HKUST Alumni, Summer 2021

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Alumni Newsletter Summer 2021

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Legendary landmarks now being put in place

Dear Alumni,

It’s been a very challenging period for everyone, and we have adapted to the pandemic with online and mixed-mode classes, while addressing all aspects of campus-wide health issues promptly. I would like to thank many, many devoted colleagues who have stepped forward and contributed substantially. We are making preparations for this fall term to be in-person teaching on campus. Needless to say, public health is our number one concern while we reestablish energetic classrooms. Vibrant, inclusive and green, the campus supports HKUST educational goals, a silver lining to a period navigating the troubled waters of COVID-19.

2021 is an important year for us – we are turning 30! We welcome our alumni to celebrate this milestone together, so stay tuned for more news about the range of celebratory programs upcoming.

HKUST’s wonderful body of students never ceases to amaze us all, as seen in this cover story with three alumni who have made waves in the visual arts field. Another story which I found inspiring is that of our student Krishna Jhangiani, who has survived illness, becoming an entrepreneur, and is helping others as an ambassador for those with disabilities. We hope that alumni, as a vital part of HKUST, can continually be engaged the life of our University, and join us in making a difference to our students.

For years the HKUST Convocation has been a key bridge between the University, alumni, and the public. My congratulations go to Stanley Choi, who was re-elected the Convocation Chairman, and the new session of the Standing Committee 2021-2023.

Our alumni will be hugely excited by upcoming developments, including the commencement of the Shaw Auditorium in November, other large capital works on the Clear Water Bay campus including new student hostels, and the opening of HKUST (Guangzhou) in Fall 2022. Read on inside to learn more about the new hub on the Clear Water Bay campus that is building our future.

I am looking forward to welcoming you all back with our continually enhanced infrastructure, ever growing activities and collaboration, and above all, mutual support and innovative atmosphere.

Yours, Wei Shyy President

HKUST is renowned for technology and science; but a new breed of graduates demonstrating creative inspiration is on the rise.

Our University has rightfully earned its reputation as a leader of science and technology in Asia, but many people might not see that HKUST is producing individuals that are flourishing in the artistic and creative space. As creativity becomes essential to the new digital economy, we meet three artists from HKUST who are striking it out big for themselves in the art scene. Their drive, passion and spirit are demonstrating science and technology do indeed go handin- hand with the arts, and in tandem create a flourishing partnership in line with the zeitgeist of the digital world.

Vivian Ho: Artistic rebel with a cause

I was hitting a bottle neck and wanted some more commercial skills. I was visiting a friend at HKUST and I thought it was very beautiful, so that kind of sealed the deal for me.

It is mid-morning as we find ourselves in the middle of Fo Tan, an industrial area that has seen a thriving art scene arise in the midst of factory buildings. Inside one of the many facilities that hosts everything from music clubs to food production spaces is the studio of Vivian Ho （何博欣） MBA 2018. At once upon entering we get an idea of the life of an artist — beautiful expansive oil paintings are all around us, along with posters Vivian made for the likes of local companies, and film festivals, among others, all completed in her distinctive rebellious, joyous and humanistic style.

Originally from Hong Kong, Vivian graduated from Wesleyan University in Connecticut in 2012, majoring in Studio Arts and Economics, and pursued a career in art. “I turned down an offer to do law and decided to do economics and art, as I figured I was still studying and I should try to be creative while I still can, and how amazing it would be if my whole life consisted of thinking in colors and shapes,” says Vivian. She swiftly made a name for herself as an oil painter and illustrator with a penchant for a nonconformist, rebellious style that doesn’t tick the boxes.

Many art critics in Hong Kong have described Vivian as an important newgeneration artist for the city. She has held several exhibitions, building a reputation for imagination and sharp insight, with depictions of ordinary people in city life, creating a romantic, almost cinematic vision of life.

