Exchange Report

The University of Texas at - McCombs School of Business

Hung Man Hin Ernest Spring 2017

MONTHLY ACTIVITY LOG

Contents

Monthly Activity Log January 2017 ...... 2 February 2017 ...... 3 March 2017 ...... 4 April 2017 ...... 5 May 2017 ...... 6 General Exchange Informaton Visa Procedure ...... 7 Things to do before orientation activites ...... 7 orientation activites...... 7 International services & activities ...... 8 Accommodations ...... 8 Course registrations ...... 8 Teaching & Assessment methods ...... 9 Sports & recreation Facilities ...... 10 Finance and banking ...... 10 Social clubs and networking opportunities ...... 11 Health and Safety ...... 11 Food ...... 11 Transportation ...... 11 Climate ...... 12 Communication ...... 12 Cautionary measures ...... 12 Items to bring & Others Items to bring ...... 13 Useful Links and contacts ...... 13

Page 1 MONTHLY ACTIVITY LOG

JANUARY 2017 I arrived Austin a week earlier than as required by the school. There were several things that should be done as soon as you are arrived. For instance, I went to the student services building to do tuberculin screening and immunization clearance. I also registered in the (FAC) and collected my UT Student Identification Card, which could be used to waive the bus fares while traveling around in Austin. I have joined the International Student Orientation, where staff from the Exchange Office explained culture and traditions of Texas. It was also a good chance to make friends with other international students including PG students. We were also required to hand in a list of courses that we would like to take in the exchange semester to the BBA Program Office. I haven’t joined much orientation activities. Yet, I highly recommend new comers to join these events as staff from Exchange Office will bring participants to several attractions. Instead during the 1-week break before the start of semester, I have travelled to San Francisco with other exchange students for a weekend and visited attractions like Golden Gate Bridge, Lombard Street and Pier 39.

- Night scene taken at Twin Peaks, San Francisco

Page 2 MONTHLY ACTIVITY LOG

FEBRUARY 2017 It has been around 2 weeks since the classes kicked off on 17th January. Most of the professors laid out the syllabus in the first lesson and thus there were sufficient information for me to decide whether or not I should take the courses. The professors were outgoing and willing to provide their points of views on the difficulty and burden of the courses. The 5 courses I have enrolled were as follows: FIN374C Valuation, MAN337 Entrepreneurship & Innovation, MIS325 Database Management, MIS373 Data Visualization & Analytics and MKT372 Global Marketing. I have joined the BBA Career Services Career Expo which was held in Rec Sports Center. It was indeed an eye-opening experience as multinational companies such as J.P. Morgan, Ernst & Young and Pepsi Co. have sent their recruitment officers to mingle and further provide information regarding their talent acquisition programs. Although most of the companies stated that they will not consider exchange students, participating such event certainly broadened my horizon and knew more about the culture of job hunting in the United States. Since it was still the start of the semester, I was still able to spend some free time and visit New York with other exchange students. We have visited attractions like Statue of Liberty, Wall Street and Empire State Building.

- Scenery at Empire State Building

Page 3 MONTHLY ACTIVITY LOG

MARCH 2017 Most of the mid-term examinations were scheduled before the spring break. Thus, most of my time were spent on preparing the group projects and examinations. During the 1-week holiday in Spring Break, I met up with my friends and we spent the holiday in Orlando, Miami, Denver and Colorado. We have visited several tourist attractions like Disneyland’s Magical Kingdom, South Beach, Denver zoo, City of Gods and several hiking trails in Colorado. We have also tried out gun shooting and kart racing. We originally planned to ski in a ski resort in Colorado. Yet, there was a hill fire that unfortunately stopped us from going. But in general, Denver and Miami were the best places for people like us who love sports.

- Scenery at Disney World

I have signed up a program called PALS, which was organized by UT to match exchange and local students with similar interests. Through the program, I was paired to Connie, a local student who was in her final year of education. She brought me to some of the local stores in South Congress of Austin. We discussed about the differences of culture and education systems in Hong Kong and Texas.

