 |
HKUST MBA |
SIX-MONTH MENTORSHIP PROGRAM
Win-Win Approach, Interview With Mentors and Mentees
Win-Win Approach, Interview With Mentors and Mentees
The “MBA Mentorship Program 2018” is an initiative whose objective is to establish a platform to encourage learning and knowledge sharing by connecting a student (the mentee) to an alumnus (the mentor). As the pilot run approached the closing stage, Sundial spoke with two mentor/mentee pairs.
Florence Cheng (Mentor) and Alexander Ip, MBAFT Year 1 (Mentee)
Florence Cheng, Regional Manager of a building material manufacturer, was paired with Alexander to be his mentor. They managed to meet face-to-face regularly every two months. They had focus topics to start the conversation, including long-term career plans, upcoming trends in the industry and the skill set needed for job hunting, and the conversation diversified into casual spontaneous topics as time went by.
Florence Cheng, Regional Manager of a building material manufacturer, was paired with Alexander to be his mentor. They managed to meet face-to-face regularly every two months. They had focus topics to start the conversation, including long-term career plans, upcoming trends in the industry and the skill set needed for job hunting, and the conversation diversified into casual spontaneous topics as time went by.
Florence Cheng and Alexander Ip talked of happenings with the MBA program.
Florence had previously served as a mentor with the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, and she always desired to maintain a strong bond with HKUST and remain in touch with younger executives; she thus had every motivation for the program. Alex was very keen to share his progress in job-hunting, and in return, Florence was able to provide effective suggestions to advance his career and insider tips on companies of interest. Alex emphasised that he initially expected that the mentor could advise him regarding his goal to switch careers after earning his MBA, and the program fit the purpose appropriately and provided valuable help.
Thomas Un (Mentor) and Meng-Yang MBAFT Year 1 (Mentee)
A contrasting pair, Meng-Yang was connected with Thomas Un, Program Manager in a technology start-up. They enjoyed some casual chat on topics such as the challenges one may face in the MBA journey and exchanged their MBA stories and experiences. They met a few times for lunch and regularly conversed on WhatsApp. For the busy pair, the communication app allowed much flexibility and convenience and was thus the perfect tool for them.
A contrasting pair, Meng-Yang was connected with Thomas Un, Program Manager in a technology start-up. They enjoyed some casual chat on topics such as the challenges one may face in the MBA journey and exchanged their MBA stories and experiences. They met a few times for lunch and regularly conversed on WhatsApp. For the busy pair, the communication app allowed much flexibility and convenience and was thus the perfect tool for them.
Thomas Un shared tips on the way to ‘play the game’ with Meng-Yang Ng.
Thomas has filled a similar role as UG mentor on many occasions, but this was his first time taking on an MBA mentee, and he quickly realized Meng-Yang’s comparative maturity. Thomas remarked that their affiliation was more of a peer-like relationship and was beneficial to both of their careers.
Although Meng-Yang’s career focus is on the chemical/energy industry, which is quite different from a tech-start-up enterprise, he nonetheless appreciated the inspirational dialogue and learning about other industries. Did this show that for a pairing to work well, a close match to each other’s industry background is not always required?
By Jason Wong, Academic Team
Although Meng-Yang’s career focus is on the chemical/energy industry, which is quite different from a tech-start-up enterprise, he nonetheless appreciated the inspirational dialogue and learning about other industries. Did this show that for a pairing to work well, a close match to each other’s industry background is not always required?
By Jason Wong, Academic Team