In her lively studio, we are looking at a large sized painting of fish heads in a market basket, part of a series she first created during her undergraduate years at Wesleyan. The painting we are looking at is significant, as it has just been acquired for the upcoming M+ Museum in West Kowloon. It is lucky that the painting is still in her hands: she originally sold it to a Malaysian restaurant in Shanghai, at an art fair in Beijing. When M+ Museum expressed an interest in the painting, she flew to Shanghai and reacquired it; taking it off the canvas, unrolling it, transporting the painting, and putting back on a canvas — the rest is history.

The painting, which blends visceral realism with pop art and abstract expressionism, is quintessentially Hong Kong, a signifier of this cultural identity that Vivian is very proud to have. In Asia, a fish head can be seen as something delicious and enticing, whereas in America, many people might see it as disgusting and unappetizing. Vivian’s work in many ways is a portal into the cultural dichotomy between East and West. “I painted the heads on a very big scale during my thesis (at Wesleyan) to show the audience that if you look at fish heads as colors and shapes they are really beautiful, an abstraction of a real-world thing. The American students often said it smelt fishy in the studio, while the Japanese would come in and say it looked tasty,” Vivian says.

The acquisition by M+ Museum is a major affirmation of her status as one of Hong Kong’s hottest young artists: Not just one for the future, but an individual to watch for the now. It wasn’t always like this, when Vivian graduated from her undergraduate degree she started seeking out banking jobs, but as she puts it, “nothing worked out, so I pursued art, but I didn’t know anyone and I had no connections at all,” she says.

Vivian asked her old professor who told her a few words of wisdom to survive: 1) Buy your own domain name; 2) Go to many parties; and 3) Don’t date another artist. It seems to have made sense, and fortunate for fans of art in the city. Her recent exhibition, ‘Wish You Were Here’ features 12 illustrations with surreal illustrations in vivid colors that merge the fantasy worlds with the familiarity of a Hong Kong environment, that are playful and evoke memories, hopes and dreams. The works have been building buzz around the city and are reminiscent of surrealists such as Salvador Dali and René Magritte, while retaining a photorealist style that also integrates elements and stylings of digital art.

For the first three years in Hong Kong, Vivian decided to hustle hard and build a name for herself. She had exhibitions everywhere from cafes to bars and even had an experience where the gallery hung her painting upside down. “No one noticed, so that was fine by me,” Vivian says in her easy-going insouciant manner.

Showing her business savvy, Vivian also decided to pursue an MBA from HKUST. “I was hitting a bottle neck and wanted some more commercial skills. I was visiting a friend at HKUST and I thought it was very beautiful, so that kind of sealed the deal for me. HKUST was going to be the destination,” says Vivian.

The skills Vivian learnt proved to be very complementary with her art career, and made her appreciate the career she had built in art, even if it involved the trials and tribulations of attempting to be an artist, when so many people fail. “I was so much more focused, as an artist there are so many things to overcome. In art college the students are the coolest kids and the studio is a playground, but when you put it into practice it is much harder. There is a lot of loneliness, other peoples’ hours are different, whether it is your friends who have office jobs or other artists who work on weekends. It can be overwhelming, you see your peers having normal hours with their handbags and nice shoes, and you still have a backpack and are covered in paint. Sometimes you think, what the hell am I doing here?” she says.

For now, Vivian’s career is on the up and up. The MBA helped her gain confidence, more negotiation skills, and allowed her to navigate the complexities of the art world. “I used to have a ‘finance phobia’, I hated anything commercial and related to money, now I understand the importance of managing the money side of the art world: ignorance is not bliss,” Vivian says.

The world is Vivian’s oyster, and she is ready to move her career onwards and upwards. “Medium should not be a boundary for what I can try,” she says. “I like high quality paint but I can also use primary school kids’ crayons to do something,” she says. At the moment, she is working on a series of commercial works, and this, she laughs, “is where the MBA part kicks in. I don’t have a manager, I do the quotation, pitching, and everything myself.”

Part artist, part business woman, Vivian is the artistic rebel with a cause.

