9 October 2020

18 rigorously selected students of the first cohort of the Honours Academy (HA) celebrated the start of their fruitful learning journey together with HA Board members, Professional Fellows comprised of prestigious community leaders and Academic Fellows at the Inauguration Ceremony held today (9 October 2020) at the HSUHK campus. The HA is HSUHK’s pioneering and first-of-its-kind initiative among local higher education institutions.

Built upon the unique “Liberal + Professional” education model of HSUHK, the HA aims to empower students to thrive in our complex and ever-changing world. President Simon S M Ho emphasized that the HA strives to nurture students’ global cross-cultural competencies and civic leadership for contributing to social innovation and advancement.

Dr Moses Cheng, HSUHK Council Chairman, encouraged students to utilize HA resources well, and prepare themselves for giving back to society. Dr Cheng reminded students that besides leading a team to achieve goals, good leaders should act as role models to inspire more youngsters to contribute to community development, and lead sustainable positive changes in society.

HSUHK is honoured to invite 8 accomplished leaders in various sectors such as public administration, social policy, arts & culture and commerce to serve as HA Professional Fellows to enrich our students’ social perspectives. Through our mentorship scheme, these top mentors will enlighten our students with global insights through experience sharing and job shadowing. Moreover, HA students will also pursue independent research projects under the supervision of Academic Fellows, in which they will formulate initiatives for social innovation and developments.

Katy Luk, student of Global Business Management Programme, shared her entrepreneurial story of creating a mobile phone app to match students taking driving lessons with suitable trainers. To achieve her goal, Katy took initiative to learn about website design, coding, marketing and strategic management. Tom Tang, student of Management Science and Information Management Programme, shared how his summer work at a mask factory had inspired him about leadership in face of adversity. Both students regarded that critical thinking, leadership skills and human caring were the keys to success. They were excited to see that HA’s tailor-made interdisciplinary module “Self-Awareness and Interpersonal Skills” would improve their self-understanding and identifying one’s values. Through another module“Service Leadership and Public Policy Engagement”, they will consolidate their past experiences to develop innovative solutions for social issues.

Besides the special core modules in the programme, HA students will also undergo experiential learning, including service leadership, residential college experience, internships, overseas exploration and senior research projects etc. to equip themselves as leaders initiating positive social changes.

President Simon S. M. Ho remarks, “Being a HA student member is not only a personal honour and privilege, but also an obligation and making efforts. The establishment of the HA actualizes the University’s goal in nurturing leaders with humanity qualities, and our vision in serving and advancing our society.”

List of Professional Fellows (in alphabetical order)
1. Mr Clement Cheung, Chief Executive Officer of the Insurance Authority
2. Ms Quince Chong, Chief Corporate Development Officer of CLP Power Hong Kong Limited
3. Ms Eva Kwong, Chief Corporate Services Officer of West Kowloon Cultural District Authority
4. Mr Woon-kwong Lam, Former Convenor of Executive Council, HKSAR Government
5. Mr Wing-ching Shih, Founder of Centaline Group
6. Mr Benjamin Tang, Former Director of Audit, HKSAR Government
7. Mr James Thompson, Chairman of Crown Worldwide
8. Ms Wendy Yuen, Head of Retail Distribution of Hang Seng Bank