The GLOBE Stories
Hear the stories about what our students and alumni have experienced throughout their life-changing journeys of GLOBE.
Hear the stories about what our students and alumni have experienced throughout their life-changing journeys of GLOBE.
The experience provided by GLOBE is truly unmatched. Through the program, I got an opportunity to study with top students not only from Hong Kong, but also Europe and the U.S.A. As part of the program, I have gained a chance to not just study about business, but also see them up-close and talk to some of the top business leaders in the world. My favourite study trip of all, for example, is the one to Singapore and Bangkok where we interacted with one of southeast Asia’s leading venture capitalists, Golden Gate Ventures. At the same time, we also visited family businesses, including VT Group, a giant garment manufacturing company based in Bangkok. However, the scope of GLOBE goes even beyond business to other aspects. During our exchange semester in Denmark, for example, we got to visit the European Union parliament. GLOBE is not just about the best education in business, but also about the network, and most importantly, friends for a lifetime.
GLOBE is about sharing-by sharing a little bit of ourselves, we built our shared story.
I recall learning about Danish cooking over a beautiful lunch with a fellow GLOBEr's family. There was also the time when we debated fiercely about the cause of the financial crisis in class, where people offered personal observations of the situation in different areas of the world. During our summer internships, students from CUHK were calling classmates in New York to learn about certain aspects of the U.S. capital market, while Danes called Hong Kongers to discuss cultural concerns for products entering the Chinese market. In some social gatherings across three continents, we would share the latest dance moves, drinking games, and personal stories with maybe too much details.
For GLOBE, the true curriculum lies within each member of the program. The constant exchange of ideas and stories throughout our diverse travelling experience is truly humbling. It introduces the endless possibilities the world offers, while inspiring self-reflection on the understanding of one’s role in the bigger picture. By sharing this journey together, we grew so much as individuals and even more so as a team of close friends!
‘I like to see the small class size being the niche of our program, allowing us to bond and stay intact within our batch and across years. Here in Hong Kong, I have always valued our network of seniors and alumni who graduated as investment bankers, consultants, entrepreneurs, postgraduates and other fascinating roles. The program does not promise a ticket or fast track to any career path, but our people make the path accessible and do their best to guide you through. Our GLOBE journey then leads us to realize our natural limitation of coming only from one side of the globe. I am always impressed by the Danes’ earnest pursuit of knowledge and answers on various business topics, and how Americans would approach presentations and discussions with bubbling creativity and confidence. Whether you're seeking an international business perspective, an ambitious future career, footmarks across three continents or cross-cultural friendships, GLOBE is a great enabler of personal growth and excellence.’
‘People often ask “Why should I join GLOBE? What’s the difference between GLOBE and similar programs offered by other business schools?” My answer to this question goes back to the very nature of GLOBE – the 1.5 years of studying, travelling, and even living with students from three continents is really unparalleled. Time flies when you join GLOBE because the experience is overwhelming. You encounter cultural clash almost every day – sometimes conflict arises, but you always end up gaining deeper insights into diverse cultural perspectives and building stronger friendships. I once got into a serious conflict with GLOBErs in a class project, primarily due to different views towards recommendations made to solve a company’s problems. Everyone supported practices that are common in his or her country of origin but not necessarily worldwide. When the project failed to move forward and the team morale was low, we simply tried to set aside our own cultural background and got into others’ shoes. In the end, everyone agreed to compromise and tailored a cross-cultural solution. Essentially with that solution, we won the best presenting team in that class and our relationship grew. Thus, to me, GLOBE is always a unique place where there are continuous learning opportunities, genuine interactions, and everlasting friendship.’
‘Sharing two short episodes of my work life post GLOBE:
1. Surviving the first client dinner: Despite how easy people seems to talk about going to client meetings and dinners, my first client dinner proved it in fact requires conscious efforts and thoughtful tactics to create a fruitful and engaging client conversation.
And luckily I survived it with the skills I picked up from GLOBE. During the dinner, I managed to build rapport with my client over small talks, similar to how I bonded with my peers in GLOBE despite our very different upbringings. I gained credibility from the client with my subject matter expertise in equities, which I developed a strong foundation since my GLOBE days. And sometimes when our conversation drifted away from the agenda, I can naturally bring the client back to our focus, as similar situations have happened before during our GLOBE projects for many times. This experience has served as a good reminder to me how business maturity and soft skills can make a difference in your success.
2. Extending thought leadership: I often ask myself how GLOBE students can make the best out of our education in the adult world. Gradually I found the answer – to become thought leaders in as many industries as possible.
I chose to be one via social entrepreneurship and hence, co-founded Lensational, a global women empowerment organization. The inputs from GLOBE, be it diverse study experience, program flexibility for students to explore new areas or academic support, are all very conducive to nurturing young thought leaders. We are trained to be informed opinion leaders and “go-to” persons. The education enabled us to inspire others and replicate successes in various fields.
What I see now is that many classmates from my batch and others are working hard to create different forms of thought leadership in areas we are each passionate about, be it finance, startups or arts. All these efforts turn into a very valuable GLOBE network across borders that I dearly hold tight to, and by which I am motivated to work even harder for my goals.’
‘Coming to GLOBE is no doubt one of the best decisions I've ever made. The immersive experience living, studying and working with top students from entirely different cultures has triggered me to deeply reflect on my perceptions and instilled in me a fresh open-mindedness when encountering different perspectives at work and in civil society. This learning has been instrumental to my work in HK's civil service, which required me to understand social problems and solutions from various angles. Meanwhile, the exposures in entrepreneurship during GLOBE has taught me not only solid business skills but also how these skills are crucial to building enterprises with social missions – a pursuit that I believe is an effective way of improving the society. Such skills and inspirations laid a strong foundation for me to work effectively at Enactus, one of the largest global NGOs that promote social entrepreneurship, to groom student-led social enterprises and raise awareness on social entrepreneurship.’
