Fung Scholars Network Newsletter - Aug 2016

FUNG SCHOLARS network newsletter August 2016

A MESSAGE FROM THE EDITOR-­‐‑IN-­‐‑CHARGE 1st August 2016

“It gives me great pleasure to welcome you to the August 2016 issue of the Fung Scholar Network Newsletter! I hope that everyone is enjoying the

summer and that the articles included in this newsletter will be perfect for

beach time reading. The newsletter opens with the Global Affairs Section, which could be divided into two parts: firstly, slightly more science-­‐‑oriented articles covering the topics of climate change, cancer research and genetically modified organisms and secondly articles which introduce relevant global issues such as freedom of press and street-­‐‑based sex workers with a more local focus. Following this, we discuss careers in the update on the ‘Career Experience Sharing Session’ and in the interview about the role of ethics in career choices. This is followed by the updates of local volunteering activities carried out by the Fung Scholars in Hong Kong and Singapore chapters. The ‘Remarkable Moments’ section covers the culture exchange experiences of the students during their internships and studies abroad. If you want to get to know more about the writers, editors and designers, who helped to put together this newsletter, have a look at their short biographies in the ‘Editorial Board’ section. Lastly, ‘Upcoming Activities’ introduces all the exciting events that the Victor and William Fung Foundation has scheduled for the coming months. I hope that every reader will find something of interest in this issue and that the experiences described will encourage you to participate in the vibrant community of Fung Scholars worldwide!”

Magdalena Kohut (FS 2015-­‐‑2016, University of Oxford) Editor-­‐‑in-­‐‑Charge

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INSIDE THIS ISSUE August 2016 newsletter

GLOBAL AFFAIRS SECTION -­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑ 3 FOUNDATION UPDATES -­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑ 22 FUNG SCHOLARS COMMUNITY -­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑ 33 REMARKABLE MOMENTS -­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑ 44 EDITORIAL BOARD -­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑ 58 UPCOMING EVENTS -­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑-­‐‑ 67

The Editorial Board would like to thank all the writers who have contributed to the diverse topics and opinions included in this newsletter. We would also like to add that the Editorial Board and the Victor and William Fung Foundation take no responsibility for the views expressed in this publication.

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FEATURES G l o b a l A f f a i r s S e c t i o n

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GLOBAL AFFAIRS Features

CAREERS IN CLIMATE CHANGE Kaylee BRENT (FS 2014-­‐‑2015, Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

One of the speakers at the Fung Scholars Leadership Conference in 2014 made a point that stuck with me ever since. He said, find an industry you think is going places, and get yourself in on it. That’s how to make a career.

A lot of people – especially younger people – will say it is hard to think like that in today’s political and economic climate. There is a lot of uncertainty, a lot of unemployment. Old industries are shrinking or collapsing. Young people, especially, have the highest rate of unemployment or underemployment across most of the world. To add to all of the above, there is the specter of climate change. Today’s college students and recent graduates are the ones who are going to be alive and working through the transition the world has to make, in order to achieve the Paris agreement to limit global warming to 2 degrees centigrade. They will also have to live through the effects of the warming that is still taking place despite the treaty.

Perhaps things are not as bad as they seem, at least in terms of individual career options. New industries are being created, and industries that already existed are extending their reach. Not only is this happening in order to meet the pledges that nations made in Paris to reduce carbon emissions (those who study climate change call this mitigation), but it is also happening in response to climate change itself – what is known as adaptation.

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Both adaptation and mitigation will require actions from businesses and government. People from all fields will be needed to help tackle these challenges.

Carbon-­‐‑free energy capacity will need to increase drastically, which includes development of batteries to store intermittent energy sources like wind and solar. The way we currently distribute electricity is currently not set up to handle renewable energy very well, due to its high fluctuations in availability, leading to a large waste in these resources known as curtailment as high outputs are simply turned off. Changes in our methods of energy distribution and storage as well as dramatic growth of renewable energy sources will be necessary to replace fossil fuels.

We will need insurance policies developed especially for climate-­‐‑change related risks, such as sea level rise, forest fires, and stronger storms. This may seem trivial, but insurance providers are currently writing off entire communities because they do not have the ability to deal with them. In some cases, this is because they do not have the correct types of policies. In others, it is because they lack the research to know how to deal with these changing risks.

Adaptations will be necessary in agriculture as well. Locations and patterns of rainfall are going to move, and the volumes of many rivers fed by rain or snow may change. It may become too hot or too cold for some plants where they are currently grown, and an increase in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere changes the growth rates and outcomes of various crops. The potential to use biofuels will require careful planning so as not to interfere with the global food supply.

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Infrastructure around the world, such as roads and buildings, will need to adapt to the coming shifts in climate. Cities that were built to handle cold winters may suddenly have to adapt to boiling summers. Drainage systems sufficient for intermittent rainfall may not be capable of handling storm surges or flash floods. All of these problems will be local in scale, and will change over the course of the next century, in ways that must be first predicted and then dealt with. Seawalls must be constructed, strengthened, and made taller. Many low-­‐‑lying areas above sea level today – such as the edges of most of the world’s coastal cities – may find themselves below high tide, or below the level of a storm surge.

Computer models will need to be refined in order to accurately predict global and local changes, which will have an impact on all of the above. Currently, models have large uncertainties, especially regarding extreme effects and regional changes. Reducing these uncertainties requires more scientific research, as well as better and more powerful computation.

All of this will be the work of those who are starting their careers today, along with many more projects and potential issues barely touched upon in this article – and perhaps not even thought of yet. For those looking for a career, especially a meaningful one, this is an area to make it that rarely gets talked about. People tend to prefer to dwell on the terrifying consequences of climate change – and it is not the intention of this article to minimize them.

However, for young people especially, climate change is going to be reality soon enough, if it is not already. It is time to start talking about what that reality is going to look like, and how to shape it, on an individual scale as well as a global one.

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GLOBAL AFFAIRS Features

MODEL ORGANISM & CANCER RESEARCH – BAKER’S YEAST AND ROUNDWORMS? Frank YE (FS 2011-­‐‑2012, Xiamen University)

Cancer still remains the major cause of deaths globally, and it is estimated that more than 600,000 people will die from the disease in 2016. Meanwhile, extensive spending, personnel and resources are invested in cancer research, from understanding the etiology to enhancing patient care.

Challenges in cancer research: Two Big Questions.

1. What causes cancer?

Cancer is a genetic disease. Changes to a cell’s DNA (also known as mutations) drive the transformation of a normal cell to a malignant cancer cell.

The causes of cancer are quite diverse: they can be either endogenous or exogenous; in other words, both hereditary defects inherited by the patients, and exogenous exposure to carcinogens can lead to the mutations that drive tumor initiation. In order to understand which mutations actually lead to cancer, model organisms offer a great genetic tool. As August Krogh put it in 1929.

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“… for such a large number of problems there will be some animal of choice or a few such animals (organisms), on which it can be most conveniently studied.”

Baker’s yeasts, in particular, have been extensively studied and used as one of the most popular model organisms (Figure 1). This single-­‐‑celled organism has a short cell cycle and lifetime and a simple genetic makeup (also known as genome); they grow fast and are amenable to high-­‐‑throughput genetic analysis. In this regard, yeast provides a high-­‐‑throughput genetic platform to interrogate which genes, when mutated, can cause characteristics associated with cancers such as uncontrolled growth or high mutation rates. C. elegans, a soil-­‐‑living roundworm with a length of approximately 1mm, provides a more complex model and yields additional insights of how disruption of certain genes can give rise to cancer characteristics in a multicellular organism background (Figure 2).