Claudia Sin: Art dreams take flight

Drawing and flying are both my childhood dreams. I see this as a long interlude in what should be a 40-year flying career.

We are now in Tsing Yi, at the flat and studio of Claudia Sin（冼家寶）BEng Civil Engineering 2007, and it’s a beautiful day, overlooking the channel towards the hills of Tsuen Wan, the sun cascading down the slopes of Tai Mo Shan and Tai Lam Country Park. Claudia is discussing her fascinating career which spanned being a pilot with her husband on Cathay Dragon, while simultaneously keeping up an interest in art and in particular pets.

The pandemic has been tough for pilots, and the closure of Cathay Dragon was a setback for Claudia and her husband Freddy, who is also an alumnus of HKUST. “It was sad in many ways, especially as Freddy and myself had not been able to fly together, which was a dream of mine for over ten years,” Claudia says.

But there is always a silver lining to every crisis, and Claudia was able to pick up her childhood dream of being an artist, with a focus on drawing pets. “I hadn’t picked up my drawing pencil for a few years, and with the pandemic and the shutdown of Cathay Dragon, we really had nothing to do, I was sitting at home, thinking of what to do with myself, and I went to pick up oil painting again, watching YouTube artist channels and learning more about pastel drawings and in particularly animal drawings,” says Claudia.

Claudia has been interested in animals for a very long time, having owned pets, and had completed pet portraits before. Her current focus on pets came about in a very unusual way, showing that in many instances, life is able to be lived very fortuitously. With uniforms needing to be returned to Cathay, a friend of Claudia helped her take photos with her husband Freddy and their children in full pilot garb.

“To thank the photographer, I decided to make a pet portrait of her dog, and also to practice for myself. I gave her the portrait, and she was so amazed by it. After the photographer shared the portrait with her friends, suddenly everyone had a great interest in me and my work, and some Hong Kong celebrities started sharing it on their social media accounts,” says Claudia.

Soon Claudia’s work was receiving widespread coverage in newspapers and magazines, and within a matter of weeks, she was getting contacted for commission work from all over the city. Her works have built a buzz online, and she has been invited by many people to draw their pets, so much so that she can barely keep up with demand.

“I didn’t plan this situation, and was pretty amazed by it, so I started my own social media channels, and now my waitlist has become very long,” Claudia says, looking like she doesn’t even believe the situation herself.

Looking at Claudia’s artwork, one is inspired by her life-like depictions that create a sense of beauty and intimacy. Yet one of the limitations of Claudia’s work is the time it takes to complete one portrait, taking anywhere from one to two weeks, and meaning she can only draw a handful in a month. “For small portraits it might take a week, but for others they might be bigger, taking two weeks, and people might also have two or more pets in one portrait as well, and this takes a longer time” Claudia says.

It is wonderful for Claudia that she is able to use photos to draw, which can be enlarged so she can capture all the details that make her work so famous. “I ask the clients to take the reference photos, but in many cases they can’t get the photos I want so there is also a bit of back and forth, but it’s all part of the artistic process,” Claudia says.

Claudia also works on her own oil paintings, which share a similar photo realist style, but also have a sense of harmony in composition and color, with vivid liveliness that recall the Impressionist stylings of Pierre-Auguste Renoir or Paul Gaughan. Does Claudia think she will return to flying or stay in her new found career as an artist?

“Drawing and flying are both my childhood dreams. For the last ten years I have been flying and I’m just so grateful I made these ambitions to come true. During the pandemic, I have been reviewing my life, and I realized that this is a great chance to do something very different. Now I feel I should take this opportunity while the pandemic is still here, as we don’t know how long it will last for. I see this as a long interlude in what should be a 40-year flying career. Ideally I will be able to do both forever,” Claudia says.

What is the plan for the moment? “I have been reducing my commission work a bit, and improving my skills. I don’t always want to draw dogs and cats, as much as I love them! I’m now focusing on other areas, including parrots, tigers, elephants, zebras, and other animals. I also want to try different mediums and explore different styles,” says Claudia.

