and have had to sign NDA's as technologists have been presenting their products to the club memebrs to create business plans or consulting projects to bring technology products to the market.
Sports clubs - they arrange sports events such as Beach volleyball.

For hi-tech interested people, this year, the entrepreneur club have many technology related on-goings. Furthermore, the business plan competitions in the school use technologies from the entrepreneur centre, and previous students have started their own companies based on these technologies.

Hi Preeti

I am looking fwd to HKUST. and I have read the other thread in which Prathap and Randhir (your seniors i guess) have given a real good insight about the school.
I am looking for a career in IT/General Management but not in finance as of now. Since HK is financial hub, could you throw some light on the IT/General management jobs in HK, China. yes, i know it depends alot on the current scenario, companies, my profile and so many other things, but could you give some input on IT/Gen management jobs.
Just want to know if it is really difficult to land in a good non financial job?
my profile:
work ex: 2.5 yrs IT, good companies
GMAT: 700/5.0
BE- 74%
XII - 85.6%
X - 82.4%
ECs- decent
am a bit inclined towards jobs in asia only.. hk, china.. no probs
Thanks

Hong Kong have a current drive towards IT and Technology. As such there will be a surge in opportunity. www. cyberport.hk and the Hong Kong science and Technology parks are up and running and are incubating many technology companies. In terms of General management, there are consumer goods companies who recruit in Hong Kong such as LVMH, Hong Kong is a shopper paradise so many consumer companies have offices in Hong Kong. Most jobs are focused around HK/China including the tech companies like google, microsoft, skype etc. Although not traditionally an IT Hub, the finance sector always needs IT managers, and with the initiatives of the government in trying to bring in more technology companies, its set to improve. In terms of China, there are plenty of technology companies with regional head offices setting upi and establishing there. The prerequisite for most mainland jobs is the requirement to speak Mandarin.

Spring update was emailed today.

According to the brochure this years students are goingfor internship in companies such as :-
3M
ABN Amro
AXA
Blackrock
Citibank
Deutsche Bank
HSBC
ING
Lehman Brothers
Methanex
Merrill Lynch
Softbank
TPG

Hi friends,



Also, all the 'Indian' students have secured internships in HK, so successfully the language barrier has been broken into -we are awaiting work approvals. But, we will have to wait and watch for the final job placements.
~Prathap

Hi, do you have any breakdown or an estimate for this years internships in terms of industry and location?

I was interviewed 9th of January.
Was given an offer sometime near the beginning of February.

I also applied to :-

Stanford - Rejected
Manchester - Accepted
Hult - Accepted
Kellogg - Rejected
NUS - Accepted
Cornell - Withdrew after admittance from HKUST

From what I can see in the admitted students section. There are 4 people from India who have been accepted and allowed themselves to be shown to other admitted students.

I recommend you extend your invitations and networking to outside the Indian group as well.

Integration is a key factor in Japan, particularly because their are so few foreigners here (1%). Big groups of foreigners can be intimidating and put people off. Also one of the reasons i withdrew from NUS was the lack of integration between the nationalities, which in the long run, leads to a liimited networking capacity and alienation from different parts of the alumni.

Try to get the alumni from IUJ involved (do not just focus on Indian Alumni you need a broader perspective and an International network)

I will be matriculating Aug 2008