HKUST Alumni News 2014
1
Foreword
These donations, and all the others we
received in the past year, help AEF to grow
constantly and in turn to benefit increasing
numbers of students. We welcome all
donations, no matter the amount – and I
invite all of you reading this to contribute to
your alma mater, too.
I wonder how many of you on trips to
China or other parts of the
region have unknowingly
been flown there by HKUST
alumni? Our cover story in
this issue features Claudia
Sin and Freddy Lam, both
of whom are pilots with
Dragonair. What makes them
interesting is the different
paths they took to achieving
their goals. While Claudia
knew when still at school that
she wanted to be an aviator
and so planned her career
path meticulously, Freddy
did not find his passion until
much later and then had to
work hard to catch up with
his dream.
It just goes to show that
there are different paths to
the same goal – and it is
never too late to start on that
path! It is a good lesson for
all of us.
Best wishes,
Professor Tony F Chan
President
Dear Alumni,
I was delighted to welcome the first cohort
of graduates from the Class of 1994 to my
home this spring to help celebrate the 20th
anniversary of their graduation. It was a
wonderful opportunity for me to enjoy a cozy
chat with many of them. I felt very proud to
meet these alumni – all are successful and
several have gone on to achieve great things
in their careers, and all show keen support
for HKUST.
But perhaps it is no surprise that they
have made so much of their lives. They all
made a bold and adventurous decision to
join HKUST at a time when we had no track
record; most had received offers from other
well-established institutions, yet they chose
to study with us and thereby created history
with us. To me, they are truly visionary – and
they really did make the right decision in
joining HKUST!
In the years since the Class of 1994
graduated, our alumni have spread out
around the world. It was my pleasure to
travel to São Paulo, Brazil, and Santiago,
Chile, recently, where I met with a number
of our alumni as well as once exchange-in
students. It was intriguing to hear about their
dreams and the many opportunities they
have experienced since graduation.
The purpose of this South American trip
was to forge collaborations with universities,
including top-notch business schools, and
with industry and international organizations,
as well as to facilitate student exchange. It
was also an opportunity to learn more about
science and technology and the economic
development of Brazil, Chile and Argentina.
I look forward to being able to connect
with our alumni network in many different
parts of the globe on future trips!
HKUST’s Alumni Endowment Fund has
received some very generous donations from
alumni, namely Samson Yu and brothers
Terry and Terence Tsang in 2013, and a
matching gift in 2014 from Jiang Wenyan.