Figure 2: Soil-­‐‑living roundworm, C elegans

Figure 1: Baker’s Yeast, S. cerevisiae

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2. How to cure cancer?

Many efforts have been devoted to advancing cancer treatment, from improving conventional therapy such as ionizing radiation and chemotherapy to more recent immunotherapy.

“It is many different diseases with common themes that can cause different kinds of disorders in many of our organs.” -­‐‑-­‐‑Harold Varmus

Since cancer is a complex disease, there will be no singular cure for cancer, but rather hundreds of individual cures. All the distinctive features of cancer can potentially be targeted to achieve a therapeutic effect. Conventionally, anticancer therapies target dividing cells, and thus, both normal cells and cancer cells that are proliferating are killed, which result in side-­‐‑effects including hair loss and nausea. More recently, attention has been given to personalized medicine, and developing chemotherapeutic agents that are able to specifically kill cancer cells and spare normal cells by targeting mutations in cancer cells, which may be the Achilles’ heels of cancer.

Cancer gene mutations often affect key biological processes, such as DNA replication and cell division (Figure 3). These processes are strikingly similar in yeasts, roundworms and humans, such that both yeasts and worms have most of the functional equivalent of human genes that regulate the same processes. As a result, the Awesome Power of Yeast and Worm Genetics can be exploited to investigate these potential Achilles’ heels of cancer and to find chemical agents that are able to target these weaknesses.

Similar to the first challenge in cancer research, the large-­‐‑scale capabilities of yeast and worms facilitate high-­‐‑throughput screening for potential

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anticancer drug candidates with a large number of cancer associated mutations. Many therapies targeting specific cancer mutations, or cancer’s weaknesses have witnessed breakthroughs and reduced side-­‐‑effects.

Summary Above all, science is a gradual and slow process towards greater certainty, and sometimes simple animal models can make big contributions to the understanding

and

treatment

of

human

diseases.

Yeasts

and roundworms, albeit with little physical resemblance to us, share with humans the basic biological processes needed for life. While high profile clinical studies often get the lion’s share of media focus, attention should also be given to the contributions to cancer researcher of these inconspicuous but ubiquitous simple organisms.

Figure 3: DNA Helix

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Some relevant facts about using yeasts and roundworms in cancer associated studies:

Leland Hartwell, (2001 Nobel Prize laureate in Physiology and Medicine) used baker's yeast and identified genes regulating control of the cell cycle. In addition to that, he also studied the sensitivity of yeast to irradiation and introduced the concept of checkpoint, which suggests that the cell cycle is blocked when DNA damage is present.

In cancer cells, the cell cycle checkpoint is often defective.

Robert Horvitz, (2002 Nobel Prize laureate in Physiology and Medicine) worked on genetics and cell lineage of roundworms (C. elegans), and identified “death genes” that control programmed cell death, also known as apoptosis. Cancer cells have been characterized by a reduction in cell death, resulting in abnormal survival of cells that are destined to die.

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GLOBAL AFFAIRS Features

WHAT’S GMO? Yue LU (FS 2007-­‐‑2008, Sun Yat-­‐‑Sen University)

Now the three letter “GMO” has swept the media, the supermarket and even casual conversation. It brings out curiosity, excitement, and probably panic in people. Lists like “foods containing GMOs” are somewhat popular. So what is a GMO? These three magic letters stand for “Genetically modified organism”.

It means the DNA of the organisms that the foods are produced from have been engineered. In other words, those genes are not completely the result of natural processes. Instead, they are modified by human beings based on different needs.

With this technique, everybody can be a magician. Here are a few examples.

Genetically modified papaya can be resistant to the ring spot virus with no assistance from pesticides. More than half of China's cotton can produce a substance that protects it against insect pests (Figure 4). Furthermore, genetically modified salmon can grow year-­‐‑round instead of only during spring and summer.

Figure 4: Cotton in China’s Xinjiang region

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The first genetically modified plant was produced in 1983, when an antibiotic resistant gene was inserted into tobacco. A report in 2011 found that more than 170 million hectares of genetically modified (GM) crops are being cultivated worldwide1. Although GM animals are not yet on the market, their introduction can be foreseen in the near future. People have begun to ask, are those genetically modified products really safe?

The controversies and public concern focus on issues related to human and

environmental safety, labelling and consumer choice, intellectual property rights, ethics, food security, poverty reduction and environmental conservation (Figure 5). The number one concern is safety.

Figure 5: Skeptics about genetically modified organisms

“Essentially, farmers have been modifying crops for thousands and thousands of years — we’ve been cross-­‐‑breeding our best possible, most productive hybrids to create the best crops. Theoretically GMOs are just the next level of agricultural advancement. What’s different is a new gene is being inserted into a crop which otherwise wouldn’t be there,” Isobel Yeung said on Vice Debrief: Savior Seeds. Lots of scientists side with Yeung, thinking that this is an amazing new technique and people should embrace it and enjoy the merits. As this is a new technique, the risk of it hasn’t really been verified. What’s the risk of “tampering with Mother Nature”? What are its long term effects? It may take several generations before we know the answer.

1 Report aforementioned: C. James, Global status of commercialized biotech/GM crops: 2011, Volume 43 of ISAAA Brief, Ithaca, NY (2011)

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GLOBAL AFFAIRS Features

AN INVISIBLE HAND CONTROLLING WHAT YOU KNOW Cassie WONG (FS 2011-­‐‑2012, Hong Kong Baptist University)

Five staff members of Causeway Bay Books, an independent bookstore in Hong Kong, were reported missing between October and December 2015.

The bookstore is famous in both Hong Kong and mainland China for selling political books which are sensitive and banned by the Chinese government.

The citizens of Hong Kong, a city that enjoys a one country, two system policy, should be able to enjoy freedom of speech and freedom of the press.

Those rights are protected by the Basic Law according to the Sino-­‐‑British Joint Declaration. The Chinese government had no rights to detain them without the Hong Kong government’s approval. The incident became even more mystifying when one of the missing men was last seen in Thailand and another’s travel documents were left at home.

Their disappearance therefore raised concerns about the Chinese government's disregard of the Basic Law and whether the latter can still protect the freedom of speech and freedom of the press in Hong Kong.

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Ways press freedom can be hindered Like many developed cities, Hong Kong appears to have a relaxed environment for the media and the city’s press freedom is well protected by the law. However, just like the Causeway Bay Books disappearances, governments – not just in Hong Kong but all over the world – have been controlling public information mostly by manipulating the media in various ways.

The most common hindrance of press freedom is media regulation. While no government will state in the law that press freedom is prohibited, they usually achieve the desired censorship effect through licensing. In late 2013, prime-­‐‑time morning talk show host Lee Wai-­‐‑ling, an influential critic of the Hong Kong government, was dismissed with no particular reason stated. A former media executive, however, stated that it was “an open secret” that media operators are under considerable political pressure during the time of license renewal and vocal program hosts disliked by the government are made to leave.

Besides the threat of license revocation, bureaucratic foot-­‐‑dragging is also another common method. In Ethiopia, for example, the 1999 Broadcasting Proclamation allowed the licensing of private radio broadcasters, but the licensing authority was not open until 2002 and two private broadcasters were not awarded licenses until 2006.

At the same time, media outlets are prone to carrying out self-­‐‑censorship to avoid affecting their relationships with their governments. In Hong Kong, the

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incentives are even greater when many of the media owners have businesses in mainland China or are representatives of the National People’s Congress.

