Visiting the Modern Terminals with Hapag Lloyd

To start with the most important fact: Our visit of the Modern Terminals was very interesting!! When we arrived two people from Hapag Lloyd and three from Modern Terminals were already waiting for us. We even found out that one of the Hapag employees regularly works in Hamburg for a few weeks per year.

First we saw a corporate video, which explained the work of Modern Terminals and how they work together with Hapag Lloyd. In the second part we looked at a map of Hong Kong and discussed advantages and disadvantages of the Hong Kong port. It turned out that Hong Kongs port is facing high competition from mainland China´s ports like Shenzhen and even Nansha port. Due to the fact that Hong Kong can present geographical advantages the port will most likely always remain a  big and important transit port. At the end of the visit we were able to enjoy the outlook from the tower bridge of the terminals. From this huge open-plan office we had an amazing view over the entire harbour with its containers, ships and trucks.

Have a look by yourself and compare it to the harbours you know. We as a group where stunned by the size.

Felix

Recycling in Hong Kong - Ecopark

On Wednesday morning our group visited Ecopark, which is a governmental entity that supports waste disposal and recycling companies with information, financing and infrastructure. Another central task is to inform and sensitize local citizens about the growing problem of waste disposal in Hong Kong. Ecopark is located in the outskirts of the city, so we had to drive about one and a half hours by train and bus in order to reach our destination.

After arrival, we were greeted by our tour guide. He gave us a brief introduction that included some information about the different types of municipal solid waste and their sources. Afterwards, the students were able to put their newly acquired knowledge into practice by separating different types of waste into the right trash cans on large touch screens. This joyful interactive part was followed by a short movie on Hong Kong's challenges to deal with the ever-growing amount of garbage in the city and the innovative ways of the government to tackle this issue. Next up, we had the chance to see a product gallery where different companies exhibit their products related to waste management in Hong Kong. Finally, our tour ended with a photo booth as an opportunity for the students to take pictures as a souvenir of this memorable visit.

Tobi

Snapask

For our first visit on Tuesday we went to Snapask. The meeting with the start-up was very informative and interesting. We were warmly welcomed by the founder and two employees who were awaiting us in their modern office space. Afterwards the founder told us his story about how he has founded Snapask and his experiences.
During his stay in China he has learned how to solve problems due to the need of earning some money. That knowledge helped him to create his start-up. The two big problems he faced at the beginning were the lack of money and the missing network. In addition the founder mentioned the difficulty to find Investors for a new business concept. But "if you believe in your idea, you should never give up!"
The founders reason for the development of Snapask is that in addition to the quite impersonal tutors the students need to have a mentor who personally supports them. Especially within the Asian teaching style, which almost  has no interaction in class, individual help after school is definitely a necessity
Answering one of our questions regarding their working times the founder as well as one of the employees explained that they cannot tell how many hours they work, because instead of seeing it as work, they just love to do it, which is essential for the growth of the start-up.
By now Snapask has about 130,000 users and in the next years the company wants to expand it's market to Vietnam and Indonesia.
The company's future goal is to match the profiles of the customers who have the same questions and share their learning paths to create small communities within the community to create a loyal customer base.

Elena

Blueprint

On Tuesday afternoon we visited Blueprint. The office space is located in a highly modern building complex (Taikoo complex) on Hong Kong Island. The visit was split into two parts. First we were shown around in the offices and afterwards we found out a few more details during a short presentation about the business.

The office covers two floors of the building. The lower floor is a co-working space were technical startups can rent desks for 180€ per person per month which is quite cheap for Hong Kong. The style of the furniture and decoration was very modern and reminded us of the way Google designs its offices. Our highlights were the chill-out lounge, a wall you could build legos on and the chalkboard-style walls in the restrooms which were covered with html codes for example. On the upper floor Blueprint hosts the startups that participate in their accelerator program. The program consists of up to ten startups which rotate every six months. Only startups that focus on a technical B2B issue can apply for this program. If they get accepted they will can enjoy free working places and the support of Blueprints network. The whole project was established because the part of the office complex Blueprints’ offices are in will be torn down next year sothat the two floors were empty. That's why the holding company Blueprint belongs to decided to use the open spaces for the project. This is also the reason why blueprint is not attempting to achieve any profits and does not invest into the startups itself.

On our way out of the offices we got to talk to a startup which participates in the accelerator program and develops smart mirrors. One of the founders showed us a prototype and told us about his perspective on Blueprint’s  project.

Afterwards some of us went to victorias peak to enjoy a beautiful sunset above the skyline of Hong Kong.

Jan A.

Getting to know our partner university

On Monday afternoon we visited the HSBA Partner University in Hong Kong. The Hang Seng Management College is located about one hour from the city center by public transport. We took a ferry to reach the other side of Hong Kong and had a beautiful view on its fascinating skyline.

As soon as we arrived at HSMC, we were stunned by the size of the university area. The campus included several big buildings, a basketball court and an outside pool. Due to the high temperature of about 30 degrees it is not hard to imagine that some of us would have loved to jump into the cold water 😉.

Mrs. Chow Lo, Head of the International Office, presented the university in a very interesting and interactive way. We started with watching the image film of the Hang Seng Management College, so we were able to answer the questions she asked in the quiz afterwards.

The university was founded in 2010 and strikes with its modern and environmental friendly  facilities: The new campus buildings were designed and constructed according to the "Platinum Standard" of the building environment assessment method which is the highest level of sustainability in building construction in Hong Kong. Furthermore it is possible to live directly on the campus area. About 1.400 bed spaces are provided for HSCM students. There are many opportunities for the students to spend their free-time. The university has its own gym, a dance room and an indoor playground + swimming pool.

Afterwards we had a little group chat together with some students of the HSCM, talking about the similarities and differences between our university lives. It turned out that two girls made the best choice and will spend their next semester at HSBA. We tried to give advice where to find a flat in Hamburg and answer other important questions in preparation for their exchange semester. In one thing we could definitely ensure them: They will not get lost at our comfy campus 😉.

Tina

National day firework

Some students from our group even got the chance to stand in the middle of a huge crowd celebrating the National Day on 1st October here in Hong Kong.

Not only the huge crowd will remain as a nice memory. The view was just spectacular.

Here some impressions of the night:

Safe arrival and a great start into our week

After everyone finally arrived Sunday evening, we met in a bar to start our excursion with some drinks. The next morning we had our first official appointment at the German chamber of commerce. We were very honored that the CEO Mr. Ehmann had the time to introduce us to general topics of business in Hong Kong. Besides the information of the differences between Hong Kong and Mainland China, he explained the structure of the chamber of commerce in general and the foreign chambers in special. All of them have very different functions as supporting german firms based in Hong Kong in various topics  e.g. recruiting. 

Further the German chamber of commerce implemented the German system for a dual apprenticeship. This point was very interesting for us. However, the program is currently mainly used by graduates of the German Swiss International School. Another function of the chamber is organizing events for the member companies. Networking is one of the most important things to do in Hong Kong. In November their event, the Asia-Pacific conference, will take place and Mr. Ehmann told us they invited various speakers for debates. 
This meeting was great to get an initial understanding of the business in Hong Kong and it was a perfect start into our excursion week. Many thanks to Mr. Ehmann and the German chamber of commerce.

Ulrike