The new students from MBA Cohort 2017 were welcomed by Professor Way Kuo, University President at the Orientation Dinner on 2 September 2017 held at Discovery Bay Hong Kong. The Honourable Elsie Leung Oi-sie, GBM, JP was invited to give a keynote speech to the new students.
In the opening remarks of Professor Kuo, he shared one of the unique features of CityU MBA Programme was the international diversity. He explained that “international” did not mean what languages we spoke. “It means our hearts can talk to each other. We are all equal and objective. We welcome all the knowledge. All the people from different background are called to come to learn with each other to make this society much better,” he said.
Professor Kuo also highlighted the importance of promoting Data Science and interpreting information from different angles in a scientific and systemic way. He indicated that MBA Programme enhanced students’ understanding not only for business but also for the society at large.
Another highlight of the dinner was the insightful sharing on the “Belt and Road” Initiative by the Honourable Elsie Leung. She introduced the background of OBOR and urged students to view the Initiative not only on its economic benefits but also the positive influences in politics, diplomacy and the humanities.
Professor Houmin Yan, Dean of the College of Business (CB) echoed the sharing of the President and Ms. Leung. He pointed out that CB has been actively involved in promoting Data Science in business study and research applications. Professor Yan also introduced the CityU Research Centre on OBOR directed by him and the PPP Specialist Centre jointly established with Tsinghua University and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). In this uniquely international and forward-looking university, he hoped to work together with the students and wished them to had good learning experiences in MBA.
Before the Dinner, Professor Kevin Chiang, MBA Director warmly welcomed new students in the afternoon talk. He encouraged students to set goals in advance and plan ahead so as to have a personally and professionally rewarding MBA study in the coming year.
Also attending the Orientation Dinner were Dr. Ron Kwok Chi-wai, Dean of Students, Professor Wayne Yu, Assistant Dean of Executive Education at CB, Professor Kim Jeong Bon, Acting Head of Accountancy, Dr. Christoph Schneider, MBA Associate Director, Dr. Wilson Chan, MBA Associate Director of Outreach, Dr. Vikas Kakkar, MBA Coordinator in Finance and Professor Yulin Fang, MBA Coordinator in Information Management.
We were grateful to have tremendous support from our alumni and students at the dinner, Ms Sharon Wong (MBA Full-time Student 2016) and Mr. CK Fok (MBA’16) for being the masters of ceremony, Ms Frances Tang (MBA’05) for the harp performance, Miss Sarah Yin (MBA’15) and Miss Ng Man Yu (MBA Part-time Student 2017) for the solo keyboard recitals, and Mr. Stanley Zheng (MBA’16) for the sharing about MBA Alumni Association.
The MBA Orientation is a two-day programme. New MBA students participated in a mix of academic and social activities, including exciting team-building exercises with their new study companions, cocktail gathering to network with alumni and senior students, insightful speeches by renowned guests, musical performance by alumni and students at the dinner, and also talks by faculty members and industry experts on new career-driven electives which helped them to have a better preparation for the MBA journey ahead.
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