Take South China Morning Post, Hong Kong’s largest English publication as an example: many journalists and columnists claimed to be under much pressure when reporting about the Chinese government since real estate tycoon Robert Kuok acquired it in 1993. Kuok and his family are known to be inclined toward the central government of China and departed journalists complained about the repeated pressure to tone down coverage of politically sensitive issues2.

In April 2016, the newspaper was acquired by Alibaba Group, an e-­‐‑commerce giant in China. While the group has promised to respect editorial independence, it also admitted that one of the motives behind the acquisition was to make media coverage of China “objective, fair and accurate” and different from Western news outlets.

Technology’s role in promoting press freedom As demonstrated above, many traditional media are easy targets of censorship. Luckily, the development of technology and new media has provided a new path for both the media and audience.

2 Liu, J. (n.d.). Questions over Alibaba's Hong Kong newspaper purchase. Retrieved August 10, 2016, from http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-­‐‑china-­‐‑blog-­‐‑35068144

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In the past, media owners required both licenses and a significant amount of resources to publish or broadcast content. With online media, licensing is usually not necessary and the cost has gone down considerably. As a result, both the political and economic pressures have been lessened.

Also, the collection and distribution of information is made easy with voice over internet protocol and social media. With the former, low-­‐‑cost strong cryptography can be employed to avoid government surveillance.

Meanwhile, social media has famously facilitated the Arab Spring uprisings when some authoritarian regimes tried to block communication and the spread of information amongst protesters by controlling national broadcast media.

While governments have responded with increasingly sophisticated technology, it is still harder and harder for them to completely monitor and manipulate media. For example, China’s Great Firewall attempts to control access to the Internet and citizens are blocked from websites like Google and Facebook. However, many Chinese are actually able to overcome the blockage with the use of virtual private networks.

How individuals can stay informed when press freedom is declining With the threat from governments and businesses, individuals have to stay critical when absorbing information. It is recommended that one has a greater variety of news sources, both online and offline, to offset the effect of censorship in any media. Also, citizens should try to acquire information from sources known to have differing stance in order to get an unbiased opinion.

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While you may disagree with Alibaba’s motive behind acquiring a news media, it was right about having a global optic. Local and international media have their own emphasis and may not have enough coverage on certain issues. It is therefore important to read news from both parties to gain a fuller vision.

After obtaining knowledge about a broad range of issues, it is also important to go in-­‐‑depth with your research. This is crucial when reading about suspicious claims or statements. Although discussing political issues with your friends and families is not recommended, it is actually important to exchange ideas with others to learn about different viewpoints and keep an open mind.

How individuals can protect press freedom Besides donating to NGOs supporting press freedom, there are many ways individuals can help protect journalistic independence. For example, one can start with educating people around you on its importance. Many people in developed countries have taken the right for granted and may not realize the need to protect it. This is especially the case when governments are trying to tighten the laws on censorship. Therefore, we should stay alert when it happens and help spread the word to object to such attempts.

Lastly, one should try to spread under-­‐‑reported news. With the boom of social media, it is now much easier to raise awareness on issues that are not getting the attention they deserve. As a result, sharing such news reports will help achieve the social impact required and at the same time promote independent media outlets.

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GLOBAL AFFAIRS Features

WHEN I SAW A DIFFERENT LIFE OUT THERE Tahira TAZREEN (FS 2014-­‐‑2015, Asian University for Women, Bangladesh)

“I was afraid, because that was the first time I came to a city from an isolated, rural, and underdeveloped place, but, at the same time, I was very hopeful about the completely new life I was going to start. Unfortunately, I did not know there was only a calamitous darkness waiting for me,” the woman said with a heavy heart. Obviously, it was not easy for her to share her experiences about how she became a street-­‐‑based sex worker from a simple and innocent village girl.

This summer, while searching for internship opportunities, I heard about an internship opportunity, where the intern was asked to make a documentary film about the street-­‐‑based sex workers of Chittagong, the port city of Bangladesh. I was fortunate to be selected for the position in CARITAS, Chittagong. It meant a lot to me to work on that issue, and I could not help myself from becoming really involved with this remarkable project.

The first day of work was indeed a very memorable experience. I was so excited to work on this issue, and at the same time I was quite nervous as well. I had never met any sex worker before, and could hardly concentrate on planning a schedule, and many people had tried to discourage me from doing this internship.

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Despite this, I was determined and reached my destination for my first day in the role. The very first thing I noticed about the sex workers was that they look exactly the same as we do! I was nervous, and even lost. I did not know where to start, but to break the ice, I started talking to them.

Since that first day, I have met them so many times, and we got more and more familiar with each other. Throughout this time, I listened to their stories, and was able to get to know their lives, their sorrows, and happiness, almost everything. There were almost twenty to twenty five girls, and most of them were quite young. Their life stories reminded me of what we were doing being almost the same-­‐‑age -­‐‑ studying at universities, doing internships, and so on. The most shocking thing to me was that none of them came to this occupation out of their own will. They were fooled to take up this profession, and they were threatened every time they tried to quit the job.

There was a young girl, who came to Chittagong City in search of a job to make money so that she could support her family back in the village. One of her acquaintances in the village gave her an address of someone in the city, and she came to the place as instructed. The person told her that he knew of an interesting job with a high salary. She believed what the person said even though she knew nothing about him. The next day, she was brought to some brokers who first told her about the “interesting” work -­‐‑ prostitution. She was so afraid, and told them that she did not want any job; she just wanted to go home, that was all. Then the brokers threatened her, and as she did not agree, they left her in the street. She had no place to go, no food to eat, and nowhere to sleep at night. Roaming around the city, she ended up in the railway station of the city, where she stayed. The next day she begged for money, and after getting some, she went back to home.

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Right after her arrival at home, her family asked where she stayed last night, because the person she went to at first had informed them that she was lost.

She explained everything to her family, but the only response that her family gave her was that there was no place for her in the house, as she had dishonored the family by staying alone in an open place at night. With these words, all of her dreams were shattered. The next part of the story was short.

She came back to town straight away, contacted the brokers, and chose to become a prostitute. Never in her rest of her life has she contacted her family again, nor did they get in touch with her.

The more I went there and talked with them, the more I got to know them, and each of the conversations with them was shocking and surprising. I knew a girl who had never even thought of being anything but a prostitute, since her mother was also one. There was another girl, who had no choice but to become a sex-­‐‑worker, when her husband left her with a child and she sold her child in order to survive. Every time, I could not hold my tears hearing the stories, although I was no more than an intern on a project.

I have learned a lot from their struggles, sorrows, ups and downs, and everything they always go through. However, if I were ever asked what struck me the most, I would not hesitate to say that I was truly impressed by their strength and optimism after what they have been through. Amidst all the adversities, they had never let that ray of hope leave their lives. Most of them said that they wanted their children to be well educated, and that they would never allow them to enter this profession. They positively believed that their children would not have to be in the same devastating situation as them.

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FOUNDATION UPDATES

C A R E E R D I S C U S S I O N S

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AN INTERVIEW WITH FUNG SCHOLARS

ETHICS ON THE JOB Kaylee BRENT (FS 2014-­‐‑2015, Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

Many Fung scholarship recipients are just starting out their careers, or still finishing their studies. One of the questions that has preoccupied me the most as I think about my future is that of ethics – how do I make sure that in my career, I am doing the right thing? I cannot be the only one with these questions, and so I decided to ask several other Fung scholars for their advice.

They studied in fields as diverse as public policy and chemistry, and have started careers in marketing, civil service, pharmacology, and materials engineering. For some of them, ethical reasoning was high on their list of priorities in choosing a career, and others had never really considered it until asked.

All the Fung Scholars interviewed for this article offered a fascinating and diverse range of ideas about these issues; here are their opinions in their own words:

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ME: What made you interested in your career field?

