The School Side of My Study Abroad

My blog mostly showcases my adventures of my study abroad. Vacations. Animal Encounters. Culture. Food. But my blog doesn't really touch the "real" purpose of my study abroad--to study. And since I'm hoping that someday this blog will inspire someone to take the plunge and go on a study abroad (maybe even to HKUST! Do it!!) I thought I would write a post about all the learning I've been doing at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

My Classes

Strategic Brand Management- Definitely my favorite class that I'm taking at HKUST for 3 reasons. 1) Attractive professor--it really makes a difference. 2) They don't offer this class at BYU and since brand management is something I'm interested in doing as a career, I really enjoy not having to wait until Grad school to learn about it. 3) I'm actually growing. I love classes that allow me to grow as a person or a business person (in this case). The class is pretty difficult. But I have seen my critical thinking skills get better as the semester goes on.

Mandarin for Non-Chinese Background Students- The class that tries to teach me Mandarin. It's a very interactive class with lots of group activities. My laoshi (teacher) is a really nice lady who has an adorable small child whom I get to see sometimes at random HKUST events.

Entrepreneurship and Small Business Studies- Another class that pushes me to my limits, but I'm learning a lot. The whole class is learning the life cycle of a venture from idea conception to IPO (Initial Public Offering). Plus, there are no midterms or final exam. Student do have to write a business plan, which is a hefty assignment. I really enjoy the guest speakers from top ventures in Hong Kong.

Consumer Behavior- My least favorite class. The professor just lectures at us for an hour and a half in a soft voice that puts me to sleep. But despite the struggle to pay attention in class, I am surprisingly learning a lot. In Thailand, I saw consumer behavior terms in practice as I watched my fellow travelers make decisions on what to buy.

HKUST vs BYU

A question I get from a lot of students at HKUST and from home is "How does HKUST compare to BYU?" One of the nice things about UST is the smaller class size. It's nice not to have a class with 800 other students. Therefore, it is easier to participate and participation is expected. Participation plays an important role in your grade at UST. It's not enough to just come to class.

As for work load, UST is very similar to upper level classes in the Marriott School, lots of group projects and case studies. And I felt about the same amount of stress that I feel at BYU.

I do think that tests are harder at UST than BYU. They are very memorization heavy, rather than application heavy. I had to revert to studying techniques I haven't used since high school like Cornell notes.

So that's a little bit about the academic side of my study abroad.