exchange report 2017 cass business school, city ......exchange student under cass business school,...
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ExchangeReport2017
CassBusinessSchool,CityUniversityLondon
ChanCheukYin
FinanceandInformationSystemYear3
PartI
MonthlyActivityLog
PartII
GeneralExchangeInformation
PartIII
ItemstoBring
TableofContents
JanuaryIarrivedLondonon16th,whichwasaround1weekearlierthanschoolstarts.
Unfortunately,Ididn’tgetanofficialhallofferfromuniversitysoIneededtofinda
placetoliveonmyown.Comparetotheplacethatexchangestudentslivewith
officialhalloffer,myplaceisquitefaraway,whichtakesaround40minutesto
campus.After2daysoforientation,schoolstartsonthefollowingweek.After
settlingdownmostofthethings,IvisitedtheattractionsinLondonwithotherUST
exchangestudents,andwenttoOxfordattheendofthismonth.
FebruaryAfterspendingthefirst2weekstofigureoutwhichcoursetochoose,mytimetable
issettled.ComparetoUST,thetimeuspendforlessonswillbesmalleraseach
courseonlyhave1classeachweek,andonlylastfor2hours.Althoughbeingan
exchangestudentundercassbusinessschool,butIjustvisitedcassforafewtimes.
MostoftheUGcoursestakeplaceinthemaincampus,whilecassbusinessschoolis
mainlyforpostgraduatesorstudying,asthereareplentyofstudyarea.Thefoodin
maincampusisnotgoodandthechoicesarelimited,butluckilytherearesome
restaurantsnearby,somostofthetimeIwentoutforlunchafterlessons.
MarchTherearetestsandgroupprojectsdueinlateFebruaryandMarch,soIspendquitea
lotoftimehavingmeetingorrevising.LuckilythosethingswerenodifficultandI
didn’tneedtospendalotoftimeonthem.SomeofmyfriendstravelledtoEuropein
thismonth,andIjoinedthemwhentheyarrivedUK.WespentsometimeInLondon
andwewenttoBrighton’sSevenSisterParkforthebeautifulview.
AprilAprilisthetimewhenthesemesterends,andthealternativeassessmentsfor
exchangestudents.Insteadoftakingexams,exchangestudentscouldchooseto
applyforalternativeassessments,whichmostlikelyareessaysorcasestudies,and
thedifficultyvariesdependingonthecoursesyoutake.Ispentaround1.5weeksto
finishall4assessments.Aftersubmittingthelastassessment,Istartedmytrip
PartI–ActivityLog
4
throughEurope.AndIwenttoAmsterdam,cologne,Brussel,andParisduringmy
trip.
MayMysecondtripstartedinMay,whichItravelledtoBudapest,berlinandCopenhagen.
AfterIfinishmysecondtrip,IstayedinLondonandfor1moreweekandIreturned
toHongKongon18th.
VisaproceduresBeingaHongKongcitizen,youdon'trequireavisatostayinUKifthedurationisless
than180days,whatyouneedtodoisbringtheacceptanceletterandtheywillgiveu
astudentvisa.WhenyouleaveUKremembertobringtheacceptanceletterasyou
needthattoproveyouarestudyinginUK,sothatyoucanre-enterUK.
OrientationActivitiesTheorientationActivitiesincassisnotthatmuch,andalittlebitboring.Therewere
2daysoforientationandmostofthemwerejustseminarsandtalksforintroducing
thecampusorschoolsystems.Theonlyinterestingactivitieswasthe“Drinkevening”
onthesecondday.Theeventtookplaceintheclubinsidecampus,andwecouldget
2drinksforfree.
InternationalservicesandActivitiesYoucanvisittheexchangeofficetoaskforhelpifyouhaveanyquestionsor
problems.Inspringtherewerenotmuchinternationalactivitiesheldincampus,I
believemostoftheactivitieswereheldinlastsemesterforfreshmen,thusthereare
notmuchactivitiesforustojoininSpring.
AccommodationAccommodationinLondonisquiteexpensive,ifyoucannotgetanofficialhalloffer,
youwillneedtofindaccommodationyourself.TheplaceIlivedinwasTottenham
Hale,whichisinZone2,ittakesmearound40minutestotravelformmyplaceto
campus.Thecostformyaccommodationis3229poundsforfourandahalfmonths.
Ifyouwanttoliveclosertothecitycenter,thepricewillbehigher.
CoursesRegistrationCourseregistrationisverysimpleinCass.Beforesemesterstarts,youwillbeableto
checkthecoursesavailableinthefollowingsemesterandthetimeforclasses,soyou
canstartplanningyourtimetable.Thefirstweekofthesemesteristheadd/drop
period,whichisforyoutoattendtheclassesyouwanttochoose,andtofinalizeyour
timetable.Afteryoufigureoutthecoursesyouwouldliketotake,whatyouneedto
PartII–GeneralExchangeInformation
6
doisjustfillinaformandsubmityourchoicesonline.
Teaching&AssessmentMethodsItake4coursesinthissemesterandthedetailsareasfollow:
FR2203CompanyValuation
(EquivalenttoFINA3403:Corporate
Valuation,3credits)
Thiscoursehasonemid-termand1
case-studyasalternativeassessment,
themid-termisnotdifficultbutthe
case-studyisprettyhard.Thetimelimit
tocompletethestudyisjust3daysand
thequestionsarequitecomplicated
FR2210AlternativeInvestment
Management
(EquivalenttoFINA3403:Corporate
Valuation,4credits)
Thisisaquiteinterestingcourseasyou
canhaveachancetoparticipateina
tradinggame.However,thecourse
materialsaresomuchthattheprofessor
willskipslidesduringlectures,thusit
willbequitehardtocatchup.Thereare
nomidtermsforthiscourse,whileyou
willneedtowriteanevaluationreport
aftertheendofthetradinggame.The
alternativeassessmentforthiscourse
willbesimplyaresearchessay.