Page 4 MONTHLY ACTIVITY LOG

APRIL 2017 I have participated several case competitions, which were held in April, with 3 other exchanges students coming from Mainland China, Macau and Australia. We participated in McCombs School of Business Case Competition 2017 and Texas ABSA & BHA Spring Case Competition. Our team obtained 1st runner-up and champion in both competitions respectively. These were precious chances to know more about different industries in the United States. For instance, we were asked to suggest a new mechanism in balancing the interests of patients and pharmaceutical companies which specialized in developing orphan drugs. Such experiences were eye-opening as we were exposed to new topics as well as challenges as our opponents were mostly born and raised in the country, and thus they had advantage in analyzing the industry landscape. Fortunately, the organizing committees paired us up with mentors from Walmart and Accenture, who were experts in respective fields.

- Team photo after obtaining championship in one of the competitions

Page 5 MONTHLY ACTIVITY LOG

MAY 2017 As classes end in the first week of May, most of the group assignments, presentations and quizzes were packed in the last four class days. Such academic burden should never be underestimated, especially when UT was known for its long study hours in Texas. I was required to do one presentation, submit two final report and take one examination on the first day of that week.

During the 7-day study break before the final examination for my Valuation course, I chose to visit my friend who studies in the University of Toronto. We then travelled from Toronto to Montreal by train, and took a flight to Boston as our final destination. The interesting part of this trip was to experience the drastic culture differences in these 3 cities. For instance, although Montreal is located in Canada, it is the fourth largest French-speaking city where most of the street signs and menus were written in French. Therefore, one of the unforgettable experiences was to overcome the language barrier while traveling around the city. In this trip, I have visited several attractions like Niagara Falls, Casa Loma, the campus of the University of Toronto (which was used for film shots in movies like Good Will Hunting), Old Port of Montreal, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University and the Freedom Trail. I departed from Austin and went back to Hong Kong on 28th May after the trip.

- Sceneric view at Niagara Falls

Page 6 GENERAL EXCHANGE INFORMATION

VISA PROCEDURE Staff from UT Austin issued us a DS-2019 form, which was necessary for the application of J-1 student visa. We were required to fill in an Electronic Visa Application – Form DS-160 and pay SEVIS fee in order to schedule an embassy appointment. There were several questions applicants need to answer during the short interviews at U.S. Consulate General. The whole process took around 30 minutes to 1 hour, and our passport were returned after 3-5 business days.

THINGS TO DO BEFORE ORIENTATION ACTIVITES The school required us to take Tuberculin Screening and Immunization Clearance as soon as we arrived Austin. Such requirement was compulsory or else we were not allowed to register for any courses. We were allowed to waive the screening only if we could provide any medical record or proof of tests done in the past. It was highly recommended to claim an UT Student Identification Card as soon as possible as, since UT students were allowed to take public buses free by presenting the ID Card.

ORIENTATION ACTIVITES UT held two orientation activities in the first week of January. The International Student Orientation invited both graduate and exchange students to share their stories and get to know each other. Staff from exchange office also introduced the school spirit song, “”, and stories behind the well-known Bevo. Then, the McCombs School of Business also organized a BBA International Programs Exchange Student Orientation and explained the course registration procedure. We were required to hand in our preferences of courses we would like to take in the exchange semester. Then, BBA Program Office would provide advices regarding the burden and teaching style of certain professors, and also reserved seats for us.

There were several optional activities that exchange students could join. For instance, there was a walking tour of campus led by local students. We were also invited to join the Austin Bus Tours and visit the downtown area while local students shared the history of Austin.

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INTERNATIONAL SERVICES & ACTIVITIES The International Student & Scholar Services held monthly event to travel to places outside of Austin, targeting exchange students. They organized road trips to San Antonio, Silver Spur Guest Ranch and NASA at Houston from February to April. Although they may charge a bit higher than a self-organized trip, it was still worth going as it grouped exchange students who we might not have much chance to hang out during school days together and had some fun trying new things like horseback riding, hiking, hay rides and skiing.

