News & Stories

Noga Raviv Participant at hackUST   A fast finish took on fresh meaning at the University’s second hackUST in March 2015 when students from all over Hong Kong took part in the exciting computer coding event to turn ideas into prototypes in just 24 hours. Non-HKUST exchange student organizer Noga Raviv relates her awesome experience “HKUST was not even my university, but it was the place that I felt the innovation and entrepreneurship community thrived most and felt most comfortable” At the end of March, some HKUST friends and I organized a 24-hour hackathon for roughly 250 students on campus. As an exchange student, I was looking for a community where I could connect with local students, do something interesting, and see new places. How did I get involved?

Constantinos Spandagos Postgraduate Student Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering The story of how HKUST became part of my reality begins back in 2011. And it begins neither in Hong Kong nor in my native Greece, but in London. President Tony Chan together with Dr Eden Woon (HKUST’s Vice-President for Institutional Advancement) visited Imperial College London to give a talk to the students and faculty. And it was there, at Imperial where I was pursuing my postgraduate studies at that moment. I saw the poster advertising the talk and I thought it would be interesting to stop by and see what our guests wanted to share with us.

Jasmine Lee BSc in Environmental Management and Technology I feel very thankful to be part of the EVMT family. EVMT, or Environmental Management and Technology, is a new program under the Interdisciplinary Program Office. Three years ago, I entered the program fuelled by a passion to learn to tackle environmental issues through new approaches, such as green business, education and environmental policies. Out of all the programs at HKUST, EVMT is probably the one that enrolls the fewest number of students a year; because of that, we were closely knit – like a family.

BAI, Site Dual Degree Program, BEng in Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management and BBA in General Business Management (IEGBM) The idea of the Ride Sharing Program came to me a year ago. A UST resident and I were talking about the lengthy queues for public transport from campus; often, students are frustrated by the long wait for buses leaving UST, especially during peak hours, while professors and staff drive nearly empty cars out of campus each day. Then it dawned on us – what if UST drivers opened up their rides to other community members? This would alleviate the high demand for public transport while reducing the amount of energy consumed by private cars, making our community more sustainable.

Synix Siwen SUN BSc in Risk Management and Business Intelligence, Class of 2016 Stacy Kaihong HE BSc in Environmental Management and Technology, Class of 2016 Rax Chin Wong LAU BSc in Environmental Management and Technology, Class of 2016 To support eco-friendly waste disposal, I helped to organize a campaign to encourage HKUST student societies to recycle their banners and decorations this year.  The aim was to motivate the societies to make better use of promotional materials provided by the University rather than just throwing them away after use. Having observed the amount of waste produced in previous student activities, we definitely saw the need for improvement.  The idea was conceived by a member of our organizing committee who took part in a School of Business and Management group project. Our campaign was divided into three stages:

Carol Choi Graduate of Bachelor of Business Administration (Marketing and Management), 2014 After three years of undergraduate studies, what do I get from HKUST? Stress and Tension? Well, I guess most of us encounter pressure when examinations approach in any university. I am grateful that HKUST not only offers a pleasant learning environment, but more importantly, the opportunities to gain international exposure. As a business school student,I had been longing for a chance to visit Manhattan, the international financial center, and HKUST has made my dream come true! Exchanging in New York University (NYU) is one of the most exciting experiences in my college life! It was my first time living all on my own in another city on the other side of the world. Stepping out of my comfort zone was not easy. But eventually, I overcame the cultural shock and started meeting new friends, appreciating their culture, and even falling in love with this vibrant city.

Ashima Saxena MSc Electronics Engineering ,2011 - Life is about helping each other - After working for three years in an R&D department, going back to university was an amazing experience. It was also the first time that I had lived alone and away from my home country of India. On 2 February 2011, I landed in one of the most beautiful places in Asia – Hong Kong.  It was raining and I was amazed by the green mountains and clean, calm atmosphere. I took a taxi to reach Hong Kong Adventist College, my temporary home in Clear Water Bay.   My roommates were from Mainland China. They seemed shy about speaking English, and I wondered how I would manage over the coming year.

KONG Wing Man Samantha Year 3, Chemical and Environmental Engineering Head Student Ambassador of HKUST Recipient of the Hong Kong Top 10 Outstanding Youth   Engineering is not regarded as an immediate first choice by many top students in Hong Kong. However, you would be absolutely wrong to think in this way. I went overseas to attend high school in Malaysia. Three years ago, just as every high school student does, I struggled as to what discipline to take at university.