FR2211DerivativesTradingandHedging
(EquivalenttoFINA3203:Derivative
Securities,3credits)
Thiscoursehasonegroupassignment
whichisaboutcalculationsandanalysis,
youwillneedtohavesomerevision
beforeyourgroupstartdoingit.The
alternativeassessmentforthiscourseis
aresearchsummary.Eachstudentwill
choose1paperandhave1weektogo
throughitandwritethesummary.I
thinkthisisthemostdifficult
assessmentamongall4asthepaperis
quitelongwithconceptsthatyouare
notfamiliarwith.
IF3101InternationalFinance Thiscoursehasonegroupessayand1
7
(EquivalenttoFINA4403:International
Finance,3credits)
essayasassessment.Both2tasksare
notdifficultandIthinkthisistheeasiest
courseamongthem.
Sports&RecreationalFacilitiesTherearenotmanysportsfacilitiesincampus.Forstudentswhoareinterestedin
doingsports,theycanjointhecitySportmembership,whichprovidesdifferenttypes
ofsportsandtrainingclasses.AlthoughIdidn’tjointhemembership,butIbelieve
joiningthemembershipisagoodchoice,comparetoothergymsinLondon.The
detailsforthismembershipwillbecoveredduringtheorientation.
FinanceandbankingItisextremelycommonforpeopletousecardsforpayment,anditwillbemore
convenienttousecardsasyouwillnotneedtocarryanycoins.Youmaychooseany
banksyouwanttoopenanaccountandgetadebitcard.Santanderisthemost
convenientchoiceasithasabranchopeninsidecampus.Afteryougettheletterfor
openingbankaccountfromtheschooloffice,youcanstraightlygothereandbooka
timeslotforopeningabankaccount.Forchoosingwhichbankaccountyouwilllike
toopen,becarefulsomeaccountsmayhavecharges,whilesomedonot.
SocialClubs&NetworkingOpportunitiesForstudentsgoingtocassinspringsemester,therearenotmuchchanceforjoining
clubsincass,asIbelievetheyalreadyrecruitedmembersinlastsemester.ESNisthe
onlyorganizationthatIgetintouchwithduringtheorientation,itisanorganization
forexchangestudents,anditwillsometimesorganizeeventsforexchangestudents
tojoin.Apartfromthat,therearenotmuchactivitiesheldincassduringthose
months.
HealthandSafetyThereisaStudentHealthServiceCenterincampus,butluckilyIdidn’thavethe
chancetovisitit.Althoughthereare2attackshappenedinLondonthisyear,London
ingeneralisasafeplace,buttherearequitealothomelesspeople,sojustbecareful
atnightandavoidgoingoutalone,andyoushouldbefine.
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FoodTherearedifferentkindsofrestaurantnearthestationAngel,whichistheclosest
Undergroundstationformcampus,andittakesaround5-10minsofwalking.Similar
toHongKong,youcanalmostfindanykindoffoodyouwantinLondon.Andifyou
missAsianfood,justvisitchinatownnearLeicesterSquareStation,therearemany
Chineserestaurantsforyoutochoose.
TransportationTransportationinLondonisexpensive,whichcostmorethan2timescompareto
HongKong,buttherearespecialsoffersforstudentstolowerthecost.Firstly,getan
oystercardassoonaspossibleastheticketpriceismuchhigherthanusingoyster
card.Youneedtopayadepositforthecard,butyoucangeta“”.Thesecondwayto
lowerthefareistoregisterarailcard,oystercardcombinedwithrailcardcan
furtherlowerthepricefortransportation,plusrailcarditselfcanofferyoudiscounts
whenyoubuytrainticketstoothercitiesinUK.
ClimateInJanuaryandFebruary,thetemperaturewillbequitelow(around3to5degrees),
sometimesmightbelower,Youshouldbringathickcoatforkeepingyouwarm.
Moreover,itisquitewindyinLondonwithsomerain,soyoushouldalsoprepare
somewaterproofclothingforsuchweather.
CommunicationYoumaygetdifferentsimcardsduringorientationsorgiftpacks,andamongthose
providersIknow,giffgaffshouldbethecheapest.Thereareplanswithdifferent
amountofdataandcallminutesforyoutochoose,oryoucanjusttopupyour
amountandpayforwhatyouuse.Althoughgiffgaffhasalowpricefordataplan,it
doesn’tprovidedataplanoutsideUK.WhiletheusagefeeoutsideUKisquite
expensive,itisbettertobuyaplanformotherserviceproviderwhenyoutravel
throughEurope.
CautionaryMeasuresApartfromlivinginLondon,exchangestudentsshouldbemorecarefulwhenthey
travelthroughEurope,assomecountriesinEuropewillbemoredangerous,andthe
peopletheremightbemoreaggressivetobegyouformoney,orsomemaytryto
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stealyourthings.Exchangestudentsshouldalsobecarefulapartfromenjoyingtheir
trips.
CostandexpensesAccommodation:40000HKD
Transportation:4000HKD
LivingExpense:10000HKD
Travelling:15000HKD
EntertainmentExpense:5000HKD
Itemstobring1. Stationary
2. Adaptor(fortravellingtoplacesoutsideUK)
3. Chargers
4. Acceptanceletter
5. Clothing(thickclothesforcoldtemperature)
6. Medicine