MBA programs across the globe welcome their new cohort with challenging team-building activities. Paola Perversi from CUHK shares her experience of Outward Bound Exercise!
This is a guest post by Paola Perversi, a new Chinese University of Hong Kong MBA (Class of 2015), sharing her experience at the Outward Bound Exercise, which is one of the pre-term activities.Twelve people, three days, two nights, a total of six hours sleep, 20 bruises, 200 mosquito bites, five litres of water carried in your backpack. Welcome to the Outward Bound life!
When I was told “you’ll leave for a three-days journey during which you will learn about setting your goals and working in teams", I imagined something like a school trip, with hiking, singing and eating marshmallows together around a camp fire.
I was wrong. Outward Bound Experience (OBE) is for tough people.
Our course was focused on four points: leadership, team roles, problem processing and goals; all the activities are correlated among them and they are all related to the job world. That is why OBE changes the learning process: it’s not about books and theory, it’s about learning through experience in an environment outside of our comfort zones – just like in the MBA Jobs world.
Our class was put into groups of eleven or twelve people. Each group was named after a person who changed the world, such as Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi. Our group, however, decided to change the name to FèngHuáng, which is the mythological Chinese Phoenix, a symbol of high virtue and grace
There was nothing graceful about the learning process. In fact, it was brutal. No beds, no bathrooms, no tents, no comforts; just hours of hiking, kilos of mud, litres of sweat and millions of mosquitoes. I must admit that I asked myself so many times: “Why I’m doing this? Why is my school so cruel to me? This is my upper limit, I can’t go further."
But I had my teammates. I had help from them, and I gave help to them. After getting through the MBA Admission process, I learnt so much from them.
I think it is best exemplified by the raft project. We are told we are survivors and we must build a raft out of plastic barrels, bamboo and rope, and paddle it to safety - Outward Bound's base camp, where we will have a hot breakfast and are able to take a shower after three days of camping and hiking and running!
We had to choose two leaders to direct the raft's construction and organize the survivors. The leaders also set the rhythm of the paddling. They must learn how to paddle themselves and make sure everyone paddles in the same direction and with the same movements.
What if a team member stops paddling? The teammates have to paddle harder to share the load and the teammates motivate him or her to achieve the common goal. What if the leaders don’t consider the features of the team and set too fast a rhythm? The team will not be able to follow them.
What if the raft is built with weak knots? What if each of the team member paddles to his own rhythm? What if the destination – the goal – is not clear?
These are all factors that all team-mates, including the leaders, had to consider. These are all factors that had to be dealt in real-time if we were to arrive safe and sound to our destination. In the end our team was successful: we paddled for two hours and made it in time for a well-deserved, hot breakfast.
Thank you to the strongest teammates who charged their backpack with the heaviest supplies. Thank you to the weakest, who arrived to the end. Thank you to those who couldn’t swim, but who still jumped from the jetty. Thank you to those who shared their candies with everybody; when I was struggling, a candy was such a treat.
The sense of achievement you get when pushing to your limit can’t be expressed with words. The point where my limits were settled is now my starting point, I know that with passion, struggle, sweat and a team that works together, I can go further. To the quote by the American theologian Karl Paul;“aim to the stars and maybe you’ll reach the sky”, I would add “with a little help from my friends", as The Beatles sang.
Thank you team FèngHuáng…let’s fly high together!
Student Reviews
One of a kind
I studied Bioinformatics at CUHK last year. It was the only Master's degree in Hong Kong in this field. This program developed my analytical skills and equipped me to be a Bioinformatician in a very practical way.
I enjoyed my year here and met classmates from different parts of the world. If you are thinking to enhance your profile, this degree program would be a good option.
general education courses, unique college system, large campus
The university facilitates multi-dimension and interdisciplinary learning. In social science faculty, we need to choose courses as our faculty package from other departments (architecture, psychology, sociology, etc.) to learn more than our major required courses. We are also required to finish general education courses, which aid our critical thinking and humanistic sensibilities. I do recommend the social science broad-based program, and the professors I met so far are all responsible and erudite.
