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The HKU Postgraduate Campus Life Survey
To address issues which PGSA can help to improve so that the campus life of postgraduates in HKU can be enhanced,
we conducted a HKU postgraduate Campus Life Survey earlier in Jun 2014. The results of the survey are also published
on our website.
Demographics
Newsletter
Newsletter 2013/2014
The HIGHLIGHTS The
An organization of the postgraduates, by the postgraduates, and for the postgraduates.
2013/2014 The Newsletter
Majority are satisfied with their
academic life and did not face any
problems in their study.
We will help to address the problems
raised (major problems include
language, writing, coursework and
workload).
29% are not sure or not aware of whom
to seek help from. We will work on this
to provide more detailed information.
As a rule of thumb, look for:
1. Graduate School (for academic
related issues, including issues with
supervisor. In some cases, they may
refer you to the faculty office)
2. CEDARS (for non-academic issues
including accommodation and campus
life)
3. PGSA (for advice on whom to seek
for. We, as a collective of students with
experience in HKU can help in giving
advice on whom to seek for and at the
same time help to communicate with
the relevant personnel)
Majority are satisfied with life in HKU
overall, we will help to address the
problems raised (problems include
social life, accommodation and
canteen).
2013/2014 The Newsletter
Majority have small social circle and
wish to enlarge their social circle.
PGSA has been organizing various
social activities and we will continue to
provide more activities for
postgraduates to enlarge their social
circle and make more friends.
27% felt that language is a problem in
HKU, majority of these are Cantonese
related, followed by English, and then
Mandarin.
24% felt that their income is not
enough for living and tuition fees.
Besides those that do not have an
income, accommodation appears to be
the problem for those who did not get
hall on campus. We will keep an eye
on the rate of PGS as well.
2013/2014 The Newsletter
21% encountered accommodation
problems. Problems include hall
application (unclear process and little
transparency) and high rental (for off
campus).
1 being very dissatisfied
5 being very satisfied
2013/2014 The Newsletter
We also gathered useful feedbacks and suggestions from fellow postgraduates. These suggestions include constructive
feedbacks for past activities, suggestions on activities and services that PGSA can provide, as well as how PGSA can
better serve the postgraduates. We also note that there are some areas that we can improve and we thrive to make them
better. We will look at and work on the issues and problems. For the issues that involve the university, we will
communicate with the relevant personnel directly and through the representatives in various university committees. We
thank you for your participation and together we can enhance the campus life of postgraduates in HKU. If you have any
further feedbacks or wish to talk to us, feel free to do so by dropping us an email.
PGSA Orientation 2013
PGSA Orientation, one of the biggest events in the coming academic year, was launched at the beginning of the new
semester. The orientation program included several activities.
HKU CEDARS Orientation 2013 – Parallel Session for PGSA was held on August 30, 2013. General information about
HKU and PGSA was introduced to new postgraduate students during the session. Professor Ben Young, the Assistant
Dean of Graduate School gave a welcome speech to briefly introduce the postgraduate life in HKU. Ms. Yu Miaomiao, the
President of PGSA, gave lecture about the history and nature of PGSA as well as the current Executive Committee and
the planning of activities in 2013-2014. Mr. Xu Siyang, the outgoing President reviewed the previous activities held by
PGSA during 2012-2013 and shared experience and tips of HK and HKU life. Ms. Elaine Chan, the Clinical Psychologist
of CoPE, introduced the service of CoPE, including the person enrichment workshops and programs.
During the orientation, PGSA set up counter at Run Run Shaw Podium for New Member Recruitment. The PGSA Member
Online Registration System was opened to use this year. PGSA’s first formal membership cards were distributed among
our members from this year. With the effort of EXCOs and helpers, PGSA recruited about 450 members this year. All new
members received Welcome bags which contained PGSA notepad, PGSA envelop and other souvenirs.
The Notebook Ownership Programme continued to run this year. It provided considerable discount of notebook to all
postgraduate students. Three phrases of roadshow were held on campus during September. Online order system was
also available. The notebooks can be collected started from October.
72 new members joined the City Tour on September 7, 2013. It was a small trip started from the east gate of HKU, then to
central, and ended at the Stanley Bay. This tour helped the newly admitted postgraduate students to explore the beauty of
Hong Kong.
2013/2014 The Newsletter
About 90 new members participated in the Welcome Party which was held in Global Lounge on September 9. With the
interesting small games, the party provided a good chance for new postgraduate students to meet new friends and to get
to know each other.
