A Flight to Start Our Journey – GBS Orientation Trip in Tokyo

By Vianna Ngai (Global Business Studies, Year 1)

This year, we Global Business Studies students went on an amazing orientation trip to Tokyo, from 28 August to 1 September 2017, in advance of our upcoming exciting university life. In Tokyo, we gained insights from company visits, widened our horizons from cultural visits and formed friendships during the wonderful five-day trip.

Japan is one of the most prominent countries in consumer electronics. We grasped the opportunity to visit the world-famous multinational electronics companies – Panasonic and NEC. In the futuristic Panasonic Center Tokyo, we were lucky to get a glimpse of what our daily lives would be like in 2020 as the Wonder Life-Box, a smart living prototype developed by Panasonic, was presented to us. With such novel technology, the smart living technology would make life much more convenient and comfortable. During the visit, we were all awed by how technology is expected to advance in a few decades, and how different our lives would become. In NEC, the fascinating capability of technologies was also demonstrated to us. They could make work more efficient and provide us with a more secure society. We were also impressed by NEC’s dedication to their consumers and society as illustrated in their vision for social value creation.

We also visited the Keio University in Tokyo and had a chance to be taught by a local professor about issues concerning today’s Japan. In the class, we learned the importance of cultural awareness and conducted a short presentation about how Japan can boost its worldwide competitiveness, through which we gained insights into the Japanese culture.

Last but not least, we also had a great time during the cultural visits in Japan. We visited the Tsukiji Market and other prosperous and hectic areas in Tokyo, such as Harajuku, which is known as the centre of Japanese youth culture. When we were ambling along the bustling streets of Tokyo, we noticed a lot of subtle differences between the Japanese culture and Hong Kong culture. The fascinating differences prompted us to know more about the diverse cultures around the world.

If I am to use one word to conclude this amazing trip, it would be “inspiring”. Besides the invaluable friendships that we gained and the priceless knowledge that we acquired, I think most importantly, is that we had a wonderful international exposure. We are excited to know that it is only the beginning of our fruitful journey in university, and there are many chances for us to explore in other countries as other cultures await us.

 

This article was first published in CU iBUS (October 2017 issue) by the Undergraduate Office, CUHK Business School.