ACCOMMODATIONS Since UT Austin reserved limited hall spots for exchange students, most of us chose to stay in Co-op, where you shared housekeeping responsibilities like cooking and cleaning with other residents, or student housing in West Campus. I personally chose to live alone in North Campus, which I have completed all the leasing procedure online with Westside Group. Most of my neighbors were graduate students and the area was quiet. The monthly rental cost for a 1-person studio was USD$850, which was similar to a 2-bedroom apartment in West Campus. Although my studio was located a bit farther from school compared to West Campus was, I could either take the public buses for free or ride my bicycle to school. Students can rent a bicycle for 1 semester at Orange Bike Shop, which was operated by UT students, at a cost of USD$50.

COURSE REGISTRATIONS I have taken 5 courses in UT during the exchange semester. The details are as follows:

1. FIN 374C Valuation – Although I could not transfer credits by taking this course, it was fair to say that taking this course is the best decision I have made in course registration. The professor, who worked in the industry for a long time, was so experienced in teaching the course. Even though there was a weekly modeling assignment, the burden was reasonable as the questions were not too difficult. The professor walked through the whole process of doing project or enterprise valuation, and further introduced an emerging theory of using Real Options during valuation.

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2. MAN 337 Entrepreneurship & Innovation – The professor talked about the considerations in setting up a startup and the progress of commercializing a disruptive technology. The course only required 2 essays and 1 group project, presenting a new startup idea. Yet, I do not think the course was as fruitful as most of the other courses provided in UT.

3. MIS 325 Database Management – The course mainly went through the basic concepts of SQL database. It started with Data modeling and normalization with rules to follow in setting up a database, then ended with writing Data Manipulation Language (DML) and query. The skills I acquired from the course were useful and practical.

4. MIS 373 Data Visualization and Analytics – The course had weekly quiz and a group project related to application of RStudio and Tableau. Thus, the burden was quite heavy to students, especially for exchange students. Students were required to pick any topics for the project, but it was highly recommended to find a SME and use data analytics in solving some of its business problems.

5. MKT 372 Global Marketing – The course had 4 quizzes in total and a group project assessing the risks for a listed company in entering a new regional market. For instance, my group was assigned to do research on the risks for Vitamin Shoppe in entering Vietnamese functional food industry. The professor had various experiences in working in different countries and was capable to give case studies while illustrating the applications of theories.

TEACHING & ASSESSMENT METHODS In general, UT professors emphasize a lot on group projects and assignments. Thus, nearly every course needs to work on group basis. Relatively speaking, the examinations and quizzes are easier than those in HKUST. Since most of the questions are straight-forward, it is guaranteed to obtain a B grade as long as you have read the readings or paid attention to class. One thing that Hong Kong students

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may not be familiar with is examination in the format of essay. Professor usually gives 3 to 4 questions and asks for students’ opinions on the questions, for example, explain what entrepreneurship is. Although such format aims to test students’ abilities to understand theories and answer the questions with their own words, it also poses a risk that there is subjective marking scheme. I would say it would be a better choice if students use the keywords that Professor uses a lot during lectures just to avoid ambiguity.

SPORTS & RECREATION FACILITIES The sports facilities in UT can cater different students’ interests. For instance, Gregory Gym has indoor basketball courts, gym, swimming pool, table tennis rooms. There is a football field outside Gregory Gym. Austin is known for its wide variety of sports activities available. For instance, you can go kayaking and standup paddling in Colorado River near downtown. There are also several hiking trails that may take 1 hour to visit from city center. UT also has related courses that are open to interested students.

FINANCE AND BANKING I personally used Bank of America due to high number of ATM in campus. The procedure of setting up an account takes around 30 minutes, which can be done in downtown near the Congress Avenue. Debit card is essential in the U.S. as every store accepts and prefers card payment.

Regarding transferring money from Hong Kong account, the cheapest option is obviously bringing cash to the U.S. The other option is to use wired transfer, which BOA takes around USD$23 per transfer (excluding fees charged by Hong Kong import bank).