2013/2014 The Newsletter
Sparking Biotech Innovation in South China: What Role Does Hong Kong Play?
The Great Learning Forum entitled “Sparking Biotech
Innovation in South China: What Role Does Hong Kong
Play?” was co-organized by PGSA and OBR-HK chapter
and held on Tuesday, 29th April, 2014 in the Rayson
Huang Theatre at the University of Hong Kong. We
brought together venture capitalists, industry leaders and
entrepreneurs from both Hong Kong and Mainland
China. Here are the panel members: Reinhard
Renneberg, Professor in biotechnology in HKUST;
Stephen Lee, Partner in Ventac Partners; Eddie Ching,
Manager in Biotech Cluster, Hong Kong Science &
Technology Parks Corporation; Xueping Chen, Co-
founder, Director and CTO in
Vitargent International Biotechnology
Limited; Mingjie Zhang, President in
Shenzhen HANK Bioengineering
Limited. The panel discussion was
followed by a networking reception
with food and refreshments. With
students, postdocs, and faculty from
HKU, HKUST and HKCU, as well as
industry professionals from local
startups, biotech companies, and
venture capital firms, this event
provided an amazing opportunity for
all to have a freely open discussion on
the future of biotech in Hong Kong.
Dating Workshop for Postgraduate Students
Are you longing for a dating relationship? Are your clear about what you expect in a relationship? In April 2014, PGSA
invited Ms Elaine Chan, Ms Olivia Jung and Heidi Tseng from CEDARS to provide a dating workshop for our postgraduate
students. In this three-hour workshop, Ms Chan provided professional advices on how to develop and maintain a healthy
relationship with one’s boyfriend/girlfriend, and answer to the questions in a relationship. Fellow postgraduates students
got know more about (i) how to get a better self-understanding about expectation on lover relationship, (ii) gender
differences and (iii) communication and interpersonal skills.
2013/2014 The Newsletter
Crossing Borders with Dance
In April 2014, the Postgraduate Student Association (PGSA) in association with CEDARS presented “Crossing
Borders with Dance”, a unique dance workshop series. We had invited dance professionals from Indian Dance, Belly
Dance and African Dance to organize workshops at HKU for free!
Below are short descriptions of our dance instructors and photos from our dance classes:
Indian Dance
Oxana Banshikova is a
Bharatnatyam performer, teacher
and choreographer from
Kazakhstan. She is a scholarship
recipient from the Indian Council
for Cultural Relations and was
awarded a Diploma in
Bharatnatyam Classical Dance
from the world famous Kalakshetra
College of Fine Arts (Chennai,
India) after completing a four-year
course. She has also received a
diploma in Nattuvangam (rhythmic
dance accompaniment) from
Kalapeetam Music School
(Chennai, India).
African Dance
Oulami Sooj, established in early
2005, the African Drumming and
Dance Connection Company was
set up to inspire people to learn
about African culture and art, with
a mission to honour African
rhythms, make beautiful music and
dance. Director Makha Diop was
born and raised in Senegal, West
Africa where he grew up playing
djembe, a traditional African drum,
and other percussion instruments.
Makha progressed quickly with his
drumming and soon became a
member of the Africa Djembe
group. This unique and talented
group of drummers regularly plays
at local and international festivals,
and has performed in front of many
famous people, including Bill
Clinton, Nelson Mandela and Pope
John Paul the second, who visited
Makha's hometown, Goree Island.
Belly Dance
Suzette Ackermann was born in
Durban, on the East coast of South
Africa. She found her passion in
dance, theatre and music from a
young age. She started her dance
training in ballet and later moved
on to modern and contemporary
stage, while studying theatre.
Suzette is well known for having
her own personal style, a blend of
traditional with new. She believes
that dance is a celebration of life, a
way of expressing oneself through
movement in a more artistic way,
rather than dancing for ego or
competing to be the best.
2013/2014 The Newsletter
“Insight of Financial Sector” – Youth Career Development Forum
Do you aspire to join the financial sector and want to know the career tips about it? Do you want to set up you own
business after graduate? Staying and studying (and for most locals growing up) in Hong Kong, we are all familiar with the
sector as Hong Kong is the financial hub in Asia and one of the top world financial centres. For many graduates, financial
sector is their first aim in career.
In this forum, postgraduates have met the tycoons in the industry. The speakers shared their successful experience from
practice and offered advice for entering the sector in career planning. Moreover, they offered their view on the
development of financial sector in the post-financial-crisis period. For those who have interest in setting up a business,
they could also find out how investors assess a new business.
