Study in Hong Kong, Set Your Sights on the World

Hong Kong is an international city, yet is closely entwined with the economy of mainland China. These conditions have nurtured a pluralistic commercial and trade platform.

Emily Wu is currently in her second year in the Department of Accounting and Finance at Hong Kong Polytechnic University. After graduating from Taipei’s Zhong Shan Girls High School, she took advantage of the option that students in Taiwan now have to apply to Hong Kong universities using the General Scholastic Ability Test (GSAT), which universities in Taiwan were already using for preliminary assessment of students. Why Hong Kong? “The all-English teaching environment is what appealed to me most,” she says. Teachers at the school come from many different countries, so everyone uses English in class, allowing her to quickly become immersed in the language.

In addition, Wu has found Hong Kong to be a broadening experience, affecting her perspective on the world. “About half the students in my classes are from Hong Kong and the other half from mainland China, with a small number from other countries. When we do group projects I have to interact with non-Taiwanese students, and because of cultural differences, the ways people understand things or their deeply rooted viewpoints often create divergences of opinion. I want to master intercultural communication, and being here is like dress rehearsal every single day.”

 

For Wu, classes are a constant collision of cultures. “Teachers from different countries have different approaches to teaching, but the vast majority ask a lot of questions in class, so that students will express their own views. And believe me, everyone has an opinion! There isn’t a single person among my classmates whose brain is idle or a blank slate.”

Another major difference for Wu is that, unlike in Taiwan, in Hong Kong students in a given year and department are not grouped into classes that take all their courses together. In Hong Kong, Wu explains, in the first year students enter a college, not a department, and there is no class system. Even in the second year, when students choose a major, students in other majors can take your courses as options, and you can take theirs. In other words, students from different departments are all mixed together. Without some kind of class in-group, she feels like there is no inherent place where you “belong.” As a result, “You have to be pretty pro-active about making friends, because the person next to you in class today may be from some completely different department, and you may never encounter them in the classroom again.”

Students from Taiwan who go to university in Hong Kong generally feel a lot more academic pressure than in Taiwan. Anya Hsieh, a second-year student at the Chinese University of Hong Kong who studies industrial and commercial management and who graduated from the Affiliated High School of National Chengchi University in Taiwan, feels this aspect strongly: “In Taiwan, during high school you get tremendous pressure from national entrance exams, because they are critical to determining what university you attend. So when students get to university, they feel more or less like they’ve gotten the prize and can relax. A lot of students, having gotten through the ‘exam hell’ of high school, just want to slow down and enjoy their college days. The only ones who don’t are those who are determined to go to graduate school and stay in the academic lifestyle. But in Hong Kong, college education is designed from A to Z to get students skills they can take into the workplace. It’s a completely different situation.”

Anya Hsieh says that most university students in Hong Kong go straight into the job market after graduation. The point of study is to arm them for the commercial battlefield, and both schools and faculty place their focus on future employment for their students. “Even in the first year,” says Hsieh, “the professor made us each do presentations in front of the class. He was very strict about things like where our eyes were looking, and whether we spoke clearly and incisively, and he made us practice over and over again until we got it right. This is because in the future, when you get a job, presentations to clients will be essential.”

 

The pedagogical philosophy is fundamentally different in Taiwan than in Hong Kong. University education in Taiwan emphasizes comprehensive systems of knowledge, building the base level out of academic theory rather than functional knowledge, in order to create a solid foundation for future mastery of the given academic discipline. But in Hong Kong, college is for equipping students with adaptability for the future job market, running them through “live-fire maneuvers” to prepare them for real jobs. Each approach has its strengths and weaknesses, and they aren’t necessarily transferable from one place to another.

Harry Tsai, a third-year student at the City University of Hong Kong and a graduate of Tainan First Senior High School, studies civil and structural engineering. He is fascinated by the international perspective that predominates in Hong Kong, but also has his future career prospects in mind: “In recent years Hong Kong has been going non-stop to add new infrastructure. It’s a very dynamic feeling. In this field the demand for trained manpower is only going to rise.”

Tsai, like other students we spoke with, has high praise for the fact that professors in Hong Kong not only impart knowledge, but also help students build the skills and abilities they will need in the future workplace. “They teach us a lot about what it is really like on the ground doing real engineering projects, for example what kinds of equipment you will need to survey what kinds of sites; or they ask us to think about how we would begin a major infrastructure project.”

Going to the University of Hong Kong to study art? Chen ­Xuanying is definitely taking the road less traveled.

