Dynamic careers get a SHARP edge in Hong Kong

Whether it’s handling international financial transactions or dealing with the huge volume of cargo that moves in and out of the city’s port, Hong Kong companies require sophisticated employees who are up to date with the latest business practices and theory. Fortunately, “Asia’s world city” is home to some of the world’s top MBA programmes, training tomorrow’s business leaders – something essential in an era when business is increasingly global rather than local.

Gone are the days when Hongkongers needed to head abroad for the best teaching. Last year six institutions from mainland China and Hong Kong ranked in the top 100 of the Financial Times’ Global MBA Ranking 2019.

One relatively young institution making waves is City University, which ranked fourth in the QS Top 50 under 50 Global University Rankings for 2020, and 15th in the Times Higher Education Asia University Rankings in 2019. Now, CityU aspires to become one of the leading global MBA programmes.

The course has been revamped in recent years and placed on a “progressive path”, says MBA director professor Kevin Chiang. “Our slogan, ‘We are SHARP’, implies our strategic commitment,” Chiang adds. “We are committed to fostering a business education environment with world-class software, state-of-the-art hardware and well-connected alumni, in order to boost global talent recruitment and to power them to achieve a career-advancing placement.”

As befits a programme with international aspirations, CityU’s MBA has increasingly sought to bring into the classroom practical and cutting-edge knowledge tempered by a global perspective. Students have been able to benefit from a broad spectrum of experiential learning opportunities from across the world. In the UK, CityU has partnered with Imperial College London for a global brand management workshop, while in the United States, University of California Berkeley has helped offer a similar workshop focused on fostering entrepreneurship.

“These courses are all projects in which students will have to reach out and work with different organisations,” explains Chiang. “In the global brand management workshop, our MBA students have worked on projects for iconic brands including luxury carmaker Bentley, supermarket chain Tesco and Edwardian Hotels, where students developed branding strategies for the Asian market. At the same time, the entrepreneurship workshop allowed students to learn from Berkeley faculty and entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley through workshops and visits to innovative companies such as Ford and Google. They put what they learn into practice by developing a comprehensive business plan, which they present to venture capitalists for genuine evaluation.”