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

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(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