Twelve HKU Business School students joined the Virtual Business Professional (VBP) Project in March. They were placed in teams of 5-6 people with around 100 students from 16 different universities worldwide to work on a consulting project for companies including Netflix, Starbucks and Google. Throughout the project, students learned many essential remote working skills, intercultural communication skills, different business models and marketing strategies, and how modern virtual collaboration can be powered by artificial intelligence technology. The VPB Project offered by the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California (USC) is a six-week project that offers students an opportunity to collaborate and work in a virtual setting with students from all over the world to develop virtual and cross-cultural collaboration skills using state-of-the-art collaboration tools.

	“I was fascinated to learn about various content, such as different social media strategies, crowdfunding, donor retention, content creation, bolted in reputation etc. Such knowledge would not be covered in the ordinary academic syllabus, yet crucial to internships and job seeking.”   Ho Yin Yee Jocelyn, BBA(Law)&LLB, Year 2
	“In terms of work processes, virtual collaboration is a whole lot harder than what I’ve expected – It is more than jumping freely into video conferences, utilising popular chat tools and learning how to store files on a shared cloud-based drive. Especially being the only Asian student in the team situated in an opposite time-zone, scheduling a meeting is considered as a big hassle. Even though I had to compromise for 7 am meetings, I have learnt to accommodate the majority’s needs for the team’s overall interest. More importantly, I have developed an adaptive work mode that would be beneficial to my future studies and career.”   Chu Tsoi Yan Jenny, BBA(IBGM), Year 2
	“Teammates from different backgrounds have different working styles and we can learn from the difference. For example, one of my teammates has a strong leadership capacity, and he works and aggressively leads us. Feeling inspired to work with him, I think some of his merits can be absorbed by myself.”   Gao Ningling, BEcon&Fin, Year 2

Learn more: https://www.marshall.usc.edu/departments/business-communication/vbp-project

Congratulations to Shivang Singh (BBA(IBGM), Year 4) who was a member of the winning team “Edilery” in the Hult Prize 2021 Challenge – Regional Final in Manila Impact Summit.

Proudly acclaimed as the “Nobel Prize for Students”, the Hult Prize is the world’s largest social entrepreneurship competition organised by the Hult International Business School and the Union Nations Foundation. The theme of 2021 was “Food for Good – transforming food into a vehicle for change”.

Student teams are required to solve a pressing social issue by developing a scalable and sustainable social enterprise. They were asked to pitch ideas on building food enterprises that will impact the lives of 10 million people by 2030 while strengthening communities, increasing incomes, feeding the hungry and creating jobs.

The team “Edilery” came up with an idea that aspired to drive sustainable impact in fighting climate change, malnutrition and gender inequality. With edible cutlery as the vehicle of change, they aimed to create livelihoods to support communities while eradicating plastic cutlery from the global food and beverage industry and promoting nutrition in regular dietary intake.

Winners of the Regional Finals will join the 2021 Hult Prize Accelerator Programme in the United Kingdom with training, coaching and networking opportunities. Selected teams from the Accelerator will pitch at the Hult Prize Annual Awards Ceremony and Gala to be hosted at United Nations Headquarters in New York in September 2021. One student team will be selected as Hult Prize Laureate and win US$1,000,000 to launch their enterprise.

Learn more: https://www.hultprize.org

Over the past semesters, students who are majoring in Asset Management and Private Banking (AMPB), formed into groups of 3-4 students, had the opportunities to have coffee chats with financial industry practitioners from companies like Fidelity International, Julius Baer, HSBC Global Private Banking, eFusion, Chartwell Capital, etc. The event was arranged by Prof. Anna Wong, Programme Director of Bachelor of Finance in Asset Management and Private Banking.

Under the informal setting, students learned more about the current trend of the industry and the personal story of the practitioners on how they developed their career. They also had the chance to visit practitioners’ office. The event was well-received, and our students have plenty of takeaways from the visits.