The amount I spent in this exchange was around USD$90k, with USD$40k spent on accommodation, USD$20k on Food and Utilities, and the rest on traveling and others. Since the expense to travel interstate is quite high, one tips to give is either book flights from budget airlines as long as you confirmed the itinerary (which most likely requires you to skip lessons) or visit Student Universe, a pricing platform that gives university students discounts.

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SOCIAL CLUBS AND NETWORKING OPPORTUNITIES I have joined events held by Bridges International, which is a non-profit, Christian organizations. The society held weekly lunch gatherings or volunteering events that were open to all students. At those meetings, it was common to make friends with international students.

I also joined the Career Fair and case competitions held by corporations like Accenture and Walmart. These occasions not just exposed me to mingling with staffs working in well-known organizations, but also provided me chances to understand the job-seeking culture in U.S., which involved lots of networking sessions instead of interviews.

HEALTH AND SAFETY The insurance fee was the largest part of expense exchange students paid at the start of semester. The insurance covered most cases. All you need to do is to go to UHS website or visit the counter to book an appointment, usually the nurse would suggest you to visit the next day.

The campus area should be safe as the University of Texas At Austin-Police Department stationed in campus. Still, I suggest paying extra attention especially in peak hours as there is a stabbing happened in May during school hours. Meanwhile, UT also has “Sure Walk”, service for students who need somebody to walk you from campus.

FOOD Due to the huge Mexican population in Texas, Tex-Mex (Texan-Mexican) is the most popular food choices in Austin. Other than that, Austin has quite a lot of Asians living in the town. Thus, choices like Thai, Japanese and Chinese cuisines are also available, especially those who are suffering home-sickness.

TRANSPORTATION As aforementioned, riding a bicycle and taking metro buses are the most popular transportation. But in case you are planning for a road trip, you can check out Greyhound or Megabus that offers cross-city routes. If you have international driver’s license (Applicable for those who passed their probationary driving license scheme in

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Hong Kong), renting a car from Fox Rental, Hertz and Avis would be a viable option when you are traveling in groups.

CLIMATE The weather in Austin is quite similar to that in Los Angeles. Most of the days in Austin are sunny and dry. However, the difference between temperature at daytime and night could be quite large. The lowest temperature in January could reach -10 Celsius degree in the morning, while the highest in May could reach 30 degree.

COMMUNICATION I used T-Mobile pre-paid card throughout the semester, which cost me around USD$40 per month. You can join a family plan with other international students so as to share the cost.

CAUTIONARY MEASURES I suggest exchange students not to travel to the east side of Austin as the area is known to have higher crime rate and undeveloped infrastructure. There are also homeless people asking for changes around the downtown. What I did most of the time is to nod and say “No, thank you” whenever they approached.

Page 12 ITEMS TO BRING & OTHERS

ITEMS TO BRING 1. DS-2019 form and Passports 2. Quilted Jackets 3. Bed Sheets, Blankets and Pillows 4. Sunglasses 5. Suit (for presentations) 6. Notebooks and Charger 7. USB 8. Converter 9. Medicines

USEFUL LINKS AND CONTACTS The Westside Group - Accommodation

Website: https://www.westsidegroup.com/

Email: [email protected]

Simply International - Accommodation

Website: https://simplyinternational.com/

UT Buy/Side/Trade/Free – Trading platforms

Website: https://www.facebook.com/groups/381628841954441/

UT Austin Sublets & Roommate Finder – Accommodation and Roommate matching

Website: https://www.facebook.com/groups/UTSubletRoommateFinder/

Bridges International – ECA

Page 13 ITEMS TO BRING & OTHERS

Website: http://www.bridgesinternational.com/

MyUT Web Portal – Student Resources

Website: https://modernizing.utexas.edu/projects/myut-web-portal

UTDirect Syllabi

Website: https://utdirect.utexas.edu/apps/student/coursedocs/nlogon/

HKUST Course Equivalency Database

Website: http://arr.ust.hk/ust_actoe/credit_overseas.php?selCty=United%20States&selI=B0362 &selC=&txtK=&search=y&page=2#myresult

Student Universe – Traveling

Website: https://www.studentuniverse.com/

Ms. Polly Trigger – Director of BBA International Program at UT

Email: [email protected]

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