GEORGIA CLARKE who works in marketing (FS 2015-­‐‑2016, University of Oxford): [I] chose to study Chemistry at University as I thought it would give me a wider choice of career options afterwards. I moved into Marketing as I wanted to move away from lab work and research, but marketing still has a large amount of analysis involved.

TAO HONG who is a materials engineer (FS 2012-­‐‑2013, Nanjing University): New materials and new energies are always the hope for our future world.

We need to develop new materials and new energy sources that can make our future development more environmentally friendly and sustainable. I hope I can contribute more to this field to make our world better.

LI ZIWEI who is currently a student in public administration (FS 2015-­‐‑2016, Xiamen University): Responsibility for the society and the intent of avoiding fierce competition in private companies made me choose to work in the government.

MAGDALENA KOHUT who just completed a Master’s in Chemistry (FS 2015-­‐‑ 2016, University of Oxford): If I had to cut the influences on this choice down to three, I would say: very inspiring teachers, books and the surrounding reality. I remember a huge admiration I had for my teachers, especially in Chemistry and Mathematics, since they were the ones, who through tutoring me allowed me to get to know myself better. They made me feel that the knowledge I am gaining is useful for the society, that I can leave some impact on the society. [My high school in the UK] Ardingly [College] made me realize what my passion was and allowed me to follow it to the full extent. Last but

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not least it was my curiosity for the reality around me and within me that made me want to learn exactly what the world is made of.

ME: Have you ever worked or studied in an area you decided not to continue with?

ZIWEI: Statistics is my double degree, so I worked in that field too. I think it interesting, and do get some very high grades. But the courses become much harder in the third year, and it is difficult and stressing for me, because I don't have enough knowledge of mathematics and programming. So I think I'd better apply for jobs related to my major.

MAGDA: Archaeology fascinated me as it deals with the reconstruction of human behaviour from materials used and therefore allows for a better understanding of human past. I think it is very important to use science to better understand the history of human behaviour and to bridge the technological and cultural gap that exists at the moment. However, I started to feel that my work was too focused on the past and that it didn’t have enough impact on the society nowadays, and therefore I carried on walking on my rather curved career path, investigating applications of chemistry in other fields.

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ME: What ethical principles matter to you the most, and how did they influence your career choice?

GEORGIA: Environment, Animal Welfare, [and] Health. I was excited to work at my company because of the fact that they're working towards a future where chemicals will not need to be tested on animals, and instead can be correctly assigned as toxic or not using a computer program.

TAO: I think the most important principle is respect. We need to show respect to people with different backgrounds. Different people have different cultural backgrounds and different life and work styles. We need to show respect to their habits as long as their habits don’t influence our own work or life. In addition, we need to respect others’ privacy.

ZIWEI: Integrity and responsibility. These are basic requirements if you work in the public sector [but] whether a career is ethical or not has not ever been a problem for me.

MAGDA: When making career choices I considered three important aspects.

Firstly, how interesting the work is for me. I think it is important to consider this before looking at the ethical implications of one’s work because even the most ethical job if done without interest cannot be done well. Secondly, I considered what direct impact my job has on immediate recipients (…).

Thirdly, I considered the greater impact of my job on the society. For this reason, I chose to undertake the industrial placement in a pharmaceutical company and explore the drug discovery processes and the decision process taken to assess and develop promising candidates.

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ME: Have you ever encountered an ethical dilemma on the job?

GEORGIA: I have never encountered any direct ethical dilemmas in my study or work. But being involved with Pharmaceuticals means that I am very aware that animal testing is widespread. My company is not-­‐‑for-­‐‑profit and one of our main charitable aims is to reduce the need for animal testing, by supplying in silico ("via computer simulation") alternatives for toxicity testing.

TAO: Luckily not, I haven`t experienced any ethical dilemmas in my job.

ZIWEI: Not yet.

MAGDA: Sadly the perception of the pharmaceutical industry is on the whole quite negative across the society. One of the ethical dilemmas that arise is the use of animals in research (…). The second ethical dilemma of the pharmaceutical industry is the pricing of medications. It could be argued that medications as a necessity for health should be highly subsidised or even free of charge. I do agree with the concept, however, I think that it should be dealt with on a government level rather than on the industry level. Another ethical dilemma is that the research is often conducted in the medicinal areas where there are the finances for it rather than where it is really needed.

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Some of the interviewees offered advice for those who are just starting to think about their careers. Magda Kohut recommends that you “do what you really want, without worrying about the social norms or reputation, and maybe in a slightly Taoist fashion, to have belief in yourself and high flying ambitions but not too high expectations as in my opinion it is always better to be positively surprised than disappointed (…).”

Tao Hong offered a few questions to consider: “How can I find my real personal ethics and how can I connect [them] with my career? What should I do if my original ethics change during my work but my current work is still going well and is in the upward stage? How can I balance my changed ethics with my booming career?”

Thinking about ethics on the job is not just for people who work for non-­‐‑ profits. It’s for all of us, because any one of us can find a way to make the world a better place.

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FUNG SCHOLARS CAREER EXPERIENCE SHARING SESSION 2016

Jinyu Hazel HUANG (FS 2015-­‐‑2016, Peking University)

The Fung Scholars Career Experience Sharing Session 2016 was successfully held at HKU Shanghai Study Center on 2nd July 2016. Fung Scholars from several top Mainland China universities attended the conference, together with five guest speakers. Yuhuan WANG (FS 2015-­‐‑2016, Tsinghua University) hosted the conference.

The conference was made up of three parts, namely a series of lectures, a buffet and a tea party. The conference started at 10 a.m.

At the very beginning, Mr. Yunfei HE, Product Director of Ali Database and Director of Alibaba’s Dubble Eleven Program, delivered a speech entitled “My Eight Years in Ali” via Facetime. During the speech, Mr. He shared his career experience and offered valuable advice to young Fung Scholars.

The second speaker was Mr. Yang YANG, CEO of the 11:11 APP and the founder of Youqian Network. He talked about the Three Stages of Startup, in which his experience of starting up a business and business perception were covered.

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Mr. Tingfeng NIE, the third speaker, who is Chairman of Beijing Swime Swimming Appliances Company. He talked about two stories—the meaning of life and what a person will think about looking back on their life, which fitted his theme of “Entrepreneurship in an E-­‐‑commerce background.”

The fourth speaker was Ms. Jueyi LEI (FS 2012-­‐‑2013, Fudan University), a teacher for the Teach for China program from 2013 to 2015. Ms. Lei delivered a speech entitled “Career Choice—Youth Devoted to Education.”

She talked about her experience in Teach for China, pointing out that education was really far from maturity in China’s distant areas. The young Fung Scholars were impressed by Ms. Lei’s speech and her passion.

Mr. Guang REN (FS 2009-­‐‑2010, Zhejiang University) was the final speaker of the conference; he worked for Investment Banking Department in CICC (Figure 6). He talked about the development of China’s capital market and his career in the Investment Banking Department. The young Fung Scholars learned much about the status of China’s capital market, IPO and how to progress in Investment Banking Department.

Figure 6: Mr. Guang REN (FS 2009-­‐‑2010, Zhejiang University) shared the latest trend of investment banking

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The buffet started before the fourth lecture. While enjoying the buffet lunch, Fung Scholars and guest speakers were able to converse with each other, providing them with the opportunity for more relaxed interactions.

The conference then transitioned to the tea party section of the conference, following the end of the lectures in the afternoon. Another two Fung Scholars — Mr. Zhimin LIAO (FF 2009-­‐‑2010, Harvard University) and Mr. Longquan HOU (FF 2006-­‐‑2007, Harvard University) joined the conference at this point.

