A reception was held on 16 January to greet 135 exchange students from 15 different areas around the world. These students are starting the new semester and a new life at City University of Hong Kong (CityU).

Professor H K Chang, President of CityU, welcomed the students to campus at the reception. “Exchange programmes are a crucial part of internationalizing our campus,” he said. “Globalization is taking place and participants on exchanges should make good use of this opportunity to learn more about different cultures and think about their future development.”

The reception was organized by the International and Non-local Students Office as part of the “Buddy Scheme”. This scheme pairs up exchange students with local students. The aim is to help exchange students adapt to student life in Hong Kong and learn more about the local culture.

Juergen Chan Chung-chi, a Year 3 student taking the BBA Human Resources Management programme, has been an active participant on the Buddy Scheme as well as on other exchange activities since Year 2. He spent one semester in Austria at the beginning of 2006 as an exchange student where he learnt to speak German.

“I’ve gained a lot from the exchange programme and activities. I could practice my foreign language and experience different cultures. It’s been an eye-opener for me,” he said. He will buddy up with an exchange student from Austria this semester.

At the same time, three of his Austrian friends have come to CityU as exchange students this semester. One of them is Markus Reichart, an international logistic management major. “Hong Kong is an international city, a perfect place for me to learn more about my major. In addition, CityU provides us with an opportunity to encounter different Asian cultures,” he said. Like the other two Austrian exchange students, he has not been to Asia before and they are very excited about what lies ahead.

During the reception, the exchange student met their local “buddies” and watched a performance of traditional Chinese dance and a Turkish belly dance and later took part in a general knowledge quiz about Hong Kong.