LLM
The faculty of law is relatively new. You do not need to have a LLB to pursue a LLM, which is special. The taught programme is great for mature students who want to obtain legal knowledge.
CUHK has good teaching staff too.
Amazing Campus and Great Educational Environment
Not only is CUHK's main campus breathtaking, it provides for a good educational environment for students. The university is well-equipped with modern and up-to-date facilities to help students with their study. We have 8 libraries in total around the campus; one for media, one for architectural studies, the medical library and the law library. The Professors are always helpful and are happy to talk to students when needed.
Moreover, the college system within the university brings forth the uniqueness of CUHK. Each student belongs to a different college, and in that students are able to meet different peoples from different countries and students from different faculties.
I think CUHK provides for a well-rounded university life for all students.
exthrillating
One of the most down to earth places in HK. A great opportunity to learn and embody the local culture. Also had one the most beautiful campus in Hong Kong up on the hillside. Glad to have graduated here.
Innovative and Supportive
My university provided me with all the support I needed, and encouraged me to be up to date with all the new developments in the world. They also provided me with the incentive to excel at what I do, and they take much pride in my achievements. I have had a very rewarding university experience.
Small, New But Friendly Law School
To being with, I think the campus of CUHK is the best and the biggest in Hong Kong, with fresh air and trees everywhere.
I am an undergraduate Law student at CUHK and I think the teaching here is great, with very friendly and nice professors and the new Lee Shau Kee Building.
In terms of the courses offered by CUHK, as one of the largest universities in Hong Kong, CUHK is an all-rounded university, offering a wide range of courses to students. Students may take the introductory courses of discipline other than their own major, or even declare a minor.
For law electives, due to the small amount of intake, the variety of law electives are not that huge. However, the Faculty is offering some international programmes, which can be treated as law electives, but at the same time, provide us with an opportunity to travel and know more about the legal system of another country.
The career support from the Faculty of Law is also amazing. The Faculty will organise CV Sessions and talks on how to get an internship from law firms or mini-pupillage from barrister's chambers. Each student will also have a Distinguished Professional Mentor, which is a current legal profession, providing us with practical advices and updates of the legal field.
Finally, from my personal experience, I think the students in CUHK are friendly and genuine. As Law students, competition is inevitable for grades, GPAs, vacation schemes and training contract. However, I think the competition in CUHK Law School is a positive one, in a sense that help us grow together, instead of fighting with each other no matter what. That is the biggest reason why I am having a very good time here in CUHK Law School.
A place to explore your interests
As a law graduate from CUHK (both undergrad and post-grad), I realise that I had many opportunities to explore my areas of interests (legal and non-legal both). The faculty/university requires us to take a certain number of non-law electives, and offers a plethora of courses to choose from. Personally, I took 3 modules in Korean --I can't say it's made me highly proficient, but it's definitely given me a good foundation (I can walk into a Korean restaurant and confidently order food, at the very least). The fact that language courses are offered also provides students who are more financially constrained an opportunity to learn a language without having to shell out a premium for a decent language course. On top of that, we have a range of law electives as well. I know of classmates who have developed lasting interest in different areas of law because of the electives they took in school. The two electives that I would say have changed me is (i) mooting and (ii) family law. I think my experience in an international commercial arbitration moot competition has helped tremendously in formulating legal arguments and legal writing. On the other hand, taking a family law elective has made me very interested in the family law practice, especially in terms of child rights. For these experiences which I have gained, I'm grateful for the opportunities provided by the school.
One main issue most students I know have is with the way our GPA is calculated and the lack of transparency in terms of how the honours system works. As our GPA is marked on a curve. it's highly unrepresentative of what we have achieved as individuals. Given that our GPA is the only criteria that is looked at when we apply for the compulsory post-graduate law course (mandatory should we want to practise law and/or be trainees in Hong Kong), it will put our own students at a distinct disadvantage when we compete for limited spaces with students from schools where GPA is not on a bell curve.
Valuable time in CUHK
I like the learning environment and people at CUHK. Surrounded by hills and Tolo Harbour, CUHK provides a balance between nature and hustle. You can always escape from the busy study life and meet your friend around the big campus for different activities.