One can tell that with this artist, the sky is really the limit.

Ka Sing Fung: A directorial dreamer

At HKUST, I found a passion for reading and writing, and started writing a blog as well, and I was writing a lot.

One of the most glamorous jobs in the world seems to be movie director. But the reality is much more about hard work, and building your reputation from ground up. Ka Sing Fung （賈勝楓）BSc Chemistry 2007 is one of the new wave of Hong Kong directors and scriptwriters building excitement in Hong Kong cinema, after a lull in the scene. We meet the young film director at HKUST and talk about his hopes, dreams and ambitions. He loved art, writing and movies from a young age, studying Literature as a minor alongside Chemistry, and it turned out that this was a calling card for the rest of his career. While he was studying he started to read in the library, focusing on design and literature, which inspired him alongside his film and literature courses.

“At HKUST, I found a passion for reading and writing, and started writing a blog as well, and I was writing a lot. I love art, design, literature, film, and music, but unfortunately I discovered that I didn’t like Chemistry as much as I thought, and this worried me about what I could do for my career. I was studying really hard and did well in Chemistry for the first two years, but in the third year I had already found a part-time job as an editor in a magazine, so I was taking my foot off the pedal a bit and terribly in my third year, even getting a D in one course,” Fung says with his characteristic gregarious laugh.

After graduation, Fung went into editing and reporting first for Art Map’s a.m. post covering the art scene. He then worked for Ming Pao Weekly（明報周刊）, writing about social issues and interviewing different types of people across many industries for two years. The next stop for Fung was Next Media, where he focused especially in travel for Eat and Travel Weekly （飲食男女）, roaming all around the world, writing and making videos on the best destinations for people to travel and to eat. “It was an awesome job and I became a travel reporter for five years, I like learning the stories and cultures in that city, and I liked learning the sites and food. I wanted to know how they live, how they talk and what are the social issues in the city, the lifestyle and the culture,” says Fung.

Known for his observational directorial style, this interest in culture would continue during his film career. The path was very fortuitous, while engaged in travel writing the whole industry started moving towards streaming media and he was able to learn how to shoot video, write scripts and do everything else required for making film. This was part of the process that inspired Fung to become a film director. “I quit my job and started a film company, and I started to join several competitions for film, including the Freshwave International Short Film Festival, which was the first time I made a movie. I didn’t win, but started to gain the experience needed to make a major film. After writing a script with my wife, we entered the First Feature Film Initiative (FFFI) and won eight million dollars to make our first movie,” says Fung.

The movie script Fung struck gold with was Foster Love（流水落花）, which he is currently making with the funding. Buzz is building in the film community, as several promising directors have won the FFFI and produced memorable local movies including Weeds on Fire（點五步）, Still Human（淪落人）, and My Prince Edward （金都）. We joke that we will see Fung in gold chains and driving a Mercedes-Benz, but as he explains that the reality is very different. “You have to understand that I am even poorer now than I was before,” he laughs. “Eight million dollars goes all into production, and that already is quite a modest budget for a movie,” says Fung.

Of course, there were many challenges along the way, including those thrown up by natural forces. While making his first short film, A Bird Goes By（飛往父親的鳥） for the Freshwave International Short Film Festival, the team had to deal with the real force of Typhoon Mangkhut, one of the strongest storms to hit Asia in decades. “Our location was destroyed by the typhoon, and we had to choose another one,” says Fung.

Fung uses many Hong Kong cultural motifs, and one of his movies Gai Dan Chai（雞蛋 仔）, is an example of his local approach. What does he think of the current movie scene in the city? “It’s not been that great in recent years, but I believe it will step up with new directors and working styles coming up. Things are changing, and I’m really happy to be part of this scene.”

2019 13th Fresh Wave International Short Film Festival Closing Ceremony Video Gai Dan Cha（雞蛋仔）

Hong Kong eagerly awaits what Fung can do, along with the rest of the HKUST community. To him, and the rest of our artists, we salute you along your journeys.

