A little over a month later, the situation in Hong Kong has evolved significantly and my experience in Hong Kong is teaching me more every day. The university exchange is an opportunity both for meeting people from completely different backgrounds and for understanding oneself and one’s objectives.
“ It is in the midst of crises that opportunities are born. » This sentence applies very well to the entrepreneurial spirit that Hong Kongers can have. The word crisis in Chinese is also composed of the two ideograms “ opportunities ” And ” hazard “. The health crisis has hit Hong Kong hard over the past two months.
However, the community of international and Hong Kong students with whom I live benefit as much as possible from the experience. The many hikes coexist with the buildings of the largest banks and companies in the world and we never tire of walking the streets of the Kowloon or Central districts during our free time.
Hong Kong: When the exchange turns to COVID
COVID restrictions, which particularly affect the catering industry – which remains the area in which I wish to develop my business – have led us to take an interest in how startups food and restaurants are managing this crisis. The difference with France lies in the fact that Hong Kongers eat almost daily in small neighborhood restaurants and their complete closure is almost impossible. While talking with one of the professionals in the field, I was surprised by his great optimism, even though daily life in Hong Kong has been unique for 2 years, notably due to the virtual closure to the rest of the world.
At the same time, the entrepreneurship courses and the support I receive from my university’s incubator fascinate me. I discovered my entrepreneurial profile and really refined what I wanted to create next. The professors, despite the online courses, insist on maintaining a real exchange with foreign students while motivating us to think about numerous startup projects. Several competitions involving startup projects are regularly organized within the university, one per month with, as a result, a financial investment in the project or incubation.
Entrepreneurial support in Hong Kong
Every day I realize how lucky I am to have been able to integrate this rather unique educational system! One can sense how important it is to give students the chance to think outside the box and multiple opportunities to test their creativity and determination. By this I was both surprised and seduced.
Indeed, this new framework, these new relationships and this optimism have been more than beneficial to me: I realize that entrepreneurship in the world of food is definitely made for me and that Hong Kong is not a city like any other. I don’t see myself leaving without having been able to have professional experience in the field of hospitality so important and renowned in Hong Kong. Hong Kong is recognized worldwide for its restaurants, culinary excellence and leadership in hospitality.
It’s decided, I want to train as best I can in the restaurant industry, with the best, so that I can then stand on my own two feet and launch into entrepreneurship. With my school, NEOMAwe were able to find an arrangement to put management missions at the center of my future experience: a one-year fixed-term contract awaits me in July in a group of restaurants in Hong Kong.
If in crises there are opportunities, another is looming as I write these lines: Hong Kong is preparing to go into lockdown and experience a mass test. All exchange students leave the region and fly to Asia to continue taking online courses in the same time zone. So it is the same for us. Continued in the next episode.
