Business School academic collaborating with Hong Kong Management Association

Ruth Brooks, Subject Leader in Management for the Huddersfield Business School is currently working with international partners in Hong Kong as part of a collaborative teaching partnership with the Hong Kong Management Association.

The Hong Kong Management Association is a professional management organisation; however, it does not have degree holding powers. Ruth has therefore been working with the organisation to deliver Huddersfield Business School degree programmes to their students. The benefit here being that students in Hong Kong can enjoy an international experience, whilst remaining in their home country, and gain a globally respected UK degree which can open many doors.

As part of her Liaison Officer role, Ruth has had the opportunity to deliver teaching to students in Hong Kong, an experience she says she would recommend to teaching colleagues across the University. She credits it for broadening her horizons and experience by helping her to better understand her students here in the UK by seeing what their world is like back home.

Outside of her teaching responsibilities, Ruth is also involved in supporting student recruitment, coordinating staff in the UK to ensure that they understand student expectations in Hong Kong, introducing new degree programmes and completing returns for the Hong Kong regulatory authorities.

In addition to overseeing the University’s partnership with Hong Kong, Ruth is also an International Recruitment Manager, working with overseas partners to promote the University and its offering to prospective students. This involves talking to students, running recruitment events, reviewing the syllabus of prospective partners and liaising with international visitors. Since September, Ruth has worked with visiting partners from a range of countries including Vietnam, Singapore and the Philippines.

Reflecting on her international work, Ruth said: “I have found working as a Liaison Officer an enriching experience as it has broadened my personal horizons beyond the UK and given me the confidence to work in another culture. I have gained experience of cross-national working practices and attitudes and I have become more culturally aware, which has helped when working with international staff and students in the school.”

She added: “As a result of my work in Hong Kong and the changing demographic in Huddersfield, I now think globally. For example, when running school’s liaison events, I now focus on global leadership rather than just leadership and I have successfully delivered the same session to students from West Yorkshire as well as Nigeria, India, Pakistan and Uganda to name just a few countries.”

Going forward, Ruth is working with the Hong Kong Management Association to further expand its course offering. She also hopes to resume the work that has been halted by the Pandemic, by returning to travelling overseas to meet prospective students, applicants and agents in person at exhibitions and events.