The Review 2008

10 11 An International Perspective The University’s international reputation and location as a regional hub makes it an attractive option for students from outside Hong Kong. Each year we admit students from dozens of countries from around the world. Omang Rain Narang could claim several of these countries as his home. Omang grew up in Afghanistan, India, Russia and Saudi Arabia before returning to India for an undergraduate degree in computer sciences. He then worked four years for an American company. Now he is at the University of Hong Kong pursuing an MBA. The city and the University suit him well. “You don’t feel out of place here, it’s a one-world city,” he said. Omang chose HKU because of its reputation, the Faculty of Business and Economics’ new par tnership programme with Columbia Business School and the London Business School, and the fact that it is located in one of the world’s financial capitals. Similar reasons attracted his classmate James Kaylin, who studied economics and Chinese at the University of Virginia and grew up inWashington, DC. “I did a cer tain amount of research into US MBA schools, but I found they attract a lot of the same types of applicants.You don’t get the diversity that you do here. When I came to HKU, although I expected a diverse group, I didn’t realise how diverse it would be – that I would be doing group projects with people from all over the place, not only from Asia but even as far away as Brazil,” he said. The standard of teaching has been impressive, too. “In 10 years’ time we’ll be wondering, how did our professors know we would need to know this?” James said. “They are very aware of what we need to learn. And they are not just teaching us quantitative skills, but how to do things like network and perform in interviews.” The University admitted 1,807 international students to full-time postgraduate studies in 2007-08 and 889 to undergraduate programmes. Another 709 students came from abroad on exchange programmes, while 805 HKU students travelled to 19 countries on exchange. In addition, the University has special initiatives to engage with top students from overseas. HKU students par ticipate in the Harvard College in Asia programme and students from Harvard, Cambridge, Yale, Princeton and Stanford come here for two special programmes: the Crimson Summer Exchange to teach secondar y school students on our campus, and the Learn, Live and Intern in China programme to learn and work here alongside our students. Teaching • The Review 2008 A Cultural Education Language students are expected to master new tongues, but words and grammar alone do not provide cultural insights. With that in mind, final-year undergraduates of Japanese Studies have been given a chance to work with Japanese companies and learn how to function within a different culture. The year-long course requires small teams of students to work on projects with the companies, communicate with managers and write a 4,000-word reflective essay on what worked, what didn’t and why. “One of the most common difficulties for graduates working in Japanese companies is trying to convince their bosses how to adapt their Japanese approaches and services to the Hong Kong market,” Dr Yoshiko Nakano of the Depar tment of Japanese Studies said. “This project requires students to get Japanese managers to see their point of view. It can be very intimidating. They have to make presentations, not just write reports, and they are graded on the results.” Joyce Leung was admitted to the course in 2007-08 and worked with three other students on how to localise a frequent flyer programme for a Japanese airline. The students surveyed 260 respondents at the airpor t, using a questionnaire devised in consultation with the airline.The experience revealed the hierarchical management structure of Japanese companies and elaborate decision-making process. Even minor modifications in publications had to be passed back to headquar ters in Japan for approval. “In Hong Kong we str ive for ef ficiency and effectiveness. We thought it might take too much time to re-print and approve, but later we recognised that this was a characteristic of a Japanese company. They need a black and white record, sufficient resources, discussions and negotiations, before a final decision will be made.This approach to decision-making was a cultural insight for us,” Joyce said. The School of Modern Languages and Cultures offers 10 language and four ‘area studies’ programmes, of which Japanese Studies is one, as well as other rich experiential learning courses such as summer internships. It is extending initiatives in Japanese Studies to other languages. “The most impor tant thing is that the experience has to be beneficial for both sides,” Dr Nakano said. “If it just benefits HKU students, then it’s not sustainable. I think Japanese companies are happy to have these projects and internships and be in dialogue with our students. Companies need multi-perspectives, as do students.” Dr Yoshiko Nakano with her students Omang Rain Narang (left) with James Kaylin