Meet the Recipient of Innovation and Technology Scholarship
Over the past few years, College students received Innovation and Technology Scholarship eligible for a scholarship up to HK$150,000. It opened up to fruitful learning experiences, including overseas / mainland attachment programme, mentorship programme, service project programe and local internship programme. Jointly sponsored and supported by the Innovation and Technology Commission (ITC) and HSBC, and organised by The Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups (HKFYG), the Scholarship selects 25 exceptional undergraduates from local universities. All of them demonstrate passion and aspiration in innovative technology.
Two College students, Mr. Ting Lung Ngai, a year three student, and Mr. Wong Chun, a year four student, were honoured to receive this award last year. Both studied Medicine Programme Global Physician-Leadership Stream. In this issue, we will talk to Mr. Ting Lung Ngai (Nick) about his award experience and innovative technology.
1. Why did you apply for Innovation and Technology Scholarship? How did you get to know it?
Quite a number of the past CUHK awardees of the scholarship are from S.H. Ho College. I first heard of this scholarship from those senior students in the College who also gave me a lot of encouragement throughout the application process. I applied for the scholarship as I am interested in medical research and I believe the scholarship can bring me eye-opening opportunities in the field.
2. What kind of exchange and learning opportunities can this scholarship provide you?
The scholarship can provide financial support for me to join research or clinical attachments in foreign institutions, international conferences as well as many other overseas learning activities. There is also a mentorship programme under the scholarship and my mentor is a medical expert who is renowned for her research in liver cancer. I believe this will give me more insights into being a good clinician and an innovative researcher at the same time. I have also got to know more friends of my age who are passionate about innovation and technology. Knowledge and ideas exchange are the keys to innovative thoughts.
3. What is your plan for this one-year scholarship?
With the support of the scholarship, I planned to visit the University of Oxford this summer for a two-month research attachment. I would also like to join some international conferences to learn more about current advancement in the field of neuroscience. However, due to the pandemic, all these planned are cancelled. I am still keeping an eye on the development and exploring if there are any opportunities for rearrangements.
4. What is the most important component to promote innovative technology in Hong Kong?
For the development of innovation and technology in our society, I think resources and talents are the two main components. I am glad and excited to see that more and more schoolmates around me are interested in research or innovative startups. The community has been putting more emphasis on innovation and technology over the years. However, there are still many challenges and inadequacies. Sometimes it is disappointed to see feasible and innovative projects fail to receive support from the government such as the project of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University in Automated Multiplex Diagnostic System. Also, many talents in Hong Kong are planning to immigrate which will be a loss to our society.
5. How does innovative technology make an impact on medical development?
Innovation and technology are very important for many different areas in medical development. For example in the administrative perspective, the concept of smart hospital aims to increase operational efficiency and provide better experiences for patients through new technology. Another example is the use of robotics in surgery which helps surgeons to perform procedures with more precision, flexibility and control. The advancement in genome sequencing technology also makes our genomic information more accessible paving the way to precision medicine which aims to tailor-make the treatment plans for individual patients according to their disease, genomic background and other information.
6. What is your advice to the College peers in junior years if they would like to apply for this scholarship in the future?
The most important thing is to identify your interests and passion. It is fine if you are still unsure but you have to keep on trying and exploring. If you find that you are not into this area then move on to try another one. I am also still exploring my interests in different aspects. It would be great if you could get some hands-on experience in the fields that you are interested in be they attachments or self-initiated projects. They will help you express yourself and show your passion. Lastly, you should also have a feasible plan of how to use the money from the scholarship.
