Student Blog
How to Get the Most Out of the HKBU Experience While Online
By Kali SMITH
internet photo
I know many international students are a bit bummed out right now- you signed up to get a Master’s Degree abroad in the vibrant, opportunity-filled city of Hong Kong but now the Hong Kong factor is missing from your fall education. The good news is that even though your learning is now online, many opportunities have now moved online as well.
Online Workshops
HKBU is really good about regularly scheduling online workshops for students to interact and gain experience outside of the classroom. When they are available, you will receive a timely email with a link to sign up. Now that things are online, there’s an expanded capacity for how many students can join a session.
To give you an idea of what kind of workshops are offered at HKBU, I scrolled back through my email for the Spring semester (which was also online). Some of the workshops were:
| Title | Content | Department Host |
|---|---|---|
|
Interactive Maps for Dummies |
● Visualizing spatial data using static or interactive maps ● Measuring economic activity with satellite-image data from NASA ● Choosing best business location using data from Google Maps |
Centre for Business Analytics and the Digital Economy |
|
Web Scraping for Dummies |
● Master the process and principles of web scraping ● Build your first web scraper ● Learn how to get around anti-scraping tactics |
Centre for Business Analytics and the Digital Economy |
|
Innovate with Design Thinking |
A proven technique providing leaders, managers, and teams to unlock creativity and deliver innovative solutions in the workplace |
Career Services Section |
|
Driving Value with Big Data |
An interactive course that gives an overview of the latest developments in big data and how data can be used to identify new opportunities to drive value as business leaders. |
Career Services Section |
For all of these I was directly emailed as it related to my programme (Applied Economics) but there is also a general email that is sent every day to every student called “Today@HKBU”. This email bulletin is where all seminars and events for students to be involved in are advertised and the venue- which is now almost always a link to a zoom webpage.
Virtual Career Fairs
The school is also good at advertising career fairs that are curated by HKBU and other groups in Hong Kong. Many different companies attend and will give breakout talks on their workplace and what they are looking for in clients. It is great for finding work post-graduation, as we can all use some help. This past semester some of the career fair opportunities were:
| Name | Description | |
|---|---|---|
|
HKBU Virtual Career Fair |
Online recruitment event that connects you with nearly hiring companies in real-time and allows you to discover internship, part-time and full-time job opportunities |
150+ recruiters |
|
EFMD Virtual Career Fairs |
Series of career fairs with positions based in APAC (Asia Pacific) and EMEA (Europe, the middle East, Africa) regions |
10 different fairs |
|
Cyberport Virtual Career Fair |
The Fair hopes to create a talent platform which is designed to provide job opportunities for job-seekers who are enthusiastic about innovation and technology. 700+ job vacancies, 50+ Live-webinars and recruitment talks/ webinars/ workshops. |
120+ companies |
Outside of these career fairs, the school also sends emails for any graduate opportunities they find that are available for student applications.
Competitions
There are a number of competitions that take place throughout Hong Kong that you can enter so long as you are a student in Hong Kong. The majority of the competitions center on Entrepreneurship or Coding and come with cash prizes! You will get emails from the school for many competitions and many of your classmates will be interested in creating teams with you. Many International Students have won seed money for their own businesses through participating in these competitions- and they will continue to exist in the online space until Hong Kong returns to normal. If you’re interested in competing, the best thing to do is google- you will find loads of opportunities.
Some of the competitions that have been available in the past are:
| Name | Description | Prizes |
|---|---|---|
|
Hack Asia |
For students, and startups, to develop technology-driven solutions to address current challenges faced by our companies and strategic partners. 36- Hour competition. |
HKD 20,000 for challenge winners and internship opportunities. 50,000 for grand prize winners. |
|
PwC STEM Challenge |
Problem solving, timed competition. Problems can be about Customer Experience, Operations Management, Risk Control, or Product Innovation. |
“Shortlisted” participants will receive a campus interview. Top winners for each topic will receive an “attractive” award. |
|
OWN Academy: Real World Challenge |
Propose a fun and innovative project idea for the summer where students can learn, do and get inspired |
Cash Prize Mentorship Internship |
|
Science and Technology Entrepreneur Programme |
STEP nurtures tech-focused entrepreneurs-to-be by sponsoring their innovative technology ideas from validation to business ventures. |
Training Marketing Opportunities Mentorship and Coaching Co-Working Space Up To HK$ 100,000 Seed Funding |
|
HKBU FIFA20 Online Tournament |
Online FIFA competition between students, staff, and alumni |
1st Place: HK$2,500 2nd Place: HK$1,500 3rd Place: HK$1,000 |
These are just a few of MANY competitions and challenges that occur throughout Hong Kong. If you have an interest (especially in tech or entrepreneurship) there are events to keep you busy that are just a google search away.
I know it is heartbreaking to be away from Hong Kong as your semester starts but thankfully many of the opportunities to be had are still available from your computer screen. By engaging in these webinars, competitions, and career fairs you are sure to enrich your learning experience and make connections before you move. Me and many of my peers have participated in these online programmes and I don’t know a single person who has regretted it. So don’t mope that your classes are online- instead, look for ways to take advantage of your status as a HKBU student!
