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Students from Hong Kong visit campus as part of supply chain management program

Kim Chaudoin | 

Lipscomb University’s College of Business is hosting four students from Hang Seng Management College in Hong Kong and has sent one student to study in that country as part of its new supply chain management program. The students arrived in their respective countries last week.

Hong Kong exchange 2“This is a great opportunity for students in both locations to broaden their understanding of the supply chain management process,” said Andy Borchers, chair of Lipscomb’s department of management and marketing. “Lipscomb students studying in Hong Kong will benefit from a rich business and cultural experience at the center of Southeast Asia. Hang Seng students will experience life at Lipscomb and study the U.S. business environment. Students at both institutions will benefit from increased diversity on their campuses.”

The exchange program is part of the partnership Lipscomb University has with Hang Seng and is an integral part of the supply chain management program, which is the first globally partnered program of its kind in Middle Tennessee.

Borchers said Hong Kong is one of the major business and financial hubs in the world and plays a significant role in global supply chain.

“Studying there will give our students the opportunity to see first-hand how firms coordinate manufacturing and service operations from Asia all the way to Middle Tennessee,” he said. “At its essence supply chain management entails coordinating a network of interconnected businesses in moving goods and services from suppliers all the way to end customers.”

Lipscomb student Carlos Villicana arrived in Hong Kong last week.

“Everything is going great over here,” said Villicana, a supply chain management major from Mexico. “The culture is very different from what I am accustomed to, but it is very enriching. I hope to gain an Asian perspective on business and the supply chain management techniques they use as well as learning more about the culture and language.”

Villicana will study in Hong Kong for four months before returning to Nashville.

The delegation from Hong Kong recently arrived on campus and has settled in to life at Lipscomb.

Hang Seng student Felix Sze said this is his first visit to the United States and that he looks forward to what he will learn while in this country.

“I am excited to be a Lipscomb Bison. It is a once-in-a-lifetime experience for me,” said Sze. “I hope to learn more about various academic subjects while studying in a different learning atmosphere and environment.”

Learning more about American culture is one goal that Fung Hing Yin has for her semester at Lipscomb. She said her experience at Lipscomb has already been a good one.

“Apart from my studies, I hope that I can better understand American culture through making friends here and traveling in this country,” said Yin, who has visited the United States twice before. “As I am a person full of adventure, this exchange program provides a chance for me to try something new and to have a great chance to travel the United States. I could never gain this unusual experience if I just stay in Hong Kong. I have found that the students and teachers at Lipscomb are very nice and helpful. As Lipscomb is a Christian school, I have also found that the chapel is very special and have never seen anything like that before in Hong Kong.”

Man Yin Pang, who plans to pursue a career in finance, said this experience will help him “build an international view and way of thinking.”

“People here are friendly and helpful,” said Pang, who is visiting the US for the first time this semester. “Sometimes my school mates have helped me before I seek their help. They are very polite. I am looking forward to studying the local culture, improving my knowledge and exploring new things.”

This innovative new program is a new concentration in Lipscomb’s Bachelor of Business Administration degree in management. Students will study for one semester at Hang Seng Management College, located in Hong Kong, one of the largest logistics centers in the world.  Students also will study for seven semesters at Lipscomb in Nashville, a growing supply chain hub in the southeast.

“We live in a world of global manufacturing and distribution,” said Borchers. “Manufacturers have to get the right products to the right place at the right time to meet customer needs. This is an emerging area of focus for companies around the world. Connecting the best suppliers to the end customers is a key competence for many firms and a competitive necessity.”

The Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce is targeting the supply chain management industry as a key focus for economic growth in the city as part of its Partnership 2020 plan, a five-year economic development strategy for the 10-county Middle Tennessee region that was launched last year. According to the chamber’s report, “Supply chain management and logistics are primarily driven by location and cost-to-market analysis done by corporations that are constantly examining ways to more efficiently and effectively reach their customer base. Fortunately, Nashville has a central location in the heart of the U.S. population base that often aligns with corporate America’s customer base analysis. This region is unmatched for its distribution potential, and ranks as a particularly competitive location for affordable transportation costs.” Chamber officials also cited the industry’s great potential for growth and job creation potential as other reasons to focus on this aspect of the manufacturing process.

For more information contact Borchers at andy.borchers@lipscomb.edu or 615.966.5779.