Below is the list of guest speakers:
1. Mr. Fang Fang (方方), Former Asia Vice Chairman and CEO of China, J.P. Morgan Investment Banking;
2. Mr. Zeng Xiaosong (曾曉松), Partner and Head Greenwoods Asset Management Hong Kong;
3. Ms. Yang Xiaodan (楊小丹), Assistant General Manager, China Life (Overseas);
4. Ms. Ren Pinjie (任頻捷), Co-founder, Talker Inc;
5. Mr Hou Anyang(侯安揚), Investment director of Front Sea Asset Management Ltd. In Shenzhen;
6. Ms Candice CHEUNG, Senior Student Advising Officer, CEDARS, HKU
2013/2014 The Newsletter
HKU-PGSA Career Workshop: Step on Career Path in Hong Kong
It’s our common desire to start our career in Hong
Kong after graduation. However, few of our
postgraduates are able to achieve this goal when leaving
the university. Hence, Postgraduate Student Association
organized PGSA career workshop & alumni sharing in
December 2013 to help current postgraduates and
provided career-related resources and experience. We
invited Mrs. Jean Brokeshire, Chief Student Advising
Officer from CEDARS, to give us a plenary talk about
resources and guidance in job hunting.
Lots of data and statistics were included in her lecture
concerning past employment status of postgraduates.
Candidate employers of postgraduates from different
disciplines were also listed in the presentation. The
information she conveyed was so popular that we
needed to provide a Google Drive link to share her
presentation slides with the audience.
Our second speaker was Mr. Liu Dongbai from
Gangpiaoquan. After introducing activities held by
Gangpiaoquan, he also shared personal experience as a
graduate from Hong Kong Baptist University and how he
managed to find a job in HK. Also, he gave advice for
fresh graduates to set sail for career. After tea break, all
participants were grouped together with our six alumni,
who shared their experience and perspectives in job
hunting, and exchanged their views on issues of
common interest. The workshop started from 10am and
ended three and half hours later, about 90
postgraduates were attracted to join our event, which is
rare for an activity held in Sunday morning, especially
during examination period.
With the positive feedbacks from audience, such service
by PGSA career workshop will be continued in the
coming semester. See you there, dear friends!
2013/2014 The Newsletter
The Volunteer team
The social program office of HKU PGSA established a
volunteer team in March, 2014 to set up a close link with
society and try to serve the community at large. We
encouraged students to involve in community services,
environment protection and so on actively through
joining our team. In one way, students are taught how to
apply their professional knowledge and skills to the
public and also, they share the spirits of sacrifice and
devotion. This team at the same time is treated as good
image and reputation of PGSA, like a window to the
outside.
After sending out enrollment form to all postgraduates,
we got hundreds of responses and only 50 of people
were admitted to the team by our selection criteria. The
finalists are not only the students who are keen on
volunteer work and willing to sacrifice, but also the ones
who are capable in the planning, organization and
implementation of the service projects.
By far we have successfully held several activities since
its establishment; here we concluded some highlights of
them.
Glass Bottles Recycling in Lan Kwai Fong
Environmental protection is a practice of protecting the
natural environment on individual, organizational or
governmental levels, for the benefit of both the natural
environment and humans. In HK, there is a fact that the
landfills are almost full and it is appreciated if all the
wastes can be recycled. Under the cooperation with “2G
Together” (同心網絡), our first activity "玻璃回收建明天"
was held on 4th, April. With the instruction under the
responsible officers from them, we collected about 1T
empty bottles and had a better understanding about how
does bottle recycling function in HK.
Here is a link for you all to know about this project:
http://glassrecycling.hk/
Recycled Glass Bottles Painting Workshop
It is essential to cultivate the children with awareness of
environment protection so that we conduct a painting
workshop by using our recycled glass bottles. Our
second activity " 玻璃繪畫工作坊" was held on 12th April.
After all our team members gathered in Sai Wan, we
helped to initiate the workshop beside the road. The
responsible officer from "同心網絡" gave us a briefing
before the formal commence and then allocated us the
duty according to our preference. Some of us were
charge of the project promotion to the public, while
others were helping in color drawing with children. Our
activity ended up in the afternoon and the children were
very satisfied with this meaningful workshop.
2013/2014 The Newsletter
Easter Egg Painting Workshop on Easter Day
With the quickening pace of daily life, parents spend
fewer and fewer time with their children. In order to
enhance their accompanying time, we conduct a
painting workshop again for children on Easter Day.