Participants surrounded the food bar, and carried on with their pleasant discussions. Fung Scholars shared their life experiences and goals with each other, which deepened their acquaintance and improved their understanding of each other’s lives and careers.

After the tea party, the conference came to an end at 6:30 p.m. During the conference, Fung Scholars from different places engaged in varied and profound discussions. Guest speakers selflessly shared their experiences and perception, covering a range of topics. At the same time, Fung Scholars listened carefully and gained a lot in the Q&A sessions (Figure 7).

Figure 7: Interactive Q&A session

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The Fung Scholars Career Experience Sharing Session 2016 was held to create a platform for deeper communication between Fung Scholars and to provide a forum for career discussions. The entire conference was both professional and relaxing, and received positive feedback from all guest speakers and Fung Scholars. Though the conference only lasted for one day, Fung Scholars built lasting friendships, making the career experience sharing session more than just a conference. We all believe that the gathering on 2nd July and the people we got to know over the course of the conference will make a positive difference in our future lives and careers (Figure 8).

Figure 8: Group photo taken after the event

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FUNG SCHOLARS COMMUNITY L O C A L C H A P T E R S U P D A T E S

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LOCAL CHAPTERS UPDATES Hong Kong

COASTAL CLEAN-­‐‑UP Joey LAI (FS 2010-­‐‑2011, City University of Hong Kong)

A team of Fung Scholars joined a cross-­‐‑border clean-­‐‑up activity on the World Environment Day (5th June 2016) organized by the Coastal Watch project of WWF-­‐‑Hong Kong, which involved teaming up with passionate participants from Hong Kong, Macau and mainland China.

Lung Kwu Tan, one of the most heart-­‐‑breaking coastal sites in Hong Kong, is notorious for its high proportion of marine debris. In two hours, the Fung Scholars and other volunteers found 791 plastic caps, 594 plastic plates and cups, 303 plastic straws and stirrers (Figure 9). This clearly reflects a serious problem with the consumption and improper disposal of single-­‐‑use plastic products. Not only does the accumulation of marine litter destroy coastal scenery, but it also impacts both marine and human life (Figure 10).

Figure 9: Fung volunteers cleaning up the coastal line

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Figure 10: Marine debris

It may seem convenient to use plastic bowls or foam box for fish ball, siu mai (popular street food in Hong Kong) or other take-­‐‑away food. However, when we picked up the trash, we found that some of them were bitten or deformed.

We could not imagine how much plastic the fish had swallowed.

It may only take us a few minutes to buy and finish a bottle of drinks. But if these plastic bottles go into the sea, it will take them at least 450 years to degrade! If these marine debris enter the food chain, marine animals and human being’s health will be undoubtedly harmed!

Indeed, there would not be a huge change even if volunteers clean up the coastlines regularly; neither would there be any big difference if people put plastic rubbish into the recycling bins without taking off the caps or cleaning them (Figure 11).

Waste reduction is the only means to solve the problem.

Take some time to dine in instead of ordering take-­‐‑ away or delivery; or if you really need to, please use your own utensils and Figure 11: Group photo of all the volunteers

containers. Let’s change for a better world.

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LOCAL CHAPTERS UPDATES Hong Kong

SHARING LOVE WITH COMMUNITY Michelle CHAN (FS 2014-­‐‑2015, The University of Hong Kong) Mandy TANG (FS 2014-­‐‑2015, The Hong Kong Baptist University)

Sharing Love with Community was established by a group of enthusiastic Hong Kong Fung Scholars after participating in the Make a Difference Conference 2016. We came together as we were inspired by the spirit of the Conference – to make a positive change and care about our community. Being a non-­‐‑profit organisation, our vision is to contribute back to our society. We endeavour to serve and share our love with vulnerable groups in Hong Kong.

So far, we have organised two events this year. Thanks to generous sponsorship from the Victor and William Fung Foundation, we purchased rice box vouchers totalling HK$1,012 from Ming Gor (明哥)3. We then distributed the vouchers as well as other materials, including scarves and hot water bottles, to the homeless in Sham Shui Po (Figure 12).

In our upcoming events, we envision extending our focus beyond the homeless to other disadvantaged groups in Hong Kong, such as families living in subdivided units.

3 陳灼明, also known as 明哥 or 深⽔水埗明哥, runs a restaurant called 北北河燒臘臘飯店 in Sham Shui Po.

He has been giving free rice boxes to the grass-­‐‑root communities in Sham Shui Po, a lot of them being the homeless in the district, for 8 years. His generous act was publicised by the media in 2012 and received wide support and praise from Hong Kongers.

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Through organising socialising activities such as dinner gatherings and site visits, we wish to take a step forward, listen to their needs, promote social inclusion, and develop self-­‐‑sustaining mutual-­‐‑aid networks among low-­‐‑ income districts and neighbourhoods.

As John Lennon once said, “A dream you dream alone is only a dream. A dream you dream together is reality.” Your support means a lot to us. Please click on the “like” button on our Facebook page to support us! https://www.facebook.com/Sharing-­‐‑love-­‐‑with-­‐‑community-­‐‑FS-­‐‑ 1759354390966075/

Figure 12: Sharing our warmth with the homeless in Sham Shui Po on a cold January night

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LOCAL CHAPTERS UPDATES Hong Kong

SINGLE ELDERLY VISIT Kitty CHAN (FS 2013-­‐‑2014, The Chinese University of Hong Kong)

Let’s step back from the fancy idea of universal retirement protection: the elderly may just want a listening ear.

Don’t get me wrong, I do believe we should ensure that the elderly have a comfortable life in their retirement. However, after the visit, I think the elderly need something more than just material comfort.

I visited some single elderly people at Wan Hon Estate on 12th March with other Fung Scholars and volunteers of the Christian Church of Love (Figure 13). We were divided into groups and visited three to four elderly people each, chatting, socializing and generally having a good time with them. The Estate is home to more than 1,000 single elderly people. Each of them is allocated a room and has to share bathroom and kitchen with five to six other residents.

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During the visit, we just needed to sit beside the elderly residents and listen to them attentively. As simple as it was, I could see the smile on their faces when we talked to them. They were willing to share their personal experience with us, talking about their youth and family. While they told us they want to meet their family more often, they understand that their children and grandchildren are just “too busy” to drop by. This did, however, make me wonder if the younger generation, like me and you, are really “too busy” to spend time with the elderly, when we always seem to have time for other activities.

There is no doubt that living conditions of many single elderly people can be further improved. While the community is striving hard for a better retirement in a material sense, let’s not forget the psychological needs of the elderly.

Figure 13: Fung scholars and volunteers at Wan Hon Estate

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LOCAL CHAPTERS UPDATES Hong Kong

FUNG SCHOLARS GATHERING IN HONG KONG Candy CHIK (FS 2015-­‐‑2016, The University of Hong Kong)

In April 2016, we organized a gathering at a party room in Mongkok to connect with Fung Scholars who were on exchange in Hong Kong.

Figure 14: Fung Scholars sharing interesting facts about themselves Figure 15: Fung Scholars learning the Hong Kong slang through Pictionary

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Both local Fung Scholars and those on exchange from mainland China and Japan joined the gathering and it was a great opportunity to make new friends and to share our exchange experience. Thanks to our organizing committee – a group of passionate local Fung Scholars – we had a fun night getting to know not only each other but also each other's cultures (Figure 14). Through games we introduced Hong Kong slang such as "jip lib" (an expression describing students studying really hard in the library) and "Hong Kong Golden" (a popular and influential online forum in Hong Kong) to our incoming Fung Scholars (Figure 15). During the gathering we also enjoyed some fantastic singing and dancing performances from our talented Fung Scholars. The night was a great catch-­‐‑up event following the welcoming gathering for incoming Fung Scholars in January (Figure 16)!

