News & Stories

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic that has turned the world economy upside-down, many graduating students are worried about their prospects in the job market this year and next. Some say this is worse than the financial crisis in 2008; and some believe Hong Kong’s economy today is worse than that in 2003, when the city was hit hard by SARS. Some even compare the current situation to the Great Depression in the 1930s. But our fellow graduates of the class of 2003, who faced similar tough job market, not only survived the hiring drought after SARS, but also thrived in their career paths, proving that there is always an opportunity that lies in every crisis.

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Dennis CHOW, a graduate of Mathematics in 2018, is a firm believer in learning by doing. And thanks to his outgoing personality and an insatiable appetite for new challenges, throughout his four years at HKUST, the young man made the most of every opportunity provided by the University to build his experiences and skills that set himself apart from his peers, and even outperformed them when they graduated.

HKUST has been committed to enrolling students from around the world to foster campus diversity and advance internationalization. To continue broadening the non-local student mix, the University introduced a “Counselor Fly-in” program in 2018 to let high school counselors from Central Asia and Middle East have a deeper understanding of what opportunities HKUST can offer to their students. The program continued in March 2019 with some 30 high school counselors from nine Western European countries joining. Here we meet two students from Kazakhstan and Turkey who share with us what brought them to Hong Kong. Fourth-year Biotechnology and Business student Kamila ABDRASSILOVA from Kazakhstan witnessed the increasing number of students from her home country – when she started, there were only seven and now the number has doubled to 14.

Video game enthusiast Wei Lili has turned her childhood interest into cutting-edge research that sets to produce reliable high-quality software for mobile phone users.

These alumnae graduated a decade apart, and since then they have travelled very different career paths. But WONG Hiu-King Kyna and CHAN Kiu-Kei Bella retain much in common – and that’s apart from their obvious delight at being back in their beloved campus. They were both eager at an early age to explore the secrets of science and technology, they both graduated from the Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering, and have since maintained their close linkage through their proactive engagement with their alma mater’s student and alumni groups. Sharing a Common Dream

Rachel HUANG, a final year student of Global Business and Operations Management, remembers vividly how she was shocked and saddened to see people living in extreme poverty in a drought-hit village in India as she took part in volunteer work to take care of the homeless women and children there. The unforgettable experiences made Rachel, who grew up in Taiwan and has lived a comfortable city life, realize she should never take things for granted. Moreover, it planted the passion in her heart that she wanted to do something to help the needy. “The place we live in is far too safe and comfortable. We can hardly imagine what other people’s lives are like in other corners of the world that are unsecured and unstable,” she comments. “Only when you are in that place, you can feel strongly that there is a totally different way of life. Then you start to think about what I can do for them? And what role can I play in this world?”

The School of Business and Management of The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST Business School) joined hands with China Everbright Bank Hong Kong Branch (CEBHK) to organize the bank’s first academic-industry collaborated cyber security competition for students. Amid the growing threats of cyber attacks, the competition “Cyber Defenders Challenge – Team Up for the Good Fight” aimed to promote cyber security awareness and provide an opportunity for students at HKUST to address some real-world threats faced by information security experts.   The full-day event was held at HKUST on May 10, where IT experts from CEBHK were invited to provide training and share their real-life experiences in protecting their customers from hackers and compliance of best practices. Cybersecurity Company Fortinet provided technical support for the competition.