Dr Raymond Wong is Associate Dean (Undergraduate Programmes). Here he talks about how the BBA is offering more choices, adapting to market needs, and his aspirations for our undergraduate students.
What attracts students to the College of Business BBA?
We are building something quite special for our students. New initiatives such as the double major feature, the dual degree programme with Columbia U, and the two College-based flagship programmes – the BSc in Computational Finance and Financial Technology, and BBA in Global Business are opening doors to a great learning journey and promising career opportunities. We combine a world of choice – 11 different specialist undergraduate programmes – with a superbly developed collegiate core.
Why has the College developed this new double major?
Greater flexibility and diversification increase our students' competitiveness to fit with market needs. The double major is a big curriculum reengineering project and all the CB departments and programmes have played a part in making it happen. The new curriculum facilitates students' choices of desirable majors, and they can graduate on time and without deferment.
Dr Raymond Wong (middle) and the Undergraduate Programmes team
"We have experienced great success in open competitions"
How can the double major help our students in the job market?
Well, say in the accounting field if you want to work in a CPA firm as an auditor, accounting is of course required as the major. But employers may also wish graduates to have knowledge about blockchain, AI, big data, etc. to facilitate the auditing job. So, an Accounting + Information Systems double major would make you very competitive in the job market.
What makes our CB undergraduate programmes special?
We are very active in creating a world beyond the university. That means above all internationalisation – 61% of our students go overseas on exchange tours, and internships – 54% graduates with work-related experience. Our students have the world at their fingertips.
How competitive are our students?
We have experienced great success in open competitions. During the last year alone, BBA students were first runner-up prize in the HSBC/HKU Hong Kong Business Cases Competition, have won the Merit Award in the ACCA Hong Kong Business Competition, and have attained the Hong Kong Undergraduate Financial Planners of the Year Award. Our students demonstrate excellence in these competitions.
Do employers like our students?
Yes! I've been chatting with numerous employers at various venues, and they tell us that we are indeed popular in the employment market. We have to pass on this positive message to our students.
How important is career development?
Student futures are our business. We put a lot of work into this. We have just organised the 3rd Business Career Fair which featured 32 leading companies including S&P 500 and multinationals. We have also established a Business Career Development Advisory Committee with a group of leading corporate executives, and we have a very active Career Development team assisting students with career planning, and job hunting. The full-time employment rate of our BBA graduates is over 94%.
What are your aspirations for our CB students?
Our CB students are doing very well. Sometimes, they do not know how good they are, and are too humble to express themselves sometimes. My aspiration is that through their learning journey with us, our students fully know their strengths and potentials, and also acknowledge their weakness and ways for improvement, and that they ultimately play to their strengths.
"Our CB students are doing very well. Sometimes, they do not know how good they are"
Who is there for our BBA students?
Our Undergraduate Programmes team led by Ms Chanel Leung is the face of our UG programmes and may be found on the 9th floor of Lau Ming Wai Academic Building.
And to sum up?
The College opens the doors. Our proactive students go grab the opportunities!