We want you! If you are an alum who practices any type of art, please let us know! We would love to hear about your work! Please get in touch with us at alumni@ust.hk for more! And remember, keep creating!

While most people think of HKUST as a university focused on science and technology, Dr Isaac Droscha is part of a group building an ardent following for arts and music.

Music crosses cultures and disciplines, and in a university known for science and technology, Dr Isaac Droscha is part of a group of individuals promoting arts, culture, and creativity to students. The operatic baritone is also co-artistic director of the Cosmopolis Festival, and music director and vocal coach of the HKUST summer musical.

“Art has a vital function in society, it is intrinsically valuable. Music is magical, everyone can feel a range of emotions. I want students to be able to live and feel it and understand how powerful that is, both on an individual and collective level,” says Dr Droscha.

Love for music from a young age Brought up on a small farm in Mason, Michigan, Dr Droscha sang in his local church choir and played trombone in the Mason High School band, despite a high school teacher trying to convince him to quit it all to play American football. Lucky for us that never happened: he eventually arrived in Hong Kong as a temporary, and then permanent replacement for the legendary founding father for HKUST music, Professor Oliver Lo. Did it feel to him like the pressure would be too much? “I had very big shoes to fill, but luckily HKUST has a youthful spirit and people are always inspired to create new things and projects,” says Dr Droscha.

Whatever he does, Dr Droscha demonstrates a joie de vivre, and ability to inspire others along the journey, along with the necessary application to see it all through. The journey from Michigan to Hong Kong was one filled with hard work and passion for music. He made his way simultaneously across the opera and academic scenes in the US, at the University of Northern Iowa and University of Michigan, where he received a Doctorate in Vocal Performance. At Hope College he was awarded the Sakiko Kanimori award along with the Grace Marguerite Browning Scholarship, becoming a finalist in the Grand Rapids Opera Competition. Photo credit to Jackie Leung Performing Madama Butterfly with mezzo-soprano Carol Lin in 2018 The Shaw Auditorium will open its doors this November

Stepping up to the big stage Recognizing his own talent for voice, he studied with some of the most famous singers globally, performing in the US with the Des Moines Metro Opera, Michigan Opera Theatre, Opera New Jersey, and Arbor Opera Theatre, performing as a soloist with the Great Lakes Chamber Orchestra and the Ann Arbor Symphonette. Internationally, he has made his mark at the Estates Theatre in Prague and at the Rimsky-Korsakov Museum in St. Petersburg.

Arriving in Hong Kong to teach world music, western opera, and the art of singing at HKUST, he also worked with Pro Arte Orchestra, and featured as a special guest at the 2017 Intimacy of Creativity Festival of Contemporary Song and Hong Kong Musica Viva.

It is this skill to both be able to teach and perform that has made Dr Droscha popular among HKUST students, putting the music program into the spotlight, an unusual situation for a university that is known for science and technology.

Don’t stop the music While the last two summer musicals have been suspended as a result of the pandemic, it is still an exciting time for music at HKUST. Dr Droscha has been expanding the range of performances experienced at HKUST to include jazz, Chinese orchestra, Cantonese music and more, while the number of music initiatives keeps on increasing — including original opera and musical productions on the horizon.

“When students find out about the music program, they become very inspired. As a science and technology institution, people simply just don’t expect it, so the challenge is making people aware that these programs actually exist. Whether hobby, passion or outlet, students are always surprised by our program because they discover new areas of creative expression that they never expected would be life-changing,” says Dr Droscha.

Many students have not only discovered a new passion for music but actually changed their career paths towards music because of these courses. Aside from musicians, HKUST students have become composers, writers, directors and artists, showing how critical a well-rounded education is. Aside from putting together the program, Dr Droscha also credits the most basic requirement for success: people who go the extra mile and put in passion and love. “The students, faculty and staff are key because we are a small program, so much thanks should go to the people who put in time and dedication,” Dr Droscha says.

