The INSEAD alumni community is one of the most diverse networks in Hong Kong. Comprised of over 800 alumni and 46 nationalities, our community is growing and becoming more engaged than ever before. Whether you are visiting or living in Hong Kong, here are the top 5 reasons why now is the best time to come and participate in one of our alumni events.
Putting YOU first
Enriching the alumni experience has been our key focus since forming the new committee team at the beginning of 2016. From exclusive social events to meetings with high-profile business leaders, we have been striving to organise events that are relevant to your interests. As one participating alumni reflected, we organise a “…new type of event [that one] would never have been to if it was not via INSEAD. Very interesting to discover something new for [me] and for [my] partner…”
Family and partner-friendly
As any local INSEADer will tell you, Hong Kong is a great place to meet your INSEAD friends, and we always try to make it interesting and fun. Besides the alumni drink events, which usually take place on the first Friday of each month, we organise family-friendly social activities such as Random Dinners (Photos) and recently arranged a Heritage Tour at Asia Society Hong Kong Center (Photos).
Families and partners of our alumni can enrich our community. As we welcome them as part of the INSEAD alumni family, we also try to ensure that they benefit from our social events in every possible way.
Quality over quantity
When it comes to event planning, we take pride in being selective. Every event that we organise should add value and make it worthwhile for you to join. This is particularly true given that we are competing against your work and family commitments for the same scarce resource – your time.
According to a recent poll done by UBS, Hong Kong has the longest working hours in the world, with people normally working more than 50 hours a week (compared to Paris employees, who enjoy the shortest in the world with the average worker clocking in just over 30 hours a week).
Therefore, we meticulously selected events with the following themes:
Career Development
- Making a Radical Career Change with Daniel Porot (Photos)
- X-Gen Network – Platform for senior and younger INSEADers to meet and exchange ideas (Photos)
Exclusive Social Experiences
- Art of Cognac Tasting (Photos)
- VIP Cocktail at Longines Masters – Asia’s most prestigious equestrian event (Photos)
Meet Experts & Influencers Face-to-Face (1-Manager 1-Company Speaker Series):
- Philippe Schaus, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of DFS Group (Photos)
- Olivier Legrand, Managing Director for APAC & Japan, LinkedIn (Photos)
- Antoine Calendrier, Managing Director, Hong Kong at Burson-Marsteller (Photos)
Networking opportunities
In Hong Kong, you can network not just within the INSEAD community, but also across multiple alumni associations. We started organising smaller size BBQ Dinners (Photos) with Cambridge Judge Business School and IMD in early 2016. After building the momentum from joint professional and social events, we hit our year-end milestone with the inaugural Joint European Business School Gala Dinner (Photos). One hundred and forty plus alumni from Cambridge Judge Business School, ESADE, Oxford Said Business School, IMD, INSEAD and London Business School participated. As part of the dinner programme, we also engaged with the local FinTech community to deliver a panel discussion session.
The response of this collaborative initiative was so positive that we have started planning for another event with a twist – a Joint School Dragon Boat Competition in 2017.
More exciting events to come
We believe a good alumni experience should be continuous. Throughout 2017, we will organise a wide range of events, including inter-school dinners, professional speaker events, community engagement, and other social activities. To get the latest update, you can sign up for our mailing list.
And remember to join us for the INSEAD Alumni Forum Asia on 17th – 19th November, 2017. Come for the signature INSEAD lifelong learning experience and stay behind to meet new alumni friends at our gala party. You will also enjoy special cultural and social activities that will guarantee to offer you some of the best local experiences in Hong Kong.
In so many ways, we are just getting started. We could not be more excited about our future and look forward to seeing you at one of our alumni events soon!
Derek Chang is the President of INSEAD Alumni Association of Hong Kong.
