Part of the HSUHK Innovation Project Competition 2022, the Centre for Teaching and Learning (CTL) successfully organised three theme-based talks on three consecutive Thursdays in November 2021, enlightening over 150 students so that they could see the application of innovation to social issues around us in a whole new light.
With the strategic partners of the Institute of Youth Sustainability (IYSL) and the Wu Jieh Yee Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (WUCIE), the CTL’s annual student-oriented event for the 7th time this year, the HSUHK Innovation Project Competition 2022, aims to promote to our HSUHK students a culture of innovation and creativity and to raise the awareness of critical social issues locally or globally. This year, three Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 4, 9, and 10 are chosen for our participating students to target, and to create their innovative multimedia projects, after their participation in a series of theme-based tasks and skill-based workshops.
Kick-starting our first theme-based talk were three NGO representatives on SDG 4 (Quality Education) and SDG10 (Reduce Inequalities) respectively. Mr James CHONG, founder and CEO of Rolling Books, in addition to sharing his roller-coaster-like social entrepreneurship journey, also encouraged our students to spread the joy of reading and the message of equal education. While our university and public libraries are just around the corner, James drew our attention to the limited access to books when considering the newly-arrived children and also children from asylum families living in Hong Kong.
Menstrual pain or period should no longer be a taboo or an embarrassment to discuss in public! Ms Bidhya Shrestha (Founder and Chairperson) and Ms Saiksha Gurung (Program Director) of Aama Ko Koseli (Mother’s Token of Love), a non-profit organisation aiming at empowering marginalised women of colours, invited the audience to first give a voice to everyday issues, especially those the other sex might not comprehend. Only then could a voice surface to identify our different genders, loudly and proudly.
Echoing SDG9 (Industry, Innovation & Infrastructure), Dr Rocky LAM, in the position of Business Director, and his successful consultancy business at Vantis Consulting Group, exemplified the importance of the digital infrastructure, technical management, and internet marketing tools. Assisting companies of different scales in flourishing, Rocky encouraged our students to see and seize the chances to innovate especially in times of crises.
Mr Perkins LO, Senior Business Development Manager of Hong Kong/ Taiwan Strategic Programs, Amazon Web Services (AWS), brought the talk series to a conclusion with another round of insights on SDG9. Using various examples to illustrate how the Cloud technology encompasses different aspects of our daily lives, and social issues such as the homeless not having a proper address when applying for a job, Perkins inspired our students to be the engineers of tomorrow.
Mr James CHONG shared with students about how he introduced the idea of “Rolling Books” in Hong Kong.
Ms Bidhya SHRESTHA and Ms Saiksha GURUNG chit-chatted with our students about their stories of striving for a more gender-equal and inclusive society in Hong Kong, especially for ethnic minorities.
Students were looking at a talking book brought by James which was customised to visually impaired readers.
Dr Holly CHUNG, the Associate Director, Teaching and Learning Enhancement Section, Centre for Teaching and Learning, showed her appreciation for the speakers.
Over 50 students from different years and programmes were fully engaged in the talk.
Dr Rocky LAM introduced his career pathway of becoming a successful entrepreneur.
Students were paying attention to the entrepreneurship stories of Dr Rocky LAM.
Dr George HO, the Associate Director, E-learning Section, Centre for Teaching and Learning, presented a souvenir to the speaker.
Mr Perkins HO showed the participants how the Cloud computing service of AWS was widely used in our daily life, education and e-commerce.
Over 50 students listened attentively to the speaker’s sharing.
Moderated by our student MC Gloria LO, Mr Perkins HO was answering the questions raised by the audience.
