Friday 16th July 2010, the business trip continued in Hong Kong with several surprises. The weather so far has been really great but the Organisation Committee was anxious about a possible Typhoon in the area of Hong Kong for the last day of the trip. What a surprise when all the participants opened the curtains and realised that a sunny day was scheduled!
The day was organised in three main parts and started early in the YMCA lobby hotel in order to visit one of the top 150 universities in the world: the City University of Hong Kong in Kowloon. The City University of Honk Kong aspires to become a leading global university and provides education in the field of humanities and social sciences, science and engineering, business management. Mr. Stefan König, previous student at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences welcomed us and had the opportunity to share its experience at the City University of Hong Kong during a presentation. He graduate his Master degree in Hong Kong and had enjoyed it very much. The presentation went very well and each student could ask questions about the academic programmes, the student life and how a university works abroad. He explained us the main differences on the education level and the student life of a foreign student in the Asia Pacific region. That morning, we realised that the City University of Hong Kong benefit from its proximity to mainland China and the rest of the world. As the university provide dynamic learning and research environment for students, some of the participants started to consider Hong Kong as a destination for an MBA. Indeed, Hong Kong plays an important role in the business dimension of the Pearl River Delta economic zone. Companies requires skilled human resources thus the strategic position of the City University, it creates a knowledge Hub for professionals.
After visiting the university, the group went for a Harbour Tour and enjoyed the lunch break. This moment was one of the highlight events of the trip where everyone could sit in the boat and discover Hong Kong on a sunny day. The boat went from the Kowloon Island to the Hong Harbour then to the Nga Ying Chau, Ma Wan channel and came back to Tsim Sha Tsui. The landscape was a mix of modern skyscrapers, shipping boats, wild nature and length about 2.5 hours. We also had the opportunity to be guided all along the cruise with explanations on Hong Kong expansion.
The day wasn’t finished and the group continued the journey with another university visit: The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Dedicated to support the industries and serving the community, the university was established in 1997 and have groomed more than 284,000 graduates. When ZHAW differentiate itself with building competence, crossing borders, the Hong Kong Polytechnic University focuses on innovation. We had the chance to see in advance the future plans of the university expansion. As the university is located in the heart of Asia, it needed more modern buildings. The visit ended up with the tower of innovation where the school presented its star projects such as: nano-particules that clean water, master of miniaturization and other advanced technology ideas.
However, all good things come to an end and the group went for the farewell dinner in a fabulous seafood restaurant to celebrate the end of the trip. Mr. Rüttimann and Mr. Haelg shared their feelings about the China business trip. Everyone had the chance to pick up their fish before enjoying it at the table! This moment was unique and very special for all the participants as it was the last group meeting.