Diego Strebel at City University of Hong Kong, China

Diego Strebel

BCom International Business

Semester Exchange in the Second Semester, 2022 at the City University of Hong Kong

Pre-departure:

In preparation for my exchange semester in Hong Kong, I focused my efforts on a few main points: online university registration and enrolment, the visa application process, flights, quarantine hotel and student accommodation. For the online university registration and enrolment process, I had to supply the City University of Hong Kong (City U) with my personal details, an electronic passport photo, previous certifications, a brief paragraph of why I would be an ideal fit as an exchange student at this university, as well as my preferred module choices.

I had chosen ten modules provisionally; however, only two were ultimately allocated to me – meaning I was three short of the required credits to pass. This was slightly stressful, considering the process of selecting and allocating modules was extremely unclear and confusing. We were given ‘windows’ of two hours on three days to make module changes and there were ‘x’ number of steps to navigate through. Not to mention, the website for doing so probably has not been redesigned in 20 years. I had to engage in multiple E-mail communications with different heads of departments until finally, I was able to sort everything out. I would recommend City U rethink their approach to this as fellow incoming exchange students and I struggled with this.

There is not much to say about the visa application process: all I had to do was send the necessary visa application documents to the exchange coordinator in Hong Kong, and she took care of the rest. I received the visa roughly one month prior to my departure. I would like to emphasize how grateful I am for this hassle-free visa process: I was able to check online at what step of the process my application was in. At the time of my arrival, Hong Kong still had a mandatory quarantine period of seven days. For this period, I had to search for a government-approved hotel. Considering the limited supply of quarantine rooms in Hong Kong, I would not have found accommodation for those seven days if I had waited to receive the visa before booking. This was a conscious risk I took, booking everything prior to having received the visa.

Thereafter it was time to search for suitable student accommodation. The exchange coordinator in Hong Kong sent us a couple of recommendations. I am not staying in the student residence as I missed the application deadline for this. That, however, was not a problem as there were many options not too far away from the university. That being said, student accommodation would have been the most affordable option–by far. Next on the to-do list were flights–nothing out of the ordinary: I made sure my flights included orientation week as well as the final day of examination and made bookings.

Experience at the Host University

I enrolled in the following modules: Financial Systems, Markets and Instruments, Introduction to Artificial Intelligence (AI), Management, Persuasion in daily life, and Security Analysis and Portfolio Management. As 50% of the modules I was permitted to choose had to be business-related, I made sure to try something out of my usual interests. I enrolled in the AI course since I believed it would be exciting because I am doing my exchange in Hong Kong, which is under the control of China, and is highly focused on developing AI systems and technology. Additionally, the Persuasion course was interesting, and I feel I have benefited and can apply certain concepts to my everyday life.

The other classes were not anything unforeseeable to me as they were all business related. Similar to the University of Stellenbosch, I noticed that most courses’ final grades are comprised of a group assignment (project or presentation) and a final examination. Where City U differs from SU is in that attendance was recorded for most of my classes and comprised part of the overall grade. Similarly, one has to claim points for participation by emailing the lecturer with the contributions one makes during class. In addition to this, there is only one final assessment towards the end of the semester and no ‘A1, 2 and 3’. This forces students to undergo higher levels of stress to perform well in the final exam as there is no second opportunity.

I was fortunate to befriend a group of locals through the student exchange club at City U who were eager to show me their city. I participated in numerous university-organized activities and excursions, such as horse racing, trips to different islands, beaches, temples, and local markets, tried the local cuisine and was able to experience the local nightlife. This was a great way to fully indulge myself into the Hong Kong culture and meet and make new friends, as most of my classes were held in an online environment, which made it difficult to connect with professors and other students. This is partially due to the fact that it was online and partially due to the fact that local students tend to be more introverted and reserved than South Africans or any other culture for that matter.

Diego on an island excursion with exchange friends

Return to Stellenbosch:

I will be returning to South Africa in just over two weeks and am already able to draw a few conclusions about changed perspectives. I am quite excited to return back to Cape Town as it has been a few months since seeing my friends and family. I am looking forward to experiencing once again the more open culture of South Africa when compared to that of Hong Kong. Although this cannot be said for every individual here, it is apparent that in general, people in Hong Kong live more stressful, distant, self-oriented lives. The overall atmosphere is less relaxed and more fast-paced. In terms of adjustment to the weather, Cape Town and Hong Kong have similar seasons to the extent that it never truly gets cold, and the summers are sweltering. The one difference is that Hong Kong has a more tropical and, therefore, humid climate, whereas it is simply hot in Cape Town. It will be comfortable not having to walk into a cold and heavily air-conditioned lecture hall or shopping mall and not to break into a sweat every time I leave my accommodation, regardless of the time of day.

Another observation I have made which will require some adjustment is that in my home country of Switzerland and Hong Kong, the education system focuses more on applying one’s learning, engaging with the material, and presenting it to the class so as to retain the most information for the most prolonged time. In Stellenbosch, the exams ask students to ‘list the15 sub-points to this’ and ‘recall the ten reasons for…’. This has the consequence that students study for exams rather than for their learning which I feel is untrue for educational system of Hong Kong.

Hong Kong has also changed my perspective on poverty and safety. Like any city, there is poverty in Hong Kong, and a major problem here remains the housing of 200’000+ people in so-called ‘cage homes’. These inhuman living conditions can still be too expensive for some, meaning they have no choice but to result in homelessness. About 1’500 people are homeless in Hong Kong. This demonstrates that although housing affordability is a problem in Hong Kong the government will try its best to provide you with alternative solutions. Walking through Hong Kong, even in less wealthy neighborhoods with homelessness, one feels safe almost all the time. Hong Kong is one of the safest cities in the world, and regardless of whether that is true because of surveillance or strict punishment, one does feel that safety is a shared value here. That will not be the case upon re-entry to Cape Town, where Covid-19 has exacerbated the economic and social situation.

Hong Kong has influenced my future plans in the sense that I am now convinced that I will one day live and work in a vibrant Asian mega-city be it Hong Kong or somewhere else in South-East Asia. I love the food, culture, weather and have made some lasting connections here. My South African study visa expires in one year, meaning I have no other option than to go abroad again, and although I am unsure as to where my next home will be, I hope it is South America for a couple of years to continue my studies and then Asia to settle down for a few years.