Hong Kong PolyU and others adapt their Master of Finance courses to mix online and face-to-face learning

One of Asia’s most cosmopolitan destinations, Hong Kong is a city continuing to develop itself into a regional education hub. Already, some of its universities are ranked among the best educational institutions in the region – not to mention the world. The city has also often been seen as a blend of East and West, creating a diversified culture – with pockets of authentic local culture – that draws an international community.

As a premier financial hotspot in the Asia-Pacific region, with close to 4,000 overseas companies operating, it isn’t a surprise that Hong Kong draws a flurry of graduate students ready to take up accounting and finance courses to further their careers or build a sturdier foundation in the discipline.

However, in the pandemic era, many educational institutions have been forced to rethink and reinvent their courses – and remote learning is set to become a fixture of many courses’ set-up. As Covid-19 times dictate, Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) offers the option for both online learning and face-to-face classroom teaching, a strategy that has become almost an obligation to keep courses alive for many institutions.

Duncan Smith, a prospective postgraduate student with a decade of workforce experience says, “To me, the reputation of the institution and the ability to secure graduate-level employment are the most important factors I consider when looking at any course provider. However, given the disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the support provided for studying online is now a factor I do at least consider when evaluating the different institutions, which was not the case previously.”

Dr Allen Ng Chi-cheong, senior teaching fellow in Accounting and Finance at PolyU’s Faculty of Business, highlights that last year was a time of mainly online learning. In comparison, a hybrid teaching mode was implemented this semester to conform to the slowly shifting education landscape.

Whether this marks a step towards normalcy is up for debate as Hong Kong still imposes one of the strictest Covid-19 quarantine restrictions in the world for inbound travellers and those who test positive for the virus. This makes the offer of remote learning one of the most attractive options to students around the world. When schools decide to make available the option of distance learning, it allows them to remain competitive.

Jessie Lee, another prospective postgraduate student who aims to enrol in one of Hong Kong universities’ accounting Masters courses, comments, “Without the option of long-distance learning, it is almost impossible to attend the course of your choice in another province, let alone abroad. Students can miss out on their preferred Master courses simply because they physically can’t attend universities of their choosing due to the pandemic restrictions.”