Opening doors – from Japan to China
Minoru Yoshimoto
Current Student, Full-Time, Class of 2020
Witnessing the gradual decline in the Japanese economy combining with the limited prospects with the company he was working for, Minoru Yoshimoto decided to take the first step to have his story changed. He decided to move his focus towards Hong Kong, China and the Greater Bay Area, choosing CUHK as the place to do it.
With continuous upward economic growth in China, pursuing an MBA in that region would capture new career opportunities. He had no prior experience living in a foreign country and considered this focus a new opportunity to broaden his horizons and pursuit of Chinese culture. Naturally, CUHK was the only choice.
But why Hong Kong? Yoshimoto says Hong Kong is well-situated at the gateway of the booming China economy and it is also a major hub in Asia diverse options culturally and career-wise. He chose CUHK amongst all the other business schools because of its highly flexible and practical curriculum, proximity to the Greater Bay Area combined with global exposure, and professors who genuinely care about their students.
In terms of the curriculum, he particularly relished the Strategic Management course. One of the projects he reserved a great deal of enthusiasm for was with Huawei, the China-based multinational tech giant in telecommunications and consumer electronics. Yoshimoto learnt a great deal from their senior executives and exchanged ideas with them that in turn helped consolidate his strategic thinking. The experiential learning experience was “simply enjoyable and memorable,” allowing him an insight into Chinese business culture and the Greater Bay Area.
Aside from this unforgettable experience, he also participated in three study trips to Hokkaido, Taiwan, and Shanghai. Yoshimoto loves China and Chinese culture, and in his role as Vice president of the Japan Club and President of the Hong Kong MBA Forum, he works with people from different walks of lives, and participates in inter-cultural learning as well as brushing up his social and communication skills. As CUHK offers Putonghua and Cantonese courses to MBA students, he also has experienced ample opportunities to learn languages as well and improve his exposure to Chinese culture.
For now, he is busy with his marketing internship at Johnson and Johnson from June to July, followed by interning as strategic consultant at Globis from August to September, then as a product marketing intern at Microsoft from October to November. It’s plenty of work, but Yoshimoto is keen to learn more and increase his skills to be in Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area after he finishes his exchange next year at the London Business School.
The CUHK MBA programme has opened many doors for Yoshimoto for both China and globally. He is confident that he is definitely going to achieve more. With his drive and passion, the stage is set to make firm strides into his future.