Lau Yuen Ying, Year 3, AMPB student believes this opportunity can help her gain a deeper understanding of the recent trends in the private banking industry, “I thought COVID-19 pandemic would negatively affect the industry, yet, it has fostered communication with the clients and increased the transaction volume tremendously. Each client’s reaction towards the pandemic situation might be different, so they have to cater to their needs in various ways.”

Lam Hei Tung, Year 1, AMPB student thinks that this is an eye-opening experience, “The most impressive sharing in the coffee chat is how we should better equip ourselves for our future. Mr John Lo, a private banker at Bank of China International Limited, gave us insights into how the industries look like, ranging from their operation, valued qualities to promotion opportunities. I learnt a lot from John and became more clear about what I should achieve during my college years.”

(Second left) Mr. Frederick Wong, CFA, Founder & Chief Investment Officer of eFusion

(First left) Mr. Evan Ng, Head of Trading and Senior Investment Analyst of Chartwell Capital

Cheung Pak Hin, a year 4 BEcon&Fin student wins in the “International Business Agility Labs: Supply Chain Management”, a virtual global case competition organised by the Robert H. Smith School of Business, University of Maryland during April 9 – 16, 2021. He and his team members from other universities worked together to solve a real-world business case for a Brazilian company.

 “By working with working with like-minded students across continents, I realised the abilities to embrace diversity of thoughts and to speak up proactively were of paramount importance to facilitate an effective collaboration with teammates from diverse background,” says Pak Hin.

The team consisted of five other business students from Mediterranean School of Business of South Mediterranean University, National University of Singapore, Vienna University of Economics and Business, and University of Maryland.

Learn more about the competition at https://go.umd.edu/AgilityLabs

Throughout this academic year, students who are majoring in Asset Management and Private Banking had the opportunity to participate in the monthly e-roundtable series meeting Senior Executives in Asset Management and Private Banking industry virtually, including Dr. King Au, Adjunct Professor at HKU Business School and Executive Director of Financial Services Development Council (FSDC), Mr. Ronald Chan, Founder and CIO of Chartwell Capital, Ms. Janet Li, Leader of Mercer Investment Advisory Asia, Mr. Ivan Wong, Managing Director and Co-head of North Asia, HSBC Private Banking, Ms. Ronie Mak, Managing Director of RS Group, and Ms. Amy Yip, member of Board of Directors of Deutsche Borse Group (the German Stock Exchange), EFG Bank, AIA Group and Prudential. This series was arranged by Prof. Anna Wong, Programme Director of Bachelor of Finance in Asset Management and Private Banking. 

In each e-roundtable, over 50 students joined, and one of them had been selected as the student moderator for the session. Students were well prepared, raised good questions and had conversations with the guest speakers on topics including the current challenges for HK in the finance market, what is value investing, the role of institutional portfolio advising, the current challenges for private banking, the growth of family offices and the importance of sustainable financing. Guest speakers also shared their career journey and tips on developing the talents most wanted by the industry. The whole series was well received, and our students have plenty of takeaways from each guest speaker.

(From left) Mr. Ivan Wong of HSBC Private Banking; Mr. Tony Au of HKU Business School

Mr. Ronald Chan of Chartwell Capital

港大经管学院龚启圣教授在知名经济学期刊《经济学杂志》发表的论文被挑选为2020年度最佳论文，因而荣获英国皇家经济学会奖。他和马驰骋博士及陈婷博士联合撰写的论文 “Long Live Keju! The Persistent Effects of China’s Civil Examination System” （中文翻译：科举万岁！中国科举制度所产生的深远影响），研究科举制度千年以来对中国的人力资本或教育成果的长远影响。

龚教授解释为何他的研究团队会致力研究中国历史以及其对中国经济发展的影响。他说：「越来越多的经济学文献显示，制度和文化能够对经济发展产生深远的影响。一个国家在被殖民统治期间受一个「差劣」的政治制度治理，例如一个未能有效约束统治者的制度，他们的长远经济发展一般也会比较差。这一点在文化方面亦同出一辙。」