The activity was to assist the kids paint their own
Easter Egg at Sai Ying Pun Community Complex. 15
of us joined to work with other local service crew to
deliver this workshop. Four sessions of painting were
carried out from 11 am to 5 pm with near 100 children
participated. Everybody there including the kids, their
parents and also ourselves enjoyed the process a lot,
you can see their happy faces in images attached
below.
Community Service
Community service allows those participating to reflect
on the difference they are making in society. Some
participants of a community service project may find
themselves gaining a greater understanding of their
roles in the community, as well as the impact of their
contributions towards those in need of service. With a
land mass of 1,104 km2 and a population of over seven
million people, Hong Kong is one of the most densely
populated areas in the world. Hong Kong's population is
93.6% ethnic Chinese and 6.4% from other groups. The
unison for people from diverse races is an important part
in the community and this time we hold a community
unison party to enhance the relationship and create a
favorable atmosphere for people coming from different
countries living in Hong Kong Island (mainly living in the
Centre, Sai Wan and Sheung Wan). This time, the
activity is sponsored by HSBC(Hong Kong and Shang
Hai Banking Corporation), 2GTOGETHER(同心網絡 ),
YWCA(Young Women's Christian Association) and so
on. In the party there are dancing & singing performance,
games, instant photography and the work for volunteers
are props preparation, game place arrangements, event
photographing etc.
We are looking forward to your participants in us upon
our team restarts again in September!!!
“2014-3-1 Caring for the elderly: Poon Choi feast”
“2014-3-1 老人關懷之盆菜宴”
2013/2014 The Newsletter
University Lodge Visit
The “PGSA University Lodge Visiting” was
successfully held on Saturday, March 1, 2014.
Honorable guests attending this event included Vice-
Chancellor, Professor Lap-Chee Tsui; Dean of Graduate
School, Professor N. Rao; Associate Dean and Director
of Examinations of Graduate School, Professor M.L.
Chye; Associate Dean and Programme Director
(Outreach) of Graduate School, Professor B. Young;
Registrar, Mr Henry Wai; Dean of Student Affairs, Dr
Albert Chau; Director (counselling and Personal
Enrichment) of CEDARS, Dr Eugenie Leung; Director
(Campus Life) of CEDARS, Mr Patrick Tang; Director
(Careers and Placement) of CEDARS, Ms Jaime Fung;
Head of Research Services, Ms Ivy Mak; Administrative
Assistant of Graduate School, Ms Wendy Ho; Master of
Graduate House, Professor Billy Chow; Warder of
Morrison Hall, Dr Kenneth Leung; Master of Residential
College, Dr Sarah Liao; and Deputy Master of
Residential College, Dr Albert Ko.
The “PGSA University Lodge Visiting” has been a
conventional event of PGSA since 1993. It aims to
provide postgraduates a unique opportunity to interact
and communicate with the Vice Chancellor,
distinguished professors, student affairs directors as well
as PGSA Executive Committee members on issues
which concern them or on matters you would require
clarity in a friendly environment.
The tea gathering begins with welcome speech from
Professor Lap-Chee Tsui and the Chairperson of PGSA,
Ms. Yu Miaomiao. Further to this section, the “PGSA
Talk” was held between Vice-Chancellor, invited guests
and postgraduate students. Topics in this
dialogue included the University’s development, Campus
Life, Student Welfare, and Career Development. All the
distinguished guests and postgraduate students had a
wonderful time that afternoon.
2013/2014 The Newsletter
Joint-U Party: “Key 2 Love”
On Saturday, Nov 30th 2013, the University of Hong
Kong PGSA in collaboration with the Chinese University
of Hong Kong CUPSA, and the City University of Hong
Kong CUPA successfully held a joint university single
party “Key 2 Love”. Over 200 students from the three
universities actively participated in this party and shared
a wonderful night!
Nine male guests and nine female guests were recruited
from the three universities for a “blind date” in the party.
Guests used selected “keywords” and video to show
their personalities and to attract potential lover. Q&A was
also allowed to help guests knowing each other. In the
last session of “Mutual Election”, the males and females,
standing in a row respectively, were asked to write down
1~2 person(s) he/she admired on the paper. Couples
would be made if the results from the male and female
coincide. Finally, four “couples” were successfully
matched. They not only stood out and accepted
benediction from all the audiences, but also received
“kick-off bags” with gifts to support their first date!
Besides, the highest number of being voted guests got
the Most Popular Award.
This Joint U party had achieved big success and got
good response. Through the activity, we realize that
postgraduates are really in need of these activities to
enlarge their circle of friends. We will continue to offer
this kind of platform for communicating and making
friends and to enrich the life of Postgraduates.
