Indian students come to Hong Kong to pursue their MBA at CUHK and succeed in making their career shift
Speaking with three young Indian alumni as they share their insights on their MBA journey with CUHK.
Adil Saxena, Tejas Raval and Sagar Kalra came to Hong Kong because they see the irreversible economic growth in Asia and particularly in China. They believed that Hong Kong, as an international city and financial hubs, can offer them a lot of opportunities to learn and to develop the different skills needed to thrive in a multicultural and challenging environment. For Tejas and Sagar, Hong Kong is one of the major financial hubs and a great place to make a career shift to the financial sector.
For them, an MBA can help them move up the career ladder. They decided to pursue their MBA at CUHK because it is one of Hong Kong’s most established business schools with a huge global alumni base. Curriculum-wise, the one-year MBA programme offered a lot of flexibility over the choices of courses that suited their career interests. The small and yet diverse class was another plus factor.
They were all amazed by the abundance of resources and opportunities that were continuously thrown at them and at the same time, they have been constantly encouraged to grab them.
Adil SAXENA(Full-time, Class of 2017)
- First Degree: University of Delhi, B.Com
- Pre-MBA Job: Assistant Marketing Manager, Yums! Brand – India
- Post-MBA Job: Business Development, APAC, FC Barcelona – Hong Kong
Career Shift
From marketing to business development and industry shift from FMCG to the dynamic Sports Industry. And moving away from traditional marketing in a local market to being a catalyst for creating people-centric strategies for a wider market.
Adil’s Sharing
One of the best parts he recalled was the network established through leading the Graduate Business Forum with over a hundred of the biggest business schools participating in it.
“I am grateful that I am able to get a job out of my home country for the first time and I could not see how it could be achieved without CUHK.”
Next Career Goals
“To be part of the growth story of football in Asia, particularly in the Indian sub-continent.”
Tejas RAVAL (Full-time, Class of 2018)
- First Degree: The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, B.Com, Chartered Accountant (India), Company Secretary (India)
- Pre-MBA Job: Manager, Finance – True North Co. – India
- Post-MBA Job: Private Equity Associate – Hong Kong
Tejas’ Sharing
Tejas was naturally attracted to CUHK as some of the investors he met whilst working in India were CUHK alumni. He was impressed by how they have gained grounds in their careers.
His participation in different student clubs has helped him with his career; he was
– Vice President of the Venture Capital & Private Equity Club
A great way to connect with industry professionals to get their insights and experience sharing with classmates
– Executive Member of the CSR Committee
Learnt on Social Entrepreneurship, CSR and trends around it
– Treasury at the Consultancy Club
Solving business cases and evaluate opportunities in Strategy Consulting
These roles enabled him to acquire different skills, gain respective insights and expanded his network.
“I am certainly able to achieve my immediate post-MBA objectives. I now have the right platform to learn the broader aspects of the private equity industry and build up skills that would eventually help achieve my long term career objectives”
“During MBA, I connected with many Private Equity professionals and Investment Bankers in Hong Kong & Singapore to learn more about the industry and understand the areas where I can contribute and areas where I need to improvise.”
“Post-MBA, I will continue to leverage on the network built during my MBA to discuss potential deals and investment structures.”
Next Career Goals
“Focus on strengthening my knowledge and experience in Private Equity and Trust Administration Matters.”
Sagar KALRA (Full-time, Class of 2018)
- First Degree: University of Delhi, BA
- Pre-MBA Job: Business Strategy & Development, RLARD Engitech Pvt Ltd – India
- Post-MBA Job: Management Consultant (Private Banking & Wealth Management Industry), Synpulse Management Consulting – Hong Kong
Career Shift
From heading the business strategy and development for a start up in Pune to a Management Consultant for the financial industry in Hong Kong
Sagar’s Sharing
Sagar is certain that the MBA has helped him achieve his career objective to shift to the financial industry and provided him with the right environment to grow as a professional.
As President of the Consulting Club during his MBA, he gained a lot of useful insights through networking events, company talks/info-sessions and case study sessions. He also developed the right skill-sets for consulting.
Sagar is proud to say that CUHK MBA has nurtured his business and management skills and he could use these skills to transform his career growth.
“The intensive courses such as C-Suite, Business Modelling, Management Decision Making amongst others added such an immense value to the MBA programme. During these courses, you get to work with a team in a very challenging environment that make you grow as a person both professionally and personally. It’s a test of your management, decision making, analytical and problem solving skills.”
“Throughout my MBA, I focused on expanding my professional network. Meeting seasoned professionals from diverse backgrounds, not only helped me gain more knowledge about the financial industry but also in areas that I need to focus on to stimulate my career growth.”
Next Career Goals
“Leverage my position as a Management Consultant to gain hands-on experience in Hong Kong, particularly in the banking industry. This would open more doors for me in the future.”
Adil, Tejas and Sagar agreed that given the diverse student pool and reputation of the University, CUHK MBA provides the right platform for passionate professionals seeking to give their career a kick-start in an international city such as Hong Kong, or any other parts of the world.