Amid the Covid-19 pandemic, Hong Kong’s top institutions rethink how their lectures and programmes are presented

Hong Kong’s professional education scene continues to be rated among the world’s best, and the city’s universities are among the highest-ranked in Asia.

The SAR is a highly sought-after destination not only for business itself but also business education. Its international reputation as Asia’s financial hub, plus a growing global distinction for academic excellence, has drawn an increasing number of senior executives to its business schools.

However, 2020, with the ongoing global pandemic, has not been an easy year for any education sector around the world. Many of the most prestigious establishments and institutions have had to reinvent how they present their lectures and reach their students, and have jumped onto remote learning in order to comply with social distancing rules imposed by their respective governments. Universities have been kicked into high gear when it comes to rethinking their programmes due to a changing global economic landscape. None has been able to rest on its laurels, especially when it comes to executive masters of business administration (EMBA) and doctorate of business administration (DBA) programmes, whose graduates must go on to deal with, and influence, the day-to-day management of companies in an already strained global economy.

Newly appointed EMBA director at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), Professor Howard Lam, says, “With the rapid deployment of technology and the outbreak of Covid-19, it is generally expected that the future will be very different. Our programme has responded promptly to these [concerns] to offer new elective courses on different topics such as digital economy and transformation, innovation/technology, crisis management, corporate social responsibilities, global supply chains strategy, and how to survive and succeed in global disordering.

“In light of rising corporate and managerial complexity and new challenges facing senior executives, our programme aims to improve participants’ analytical and decision-making capabilities, and enhance the competitive advantages of their enterprises.”

Part of CUHK’s EMBA curriculum involves major areas such as leadership, strategy with entrepreneurship, finance, globalisation and innovation/technology focuses, with an emphasis on the context of Hong Kong’s strategic location within China and the Asia-Pacific region.