科举制度是中国封建时期的一种公务员考试制度。科举制度自宋代开始发展成熟，并成为世上最早出现的「精英政治」制度模式。在被废除前，科举制度在中国已有近千年的历史。 尽管现在大家都会同意「求学不是求分数」，但古时的读书人对科举考试的狂热已经不能够以韦编三绝形容。他们会尽可能取得科举考试中最高荣誉的「进士」资格，以获得功名所带来的声望和奖励。龚教授和他的团队因此假设，科举制度可能创造了一个对学习和学术成就万分尊重的精英阶层，并随着时间推移，培育出一种独特的「文化特征」。这股文化特征即使在科举制度被废除后，依然在社会上持续了一段很长的时间。龚教授说：「科举为我们提供了一个宝贵的机会，研究一个特定的制度和文化，在一段长时间内可以产生的影响。」

龚教授补充说：「我们的研究发现，当每一万人之中出现多一名额外的进士，人均的教育年数便会在2010年时增加0.87％。现时的人均教育年数为8.72年，这代表每多一名进士，人均的教育年数便会增加一年。以此对比联合国最近估计的基准，其幅度被换算成收入差距可达1.5倍。」

透过分析历史数据，团队的研究发现「为何在某些文明中，如何将教育而非物质财富传承下一代的概念，会较其他文明更为重要。并在某程度上，反映教育对经济增长的重要性。教育可谓是国家的财富。」

龚教授在2018年7月加入港大经管学院，任职经济学教授。 他说：「我当时被院长蔡洪滨教授的真诚邀请打动，我相信我能够加入一个发展蓬勃的学术团体。 蔡院长的领导能力备受瞩目，其学术成就更是学究天人。 这些美德的结合，在学术领导中相当具吸引力。 此外，加入港大经管学院能给予我一个机会与陈志武教授等优秀的同事合作，共同制定有关中国经济史的课程。 因此，当我下定决心加入港大经管学院时，并没有一丝犹豫。」在2019年，香港大学授予龚教授苏威赵善敏基金教授席（经济史）的明德教席，以表扬及支持他在中国经济史上的学术和研究活动。

龚教授在2020年10月被任命为新一任的经济学学术领域主任。龚教授计划透过开设新的课程使学院的本科课程变得更现代化，务求协助本科生在这个讯息万变的世界中，掌握有关数据分析的技能及其他实用的知识。 为提升博士生课程的质量，龚教授亦付出了相当大的努力。在 2021至22年度，为研究生陆续开办全新的应用经济学课程，例如「经济历史与发展」丶「国际经济学/产业组织实证研究」丶「应用计量经济学」丶「中国宏观经济学研究」等。

随着数码化的数据变得唾手可得，而且电脑的运算功能与日俱增，龚教授所率领的学术领域，已准备好迎接大数据为应用经济学研究人员所带来的挑战。 龚教授已带领经济学学术领域展开招聘活动，从世界各地招揽人才，组建最强的研究团队，聘请擅长运用数据，以可理解的办法，处理不同议题的顶尖学者。

了解更多有关英国皇家经济学会奖（仅供英文版）：https://www.res.org.uk/resources-page/2020-royal-economic-society-prize.html 

2020英国皇家经济学会奖得奬者：港大经管学院龚启圣教授（中）丶港大经管学院马驰骋博士（右）及香港浸会大学陈婷博士（左）

Congratulations to our UG business students who have won the “Best Pitch Deck Award”, Top 10 & Top 25 in the Amplify Trading Global Markets Competition 2021 | APAC.

Kim Nahee, BFin(AMPB), Year 4 and Song Yunju, BBA, Year 5 won the Best Pitch Deck Award. They constructed a buy-side pitch book that aimed to help a recently established asset management firm to raise funds from potential clients following the top-down investment strategy starting from global macroeconomics trends, growth potential and broad industry sectors, and based on concrete quantitative measures to make final investment decisions.

“We think the competition is an amazing opportunity for us to experience the role of portfolio managers, allocate assets based on the market movement, and present data throughout the different market situations. We were also able to experience the roles of both a market maker and hedge fund, which allowed us to gain a well-rounded understanding of the financial market mechanisms.”

