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Jockey Club Scholarships encourage students to become caring leaders
20/07/2022
Over the past 24 years, the Hong Kong Jockey Club Scholarships have nurtured more than 880 talented individuals to become caring leaders for the betterment of our society. The Hong Kong Jockey Club today (20 July) held a presentation ceremony to award scholarships to a new cohort of 42 undergraduate students and six postgraduate students in recognition of their outstanding academic performance and commitment to serving the community. The Club also congratulated 44 recently graduated Scholars as they embark on a new chapter in their lives.
At the presentation ceremony, Club Chairman Philip Chen was joined by Guest of Honour Kenneth Fok, Legislative Council Member (Sports, Performing Arts, Culture and Publishing Functional Constituency); Club Stewards Eric Li, Martin Liao, Richard Tang and Rosanna Wong; Chief Executive Officer Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges; Executive Director, Charities and Community, Leong Cheung; Designate Executive Director, Charities and Community, Gabriel Leung; and representatives of participating tertiary institutions to officiate the ceremony.
Club Chairman Philip Chen encouraged Jockey Club Scholars to give back to the community and to become caring leaders of good character, showing integrity, honesty and respect for others. “Our society could not function without care and compassion. Thousands of people have reached out to help those in need during the pandemic. That is Hong Kong at its very best. I hope our Scholars will make their own contribution to our home,” said Mr Chen. “I am delighted to share that from 2023/24 academic year, the Club will also be supporting postgraduates studying at four more of the world’s top universities to nurture even more talent for Hong Kong.”
Congratulating the graduating Scholars and new recipients, this year’s Guest of Honour Kenneth Fok praised the Club for its long-term commitment to nurturing young people. He urged Scholars to seize every opportunity to contribute to the community. He also encouraged them to develop a global perspective to enhance their competitiveness and pursue their dreams. He called for support for young people’s chosen careers, be it in technology, art, culture or sports, and a platform for them to gain experience beyond the borders of Hong Kong.
Since its establishment in 1998, the Hong Kong Jockey Club Scholarships have been awarded to more than 880 outstanding Hong Kong and Mainland students. To date, the Club has contributed some HK$782 million to the Scholarships through its Charities Trust.
In addition to supporting undergraduates studying at the eight UGC-funded tertiary institutions and The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, the Scholarships benefit undergraduate students with special educational needs at the nine institutions, as well as 18 students each year in vocational education programmes pursuing higher diplomas or overseas bachelor’s degrees. Another six graduates each year are given the opportunity to join postgraduate programmes at the University of Oxford or Harvard University.
To strengthen fellowship among Scholars, and with the Club’s support, the Jockey Club Scholars Alumni Association was established to offer a wide range of social service opportunities, the Talent Development Secretariat will facilitate Scholars’ further learning and personal development.
Choi Ching Lam, one of the awardees, is studying Artificial Intelligence (AI): System and Technologies at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Overcoming Asperger’s syndrome and attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), she won a technical challenge award in a competition by Jockey Club AI for the Future Project for creating a Tai Chi app to promote cross-generational communication. She also launched a free COVID-19 rapid diagnostic tool in 2020 to assist medical professionals to speed up early diagnosis of the virus.
Nurturing talents and building sector capacity to address changing social needs is a key focus for the Club in its commitment to the betterment of society. This is made possible by the Club’s unique integrated business model, through which it contributes tax and charity support to Hong Kong. Besides the Scholarships it has funded such projects as InnoPower@JC: Fellowship for Teachers and Social Workers, which seeks to cultivate creativity and innovation in the education and social service sectors.
