#CUHKBusinessSchool Goes Online
During the global coronavirus outbreak, the doors of learning at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) Business School stayed open. In addition to moving the classroom online, seminars and admission activities also went virtual to combat the limitations posed by the pandemic and to prepare for the challenges ahead.
The pandemic has revolutionised the way organisations work and the way students study around the globe. Technologies such as video conferencing, cloud solutions and instant messaging have become the new daily essentials in connecting one another. With social distancing policies in place, the transition from offline to online classes at CUHK happened within a short space of time. Students, faculty and administrators have all worked hard to adapt to the new technologies during this period.
Online teaching is more than a technical challenge, and can sometimes be even more difficult than face-to-face lectures. Its essence is about how you curate the lecture content and plan interactions with students. Prof. Tingting Fan, Assistant Professor of Department of Marketing shares, “During a lesson, I have to check polling questions, chat boxes, and the raise-hand button to keep my students attentive. Group discussion, examples and jokes are carefully designed so nothing goes wrong online.” She also strives to drive more engagement by talking to students individually and getting them to work together.
While the pandemic put economic activities on pause, this is not so for learning. To this end, CUHK Business School has run a myriad of talks on trending business knowledge topics. The areas covered include, but are not limited to, entrepreneurship, design thinking, FinTech, impact investment, angel investment, data visualisation, oil ETFs and even innovations on online dating. These webinars have enabled interested students and individuals to stay ahead of the curve during this stay-at-home period.
Often during recessions, the pursuit of higher education is considered one of the best investments. Besides holding online information seminars, various units of the School sought to prepare future students for tomorrow. To help prospective candidates recalibrate their career path and stand out in the global job market, our MBA programmes invited alumni to share ways to invest in themselves and find opportunities during a recession by holding information sessions. The School of Hotel and Tourism Management also presented a thematic talk on innovation and future prospects in the hospitality industry, as remaining resilient in the pandemic and embracing opportunities are keys to survival.
At CUHK Business School, we consider education to be more than about the simple transfer of knowledge. It is about how to change the way we do things to improve our lives. While online teaching and learning have become the new normal, the School will endeavour to continue to improve its teaching as it seeks to train the next generation of world business leaders.