Figure 16: Group photo at the end of the event; CHEERS!

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LOCAL CHAPTERS UPDATES Singapore

COMMUNITY EVENT 2016 Li Qin Lynn SEAH (FS 2014-­‐‑2015, National University of Singapore)

The Singapore Fung Scholars are extremely grateful for the privilege of studying in Singapore and decided to organise a community event to give back to the local community. To contribute in a meaningful way, the Scholars held an early Chinese New Year Celebration on 23rd January 2016 with the patients at Ang Mo Kio-­‐‑Thye Hua Kwan Hospital. Most of the patients are elderly between the ages of 50 to 80. Throughout the event, the Scholars hoped to bring some warmth and laughter to the patients to ease their recovery.

Thirteen Fung Scholars in Singapore volunteered at the event. Each volunteer was assigned to a patient to interact and bond with through various activities (Figure 17). To begin with, the volunteers worked together with the patients to make the lanterns and the room was filled with lively conversation and laughter.

Figure 17: Fung scholars interacting with patients

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After the making of lanterns, we all participated in a sing-­‐‑a-­‐‑long session of Chinese New Year Songs. All the patients and volunteers sang out loud and several patients commented that singing these songs brought back many memories for them. All the patients and volunteers had an enjoyable and meaningful time together (Figure 18).

The Singapore Chapter would also like to thank the Foundation for the funding and support we received, which was instrumental in making this event a success. We look forward to many more events like this to continue our positive contributions to our local community.

Figure 18: Volunteers and patients with their hand-­‐‑made lanterns

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REMARKABLE MOMENTS E X C H A N G E E X P E R I E N C E S

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EXCHANGE EXPERIENCES Features

WHEN YOU BECOME A FUNG SCHOLAR Yuchen Caroline LI (FS 2015-­‐‑16, Zhejiang University)

Looking back on the past year of exchanging in Hong Kong with other Fung Scholars, I’m glad to find that I truly immersed myself in many FS activities and had a wonderful time with other Fung Scholars, both local and international. Events included Make a Difference (MaD) forum, Wanchai & Blue House historical buildings tour, Sham Shui Po visit and two welcome gathering parties, to name but a few (Figure 19 and 20). All these precious memories made my year in Hong Kong so enjoyable and unforgettable. I appreciate that the FS network provides me with such a large international platform to learn and grow as an individual.

One of the most memorable events was the Make a Difference (MaD) forum sponsored by the Victor and William Fung Foundation (Figure 21). It was a 2.5-­‐‑day event featuring talks and interactive activities which brought together an exciting line-­‐‑up of speakers with an impressive portfolio of achievements on the international stage and over 1,000 youngsters from Asia and beyond. MaD is a great platform to share creativity and innovative ideas, exposing young people to different global issues and development trends, which greatly broaden our horizons, inspire innovation, and encourage us to bring about positive change in our society. No matter what part of the globe the participants were from and no matter which language they spoke, we were all villagers and we were all equal.

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It is promising to see that our generation is paying so much attention to society and considering how to change it for the better. Events like this allow us to transcend differences and divides while we humbly listen to each other’s stories. This is also true of the Fung Scholars Programme. We Fung Scholars are using our creativity and innovation to make a difference to our lives, by learning and traveling. We chose to leave our comfort zone and were selected to be Fung Scholars. I think it’s time to use our experiences to make a difference for ourselves and our society.

Figure 20: Caroline with her friends on a visit to Shum Shui Po

Figure 19: Caroline having fun at her exchange university, HKU Figure 21: Caroline and the other participants of MaD forum

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EXCHANGE EXPERIENCES Features

THE STORY OF A FUNG SCHOLAR Chathuri WEERASINGHE (FS 2014-­‐‑15, Asian University for Women)

My life has been tremendously exciting thus far, thanks to the Asian University for Women (AUW) and the Victor and William Fung Foundation, the two turning points of my life. Since early childhood, I have always wanted to study abroad to improve my English fluency. However, I was aware that there was little chance of accomplishing my dream, as I knew my mother would never be able to afford to send me to a university abroad. This all changed when I found out about AUW in Bangladesh, which provides full and partial scholarships to its students, and I decided that it was worth giving it a shot! My dreams came true when I was selected to enroll in AUW in 2013, with a tuition fee waiver of 100%.

Flying to Bangladesh alone was my first ever experience travelling overseas and it proved to be exciting as well as nerve-­‐‑wracking. I still remember how nervous and scared I was to leave my family behind and fly to a strange land, all alone. Never did I ever expect that the destination of that scary journey would build the person I am today.

Since then, AUW has built up my confidence, taught me how to interact with people and to build networks, to present myself, to embrace multiculturalism and most importantly to improve my English literacy. I am happy that now I

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can provide my mom with financial support. AUW taught me the value of being educated, independent and confident!

Thanks to the Victor and William Fung Foundation for awarding me the Fung Scholarship in AUW. I am also interning with the Strategic Engagement department at Li & Fung main branch in Hong Kong this summer (Figure 22).

Besides, I’ve been granted the opportunity to join a summer institute in the University of Hong Kong right after the internship. Just like the internship, I hope the summer school is going to be a wonderful experience.

Words can do no justice to express how grateful I am to AUW and the Victor and William Fung Foundation; for making my mother no longer worry about my education, for creating many other opportunities ahead of me and for building whoever I am today!

If one may ask what my future ambition as an AUWian, my answer would be, “To be a leader; a leader who is influential enough to make my mother’s life happy and to make her as confident as I am, today!”

Figure 22: AUW students shared their stories at the Li & Fung Hong Kong office

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EXCHANGE EXPERIENCES Features

IT’S JUST THE BEGINNING Kaylee BRENT (FS 2014-­‐‑2015, Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

The Fung Scholarship gave me my first opportunity to leave my country. I was twenty years old and monolingual, and the organisation provided me with the opportunity to go to Argentina to learn Spanish. I took five hours of classes per day in a university in Buenos Aires, and everything I did that summer had to take place in a foreign language that I was slowly getting better at – from ordering coffee to chatting with new friends.

Afterwards I had the opportunity to go to Hong Kong for the Fung Scholars Leadership Conference, and that was only the second time I had left the US. The local students showed us around Victoria Peak and took us to the best dim sum I’ve had in my life, and I spent a few days exploring on my own and with other scholars.

I came back with the travel bug. I had met so many interesting people who had been to so many fascinating places, and I wanted to be like them. More importantly, I had realized it was possible – that international travel was doable, and opportunities were out there to help me afford it. If I was going to be seeking out internships and university courses anyways, why not try and do them abroad and gain that experience as well?

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The following semester I went to Spain to continue studying Spanish, taking all of my university classes exclusively in a foreign language alongside native speakers. It was an even more thorough immersion than I had experienced in Argentina, as my classmates were Spaniards and not fellow foreigners.

Then I went to England for an internship in renewable energy the following summer and fall, living on my own in London which was the biggest and most cosmopolitan city I have ever lived in. I came back to the US for almost a year before leaving again for Portugal to volunteer with a Portuguese architecture group, and to start working on learning Portuguese as a third language.

