Victoria YEE | Memoirs from Alumni

Memoirs from Alumni - 2018-19

Victoria YEE

Student of Monash University, Australia
Exchange to the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong

I studied at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology ("HKUST") on exchange and I did units in conservation and ESG reporting for businesses. It was an amazing experience for me because the university system there seemed more practical and integrated more practical learning which helped me understand the theories we were taught in class. For example, in the ESG reporting unit, students were split into groups and had to research the reports from their assigned company and then organise an interview with the chief editor of the company's reports. We had to organise everything by ourselves and conduct the interview on our own time. In the environmental conservation unit, we had a guest lecturer who made a tentative plan to have an excursion to a reef on the eastern side of the island to explore the biodiversity and human impact there. Unfortunately, the plan was in late June/early July and I was back in Australia by that time, but I am able to follow her projects through her Facebook pages.

The friends I made there are people who I am still in contact with and regularly talk to. I feel like I have friends everywhere and I could go to any continent and have a friend there who can show me their culture. My experience with the students at HKUST was fantastic – my classmates were really nice and worked well together. We explored Hong Kong together, going on scenic hikes, tasting foods that were specialities to the area, partying with other exchange students, and most importantly, studying together (of course).

The cross-cultural experience really helped me understand the difficulties of moving to a new country, if even just to live for a short while, but the people I met there were so willing to help. It was really exciting to see the difference in lifestyles of people in Hong Kong compared to Australia because the roads and buildings were so narrow, but the people were so open.

I also managed to do some travelling to Tokyo and Guangzhou by myself, which is something I would never had the chance to do before. This exchange was really a time of new experiences and a change of my mindset. I am so glad I took the opportunity to go on exchange to such a vibrant city and it is an experience I will never forget.

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