2013/2014 The Newsletter
International Liaison
The international Liaison Office is responsible for
hosting delegates from other universities and helping in
promotion for activities held in other universities. Below
are some of office’s activities last year:
On July 22, 2013, the International Liaison Office of HKU
hosted 25 representatives from the postgraduate
associations of Zhejiang University of Technology.
Schedule included campus visit, introductions from
PGSA (By president Ms. Miaomiao Yu) and the visitors,
gift exchange, discussions about the PGs’ study and
society construction.
During Oct 18-20, 2013, PGSA president Ms. Yu
Miaomiao and IT officer Mr. Wu Wilson attended the
First Graduate Academic Forum of Shen Zhen University.
On Nov 21, 2013, PGSA hosted 43 visitors (including
postgraduates, academic staffs and professors) from
University of Riau, Indonesia. PGSA arranged campus
visit for them. A meeting session was held. The Vice-
president Mr. Zhang Alvin gave a briefly introduction
about PGSA and then followed a discussions about the
PGs’ study and society construction.
Membership & Alumni Affairs
In the 2013-2014 academic year, the Membership & Alumni Affairs Office operated smoothly as before. The main duties
for the Office include: to enter information of newly recruited members in the Orientation period, to manage and update
information of members in the year, and to provide information support when needed. In particular, when the PGSA
calendar was distributed and the PG Day was held, membership information became significant in the operation.
Information support from our Office helps a series of activities to be more successful.
At the same time, two online platforms, PGSA’s Facebook page and Weibo, are both managed by our Office. Not only
have we conveyed the message to our members, but also we have succeeded in establishing a preliminary network for
PGSA’s development in the future.
2013/2014 The Newsletter
Minion on Campus and the 1000s of smiles we shared
The Postgraduate Student Association kick started two big initiatives at our University this year; namely, "The
Postgraduate Day" and "Share a Smile" Campaign.
The Postgraduate Day:
A day for our fellow postgraduates to get special gifts which can serve as souvenirs to our
dear outgoing postgraduates and something to cheer for our current postgraduates. On this day, you also got an
opportunity to take a photo with a heartthrob animation character of the masses along with fun filled activities throughout
the event. The gift set consists of a string bag, a 80 page long notebook, a 5 in 1 multicolored highlighter pen and a
combo sticky note set. We also reserved 400 specially designed heat-activated Mugs for PGSA members along with the
gift set.
Share a Smile:
“You'll find that life is still worthwhile, if you just smile.”
- Charles Chaplin
The only thing on Earth which we can share without losing anything is our smile. The idea of the campaign is
simple, “Smile at strangers and you just might change a life.” - Steve Maraboli. It is understandable that smiling at total
strangers is difficult but why not with people on the HKU campus? Why shouldn't we share our smile with our fellow
students at the lifts areas, canteens, sitting areas, residential halls and classes?
Within 3 days of starting the initiatives, we have made a few thousand people smile across 3 campuses and more
importantly across all ages. In the process of making others smile, we’ve discovered the kid in every one of us. With
positive interaction with others comes insight – with perspective comes self-realization.
As rightly said by Mother Teresa, “I will never understand all the good that a simple smile can accomplish.” It is hard to
know fully the extent of the effects of our initiative efforts, but it can go without saying that we made a positive impact on
the days of many. And who knows, perhaps some of the smiles we gave may have brightened the days of some, who
may have even passed it forward with smiles to others.
2013/2014 The Newsletter
We discovered that the world holds much more than the materialistic things which we value it for. We saw how infectious
a smile can be and how excited people can become; some adults even became like 3 or 5 year old. We have made many
friends through these efforts both in the PGSA and out, and we have learned the power of kindness to others. We
certainly could afford to smile to friends and strangers alike more regularly.
In addition to that, others that happened this year:
Great Learning Forum: “How do scientific innovations shape and
change our society?” by Mr Richard Fong and Mr Nicholas
Brook
Survey for Postgraduate Hub with Graduate House.
In collaboration with Graduate House, we had a survey to gather
views from the Postgraduates on how they would like the
Postgraduate Hub will be. The Postgraduate Hub is currently
under renovation and lets us look forward to the new
Postgraduate Hub in the new semester!
Research Integrity Survey
We also had a research integrity survey this year. The results
had been sent to the Graduate School for their attention.
Free calendars for year 2014
HKU Postgraduates Careers Day co-organized with CEDARS and HKU CSSA.
PGSA-Nepal Cultural Night co-organized with Consulate General of Nepal.