The one-year, full-time, pre-experience program will cover cutting-edge topics like big data analytics, fintech, digital innovation, entrepreneurship, and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), alongside core business foundation and management courses.
Outside the classroom, MiM students will enjoy regular company visits and the chance to rub shoulders with senior industry execs. CUHK has strong links with corporate partners like Citi, AXA Asia, and IBM.
At the end of the year, the MiM’s capstone project will see students travel internationally to emerging economies, where they’ll work on live consulting projects, tackling real problems faced by real firms.
The program is positioned as a fast-track route to management roles for pre-experience students. The school expects a first intake of 50 students—50% international—starting in August 2018. A flexible visa policy means international b-school students can stay in Hong Kong for up to 12 months after graduation.
To get accepted, candidates need a recognized bachelor’s degree in any discipline and proof of English language proficiency.
The MiM’s first-round application deadline is October 19th. Applicants should be able to answer the questions; Why Hong Kong? What’s my plan for the future? And how can the CUHK MiM help?
BusinessBecause caught up with the new program’s co-directors—John Lai (JL-pictured right) and Shige Makino (SM)—to find out more.
Why did you decide to launch the new MiM program?
JL: When you flick open any newspaper or magazine right now, some of the buzzwords you’ll see are ‘new economy’ and ‘digital age.’
Industry and society are changing. The world needs people who can innovate, create, and disrupt, which is why CUHK decided it’s time to develop graduates who can think critically and be flexible and adaptable. In all the MiM’s courses, we’re going to cover some of the most challenging topics demanded by industry leaders now in the marketplace.
What makes CUHK's MiM unique?
SM: Traditionally, business schools teach subjects based on academic disciplines—marketing, finance, accounting. Now, we’re looking at phenomena like big data—really cutting-edge subjects. So, for this program, we’ve developed many new courses based on phenomena.
The digital economy is a critical next-generation topic. Everything will be digitalized in the future, and we need to prepare our students for it.
JL: For us, it’s important that learning doesn’t just occur inside the classroom, but outside as well. We’re going to have monthly ‘industry highlights’ to bring students to meet with a whole spectrum of industry leaders, so they’re not only looking at banking, consulting, or finance.
Even before the students start the MiM, there’s going to be two-week, intensive team-building workshop. We’re going to drill them hard! Networking starts at business school and we need to make sure our students become one tight-knit family.
We’ve consulted industry leaders and, in general, they look for two things: ability in terms of hard skills, and leadership potential. That’s why soft skills are so important.
What do you look for in your MiM candidates?
SM: We’re looking for people who have good leadership potential. That can be assessed in a variety of ways—academic performance is just one of them. We place importance on face-to-face interviews. We want to assess the person as a whole.
JL: We’re open to students from all undergraduate backgrounds. But we’re aiming to accept 50% international students—we want to reflect the world’s diversity.
What makes Hong Kong a good study destination?
JL: Hong Kong is exactly the right place to be, especially for international students. It’s a bridge between East and West—it’s really international and a gateway to China.
It’s also close to key emerging economies—Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam—that you can reach within two-to-three hours by plane.
What advice do you have for prospective MiM students?
JL: Dream big! If you look at any successful entrepreneur or business leader, everything started with that dream, so having a clear vision of what you want to achieve is really important. We’ll be looking for how you plan to use the MiM as a platform to do that.
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