CW Chu College The Chinese University of Hong Kong eNewsletter

One of the College students, Mr YEO In Hyuk David, participated in an international conference organised by the Harvard Project for Asian and International Relations (HPAIR) at Harvard University during 16–19 February 2018, with sponsorship from the College. The following is an extract of his sharing about his experience:

The opening ceremony featured two speakers with distinct backgrounds: a Starbucks executive and a hedge fund manager. They each spoke about how they had forged their career paths and described their work. The two talks were drastically different in terms of content and style; however, the passion and intellectual prowess they showed for their work were parallel. One memorable experience during the first day of the conference was the tour around Harvard University in which I got to learn about the rich and whimsical history and anecdotes of the institution.

On the second day I attended a track panel on Business and the World Economy. Each of us had declared five choices when we applied, and one of these was assigned. The panel included some prominent professionals in academia. One topic was globalisation and protectionism. The panel discussed how world trade is contracted due to tendencies from globalisation toward protectionism. The talks spurred me to think about how this would affect Hong Kong's economy. I believe that the implications of the changing global economic trends and their potential solutions would be food for thought throughout my days at CUHK as an Economics major and worth studying as my Final Year Project.

The next day we had the opportunity to participate in a case competition held by Deloitte and called Impact Challenge. We were randomly grouped into teams of five and given a fund to manage that was actually being managed by a firm called NewProfit, a client of Deloitte. NewProfit is a national non-profit venture philanthropy aiming at gathering funds from high-net-worth individuals and other various sources of charity and allocating these funds to impact society in a positive way. We were required to allocate the funds to various charity organisations in a way to optimise the positive impact toward society. We were given six hours to complete the task and the top five teams would have the opportunity to present their strategies to representatives from Deloitte. The task was daunting given the short period of time allowed. Being the only member in my team determined to see the task through, I barely managed to complete the report after non-stop working for the gruelling six hours. Unexpectedly our team was selected in the top five. I had no choice but to present our strategies without any rehearsal or review of our report. The whole presentation lasted 15 minutes and it was the most nerve-wracking one by far. Nevertheless, I managed to finish it. One thing I regret most was that I was not able to expound my ideas articulately to the judges. The competition helped me realise my shortcomings and what I need to seriously work on when I return to CUHK. In the next semester, I plan to improve my critical thinking, presentation of ideas and comprehension of complex ideas. I believe improving on these skills is essential to success anywhere.

After the closing ceremony I had the opportunity to talk with some of the HPAIR staff, who were students at Harvard University. Some of them really surprised me, especially by their numerous achievements at a young age. One had created a start-up in his freshman year and raised a lot of money to help out the community in education and health with a noticeable impact. This hit me hard and spurred me to rethink how I should spend the rest of my undergraduate days. Age was not an excuse for turning a blind eye to the problems in our community. I have started to brainstorm on how I can make a difference within my community, whether it is CW Chu College, the Economics Department or just a handful of students. I felt the urge to leave my footprint in CUHK before my graduation.

Overall, my experience at HPAIR, held at Harvard University, was eye-opening. It revealed my flaws and what I have to work on, both on my character and study. It showed me the types of qualities I would like to possess not only for my sake but for others' in the hope that I can impact them in the future. I realised that attending the conference is not just about learning new knowledge and making new friends but more about adding depth and colour to one's character.