Chancellor, Chairman of the Council, Friends and Colleagues, Graduates and Parents -
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In the spring of 1088, the Hong Kong IJST Council was officially inaugmted. The Inauguration IXnner was a formal affair. and hundreds of distinguished guests decked out in black tie and gowns came, presumaldy to hea the president-designate expound his theory of education and technology. What they heard, however, was a speech entitled “Profile of a Graduate”, the story of I.0 Wilzg hi’z~tzg. who graduated from IJST in 1006, and his girlfriend Carol. an MBA student at UST.
The story, set in the year 2001, lqan with Wing Keung on the way to his alma mater, where hc hat1 heen pursuing applied research for a joint venture. On his way, he reminisced u4th sweet feelings about his years at IJST and his life afttar graduation.
Let me hasten to 3cld that these sweet feelings did not rdllect colorful student-day experiences. Nor did they reflect the career successes which follo~d. They arose from his knowledge that, right at that moment, Carol was waiting for llis arrival at the campus entrance.
They intended to take a quiet wdk past the w~lterfall hefore she went off to ;l seminar in ha MEA program.
The story I told recounted that back in 1996, right after his graduation, Wing Keung had gone to work for a technology-leased company called Logitron. Three years later. in l<)()(), he had accepted ;I company assignment to work in 21 joint venture with the [Jniversity‘s Technology Transfer Center. Without the benefit of graduate training, Wing Keung had to learn on the joI>, firsthand, how to take acadendc research through product development to nl~inu~lcturing. The project had advanced rapidly. A nlere two years later, in 2001, Wing Keung felt that he was ready to spin off ;I sul>sidiary for Logitron, sharing equity with the Llniversity’s K&l> 13ranch.
It \vas during his tenure at the Technology Transfer Center that hc had fallen in love with Carol. And vice versa.
Now. please close your eyes so that you can travel through time to the year 2001. Let us rcnlinisce alongside Wing Keung and Carol. First, howecer, let nle inform you that Carol now prefers to 1~ called by her Chinese name: El.\./idzr.
Wing Keung vividly recalls the pressclrc of study throughout his tllree college years.
In secondary school he had been a good athlete, and had hoped to represent Hong Kong son~eclay in the All-China [Jniversity Sports Meet; but it had not taken long for him to realize that he would halve to gi\e up practising in order to finish his clad>, holne\vork and prepare for the frequent quizzes.
Cultural :ictivities hcl lwen alniost non-existent, causing liiiil to feel inadequate when discussions cvith non-local students turned to\vards the arts. Tllere had ken little time. too, for student societies. Me had ~~onclerecl liou~ lie and his fellow stildents coulcl learn al,out Democratic self-governance and e\~entually t:tke part in “Hong Kong people governing Iiong Kong”.
Jidu recills the pressure of study in ;i different way. Her father is ;i junior civil sen3nt.
Her nlother is ;I textile \\,orker \vho lost her jol> in the arly 1990s when the factory that eniployed licr moved across tile l~order. Iidii’s secondary sc~hool days had I,ccn difficult - particularly 13ec:iuse her parents, being very Chinese, wc’rc deterinined to save up cvcm in times of financial hardship so 21s to IX alie to send her to c~dlege. They cvere overjoyed when Iialu was admitted to the Chinese lJniversity of Hong Kong in 1007. She chose to nujor in
histoiy - not quite llcr parents’ choice, biit college M~is college, and they u’ere happy l~cause studying histoq made her happy.
She matured. Hong Kong l>eing Hong Kong, she l~canle pragmatic. As an only child, she considcrcd it her oldigation to clioose ;I career that woiild gii:irantee ;I good income - and thus ;I conifortal3le living for her parents. So. while jialii thoroughly enjoyed her history classes at CtJ, which were well taught zncl most stimulating . she took up other subjects on the side. to prepare herself for entrance to I3iisiness school.
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Everyone was then talking about the School of Business and Management at UST, in particular its MHA course with a China orientation - a program difficult to get into, even with a GMAT score of 625. Since her primary scl~ool days, Jialu had enjoyed playing the piano and writing short stories, but she quickly realized that there would be little time for either if she wanted to get into that MBA program at UST.
Frankly, what she had hard about LJST did not really excite her. IJST sounded like an institution where the rule was all work and no play. The place was runmred to be like an IBM research laboratory, where “nerds wearing thick lenses walked mm-d in white coats carrying laptop computers and conversing in matlleiiiati~s.”