On top of the “Best Pitch Deck Award”, Yunju was also awarded top 10, while Lo Chun Yu, BSc(QFin), Year 4 and Ng Lok Shan Brendan, BSc(QFin), Year 3 were awarded top 25 in the competition.

Chun Yu is grateful to have had the opportunity to participate in this fun-filled yet insightful experience. “It was a great way to take the initiative to conduct a detailed global macro analysis, form our own investment strategy, mitigate potential risks, and most importantly to learn how to tell a good story to our hypothetical investors.”

He also thinks the experience is remarkable and recommends those interested in financial markets to join this competition. “Not only did we learn to leverage our finance knowledge and market sense, but also, the thrills of seeing our investment decisions rewarded by the market were definitely something we could not have obtained in textbooks.”

Brendan shares that the competition allowed his team to work on the presentation crafting skills. He also learned the importance of taking quick, calculated decisions to generate profit as an OTC (Over-the-counter) market maker. “Specialising in certain markets or products when making markets made it easier to match buyers and sellers. Overall, I am grateful to have this opportunity to take part in the competition and I think it was worth the time.”

The competition aims to help university students from all disciplines to gain practical understanding in the world of finance, particularly in Asset Management, Sales & Trading, Wealth Management, Hedge Fund and Research through a series of lecture videos, pitch deck presentation and trading simulations.

In the Preliminary Round of the competition, 692 teams of students from the APAC region worked in groups of two to prepare buy-side pitch decks and participated in live asset management simulation online. 38 qualified teams entered the Grand Final Round on March 21, 2021. Members of the teams were required to compete on individual basis. 76 students participated in the trading simulation competition by making multi-asset investment strategies in both the roles of a Hedge Fund Manager and a market maker based on instantaneous news.

Learn more: https://www.amplifytrading.com/competition

Congratulations to Leung Wing Yin, BBA(Acc&Fin), Year 3, taking home the Second Prize in the EY’s Young Tax Professional of the Year 2021 (Local Competition). By bringing together students from all over the world, the competition aims to demonstrate how much the tax profession has changed today and how business is managed in different cultures. The competition also exposed participants to the skills required to be tomorrow’s leaders.

Wing Yin shares that “The truly fascinating part of taxation goes beyond numbers and figures. Along with the current dynamic business environment, international tax compliance modifies from time to time. The competition enabled me to gain insight into the ever-changing tax policies in different jurisdictions and how cross-border businesses manage tax risk. In the discussion of tax, there is no absolute answer, but logical thinking and critical mindsets could help us interpret and analyze new legislative and regulatory challenges in taxation. I was glad to have this opportunity to interact with seasoned tax professionals from different backgrounds at EY and collaborate with students from other universities. This valuable experience sparked my curiosity in tax and facilitated me to advance the knowledge of the international tax system, which had certainly given me exposure for my future career development.”

The first phase of the competition took place in Hong Kong. After an online test regarding technical knowledge and reasoning, shortlisted semi-finalists were invited to give a group presentation and the top eight candidates proceeded to the Hong Kong final competition on April 7, 2021. The finalists had 30-minute preparation time for an individual case presentation followed by a Q&A section with judges.

Hong Kong finalists will be invited to join Greater China final which will take place in Beijing in June (tentative). Country finalist will then be invited to participate in the International final which will take place in Europe.

Established in 2010, the EY’s Young Tax Professional of the Year is an international competition designed to identify young talent with an interest in tax, help them enhance their professional skills and develop their careers. The competition gives participants the opportunity to share experiences with people from a range of backgrounds and cultures, and exposes them to the skills required to be tomorrow’s tax leaders.

Learn more about the competition: https://www.ey.com/en_gl/careers/ey-young-tax-professional-of-the-year

The HKU-Accenture Business Consulting Programme aims to give students the exposure to business consulting, equip them with fundamental skills and methodologies for delivering values to big enterprises. Echoing the tagline “Inspire．Empower．Lead” of the HKU Business School, the Programme has INSPIRED and EMPOWERED students to LEAD their own way to success and make a difference in the world.

