My name is Michal Ondrysek and I was born and raised in [the] Czech Republic. I did my bachelor’s degree in finance in Australia, and I worked in London for half a year before returning to Prague. I have worked across various different roles within the finance industry including private equity, advisory, venture capital and investment management.

In recent years I started my own business within the field of e-commerce, with a focus on smart living appliances. I joined the MBA programme as I hope this will generate business opportunities, as well as helping me to achieve personal and career growth.  I initially looked at the EMBA programme but decided that I would prefer to experience the full MBA programme instead.

Another reason for choosing an MBA programme in Hong Kong is my love for Asia. I have been to many different countries in the region including India, Vietnam, Indonesia, Mainland China and Hong Kong. I was attracted to the programmes offered by the Columbia Business School and the London Business School but decided to join the HKU programme due to their partnership with the two, allowing me to enjoy the best of all worlds.

The University of Hong Kong has an extremely good reputation and is home to a high quality programme. The business school is also, conveniently, located right in the heart of Hong Kong. Hong Kong is also close to China and is a very organised city. I am hoping to be able to explore more business opportunities in Shenzhen and Guangzhou once the border opens.

My expectations of the programme is that it will be able to enhance and develop my e-commerce business. I want to learn more about innovation, marketing and technology, areas that are outside of my expertise in finance. As I have previously mentioned, I have studied and worked in finance for most of my life; finance is an area that is very factual and data focused, so I have not had much experience with powerpoint presentations as the field is very data driven and not very fancy. However, starting my own business means that I need to come out of my comfort zone and learn new things that are outside of my traditional scope such as how to create an attractive website, and how to run digital marketing campaigns for my target audience. These skills require hands-on knowledge that I need to sharpen before I can further develop my business.

My experience has been going very well so far. I have had the opportunity to study different kinds of subjects and to sharpen my soft-skills like leadership. I am hoping that all the knowledge I am gaining will make me into a better leader.

There are also other side elements to my experience such as the Entrepreneurial club which is a student led club that organises many different events such as a recent visit to HK Invest. The trip taught us about the investment opportunities available in Hong Kong, as well as hosting very insightful panel discussions. The panellists came and talked to us about business topics, such as the remarkable China Immersion Programme. I got to learn a lot about the business world of  Hong Kong, the Greater Bay Area and China. One of the remarkable panellists that I recently met on the China Immersion Programme is Mr. Savio Kwan, the ex-Chief Operating Officer at Alibaba. Listening to him in person about his story was very inspiring and satisfied my thirst for knowledge of how to become a successful entrepreneur.

At the core of the programme is the number of impressive subjects that are creating a positive impact on my career. My favourite subject is “Insights to Drive Success: Special Topics by Business Leaders and Industry Experts” which is run by Mr. Ricky Wong.  It is truly a privilege to have such a powerful person, and owner of multiple businesses, as our lecturer. Ms. Ruby Lu, a successful venture capitalist is also our lecturer for this subject. She brings in many bespoke speakers, and her talks are truly inspiring.

I am so thankful for all of the exposure and am looking forward to the opportunities that the HKU MBA programme will bring me in the future.