You See 360° – College Assemblies of United College, 2023-2024 Term 1 (Part II)
A total of 14 college assemblies were held in Term 1 of 2023-2024 with the theme of “You See 360°”. Let’s recap five of the assemblies from late October to December:
【MWYO Financial Literacy Seminar】
To cultivate positive financial management concepts among students, the College collaborated with MWYO, a youth-based independent think-tank, and invited Dr Edmond Lee, Co-Founder of the Child Financial Education, to share basic knowledge on financial management with our students. Dr Lee has 30 years of experience in the financial industry. His past roles include investment banker and equity strategist. He is dedicated to assist the public in establishing positive financial concepts, aiming to generate a constructive influence on society. Dr Lee had explained the importance of financial management and introduced positive financial behaviors, how to start managing finances and how to consume wisely in his talk. This assembly was held on 27 October 2023 at C1 lecture theatre of T C Cheng Building, as the ninth college assembly in Term 1 of 2023-2024. Online live streaming was arranged at C2 and C3 lecture theatre to benefit more students.
Follow-up Workshops
The College invited Dr Lee to hold two follow-up financial literacy workshops for 40 students who are especially interested in the financial aspect. Two workshops were held on 3 and 17 November respectively at UCA104, Tsang Shiu Tim Building.
In the first workshop, Dr Lee explained the definition of financial freedom, pathways to achieving financial freedom and various essential elements to be assessed before investing. In the second workshop, Dr Lee shared a few methods to understand investment products, investment strategies for young people, how to manage one’s investment and strategies for realising early retirement.
【《Young Alumnus Sharing (3) 》- From CUHK Dragonboat Team to Promoting Chinese Paddled Watercraft Activity】
The College had organised the third small-scaled assembly for more than 40 students at the Si Yuan Amenities Centre on 1 November 2023. College alumnus, Mr Matthew K C Lai (21/MAEG) and member of the Hong Kong Dragon Boat Team, was invited to share his personal experiences.
In addition to introduce the culture of dragon boating and its present situation in Hong Kong, Matthew also shared how he has worked to promote dragon boating in Hong Kong. To break the stereotype of dragon boating for being a traditional festival activity only, Matthew has devoted himself in organising regular experiential activities with his dragon boat team, “Hywind Watersports”, and actively participated in the local and international competitions.
【29th Alumni Talk – Professor from Temple Street】
The Alumni Talk is co-organised by the college and the United College Alumni Association. An alumnus who has outstanding achievements in different fields will be invited to share in each talk. As the 11th college assembly, the 29th Alumni Talk was held in the form of a high table dinner at UC Staff Common Room on 6 November 2023. Guests and students enjoyed a buffet dinner at the beginning of the talk, followed by a sharing by Professor Calvin H F Tse (05/PACC), Founder and CEO of Kam Kee Holdings Limited, on his growth experience.
►►►For more details, please read “From Temple Street Kid to Respected Professor: Unveiling the Legendary Life Motto”.◄◄◄
【Watoto Children’s Choir Concert and Students’ Sharing on Service-Learning Activities at Uganda, Africa】
The College hosted the 12th assembly on 21 November 2023 at the Sir Run Run Shaw Hall. Students who joined the College service-learning programme and visited to Watoto village in Uganda Watoto in May 2023 were invited to share their experiences. The representatives shared the differences between expectations and reality of Uganda, as well as their living and service experiences, particularly in setting up of a toy library in the village.
To arouse students’ attention in a more attractive way, the College was glad to have the Watoto Children’s Choir to perform dance and songs. The Choir, composed by group of sponsored children, voiced for millions of children in Africa who have become orphans due to AIDS, poverty, outmoded conventions, and war. Through their performance, the students learned the stories of Watoto children. The performance was filled with energy and vitality, earning an enthusiastic response from the audience. Watoto children danced their way into the audience and joined everyone for a group photo, bringing the assembly to an end.
【A Dialogue with the Co-founder of ADDOILMUSIC: Promoting Hong Kong’s Music Creation from the Perspective of Social Enterprise】
The 13th College Assembly was held on 24 November 2023 at the Sir Run Run Shaw Hall in the format of a dialogue. In the ‘College Session’, Professor Stephen H S Wong, College Head, congratulated three college sport teams, including United College Women’s Athletics Team, the United College Men’s Volleyball Team, and the United College Women’s Volleyball Team, who had won the championships in the CUHK Inter-Collegiate Competition and praised their outstanding performance.
After that, Ms Kitty C H Yip, Co-founder of ‘ADDOILMUSIC‘, Professor Anthony Y H Fung of the School of Journalism and Communication, Mr Ho Yan Shu (BIOL/2) and Ms To Wing Nam (CUMT/2) were presented to the stage and engaged in a dialogue about emerging local music in Hong Kong. Their discussion covered aspects such as how to bridge the gap between professional music producers and new musicians, how to cultivate the talented children and teenagers from the low-income families towards music creation, how to inspire more young people to create Cantonese songs, etc.
As an experienced social worker, Ms Yip is committed to nurturing future music talents through the professional music services provided by ADDOILMUSIC. Ms Yip also shared some successful cases of rise-up of young music producers, and provided practical suggestions and guidance for those aspiring to music production.
【A Dialogue With the Founder of Defining Education – Mr Jayden Y Y Lam】
The College held the last assembly of this semester on 1 December 2023, at the Sir Run Run Shaw Hall. In the ‘College Session’, Professor Stephen H S Wong, College Head, commended two College members for their outstanding academic and research contributions: Professor Jonathan C H Choi of the Department of Biomedical Engineering was awarded the 2023-2024 RGC Research Fellow Scheme and received the title of ‘Research Grants Council (RGC) Research Fellow’ ; and Professor Tong Yuying of the Department of Sociology was selected by the RGC for the Humanities and Social Sciences Outstanding Scholars Programme to fund her research project for the academic year 2023-2024.
The college has invited Mr Jayden Y Y Lam (09/CHLL), college alumnus and founder of Defining Education, to join the assembly. He is also well known as the “Tutoring King” in Hong Kong’s tutoring industry and is famous among students. The dialogue was led by Mr Lam, Dr Leung Tak Wah, Associate Dean of General Education, Ms Au Ka Wing (COMM/3) and Mr Tam Wing Cheong (URSP/3) discussing on Hong Kong’s tutoring culture.
During the dialogue, Mr Lam shared the stigmatisation of tutoring in Hong Kong, the rise and fall of the industry, and how he assessed the tutoring industry and continued to provide quality tutoring services. He also shared valuable experiences, considerations and requirements to students who would like to pursue their career path in the tutoring industry.
After the assembly, Mr Lam, together with the College Management Team, distributed fortune cookies prepared by the College Student Wellness Programme, to UC students. Together they sent blessings and wished everyone success in the upcoming final examinations!