All the world’s a stage

Aside from teaching and curation, Dr Droscha performs in the city as an opera singer, having featured as a theatre actor, voiceover artist, improv comedian, broadcaster for RTHK, while maintaining a partnership in music education and acting enterprises. “All this keeps me pretty busy, as you can imagine,” says Dr Droscha with a laugh.

The upcoming state-of-the-art Shaw Auditorium is set to elevate performance at the University, with impressive facilities raising the game and allowing HKUST to scale up its productions. Located near the south entrance of our Clear Water Bay campus, the threestory multi-purpose auditorium will hold 1,300 people and can be used as a concert hall; theater for performances and lectures, as well as venue for exhibitions, events and ceremonies. There will also be space for seminars, rehearsals, small performances, and gatherings both indoors and outdoors, along with hosting a stateof- the-art music production facility. Dr Droscha believes the venue could galvanize HKUST creative arts for generations to come.

“The new facility is a physical symbol that cannot be missed. No matter the age people live in, music and art connect with people’s lives, even if we talk about things that were written originally hundreds of years ago,” says Dr Droscha. For the performer and professor, performing arts will always be universal. “Love, hate, happiness and despair never go out of style,” Dr Droscha adds.

A range of sparkling new facilities are uplifting accommodation on campus… dive in and learn more.

The completion of the Jockey Club Global Graduate Tower and the Jockey Club i-Village are part of a new hub offering more attractive options to choose for our students.

Leveled up lifestyle

The Jockey Club Global Graduate Tower was established in 2020 near the south gate to house 504 research postgraduate students. It holds 462 single and couple bedrooms, with a focus on new technology, smart living, and a warm communal environment.

Each floor features a common room for social activities, and smart technologies for everything from monitoring hall energy consumption; providing an improved and efficient online payment system for the airconditioner and laundry room; and promoting sustainability through hybrid PV panels, an energy metering system, rainwater harvesting system for irrigation, and many more.

Common Room

Shared Kitchen

Rooftop Garden

Bedroom

Entrance

A new hub for modern living To complement the Jockey Club Global Graduate Tower, the Jockey Club i-Village, a student residence development, will house more than 1,500 young people, featuring state-of-the-art environmental design, smart technologies and a range of innovations. Both residences form a hub with the Shaw Auditorium, set to open in November, and the to-be-built Innovation Building. The hub links the South campus with the main academic building, improving connectivity and communication. It’s all part of the Sustainable Smart Campus (SSC) initiative, whereby students use this living lab to experience innovation, smart living and sustainability that benefits the wider community.

Established in 2010, the Convocation represents all degree graduates of HKUST, and is administered by a Standing Committee elected by alumni. Its chairperson sits on the University Council as a representative of alumni, taking part in important HKUST occasions and sitting on a range of university committees.

The Standing Committee acts as a bridge between the University, alumni, and the public, offering a clear picture of the University’s development; giving ideas to the University; promoting good relations between HKUST and the general public; contributing to HKUST’s fundraising efforts; and taking part in academic affairs, innovation and entrepreneurship, student affairs, and university development. Stanley Choi is leading the newly elected Convocation Standing Committee until March 2023. Stanley has served on the Convocation Standing Committee since 2011, and this is his second term as Chairman. He has been tasked with overseeing the fulfilment of the University’s commitments and building strong ties between alumni, the University, and the community. While this is no easy assignment, Stanley and his team have demonstrated great resolve from 2019 to the present.

Going forward the Convocation will increase its support for student development initiatives including the HKUST United, the Co-op, and the Full Circle @HKUST programs.

Krishna Jhangiani discusses his journey to overcome end-stage heart failure, his goals and positivity.

Krishna Jhangiani (BBA Management Year 3) knows the value of living well, his own life was almost taken away. The business student was diagnosed with a rare heart condition, dilated cardiomyopathy, and almost died. Doctors said his heart was weaker than a 90-year-old, having become enlarged and losing the ability to pump blood effectively. “It was a huge shock for me because I never imagined I would be that 17-year-old kid with a super serious medical condition,” Krishna explains.