Well, it has turned out to 1~ ;l totally pleasant surprise. As a campus resident since landing in UST ;1 year ago, in the year 2000, she has found that faculty rnemlm-s and students mingle 3 lot outside the classrooni, discussing issues in world affiiirs and music almost 3s much as finance or physics. The Center for the Arts, estat~lished back in 1996, provides enlightenment 3rd entertainment for the students, as well as iiiircli-appreciated cultural stimulation for the staff and their families. That the Center’s activities wo~11d have so quickly turned LJST
The
into one of I -Iong Kong’s cultural focd points wa beyond cveiyone’s expectation.
hillside and waterfront amenities, the pavilions, and the watcrfiill - where she spends consider3lde time with Win g Keung these days - allow beauty, poetry, and romance to cntcr the students’ awareness. The ancient Shaw Family Village - actually just a snull reconstructed nlovie set at the end of ;I winding path leading southwards from the I Jniversity Center - recounts Hong Kong’s history as a nujor center of film industry. Sculptures don:~ted by European and Asian friends of the IJniversity are collected in snull gardens sprinkled all o\rer the campus. Harmony prevails wherever Chinese 2nd international heritages meet.
Jialu has learned frown Wing Keung that plans to make IJST more genteel, nlore cultural, nlorc Chinese. and more international had gotten under way in 1905-96. Apparently the changes had conle quickly. By 1999, the pron+d improvements had all materialized.
and this “no-nonsense teaching and research institution” - as it was once referred to, with pride though not ;i little wistfulness - had flourished and l~~oine 3 full-fledged z~~~i2vmi()f in every sense of that word. Slit is genuinely happy to be living in paradise.
1%titularly satisfying to both Wing Keung and &llu is that the post-1997 Government.
in response to persistent outcries in the coiniiiunity, has decided to inove towards ;i four-year undergraduate system. Finally, the undergraduates of today will have roonl to think nlore deeply, pursue intellectud questions, broaden their horizons, participate in cultural events and sports, and engage in student activities. They art now ~nuch nlore likely to IXYO~X the hl*oacl~~~ c~dlrcatedpl-c!ji~.s.siol2al.s allcl ztrll-~-ol~l~ctc~~~ citizcxs depicted .it the Council’s Inaug:u- ration Dinner back in 1988.
Wing Keung recalls a rumor that had gone around in 1906, to the effect that the triennium ludget for tertiary institutions was to he dealt ;I nujor reduction. Fortunately.
education and technology had been idcntificd by the neurborn SAK Govcrnmcnt ~1s the cornerstone and engine of Hong Kong:‘s econonlic gro\%di :d democratic governance - and thus rightful targets for increasccl public investment. Thea snldl ixdget cwt had been nlore than niade up by new’ funding to support areas of cxcelltmce. Indeed. significant new investments lud been iiiade to llelp upgrade priinaiy and seconci:iry education , and to further strengthen Hong Kong’s cyapacity for research and development. Sure enough. education and technology noun give Hong Kong ;I strong platform for her liftoff into the List century.
Working in the Technology Transfer Center has given Wing Kcung the opportunit), to gt>t to kno\\’ ;I number of professors mtl graduate students. He is impressed that pl-ac*tic:llIy 41 of the senior professors ~‘110 came to co-found IJST in the early 3990s are still here ;I clccade later. He is ,sorry to see, howe\ er, the loss of soiiie young ;lssistant professors - t\\‘o had been lured away 131, the Ilnivcrsity of California at Herkeley arounci the time of his graduation. Pat aftc‘r recruiting so ninny good scholars ab’ay froin leadin g American universities, it’s probably onl~~ fair, lie figures, to gi\ c back ;I fc\\r. That’s INNS it is in academic life, he explains to _lialu, and that it is not totally unflattering to compete in the salne league as 13crkeley. You win sonle and lose soiiie. Exciting.
Of the g’;idii;itc students in his research group. tu’o are ; ibout to complete their PliI)
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dissertations. Both of them - one local and one from the Mainland - have good job offers waiting for them in Hong Kong’s newly spawned high-tech industry. A young German from Stuttgart who came under the aegis of IJST’s German Center is now in his third year of I’hD research, and is being hotly pursued by a number of German corporations interested in strengthening their activities in the South China manufacturing region. Two French students joined the group just a month :igo. Wing Keung now appreciates why the University administration was so eager to forge strong links with Europe, and why, in turn, all the European consuls-general here have been so supportive of IJST’s Europe Institute.
The [Jniversity’s joint laboratories with the Chinese Academy of Sciences - 1,~ now seven in number - have attracted talent from the Mainland and everywhere else. Graduate students, postdocs, and other research staff have come from North America as well as from LJST’s sister universities in .Japan, Korea, the Chinese Mainland, and Taiwan, all meml,ers of the elite Association of East Asian Research ITniversities. Many of them say they want to remain in Hong Kong after their study, to work in universities or multinational corporations and join their colleagues as Hongkongers in this dynamic and ever-l>ooming international city.
