I majored in Broadcast Journalism for my bachelor’s degree but developed an interest in marketing during my internship at LVMH’s marketing department. This compelled me to pivot my academic journey, leading me to apply for the Master of Science in Marketing at HKU Business School to learn about this field with a more structured approach.
I did not choose HKU by pure chance; it was a deliberate decision based on my own needs. HKU is a leading institute in Asia with international teaching staff and advanced resources. Its Marketing programme also warmly welcomes students who change disciplines midway. HKU’s curriculum covers both theories and industry practice. This is especially helpful for students like me who have practical experience but lack the professional background. Additionally, HKU offers attractive flexibility. Students can choose to graduate in either June or November, based on their own pace. This provided me with more career prospects, particularly the opportunity to join the Autumn Job Fair, giving me further advantages in the competitive market.
The main reasons for choosing HKU Business School include: 1. Employment Resources: The school offers extensive resources such as career counselling, internships and professional photo shoots to greatly assist first-time job seekers; 2. Diverse Job Opportunities: Studying at HKU allows us to tap into both the Hong Kong and Mainland China job markets, enhancing our job-seeking flexibility; 3. Flexible Graduation Time: With the option of getting my diploma in July or November, I can attend two rounds of autumn recruitment to maximise my chances of employment and minimise the cost of time.
As Asia’s financial hub, Hong Kong allows me to broaden my horizons, meet talented individuals, and gain more career opportunities. Hong Kong is also a multicultural and highly inclusive city, allowing me to be myself while making friends with diversified people from different regions.
After joining HKU Business School, I was soon exposed to real-world knowledge across various disciplines and had the opportunity to listen to people from different industries share their knowledge and experience. I thoroughly enjoyed these student activities, from which I gained many industry insights, and also established some valuable social networks.
I fully utilised the faculty’s career resources to prepare for working in Hong Kong. I joined the mentorship programme and developed a meaningful connection with my mentor and fellow alumni member, Jerry Li – a seasoned professional with extensive strategic experience. He offered guidance on job hunting and actively participated in my career planning, helping me identify my strengths, evaluate prospects, and set a clear direction.
Moreover, I engaged in various activities, acquiring diverse advice from industry experts like Paul Li, an experienced senior executive in medicine, a sector investor, former General Manager of Asia Pacific for CSL Behring, and now a board member of several corporations and professional organisations. All of these resources aided my successful establishment in the Hong Kong job market.
After five years of working, it was quite an exciting journey for me to go back to school. The programme and curriculum at HKU Business School provided a good balance between academic theories and practices in the real-life business context, which allowed me to reflect on and re-look at everything that I have done in the past five years. All the projects that I did at work became my own case studies.
The empowerment, the group dynamic, and the teamwork culture were a few other highlights that I enjoyed and appreciated a lot. Together with the team, we were able to apply theories into practice along with our imaginative and innovative ideas. We also received constant feedback from our experienced professors throughout the programme.
Apart from traditional exams, we were also put “on stage” and under the spotlight to pitch our business proposals and analyses not only in front of our classmates but also “clients” from various industries. It was indeed a fun and memorable experience.
The career workshops and mentorship opportunities were incredibly valuable. They helped me systematically optimise my LinkedIn profile, boost my confidence in presenting myself professionally, and expand my network of high-quality contacts. In fact, these connections opened doors for me to secure freelance opportunities while I was still a student—which was a great way to apply what I was learning in real-world situations. HKU offers numerous opportunities, but whether you can make the most of them depends on you. If you’re determined to learn, the programme will definitely reward your efforts.