The sudden sickness became the catalyst for an extraordinary journey including inspiring people through blogging, building a medical start-up, speaking at multiple TEDx events, and performing community service for people in similar situations. For his efforts, Krishna has won a range of accolades including the HKUST Roy To Community Service Award.

Before all this, Krishna was living the life of a normal teenager. The illness started after a holiday in India, where his days were filled with local adventures of street food, visiting family, and seeing famous sights. “One day I started feeling uneasy with a fever and stomach ache. I was rushed to the hospital on the first day of school, having coughed blood and experienced shortness of breath,” Krishna says.

His 17th birthday was spent in intensive care, it took courage to come to terms with his condition. “The doctors didn't know how long I had, they kept on saying: You have minutes, hours or days left. So I chose to be positive. I even told the doctors; I don't care what the statistics are, I will beat them” Krishna recounts.

It soon came to Krishna’s attention that there wasn't a significant amount of information on the internet for young people suffering from the same plight. He set on a mission to change that, as he started his blog “Life at 15 percent”. His posts detailed his journey, and gained in popularity, leading to him becoming an ambassador for The Children’s Heart Foundation.

Krishna jokes about being the real-life Iron Man as he currently lives with a fully functioning mechanical heart known as an LVAD (Left Ventricular Assist Device). The BBA Management student displayed his entrepreneurial verve by creating a customized backpack that holds the wires and battery packs for his LVAD, which he is currently developing as part of a medical start-up.

“I was never the smartest guy in the room, but once I left the hospital I wanted to better my academics. My backpack company is about innovation and giving back to the community, and studying management in this environment is perfect for entrepreneurship and negotiation,” he says.

While he can live his life relatively normally, Krishna, as he puts it, “is not waterproof” – showering conventionally and swimming are impossible. Football and rugby were a big part of Krishna‘s childhood, but for now, contact sports are also out of the question.

Krishna continues to live with his condition, and positivity is his strongest asset, along with his heart of hope. “I tell people to embrace their disabilities and to wear them with pride. We should learn from our own life journeys and from those around us. Live for yourself and never give up.”

The very first Virtual Alumni Reunion was successfully held on Saturday, March 13, 2021. With the pandemic still in full force across the globe, we innovated with a virtual format, bringing more than 1,200 alumni over the world together for a fun-filled and valuable occasion.

While we didn’t get the chance to meet face-to-face due to the pandemic, the virtual format was a wonderful opportunity to unit our alumni and show that no boundaries can stop us from being together. Alumni learnt more about developments on campus, having the chance to reconnect with old friends and meet new ones as well. Most importantly, we demonstrated the strength and talents of our alumni.

Going forward the Convocation will increase its support for student development initiatives including the HKUST United, the Co-op, and the Full Circle @HKUST programs.

Going forward the Convocation will increase its support for student development initiatives including the HKUST United, the Co-op, and the Full Circle @HKUST programs.

The pandemic is simply unable to damper our enthusiasm for getting together and connecting with each other. Thank you to our alumni groups, Schools and Offices for organizing a range of events, whether online, face-to-face, or hybrid bringing our global alumni across boundaries. With HKUST’s 30th anniversary at the end of this year, get ready for amazing programs to bring more joy, fun, and connection. Stay tuned!

