In order to recognise and encourage local university students who demonstrate outstanding academic performance with diverse talents and a strong dedication to community service, the Greater Bay Area Homeland Youth Community Foundation has launched the 2nd "For Our Future Scholarship". The scholarship received nearly 200 applications from 13 local educational institutions. The scholarship panel judges include: Mr Bernard Charnwut CHAN, Convenor of Hong Kong’s Executive Council; Mr Tommy YUEN, Commissioner for the Development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area; Professor Yuk-Shan WONG, Chairman of Research Grants Council; Mr Ming-Wai LAU, Founder and Director of MWYO (Youth-Oriented Think Tank) and; Mr Daryl NG, Chairman of the Greater Bay Area Homeland Youth Community Foundation. The panel selected 16 outstanding awardees, each will be awarded a scholarship of HK$50,000 to support their academic studies and future development.

 

The 2nd “For Our Future Scholarship” Award Presentation Ceremony was held at YO PLACE on 4 May, 2022. Attending honourable guests include: Mr Tommy YUEN, Commissioner for the Development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area; Mr Daryl NG, Chairman of the Greater Bay Area Homeland Youth Community Foundation; Professor Yuk-Shan WONG, Chairman of Research Grants Council; Mr Ming-Wai LAU, Founder and Director of MWYO (Youth-Oriented Think Tank); Mr Adam KWOK, Executive Director of Sun Hung Kai Properties and Standing Committee Member of the Guangdong Provincial Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference; Ms Winnie CHIU, President of Dorsett Hospitality International and Chairman of Hong Kong Art School; Professor Raymond CHAN, Vice-President (Student Affairs) of City University of Hong Kong; Professor Siu-Keung CHEUNG, Vice President (University Administration) of Hong Kong Shue Yan University and other representatives from the educational institutions.

 

Mr Daryl NG, Chairman of the Greater Bay Area Homeland Youth Community Foundation said, "The 16 awardees of the For Our Future Scholarship have all delivered stellar performances and demonstrated promising potential. We have in them a new generation of talents with boundless energy, passion and commitment to Hong Kong. We hope the awardees can  continue to leverage on their strengths and creativity for the development of Hong Kong and the nation."

 

Mr Daryl NG added, "When the cross-border travel between Hong Kong and the Mainland resumes normal, the Foundation will organise exchange tours for the judges and awardees to go to mainland cities in the Greater Bay Area, where they will visit universities and big corporations as well as to experience the unique culture first-hand and to better understand  the prospects of the region."

 

Mr Tommy YUEN, Commissioner for the Development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau said, "The For Our Future Scholarship not only provides financial support, but also offers awardees an opportunity to experience first-hand the Greater Bay Area, including various aspects such as economy, transportation, medical services etc. You are encouraged to actively participate and experience the development of the Greater Bay Area, with a view to exploring the opportunities and creating your future.“

 

The awardees, not only demonstrate excellent academic performance, but are also multi-talented. Some of them have outstanding performances in music and sports, some show strong commitment to social service, and some actively take part in international academic exchange programmes. Despite at their young age, some have years of volunteer experiences in other foreign countries. While some have worked with a team to help the underprivileged through innovative technologies.

 

Two of the awardees Mr Tommy YUK from School of Science and the School of Business and Management of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, and Ms Barbara WONG from Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, the University of Hong Kong shared their amazing stories and expressed heartfelt thanks to the Foundation.

 

Tommy YUK: The chubby boy who was ridiculed is flying high today

Tommy YUK Tin-cheung was born in Shenzhen and came to Hong Kong to reunite with his family when he was in primary one. Due to his accent and chubby look, he was ridiculed by his classmates as "Fat Yuk" and "Mainlander" with no friends and felt depressed. But he strives as one of the awardees of the "For Our Future Scholarship".

When he was in primary one, his English result was very poor. The turning point was he met his primary three English teacher who praised him in front of his mother and said he had good potential. If he worked hard, he could join the elite class. Being encouraged, Tommy practised and recited English vocabulary every day. Accompanied by his father, he watched the English channel to learn English every night, resulted in substantial improvement in his grades. Fond of football, he was selected to the school team which allowed him to make friends and become physically stronger.