I am not who I was before these experiences. I learned how to deal with change, with the unexpected, with unfamiliar situations. I have friends from all over the world with fascinating perspectives to share with me. I have the practical skills that come from internships and university classes, but I also gained those that come from learning multiple languages and figuring out how to live and work in foreign cities. These are immeasurably valuable life skills that you cannot learn in a classroom or a job, and there are opportunities available everywhere to gain them for those who are looking for them.

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EXCHANGE EXPERIENCES Features

FUNG SCHOLARS AND ME Tao HONG (FS 2012-­‐‑2013, Nanjing University)

After living in Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Canada for years, I am currently living and working in Japan. My workday life is quite Japanese: it starts from taking the train and ends with some small drinks at izakaya (居酒 屋). I am not really sure how I had the courage to move to Japan and work here when I barely knew any Japanese. But one thing I was sure about is that my previous experiences overseas really broadened my outlook, and helped me greatly in adapting to the new environment. Amazingly I found that I always had something that connects me to the Fung Scholars family.

In 2012, at the end of my time on exchange in Hong Kong, I wanted to do something meaningful and memorable. After some brainstorming, we decided to take photos at every metro station with one Fung Scholar, and then piece them all up like a big jigsaw puzzle, because the metro had become a part of our daily life and we took them almost wherever we went.

About ten Fung Scholars joined the photo-­‐‑taking project, and soon enough we collected photos from all metro stations and finished this project. This is the achievement that I am proudest of from my time at HKU. The assembled photo was so popular that it was selected as one of the theme pictures of the Fung Scholars Leadership Conference in 2013 (Figure 23).

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There was no metro station at

HKU when I was an exchange

student in Hong Kong. It was a

pity that I did not have one photo for the HKU station.

Fortunately, the HKU metro station was finished in late 2014, and the first place I visited in Hong Kong this May was the HKU station. I took the photo I missed, and at that moment, all the best memories for this project flooded over (Figure 24).

Figure 23: Hong Kong MTR Photos

I left Hong Kong at the end of 2012, and then moved to Vancouver and started my graduate study in 2013. In November 2013, around the time of my first term finals, I had the opportunity to attend the Fung Scholars Leadership Conference 2013 in Shanghai. I barely hesitated before booking the ticket to fly across the Pacific to gather old friends and meet new ones in the Fung Scholar Group. It was fun to reminisce and see old friends in a different city; we shared our experiences from the past year, and felt our bond was strengthened despite one year Figure 24: HKU Metro Station

apart.

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It was amazing that I met the exact same Fung Scholars from the Fung Scholars Leadership Conference 2012 again (Figure 25).

Figure 25. Fung Scholars Leadership Conference in Hong Kong and Shanghai

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One year passed in Vancouver, and I moved to a new apartment and was looking for a roommate to share. I was then introduced by Yanting JIN (FS 2012-­‐‑2013, Xiamen University), whom I shared a semester in HKU, to Frank YE (FS 2011-­‐‑2012, Xiamen Univeristy), who happened to be in Vancouver as well. Interestingly, Frank became my roommate until I left Canada, and we have been really good friends ever since, and we still keep in touch at times.

If I weren’t part of the Fung Scholar Group, then I would probably not meet Yanting, nor would I meet Frank, neither would I be writing this at the moment (Figure 26).

Figure 26: My Fung Scholar Roommate (right) and I (left)

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Although it might just be a coincidence that I met a Fung Scholar in Vancouver, being part of the FS family really builds up my friendship almost everywhere in the world. When I visited Beijing, Shanghai, and Nanjing where local Fung Scholar Chapters are established, I would often initiate a local FS gathering, and I was always inspired by every single FS for their excellence and unrelenting endeavors towards their dreams. Last summer, I visited Beijing, and met a few old friends that I knew from HKU exchange (Figure 27). Truly, I was very impressed for their cordiality: Junyuan YI (FS 2012-­‐‑2013, Zhejiang University) took two-­‐‑hour train to Haidian District for the gathering, and Jialong LAO (FS 2012-­‐‑2013, Tshinghua University) did not wait a second to see me after he had just landed in Beijing from the US. Indeed, we had a lot of fun spending time together.

Fig 27: Fung Scholars Gathering in Beijing in 2015 Summer

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The Fung Scholar’s network can always inspire me, and for that reason, I still keep myself involved in Fung Scholar activities. I was originally from Nanjing University, and was the first to organize a pre-­‐‑departure gathering for FS in Nanjing. I have attended the pre-­‐‑departure gathering of the Nanjing Chapter for three times, including the most recent one, last November. I shared my own experience of my HKU exchange as well as studying and living in Canada and tips for job-­‐‑seeking in Shanghai and Japan. During all these activities, not only did I feel a sense of community with the group, but also I learnt a lot in sharing my ideas with others (Figure 28).

Fig 28: 2015 Nanjing Chapter Pre-­‐‑Departure Gathering

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Returning to the subject of my current life in Japan, I am actually swamped by my work. I thought my FS journey might have come to a stop, until Anqi TAO (FS 2012-­‐‑2013, Shanghai Jiao Tong University) whom I had once met briefly in Hong Kong, replied to one of my Facebook posts of working in Japan. To my surprise, she is currently studying in Tokyo. We soon managed to meet up and have dinner together, and enjoyed reminiscing about our time in Hong Kong. We were so busy chatting that we forgot to take a photo that time, but I am sure we will soon meet again.

Living and working in Japan without knowing Japanese is rather challenging; but on the other side, it gave me the opportunity to experience a different culture. This overseas experience unexpectedly reunited me with Anqi, and I believe I will meet more Fung Scholars during my stay in Japan. To anyone who is coming to Japan or anyone who is already in Japan, please feel free to contact me. Hope you can be the next Fung Scholar I come across in my FS journey!

Fung Scholars are almost everywhere over the world. It is fascinating how an exchange experience has connected us then and later, and people who share similar experiences, can easily make friends from there. Thank you, Fung Scholars Group! The conversations we have shared, the moments we have been through, the gatherings we had really shaped me to become who I am now, and feel that these experiences have made me a better person.

Thank you, Fung Scholars!

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EDITORIAL BOARD

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Editor-­‐‑in-­‐‑charge

Magdalena KOHUT

Writer/ Editor Tao HONG

In 2015 Magda (FS 2015-­‐‑2016, University of Oxford) was selected to participate in an internship at Hang Seng Management College, Hong Kong, an opportunity made possible by funding from the Fung Scholarship Programme.

Her work involved organizing an international symposium for architects, which focused on the topics of Sustainability and Bamboo.

Having recently completed her MChem Chemistry degree at the University of Oxford, Magda is looking forward to moving on to her graduate studies, as she works towards her Doctorate of Philosophy in Organic Synthetic Methodology at the University of Auckland, New Zealand.

In her free time, Magda enjoys yoga, salsa dancing, swimming, skiing, traveling and visiting art galleries.

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Tao (FS 2012-­‐‑2013) received his Bachelor degree in Chemistry from Nanjing University. During the last year of his undergraduate studies, he exchanged to the University of Hong Kong and then joined the Fung Scholars Family.

After graduation from Nanjing University, he went to Canada to pursue his Master’s degree in Materials Engineering at the University of British Columbia. Currently, he is working for Sony Corporation in Japan.

Writer/ Editor

Writer

Frank Bin YE

Chathuri WEERASINGHE

Frank Bin YE (FS 2011-­‐‑2012, Xiamen University) was a Fung Scholar on exchange to HKU in 2012. He is currently a PhD candidate at the University of British Columbia, studying cancer genetics. He is actively involved in science outreach, and he is a self-­‐‑confessed foodie.

