CUHK Mentorship Programme 2019

Through the summer news updates, we are happy to share these memorable moments. We would like to

express our sincere gratitude for your active participation and passion. We look forward to hearing more

encouraging news and stories from you. Enjoy!

e are delighted to share the wonderful

moments from the CUMP mentees in

2019! This year, 166 mentors from

different industries provide 327 student mentees

with valuable guidance and career tips! In the past

two quarters, they have engaged in various

activities including dining, home gathering,

company visit, job shadowing, outdoor activities

and volunteer work.

Over the last quarter, I have kept close contact with mymentor. In January, my mentor invited me to attendseveral events such as a gala dinner at Hong Kong JockeyClub and a sharing session in an Information Engineeringclass about entrepreneurship. All are eye-opening experiences to me. Apart from these events, Ihave been very lucky to be involved in my mentor'sstartup company to help manage some internal projectsand collaborate with other company members, whichprovided me precious work experience and exposure toentrepreneurship and innovative ideas.

During the weekly online chats with my mentor, I alsoreceived many advice and support on both my life andwork, which inspired me to have more self-reflection onmy strengths and weaknesses. To sum up, I trulyappreciate my mentor for the sharing and opportunitieshe offered, and I have learnt a lot from him over the lastquarter.

Elsie invited me to go on a trip to Tai-O on Lantau Island.We visited several attractions and enjoyed lunchtogether. Apart from outing, I attended her CareerCoaching session and joined a workshop conducted by anNGO she has been engaged in. She shared a lot of usefulinformation about her profession and working life withme and also helped me to conduct a career-goalassessment. The result showed that ‘client-communication' may suit me best when it comes to mycareer choice. Furthermore, she gave me advice on mycover letter and resume for internships. This helped meto get two internship offers in this summer. At theworkshop, I learned how to do a self-reflectioneffectively which helped to identify my aspirations andcurrent life situation. I was encouraged to furtherexplore my strength and interests. Last but not least, mymentor also shared tips with me on networking andpresentation skills.

Mentor: Ms Elsie HUIMentee: Simone CHARLET (Global Studies)

Mentor: Mr ZHANG Shu David Mentee: LI Ruxuan (Engineering)

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Events/Activities

It was my pleasure to be invited by my mentor toparticipate in the Annual Dinner of KnowledgeManagement Development Centre. My mentor, Ir EricChan, is the Chairman of KMDC, a non-profit organizationcommitted to sharing good knowledge managementpractices. The highlight of the event was the sharing fromDr Edmund Lee, the CEO of The Hong Kong Design Center,on Design Thinking. It was an inspiring presentation and Ilearnt how other countries/regions utilize design thinkingto beautify the environment and create new values. Dr Leealso quoted a project in Hong Kong as an example. ParkDeco, which is located in Kowloon Tong and managed bythe HKSAR government, is a project of the Hong KongDesign Center. Unlike other government parks, Park Decoadopted some lively and innovative elements and wasrefurnished with unconventional style but in the meantimeretained the children playground which fulfilsgovernment's specifications. This Annual Dinner was also anetworking event where I met leaders from variousindustries. I am grateful to have the opportunity to attendthis event.

I was a voluntary helper at an event organized by Elaine'scompany. The event entitled "我好叻社區健康推廣計劃頒獎典禮 " was a prize presentation ceremony fororganizations that had participated in a governmentprogramme promoting healthy lifestyles in communities.I was in charge of escorting guest speakers from theirseats to the stage during the ceremony. I did not expectthat there were a lot of logistic issues to be taken by aminor role. For example, I had to decide when to startgiving signals to the guest speakers, which side of thestage to be used, how to send signals without blockingthe view of the audience, etc. It was eye-opening to seeso many organizations participating in a mega event, andthe impact that these organizations have made on thecommunities. At the ceremony, a team of elderlydelivered a performance on the stage. Although theperformance seemed simple, I could feel that it meant alot to them.

Mr Lee invited us to attend a dinner reception of Charter Night organised by the Rotary Club of Greater Bay Area. We met some of his mentees from other universities and honourable members from the Rotary Club. It was a fabulous evening. I learned a lot about charity work and the opportunities in the Greater Bay Area. For example, a financial scheme was established to encourage teenagers to start their own business. Mr Lee also asked us about our opinion on the current issues in HK (e.g. protests of the extradition bill) and shared his insight. His sharing was inspiring!