He suffered from asthma and bronchitis since childhood. His parents paid few thousand dollars for private doctors. "What makes me sad is that when my parents are ill, they will take leave and go to Shenzhen for medical treatment. I feel sorry and wonder why there is such a big difference in medical cost between two neighbouring cities. I am determined to work in scientific research field and strive to reduce the medical costs when I grow up."

Tommy is like a caterpillar, breaking out of its cocoon with high achievement. He worked so hard to get a 5 * * in English speaking and 27 points in DSE and was admitted to the University of Science and Technology for a dual Bachelor’s degree in Biotechnology and BBA. He hopes to devote himself to scientific research so as to reduce drug costs to an affordable level that can benefit everyone.

 

Barbara WONG: Step out of the comfort zone and embrace challenges

Barbara WONG Wing-yan has been interested in scientific research, human pathology, and other medical topics since childhood. When she was admitted to the Medical School of the University of Hong Kong, she enroled to a Bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Sciences because she hopes to devote herself to medical research and innovation.

Working together with her team for a few months, Barbara established an AI model for lung cancer cells diagnosis, which was awarded a silver medal by Huawei MindSpore Challenge Pathology Diagnosis Competition. "I hope to apply my medical expertise to provide cancer prognosis to save patients’ lives." she said.

She is committed to volunteering work. She had been to Yunnan for teaching kids and to Bosnia after the war to help refugees rebuild their homes. Also, she and her team developed a mobile app to help young people to improve their mental health and promote the prevention and detection of mental problems.

 

Other awardees include Ms Lian CHAN from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Ms Agnes CHAN from The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Mr Nicholas CHAN from City University of Hong Kong, Ms Justline CHAN from Lingnan University, Mr Elkie CHAN from The University of Hong Kong, Ms Vinci CHAN from Hong Kong Shue Yan University, Mr Michael CHONG from Hong Kong Baptist University, Mr Carlos CHOW from The Education University of Hong Kong, Ms Jocelyn LAM from Lingnan University, Ms Lettie LO from The Education University of Hong Kong, Ms Connie SIU from The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Mr Colin WONG from Chu Hai College of Higher Education, Ms Connie WONG from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University and Ms Rachel YEUNG from Hong Kong Baptist University.

Captions:

Group photo of the “For Our Future Scholarship” Award Presentation Ceremony. Attending honourable guests include: Mr Tommy YUEN, Commissioner for the Development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area; Mr Daryl NG, Chairman of the Greater Bay Area Homeland Youth Community Foundation; Professor Yuk-Shan WONG, Chairman of Research Grants Council; Mr Ming-Wai LAU, Founder and Director of MWYO (Youth-Oriented Think Tank); Mr Adam KWOK, Executive Director of Sun Hung Kai Properties and Standing Committee Member of the Guangdong Provincial Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference; Ms Winnie CHIU, President of Dorsett Hospitality International and Chairman of Hong Kong Art School and other representatives from the educational institutions.

 

Group photo of the “For Our Future Scholarship” Award Presentation Ceremony. Attending honourable guests include: Mr Tommy YUEN, Commissioner for the Development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area; Mr Daryl NG, Chairman of the Greater Bay Area Homeland Youth Community Foundation; Professor Yuk-Shan WONG, Chairman of Research Grants Council; Mr Ming-Wai LAU, Founder and Director of MWYO (Youth-Oriented Think Tank); Mr Adam KWOK, Executive Director of Sun Hung Kai Properties and Standing Committee Member of the Guangdong Provincial Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference; Ms Winnie CHIU, President of Dorsett Hospitality International and Chairman of Hong Kong Art School and other representatives from the educational institutions.

 

Mr Daryl NG, Chairman of the Greater Bay Area Homeland Youth Community Foundation

 

Mr Tommy YUEN, Commissioner for the Development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau

 

“For Our Future Scholarship” Awardees

 

Mr Daryl NG, Chairman of the Greater Bay Area Homeland Youth Community Foundation, presents the “For Our Future Scholarship” to Mr Tommy YUK from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

 

Mr Daryl NG, Chairman of the Greater Bay Area Homeland Youth Community Foundation, presents the “For Our Future Scholarship” to Ms Barbara WONG from the University of Hong Kong