The trip marks the beginning of the international journey for IBCE Batch10 students when they first meet their counterparts from the University of South Carolina (UofSC).
IBCE continues to enhance students’ exposure to the Chinese business landscape through the annual Orientation Trip to China held in each summer. This year, 27 IBCE Batch 10 students from CUHK and UofSC, together with IBCE CUHK Programme Co-Director Mr Simon Lee and Prof Sali Li from UofSC, spent the final week of their summer vacation together in Dalian, Liaoning Province, exploring around the beautiful city while visiting corporates and cultural sites.
Company visits
During the week, IBCE students were given exclusive guided tours and interaction sessions with corporate executives in Dalian Locomotive and Rolling Stock Co. Ltd. (中國北車大連機車車輛有限公司), Dalian Gona Technology Group Co. (大連光陽科技集團有限公司), Dalian Hang Lung Plaza (大連恆隆廣場) and Dalian Software Park (大連軟件園).
“The company visits allowed me to gain better understanding on business operations and the technological trends in the second-tier cities of China. It was my first time walking into a production hangar for locomotives in which I got a close look to the production flow of different train compartments and learnt more on China’s logistic network. I am most grateful for the opportunities given by IBCE to explore more about the world’s 2nd largest economy,” said IBCE Batch10 Captain Addes Mak.
Cultural visits
Apart from firm visits, students also had fun in cruising around Dalian landmarks such as the Golden Pebble Beach National Geopark (金石灘國家地質公園), Dalian University of Technology (大連理工大學), East Jiguan Mountain in Lushun (旅順東雞冠山) and Lushun Museum (旅順博物館). The group was also treated an elegant dinner at the State Guesthouse, Bangchui Island (棒槌島國賓館) during which students seized the opportunity to interview government officials.
Team building
To develop students with the essential soft skills to succeed in the future, a team building workshop was arranged for IBCErs to enhance their team effectiveness.
“We were required to tackle different challenges in teams during the workshop. For example, we had to build a tower without touching the blocks. I realized that effective communication and trust among team members are the key to getting the job well done,” said Dennis Lo from CUHK.
The IBCE Orientation Trip is an annual event organized for IBCErs during their first summer vacation. The trip will take place in a Chinese city chosen by IBCErs where they will get to know their counterparts from UofSC and learn about the latest development in China. Previous destinations for the trip include Inner Mongolia, Guiyang and Hangzhou.
