Are you thinking about studying in China?

Nathania Josephine Tjung is from Manado, Indonesia. She is now in her third year of un-dergraduate study at The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen (CUHK-Shenzhen). She is the first international student in the Global Supply Chain and Logistics Management (Global SCLM) stream of the Global Business Studies (GBS) major, School of Management and Economics (SME).

Global SCLM, one of the two streams in GBS, is jointly run by CUHK-Shenzhen, The University of British Columbia (UBC) and Copenhagen Business School (CBS). In their third academic year, Global SCLM students study in Denmark for the first semester and move to Canada for the second. It is one of the most competitive streams for SME un-dergraduates.

Tjung flew from Jakarta to Copenhagen in late August 2022. After two years of online studies due to COVID-19, she finally met her 14 classmates at Copenhagen Airport. “We were so excited because this is the first time we met in person,” Tjung laughed. A few CBS students picked them up from the airport and helped them check into student ac-commodation.

“We live in different student halls scattered across Copenhagen, but they are not far from campus. I am sharing a flat with an exchange student from Singapore. Each of us has a room with an independent kitchen,” said Tjung when she happily showed off her flat.

“It’s pretty expensive to eat out in Copenhagen, so my friends and I took the opportunity to cook and eat together. At the same time, we share stories and our experiences. It makes us much closer. One time I cooked Indonesian food for them. They liked it a lot, and since then, they get excited whenever I cook,” she said.

Tjung’s Chinese improved faster since merging into the CUHK-Shenzhen cohort. “My classmates speak in Chinese when we are together. They taught me a lot of internet slang.”

“We decided to travel to Norway together before the semester began. A Chinese class-mate planned the whole trip. He helped us book the tickets and hotels. He is amazing,” Tjung laughed, “we rented a house in Stavanger… all of us stayed together and talked through the night until one in the morning. We had never talked like this before. It was the first time I really got to know them.”

In Tjung’s class at CBS, there are 45 students, with each of the three universities (CUHK-Shenzhen, CBS and UBC) sending 15 undergraduates. The CUHK-Shenzhen cohort will take four courses this semester and transfer the 12 units earned from these courses back to CUHK-Shenzhen.

Tjung feels that the courses at CBS are more manageable than those at CUHK-Shenzhen, although there is more class discussion and group work. She particularly enjoyed the Case Competition, designed to get everyone acquainted before the semester started. The whole class was divided into 15 groups. Each group consisted of 3 students from each universi-ty. Tjung observed that the student from Vancouver was enthusiastic about technology, while the one from Copenhagen thought about sustainability all the time. She also noticed the cultural differences in the dress code. “The Danish students are always in suits, but the Canadians and we are all in T-shirts and hoodies,” said Tjung.

Tjung is happy to have the opportunity to study something new at CBS. “I really enjoy the ‘Market, Regulations and Security in Maritime Sectors’ course. We don’t have this course at CUHK-Shenzhen. I have learned a lot about shipping companies, the regula-tions in the maritime sector and how to use them in developing business strategies in the shipping industry. The Danish professor is really enthusiastic and funny. He makes the course really interesting. After class, he loves to talk with us and share his experiences not just about shipping, but also about student life and his life.”

A typical CBS lecture lasts 3 hours, with perhaps a 10-minute bathroom break in the mid-dle. “There is no homework here,” Tjung grinned, “we had so much homework at CUHK-Shenzhen. The Danish students work part-time jobs after classes. I think this is why we don’t have homework. They are very independent. Some of them finish the undergradu-ate program in 3 years.”

The CUHK-Shenzhen cohort will stay in Copenhagen until 31 December 2022. They will leave for Vancouver in early January and study at UBC until the end of April. Tjung will return to CUHK-Shenzhen for her fourth year in August 2023.

Rosemary Bai contributes to the story.