Kevin Wang is currently in his second year at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, where he double-­majors in computer engineering with a BBA in general business management. His heavy workload has left him looking a little haggard and sallow, but there is method to his madness. “The reason I chose Hong Kong to continue my education is the internationalization here. In the future, I might consider going abroad to further my studies, and a degree from Hong Kong will make it easier to do that. And since it’s an all-English environment here, I’ll be able to adapt more quickly. On the other hand, if I decide to get a job, this is close to mainland China, where there will be greater opportunities in the future.” For Wang, Hong Kong is a springboard for making the leap to Asia, America, and Europe, or to the limitless possibilities in Hong Kong itself and in mainland China.

Another factor that attracts students from Taiwan is that tuition in Hong Kong is much cheaper than in the US or Europe. Wang relates that “generally speaking, tuition in Hong Kong is around NT$420–460,000 a year. Add in room, board, and other expenses, and the total is about NT$600–800,000 a year, or only half the cost of going to the US or Europe. If you don’t want to spend a couple of million NT dollars to get your education in the West, but you do want an all-English­ educational environment, Hong Kong is a very good option.”

Harry Tsai, a third-year student of civil and structural engineering at the City University of Hong Kong, is optimistic about future employment opportunities in Hong Kong, saying that the city is continually adding new infrastructure.

Angela Shen is a second-year student at the City University of Hong Kong, where she studies marketing. Her parents were born and bred in Taiwan, then moved to Indonesia. Shen therefore was in schools in Taiwan until her early teens, and then in Indonesia she attended an international high school. Yet she ended up going to university in Hong Kong. “My parents didn’t want me to go to the US. They were afraid I would become too ‘Western.’ So we settled on Hong Kong. One reason is that instruction here is all in English, which is the environment I was in in the international school. And it is still an Asian culture, though with some features of Western culture. Moreover, Hong Kong is in a very unique location, right next to mainland China, very close to Taiwan, and conveniently located for air travel to any city in Asia, so it is also easy for me go home to Indonesia.”

Though Taiwan students must deal with “culture shocks” on campus, they can simply keep an open mind and take these as opportunities to broaden their worldview. “From a marketing perspective,” Shen states, “the essential thing is to persuade others to accept your viewpoint. European and mainland Chinese students are very opinionated, and direct about expressing their likes and dislikes. Hong Kong students keep more of an open mind. First they’ll listen to what others have to say, then if they disagree they’ll express their own ideas.” She pauses, thinks, and adds, “Personally, I guess I’m more like the Hong Kong students.”

Angela Shen, a marketing major in her second year at the City University of Hong Kong, had her childhood education in both Taiwan and Indonesia. Thus she has first-hand experience of three different educational systems.

Hong Kong is a pluralistic society, a melting pot of Eastern and Western cultures. While its reputation is for finance and trade, it also has its cultural allure. Chen Xuan­ying studies art at the University of Hong Kong, which definitely makes her “alternative” compared to students who choose more favored fields like finance, economics, and information technology. “Yeah, I know it’s a little quirky to come here to study the arts,” she admits, “but that’s what I’m interested in, and the art history curriculum I’m getting in Hong Kong is not something you’ll find in Taiwan.”

Most people assume that students who study in fields inspired by the muses are aiming to be creative artists in the future, but that is not necessarily the case. In fact, the art market in Hong Kong is very robust, and has been growing rapidly. The key is that in Hong Kong, a top Asian financial center, there are a lot of rich people with money to burn, or at least to invest. The big spenders who have made Hong Kong’s auction market into a global hub need help from professionals with a profound understanding of the arts. It’s a win-win situation for both buyers and scholars of art.

Chen relates, “When summer vacation rolls around, the professors in our department all encourage us to take part-time jobs in museums, auction houses, or art galleries, so we can understand how this market operates.” Clearly in Hong Kong there are a lot of options even for students of the arts.

“At the very least, you get out of your comfort zone and can explore an unfamiliar city and experience a new type of career option,” says Chen. “You will also have more opportunities to go to other cities around the world, so you don’t have to confine yourself to developing your career in one spot.” To Chen, this is the most meaningful thing about studying in Hong Kong.

Interestingly, beyond their heavy course loads, these wanderers in Hong Kong have rediscovered their sense of identity with their homeland. Virtually all of the students interviewed say they are constantly asked questions about Taiwan, and in thinking about these they develop a sense of nostalgia for Taiwan’s scenery, its mouthwatering food, its warm and friendly service.... As they describe Taiwan to their classmates, they get the chance to reflect on what Taiwan really means to them, and develop an even stronger sense of attachment to their country.

Anya Hsieh, a second-year student at the Chinese University of Hong Kong who studies industrial and commercial management, says that in Hong Kong, college is all about future employment—practical skills are emphasized over academic theory.