Mentor: Mr LEE Hon-Cheung Armstrong Mentee: LO Chi Hang (LLB)

Mentor: Ms Elaine CHANMentee: MA Yau Ka (Anthropology)

Mentor: Ir Eric CHANMentee: LO Chun Yip (Global Business Studies)

Events/Activities

Andy is always passionate and willing to share his workexperience and philosophy of success with us throughoutthe mentorship program. As head of a world-classaviation company, he invited us to visit his working place.We were deeply impressed by the complexity andsimultaneous flexibility of his office and the work system.We have never imagined that a simple pastry that wehave on flight involved numerous working proceduresand efforts beforehand. We are impressed by CathayPacific Catering’s focus on details which is the key tosuccess. After the visit, Andy treated us with first-classflight meals. During the meal, Andy had a veryenlightening conversation with us. I had a lot of newperspectives afterwards. Andy is our model and I willkeep striving for excellence and kindness!

Mentor: Mr Andy WONG Mentee: NG Pak On (English)

Our mentor Mr Andy Wong invited us to visit the office ofCathay Pacific Catering Services and its production line. Itwas a wonderful and eye-opening experience as we couldobserve the working procedures in different sectorsincluding the food preparation room, the kitchen and theautomatic food packaging system. We realized thathygiene is very important in a food production house.When it comes to aviation, hygiene also means safety,which is the priority of everything.

Andy treated us with the first-class flight meal for lunchand we learnt a lot through the discussion. One of the mostmemorable parts was that I asked Andy how he as a CEOcould manage the production and administration processwhen there are numerous issues to understand andhandle. Andy’s answer was inspiring. He said the key wasnot about managing the process, instead, it was aboutmanaging people who managed the process. As I also tookup the role of a leader in a group or committee, I alwaysrecalled his words. Furthermore, he reminded me to bemindful on interpersonal skills when I start my career. Atlast, we chatted about our school and internship life inwhich he gave a lot of useful advice.

Mentor: Mr Andy WONG Mentee: CHAN Hei Nam Alex (Hotel and

Tourism Management)

We were honoured to visit Principal Lau's secondaryschool. During the tour, I was amazed to see the schoolfacilities such as solar power boards, greenery rooftop andseveral pools. Such innovation made the schoolenvironment more comfortable. After the visit, I got thechance to observe an S4 English lesson. I learnt a lot fromthe teacher, for example, classroom management andschooling skills. This brought me back to my years ofsecondary school as I have already graduated for severalyears. After the class observation, we had lunch togetherand engaged in a wonderful chatting and sharing ondifferent issues. The gathering was fruitful and rewarding!

Mentor: Mr LAU Chi-yuenMentee: YEUNG Hoi Ching (English)

Firm visits

My mentor is Mr Wilson Lee, the Director of KerryLogistics Limited. I am most grateful to his guidance. Wehave kept close contact with Mr. Lee throughout the pastquarters. My fellow mentee and I participated in variousevents including the firm visit of warehouses of KerryLogistics, Hackathon of drone as well as Annual BusinessMatch. The Annual Business Match has long been amassive and paramount event held at Hong Kong SciencePark. In addition, we had chance to talk to Mr Lee’scolleagues and understood the irreplaceable role ofKerry Logistics in local and external logistics.

I also learnt that the operation of logistics and foundthat it is not only limited to transportation but alsotrading and port management. It deepened myunderstanding of the logistics industry. I enjoyed talkingto Mr Lee and understood more about the utmostimportance of logistics development of Hong Kong. Morevitally, I was able to observe the latest achievements oftechnology in warehouses via firm visit. I am mostdelighted and proud to be the mentee of such anoutstanding mentor who always eagers to pursuit highachievement in his profession. I look forward to meetingMr Lee again and learning more from his experiences."

My fellow mentee Isabel and I visited the office of ourmentor, Ms Ivy Cheng, in Causeway Bay as our firstgathering. Ivy was very kind and treated us with hercompany’s new green tea product. Isabel and I thenintroduced ourselves and shared the reasons for joiningthe CUMP, our interests, current engagements andfuture goals. Ivy was willing to listen to our sharing andgave positive and insightful feedback to us.