Development and Alumni Office

Startup 101 Workshops by alumni Alvin Lam and Francis Kwok

Mentoring program for Guangzhou MPhil graduates

Huawei Shanghai career talk for students

HKUST Alumni Association

Annual General Meeting

Partnering with the Young Entrepreneurs Development Council to provide career and life planning for secondary school students

Business School

Ideas Lunch Series – Alumni Online Sharing: Brand Transformation of the 116-Year-Old Hong Kong Trams

Wellness Talk: Liver Health through Chinese Medicine

Alumni Dragon Boat Club

Regular dragon boat training

Alumni Wine Association

Wine and Dine Together

Mak’s Beer x HKUSTAWA beer brewery tour

Mainland Alumni Association

AAPlus X HKUSTMAA sharing on fashionable luxury goods industry

MBA Alumni Toastmasters Club

Sharing sessions on topics including Hong Kong as an international financial center; and the future of AI and human communications

Regular meetings on the second and fourth Wednesday of the month at The Desk, Leighton Centre

EMBA Alumni Association

Gobi Challenge – Pilgrimage Journey of Xuan Zan

MBA Alumni Association

Career coaching for secondary school students under YDC School-Company-Parent Program – Jockey Club InnoMind®

Civil and Environmental Engineering Alumni Association

Smart City Conference 2021 (co-organized with HKUST Department of Civil and Environment Engineering, HKUST GREAT Smart Cities Institute, Smart City Consortium and The Hong Kong Institution of Engineers)

Electronic and Computer Engineering Alumni Association

Virtual Coffee Break with Xiaomi CFO - Mr Alain LAM

Engineering Enterprise Management Alumni Association

Career Talk: How to win a dream job for fresh PG graduates

Alumni Network in Beijing

HKUST, PolyU and CityU in the 4th Great Water Wall International Hiking Activity and the 1st Color Run

Escape room game Takagism Spring photography contest

HKUST Blue Bay Incubator img Annual Entrepreneurial Dinner in Shenzhen img

HKUST LED-FPD Technology R&D Center at Foshan

Alumni get-together at Sanlong Bay, Foshan

Alumni Network in New York

Lunar New Year gathering

Northern California Alumni Chapter

Virtual Fair 2021 with Ms Jacko Tsang, Director of the HK Economic and Trade Office in San Francisco as special guest

Annual General Meeting

Life is full of excitement for these HKUST graduates. Let’s check up on all their news and happenings, full of joy, happiness and fulfilment. We want to hear all about you, so remember to share your photos, updates, and happiness with us via this QR code:

Xingyu Zhang & Lin Sun

2015 PhD ECE 2018 PhD ECE& | 2012 MPhil ECE Fate has brought us together at last. We are now in California but still remember all the fond memories of HKUST. We hope to visit our alma mater again in the near future after the pandemic.

Winnie Ho & Tony Wong

2014 BBA ACCT | 2013 BBA GBUS We tied the knot in 2021 and are thrilled to embark on our journey to Melbourne, Australia. We can't wait to connect with fellow alumni in Australia!

Lingshu Li

2016 MSc GCS We have welcomed our little one to the family! Say hi to Lianne!

Thomas Wong

2012 BBA IS In collaboration with Golden Scene, I started a charity coffee brand called Cafe Kasagi (笠 祇珈琲). We have donated to organizations helping minority groups and people in need of mental health counselling, along with those supporting LGBT communities. We have also backed local designers by hiring them to design the package art, which is based on Golden Scene blockbusters including Beyond The Dream (幻愛) and more.

Dickson Lau

2007 BSc BICH I am delighted to share three STEM books written by me for kids - 科 學小博士《生活篇》、《創意篇》、《智 趣篇》. These teaching activities are designed to promote STEM education for children.

Sam Cheung

2016 MSc IBTM Tammy and I have just celebrated our 18th wedding anniversary!

Tony Ngai

2006 MSc Telecom It is my honor to have been elected as the Asia Pacific Region Governor by the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers, an international non-profit organization based in New York since 1916.

Exodus Sit

2020 BSc Math I was honored to be interviewed at TVB's program Think Big, and also by RTHK, sharing my experience on STEAM education and dark-sky protection. With the start of the International Sky Week 2021 in mid- May, I was invited to talk at HK Scifest in the Science Museum, the Aurora exhibition at the Cultural Centre, and a related international conference. I'm looking forward to sharing my exciting journey with the HKUST community in the future!