The Programme complements students’ regular classroom learnings with interactive classes, putting theory into practice through case study exercises. Students also benefit from the in-depth exchanges with industry professionals.

The Programme is ended with a case competition held on March 20, 2021. In response to the impact brought by the pandemic, students were expected to suggest recommendations to a business hard hit under such climate. Judges from Accenture and HKU Business School were impressed by students’ creativity and resourcefulness.

Mr. Ravi Chhabra, Managing Director, Financial Services Hong Kong Lead, Accenture (middle) presents the prize to the Champion team. (Students from left to right) Ng Jade Joyce, BBA(Law)&LLB year 3; Jiang Zhikun, BEcon&Fin, year 2; Leung Si Yiu, BBA(Acc&Fin), year 4 and Chen Minyang, BBA(Acc&Fin), year 3

Mr. Ravi Chhabra presents The Most Innovative and Most Profitable Concept Award to the students. (Students from left to right) Xu Yikang, BEcon, year 3; Sheung Chi Long, BBA(IBGM), year 2; Ryou Soo Min, BBA, year 2; Lam Yuk Lung, BBA(Law)&LLB, year 3 and Chan Lok Yu, BBA(Law)&LLB, year 3.

Ms. Christina Wong, Managing Director, Greater China Consulting Lead, Accenture (right) presents The Best Presenter award to Ryou Soo Min, BBA, year 2 (left).

Stepping into the fifth year, this collaboration continues to groom our young generation. This year, 39 students have completed the Programme with flying colours.

HKU-NWS Joint University Case Competition 2021, co-organised by HKU Business School (the School) and NWS Holdings Limited (NWS), was successfully completed on April 11, 2021.

This year, 16 teams of elite students from City University of Hong Kong, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and The University of Hong Kong took part in the 48-hour real-life business case challenge regarding the logistics industry, which is one of the strategic businesses of NWS.

Before the competition, participating students joined an online industrial workshop. Students gained better insights into specific business of NWS as well as the logistics industry after the presentations by Ms. Irene Mak, Associate Director of NWS Holdings Limited, and Mr. Simon Chow, General Manager of ATL Logistics. Mr. Gilbert Ho, Executive Director of NWS Holdings Limited, also shared his experience in business management and views on the development opportunities of the logistics industry with students. Students enjoyed the workshop and gained an in-depth understanding of the logistics industry which better prepared them for the case cracking after a few weeks.

The Preliminary Round and Grand Final Round presentations of the competition were held on April 11. In the Preliminary Round, 16 teams were divided into four divisions and reviewed by panels of alumni judges. The top scorer in each division was advanced to the Grand Final Round to compete for the Championship.

The distinguished panel of judges for the Grand Final included Dr. Winnie Leung, Assistant Dean (Undergraduate) at HKU Business School, Mr. Eric Ma Siu-cheung, GBS, JP, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer at NWS Holdings Limited, Professor Albert Ip, Council Member of HKUST and Independent Non-executive Director at New World Development, Professor Andy Wong, Associate Dean (Undergraduate Studies) at CUHK Business School, and Dr. Zachary Leung, Assistant Professor, Department of Management Sciences, College of Business at CityU. Students presented their case solutions to the judges by showcasing their innovative ideas and responded to penetrating questions from the judges in the Q&A session. Students from the Champion team will be offered internship opportunities at NWS.

Competition results:

Champion: Blackbird Advisory

1^st Runner-up: eLab Consulting

2^nd Runner-up: Team Cove

Best Presenter: Miss Lam Michelle Mimi Sze Ching (Blackbird Advisory)

This competition is the annual signature event of HKU International Case Society (HICS), a student-run organisation supported by the School which aims to provide a platform for students to hone their case cracking, analytical and presentation skills.

Learn more: https://ug.fbe.hku.hk/student-enrichment/non-hkusu-student-clubs/hku-international-case-society/hku-nws-joint-university-case-competition-2021