But now the time has come for Wing Kecmg and Jialu to plan the next step in their lives. Wing Keung’s spin-off company will require his full attention. His energy should be focused on the technology, for technology is the locus of his strength. Yet someone competent and totally relide will have to attend to the managerial side of the start-up. _Jialu, he sighs; Jialu will surely 1~ happy to work by his side. She will have completed her MBA in ;I year. They will get married right away. She will then 1,~ in 21 perfect position to manage the company for ;I year or two before settling down to raise a family. Tea for two. ;I boy and a girl. and all that. Yes, he is certainly grateful that _Jialu is there for him.
Friends, I’d hate to end today’s stoly on an uncertain note - hut, ah, you don’t know Jialu. As Win I, 1 K eung and ]ialu walk hand-in-hand against the rainbow-spanned hackdrop
of Port Shelter’s blue water and green isles, Jialu cannot wait to tell Wing Keung her latest decision. She has fallen victim to the lure of academic life. and has made up her mind to pursue a doctoral degree in marketing with ;I China orientation, followed l>y ;I university teaching and research career. She will not legume rich, but her income will IX adequate to give her parents a reasonatdy good livin g. She is sure that Wing Keung will IX just as thrilled to have a professor in the family 21s her parents, and will support her financially through ;I few more difficult years. Yes, she is certainly grateful that Wing Keung is there for her.
A conflict is brewing. You know it. I know it. Win g Keung and Jialu do loot. Will the conflict 1~ resolved? Hozl’will it be resolved’! Well, for the continuing saga of Wing Keung and Jialu, we’ll have to Msait for another episode.
Now, when you open your eyes, suddenly it is 1996 again. Look to your left: Lo Wing Keung is sitting quietly among his fellow ,qduating students, un;iware of the future being laid out for him on this podium. Fzu Iialu, still known 21s Cad in 1006, is, of course, 21s yet nowhere to 1~ found.
Each of you in the ceremony here today is 3 Wing Keung, or a Iialu. Each of you will find exciting things to pursue, conflicts to resolve. and achievements to make your own. Your future will be shaped by how well your dedicated professors have prepared you. by how hard and intelligently you have learned and will continue to learn, and, ultimately, 1,~ the strength of your individilal will and character. We gather here today to congratulate you on your
~i~~oiiiplisliiiients, and to wish you health. success, and happiness in the years to come.
CITATION FOR
MR VINCENT H. S. LO
Mr Chairman:
“We believe that perfection is the goal for every effort and that the determination to improve and innovate is ;I constant stimulus and challenge.”
I quote from the corporate mission statement of the Shui On Group, of which Mr VINCENT H. S. LO, whom we honour here today, is Chairman and Chief Executive.
The Shui On Group, which Vincent Lo founded in 1971, is one of Hong Kong’s most significant young enterprises, engaged in property investment and development, construc- tion, and construction materials in Hong Kong, China and North America.
This large, and diverse, company has been built up through its founder’s single- minded drive for excellence, and commitment to training and development. Vincent Lo has striven to provide a working environment in which his staff, at all levels, can excel and develop and be eager to stay and grow with the company. By recognising that people are 3 company’s most important asset, he has created a corporate culture which attracts, develops and trains people of high professional competence and personal integrity. The management philosophy he has evolved, one of participation rather than top-down direction, encourages and rewards merit and team effort, and fosters pride in achievement. A comprehensive network of informal communication, with decision-making at all levels, leads to a sense of trust within the company, and of Idonging to the company.
Vincent Lo’s personal commitment to people has led to his strong engagement in public service and community affairs. He has served on numerous high-level committees, including the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, the Federation of Hong Kong Industries, the Hong Kong Management Association, the Land Development Corporation, and the Basic Law Consultative Committee. From 1991 to 1992, he was Chairman of the Hong Kong Chamber of Commerce.
At present, he is a IX-ector of the Community Chest of Hong Kong, and a Member of the Airport Authority. As a current member of the Governor’s Business Council, and President of the Business and professional Federation of Hong Kong, he has made important contributions to the commercial life of Hong Kong.
He is also a Hong Kong Affairs Adviser to the Chinese State Council’s Office of Hong Kong and Macao Affairs, and a member of the Preparatory Committee for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
With his commitment to, a-d interest in, education, he was a member of the Council of Hong Kong Baptist College from 1987 to 1989. During the crucial planning stages of our own IJniversity, from 1988 to 1990, he was a member of our Council, and he is currently 3 member of our Court.
Vincent Lo firmly believes that work should be enjoyable, not merely 3 necessity. And he has put his belief into practice. He has created an enterprise where this philosophy is not only enshrined in its mission statement, but also evidenced on a daily basis throughout his company.
Mr Chairman, it is my pleasure, on b&df of the IJniversity, to recommend Mr Vincent H. S. Lo, Chairman and Chief Executive of Shui On Group, and one of Hong Kong’s most innovative entrepreneurs, for the degree of Doctor of Business Administration honoris cause.
CITATION FOR