MBA entrepreneur helping Chinese youngsters study overseas

Alicia Lui tells her teenage Chinese clients that the right body language can make or break your experience at boarding school. Sometimes, it is a matter of eye contact, showing confidence when making small talk in English, or it can just come down to being conscious of what your posture says about you.

Subtle aspects of social etiquette and good communication skills, often overlooked in the exam-orientated education system in mainland China, are crucial to the “survival” of a Chinese teenager who goes to boarding school in Europe or the United States.

That is why Lui, who hails from Hong Kong, co-founded Prep Beijing!, an education consultancy which addresses this market need. The year-old business has already helped more than 200 Chinese students in their transition to boarding schools abroad.

Chinese teenagers may do well in standardised academic tests, but they usually don’t know what to expect in a foreign country or in a boarding school environment.

“Being better adjusted is the most crucial aspect to being 'successful' in a new academic and social environment,” says Lui, who adds that a Chinese teenager has to balance a number of priorities. “Being happy, having friends, maintaining grades, pursuing interests and hobbies, and staying physically healthy [are all important].”

Lui had no plans to become an entrepreneur. Even while completing an MBA at Insead's Fontainebleau campus, her thoughts were more on a career in investment banking or management consulting than on starting her own business.