Student Testimonial
UG Exchange
Inbound
I absolutely loved Hong Kong, the spirit and the dynamism of the city. This is a picture of me at the peak, and I admired your city and its culture so much I hope to be able to come back soon. HKUST is also an amazing environment to learn, to progress and to meet students from around the world.
More than just living in Hong Kong, I was thrilled to have the chance to study in the Hong Kong University of Sciences and Technology. First, its location and campus makes it ideal. Away from the city center, you can enjoy some space and fresh air there – a luxury in Hong Kong!
Although HKUST, is quite far away from the city centre, the first weeks are entirely dedicated to walking around Hong Kong in the heat and lack of oxygen. The university campus’ location is perfect to discover the New Territories, stretches of long empty beaches and luxurious jungle to hike and to swim in the sea’s hot water.
Outbound
The 5 months in the Netherlands has been a very rewarding experience for me. Academically, studying in a liberal arts environment in Europe has allowed me to view and think of global issues in a different perspective. I am especially impressed by the atmosphere of active discussion and sharing of different opinions in the Dutch classroom. Throughout the exchange I found myself being more able to express my own opinion and share my ideas in an academic setting.
The learning style in the EUR is highly interactive and fun, you will have chances to discuss in most of the lectures and every single tutorials (working lectures as they named it). Other than the classrooms for tutorials, the arrangement of seating in many of the lectures room are also “square-like”, meaning that you will be either facing the tutor or facing another group of students, making it a perfect setting for doing in-class discussion.
To best describe my exchange experience, I would definitely say it has been the craziest period of my life so far. Before going on exchange, I was a quite quiet girl who was a bit afraid of trying new things even although I had lots of crazy ideas in my mind. Being told to get out of my comfort zone, I aimed at making friends with English-speaking people only and trying stuff that I have never tried.
PG Exchange
Inbound
I think Hong Kong is a fantastic city to study with the nature, the city and a culture. My classes here are demanding and interesting and my professors very talented in engaging the students, which I like a lot. I like using my time swimming, hikes in the beautiful surroundings and exploring new places.
I believe the most meaningful aspect of my exchange period was experiencing a teaching model that was completely different from that of my home university. In this model, I read a large amount of literature and accumulated extensive knowledge related to the courses I took. At the same time, my English language skills were also strengthened.
The most valuable thing from the visiting internship program is experiencing the academic environment here in Hong Kong, making new friends here and learning from others, sharing research and learning a little Cantonese (not a lot)!
Being a visiting postgraduate student in Social Science at HKUST has been transformative. I have met people from all over the world! In addition, I have really enjoyed attending the Division of Social Science seminars and talking with faculty members about their research.
Outbound
During this exchange journey, I found those diverse aspects: not only did I gain insights into cultural diversity and engage in academic discussions from various regions/perspectives, but the most precious part was the opportunity to meet people from different countries and establish deep connections with them. This experience has broadened my perspective beyond what I had known before, opening up new possibilities for my career on a global scale.
Yijun LI
@ University of Copenhagen
I was studying with a PhD student during the exchange program, and their passion for academics impressed me and inspired me to apply for further study. Class scales at York University are small so everyone can get enough attention and feedback from the professor.
Yuying HOU
@ York University
The courses and tutorials are inspiring to expand my research. The workshops and conferences provide opportunities to have academic interactions with scholars.
Chee Yong LEE
@ National Taiwan University