Chathuri (FS 2013-­‐‑2014, Asian University for Women) is originally from Kalutara, Sri Lanka and currently lives in Bangladesh, pursuing her Bachelor’s degree at the Asian University for Women (AUW). She is a rising 3rd year student at AUW, majoring in Environmental Sciences.

She is currently the student ambassador of Sri Lanka at her university where she plays a major role in representing AUW in Sri Lanka and representing the entire AUW Sri Lankan community. She also helps the students with their residence life by being a resident assistant (RA). She is a current member/ teacher of AUW guitar club and an active member of AUW photography club.

Her favorite leisure time activity is doing photo-­‐‑walks in rural areas of Bangladesh and exploring local food.

She also enjoys spending her spare time playing guitar, listening to music and immersing herself in nature.

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Writer

Candy Chun Ming CHIK

Writer

Candy (FS 2015-­‐‑2016, The University of Hong Kong) is a recent BBA graduate and will pursue her LLB in the coming year. She became a Fung Scholar during her semester abroad at McGill University in Canada. She is a keen language learner, currently learning French and Spanish. In her spare time, she also enjoys travelling and watching movies.

Mandy Hiu Man TANG

Mandy (FS 2014-­‐‑2015, Hong Kong Baptist University’ 16) is a graduate of the business school of HKBU. In addition to her strong interest in business studies, she is also fascinated by the concept of social enterprises. During her four years of university life, she has actively participated in different case studies and competitions related to the development of social enterprises.

Involvement in these social projects has enriched her understanding of the local community and encouraged her to do more for the society. She also has a love of adventure and exploration, and likes travelling, reading literature and listening to people’s stories. Participating in the Fung Scholar Network and the “Sharing Love with the Community” project, she hopes to engage more in social services and gain insights from other devotees that share similar mindset.

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Writer

Lynn SEAH

Editor

Lynn (FS 2014-­‐‑2015, National University of Singapore) participated in an exchange to Tsinghua University in Beijing in 2015. She has just graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration (Accountancy) with Honours and is currently working as a Finance Analyst at Johnson and Johnson, Singapore.

Jennifer REDMOND

Jennifer (FS 2014-­‐‑2015, University of Oxford) was selected to represent the University of Oxford at the 2014 Beijing Normal University International Leadership Programme, an experience made possible by funding from the Fung Scholarship Programme.

She thoroughly enjoyed her experiences in Zhuhai and Beijing, working as part of a team investigating education on climate change in China and drawing comparisons with the British curriculum. The experience was unforgettable allowing a fantastic opportunity to broaden horizons, work as part of an international team and forge lasting friendships.

Having recently completed her MChem Chemistry degree at the University of Oxford, Jennifer is looking forward to moving on to her graduate studies, as she works towards her DPhil (PhD) in Physical and Theoretical Chemistry. In her free time, Jennifer enjoys swimming, rowing and getting involved with Oxford’s access and outreach initiatives.

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Writer Josy LAI

Josy (FS 2010-­‐‑2011, City University of Hong Kong ’11) was a Fung Scholar in 2010.

Josy studied Media and Communication, and Marketing at CityU for her Bachelor’s, and Translation at CUHK for her Master’s. Josy is based in Hong Kong as a journalist, media producer and musician. She is also keen on promoting environmental conservation and humanitarian aid.

Writer/ Editor Tahira TAZREEN

Tahira (FS 2014-­‐‑2015, Asian University for Women) is currently working towards undergraduate degree in Economics at Asian University for Women, Chittagong, Bangladesh and was born and brought up in the same city.

Tahira has been actively participating in various volunteer activities from the very beginning of her school life since she joined Girl Guides Association Bangladesh, and has continued doing that throughout her university life. She is an academic mentor for the students of a recently launched special project in her own university named “Pathways for Promise” which is designed for women who used to work in garment factories. There, she assists the students to gain skills in basic spoken English. In addition to this, she has also worked with visually impaired children of Chittagong while working as a member of a volunteer organization. Tahira is an active member of “Project Humans of AUW”, where she, along with other group members, interviews members of the AUW community, and posts these interviews on Facebook.

Outside of work, Tahira loves travelling and singing a lot!

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Writer

Writer

Cassie Yu Shan WONG

Kitty CHAN

Cassie (FS 2011-­‐‑2012, Hong Kong Baptist University) is a digital marketer based in Hong Kong. A keen traveller, Cassie spent her university years around the globe. After volunteering in Casablanca, Morocco, she went to Linfield College in the US for exchange study and took a winter term at New York University during the same year.

Kitty (FS 2013-­‐‑2014, Chinese University of Hong Kong) graduated in 2015 with a bachelor's degree, majoring in Translation with a minor in German. She went to University of Bonn in Germany for her exchange in 2013-­‐‑2014. She enjoys travelling and watching movies, and is interested in voluntary work.

Upon graduating in 2013 with a bachelor's degree in Computer Science and a minor in Translation, she interned at Mindshare Worldwide in London, UK. Afterwards, she returned to Hong Kong to continue her study and attained a Master's degree in Communication in 2014.

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Writer/ Editor

Writer

Writer

Kaylee BRENT

Caroline LI

Hazel HUANG

Kaylee Brent (FS 2014-­‐‑ 2015) is an MIT student majoring in Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, with a minor in Anthropology.

She has studied in Argentina and Spain and worked in England. She loves to travel and see the world through others' eyes.

Caroline (FS 2015-­‐‑2016, Zhejiang University) is a student at Zhejiang University, majoring in Finance, and is currently an exchange student at The University of Hong Kong for 2 semesters. The friends, teachers, scenery, food and all the beautiful things there have made this exchange the most exciting and memorable experience of her life.

Hazel (FS 2015-­‐‑2016, Peking University) received the Fung Scholarship in 2016. As a native of Jiangsu, Hazel studied International Economy and Trade at Peking University for her Bachelor’s degree. Out of her love for art, Hazel chose Arts as her second major.

She currently works as an HR Intern for Career International, a Chinese local human resource company. In her spare time, Hazel enjoys doing voluntary work, watching and commenting on movies, as well as visiting all kinds of art exhibitions.

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Writer

Michelle CHAN

Michelle (FS 2014-­‐‑2015, the University of Hong Kong’16) is a graduate of the law school of HKU. As much as she enjoys her school life, she is also dedicated to community service. During her time as a university student, she has participated in four overseas service trips, and she will embark on a new journey this summer for a two-­‐‑month volunteering project in Taiwan.

She has a wide range of hobbies, from photography and singing to handicrafts and playing badminton. In this warm weather, though, her favourite pastime is watching a nice movie at home with a refreshing young coconut in her hand.

Writer

Designer

Yue LU

Jia Yi NGUI

Yue (FS 2007-­‐‑2008, Sun Yat-­‐‑ Sen University) graduated in 2009 with a Bachelor's degree majoring in Chemistry. She is currently a graduate student at Washington University in St. Louis. As well as her scientific interests, she also shows great concern for social issues. In her leisure time, she enjoys reading, swimming, hiking, especially travelling.

Jia Yi (FS 2015-­‐‑2016, National University of Singapore) was an exchange student at the University of British Columbia in 2016.

She is currently doing her undergraduate studies in the National University of Singapore for a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration (Accountancy) with Honours. In her free time, she enjoys travelling and reading.

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UPCOMING ACTIVITIES

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UPCOMING EVENTS

18TH AUGUST 2016 Dialogue between youths of Europe and Hong Kong, Hong Kong

27TH AUGUST 2016 Mainland China Fung Scholars Welcome Gathering, Hong Kong

29TH – 30TH OCTOBER 2016 Fung Scholars Leadership Conference 2016, Hong Kong

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August 2016

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