After that, Ivy started introducing her job and life. As aglobal cosmetic corporation, Amorepacific concernsabout the value of each staff. In order to allow staff tounleash their potential, the company has taken theinitiative to implement an employee-friendly workingenvironment. Also, as the Head of Human Resources, Ivystressed the importance of talent development. Hersharing inspired me a lot especially on the aspect of howa company can build a pleasant environment with allthese innovative practices.

As an experienced professional in the HR field for years,Ivy also shared how she assisted her former menteeswith their career development, including CV writing andinterview skills. We concluded the meeting by takingphotos at the entrance of Amorepacific. We agreed tohave dining together in the next gathering shortly. It wasa great experience and we look forward to meeting heragain!

Mentor: Ms Ivy CHENG Mentee: CHIU Jin (LLB)

Mentor: Mr LEE Wai Shun Wilson Mentee: TANG Chung Fung (Geography and Resource Management)

Firm visits

A visit to Conrad Hong Kong had deepened my knowledgein hotel management. I enjoyed exchanging ideas with mymentor Ms Ada Wong and fellow mentees when we haddinner at one of the restaurants at Conrad. Although I amnot studying in hotel management, the conversationallowed me to understand the structure, employment andbusiness strategy of the hotel from the perspectives ofprofessionals. It was also inspiring when our mentorshared her story in the hospitality industry whichstimulated me to think about my future career path.

During our visit, the Asia Contemporary Art Show, aninternational art exhibition, was held at the guestrooms.Watching an oil painting in the bathroom was definitely aninteresting experience. Not only did we admire thepainting, sculptures and photography, but we alsoengaged in the dialogue with the artists from Asia-Pacific.

The exhibition provided me with a new perspective on thevalue of a hotel. I had never thought that the guestroomscould be converted into the exhibition areas in the daytimewhile they remained as the accommodation for artists atnight. I learnt that resources were not confined to servesolely for their original purpose. Instead, effectivemanagement and creativity allowed us to explore multiplefunctions of the resources, enhancing the profit andvitality of the hotel.

Mentor: Ms Ada WONGMentee: TANG Pui Chi (Global Studies)

I had an afternoon tea with Agnes and her former menteesat the football club. It was a very valuable experience forme because I could have the chance to meet and talk withthe seniors of different backgrounds and listen to theirsharing of their work experience. Some of them have beenworking in banks for years while others in projectmanagement firm and hospital. I felt very lucky that I canlisten to the sharing of such diverse work experiences atone time. Their sharing helped me to understand moreabout the working world and inspired me on my careerplanning. Besides, we also had some interesting discussionon various topics ranging from wine tasting to fair trade.This lunch meet up provided me with a platform to learnnew things. It was eye-opening. I enjoyed this kind ofmentoring in which mentees in different disciplines canlearn from each other.

Mentor: Ms Agnes NARDI Mentee: LUK Chi Ying (Geography and Resource Management)

Dining

I had my first gathering with my mentor Ms Margaret Soin March. Ms So is the former Director of theRecruitment and Resourcing, Human ResourcesDepartment of KPMG. During our gathering, wediscussed a lot of things from travelling to careerplanning. KPMG has always been a company that I amvery interested in working for. However, I do not quiteunderstand about the functions of the three majorbusiness sectors of KPMG: advisory, taxation, andauditing.

I particularly wish to know about the role of the advisorysector. Therefore, at the beginning of the gathering, Igrasped this golden opportunity to ask Ms So about thedifference between the three major business sectors ofKPMG. She told me that the advisory sector of KPMG issimilar to the consulting business. However, employeesworking in that sector must have very solid skills in bothtaxation and auditing so that they can give appropriateadvice to their clients. I was told that the advisory sectorwas less likely to consider external candidates.

Moreover, Ms So emphasized the importance ofdeveloping good interpersonal and communicationskills. These two skills were equally essential to secure asuccessful career. At the end of our gathering, Ms Soasked me whether I have participated in anyextracurricular activities. She told me the importance ofparticipating in extracurricular activities and communityservices as it demonstrates good time management skilland shows my care to the society.

It was indeed a fruitful gathering. I can’t wait for ournext meet up!

Our gathering took place at a restaurant in Tsim Sha Tsui. Inthe gathering, our mentor Mr. Jackie Chiu shared his lifestory and gave us valuable advice.

Mr Chiu is a CUHK alumnus majoring in Biochemistry. Duringhis school days, Mr Chiu read newspapers every day and thishabit was built since he was in high school. This soundssurprising as we cannot understand the purpose of readingnewspaper and it seemed very time-consuming. He stressedthat reading newspapers helps him to gain knowledge of theworld and learn the experience of successful people. As achief relationship manager, he told us “Enhancing yourknowledge in different industries enables you to build upinterpersonal relationship . For instance, if you have a solidgrasp on technology and engineering, you will find it easierto talk with engineers. Therefore, as we accumulate andexpand our knowledge, we can also develop close ties withpeople in different backgrounds.”

Apart from school life, we were curious about how Mr Chiustarted his career. He said he embarked his career on thefinancial field as he found that the booming financialindustry was interesting. From a trainee in a bank to thechief relationship manager at Bank of Communications, hiscareer is a journey of self-improvement. While we asked MrChiu how he developed the skills needed in his role of aChief Manager, he advised us to learn from reading andapply the theories in real life. He also stressed that weshould not let go of any practising opportunities in order toimprove our skills.

In terms of life advice, he suggested us to do the things weenjoy. When encountering problems, we should not let thoseproblems become our obstacle but find solutions to solve it.Another advice that he shared is to “think like a rich guy”.He said that, from his experience, he found that the richhave different mindset from the others. As you think like arich guy, you will see the world in different aspects anddevote different actions. To conclude, Mr Jackie Chiuadvised us on university life, career prospect and moralvalues. The gathering was very meaningful.

Mentor: Ms Margaret SO Mentee: TSAI Yi Jen (Integrated BBA)

Mentor: Mr Jackie CHIUMentee: SUMRITH Thanadol (IBBA)

Dining

I have taken the initiative in organizing a dinnergathering with my fellow mentees and mentor. We dinedout at a restaurant in Tsim Sha Tsui. At the gathering, Ilearnt to be more outgoing and active in approaching myfellow teammates and mentor. Since I am the only onewho study psychology in the group, I seldom meet othermentees during school days. Therefore, I found that Ishould be more sociable and proactive in order to buildup a new friendship.

In addition, I learnt more about the opportunities that Ernst and Young are giving to university students. Peter suggested us to form a team for business real-case competition. I was inspired by him and considered participating in it in the following semester in order to gain some hands-on experience in business field. Peter is a very talkative mentor and willing to share a lot of meaningful information and his school life with us.

We visited Dr Chung's home to have a dinner gathering.She prepared several dishes for us. As we knew that herbirthday is approaching, we brought a birthday cake andpresented a birthday card to Dr Chung. During the dinner,she shared her experience with us, including her personalexperience to fight with her illness, her medical centreand her family. She told us about the reasons for choosingher career path and the future direction. She also told us afew stories about her patients which were very impressiveand amazing. She gave us different advice and askedabout our lives. She was very nice and very supportive ofus. I hope that in the future, I can also help others in myjob. Although I am not the frontline medical staff, I wish Icould help the patients in other ways, for example, byproposing better medical policy or program.

Mentor: Dr CHUNG Wai Ling Margaret Mentee: TO Yuet Ying (Public Health)

Mentor: Mr Peter CHAN Mentee: CHOW Sau Nam (Psychology)

We had a casual gathering with my mentor, Mr Tong ManChung Jacky and other fellow mentees. We talked aboutvarious issues ranging from school life, career aspirationsto current issues. Mr Tong is a caring mentor who gave mea lot of good advice on my questions and problems. Forexample, he taught me how to better adapt to the newenvironment during my exchange.

He also shared stories and experiences of his life, such ashow to deal with parents, students and other staff inschools, as well as how to teach students more effectively.Moreover, he gave me some suggestions on my pursuit ofbeing an Educational Psychologist and how a student inpsychology has an edge over competitors in otherdisciplines. I really benefitted a lot from this gathering. Ilook forward to chatting with Mr. Tong again soon.

Mentor: Mr TONG Man Chung Jacky Mentee: WONG Kwan Tat (Psychology)

Dining

Happy moments of CUMP 2019

Thank you mentors for your valuable guidance andgrooming! We look forward to receiving more fruitfulsharing from our students! Please continue to supportus!