Pave Way for Students’ Career Development
Adopting the unique Liberal + Professional education model, HSUHK is committed to groom students’ professional skills beyond nurturing their humanistic qualities, so that they will be better prepared to unleash their potential in the workplace in future. In order to provide more career guidance and support to students, HSUHK has established the Professional Mentorship Scheme in the hope of broadening their horizons and social networks, which will help lay a solid foundation for their career development.
“The liberal arts education ideal is student-oriented, which denotes close student-teacher relationships and more individual care and guidance given by the University. Therefore, HSUHK has established numerous types of mentorship programmes, and Professional Mentorship Scheme is the one specially designed for career planning.” As described by President Simon S M Ho, the Scheme is one of the components which realises HSUHK’s Liberal + Professional education model, in which students can not only get advice on career development, but also learn from the valuable life experience of their mentors. “Many of the mentors of the Scheme possess abundant social experience, have significant achievements or are known working professionals themselves. They come from different sectors including business, professional fields, government, etc. Not only can they give mentees career advice, but some of them will also bring students to suitable industry activities and gatherings, where students observe to get a sense of actual practice of the industry and even get to know some industry leaders and make friends. These are undoubtedly treasurable gateways for the mentees to gain experience and see a wider world.”
President Ho encourages students to grasp the opportunity to actively take part in the Scheme. “All participating mentors join on voluntary basis, and their contributions are really precious. We hope students can make good use of this platform to interact with the mentors. Only in this way can students learn and grow, which is the ultimate goal of the Mentorship Scheme.”
Enhanced Mentorship Scheme to Enrich Life Experience
Having implemented the mentorship scheme for over 10 years, HSUHK has recently restructured the scheme, merging the former Career Leap Club and Careers Mentorship Programme to launch the new HSUHK Professional Mentorship Scheme with the introduction of new elements, in the hope of strengthening professional trainings for students and providing them more life experience.
Dr Tom Fong, Vice-President (Organisational Development), states that the objective of the Scheme is to offer students an opportunity during their school time to be in touch with seasoned professionals and senior executives from different sectors so that they can evaluate and plan their career path at an earlier stage. The Scheme also matches each participating student with a mentor, like a life coach, for timely guidance. “A good mentorship scheme should provide allround and multidimensional life experience to students, so as to widen their horizons and complement in-class learning. Guided by a group of experienced professionals as mentors, students can learn life philosophies from mentors’ sharings beyond acquiring career market information.” Dr Fong points out that the Scheme will offer diversified professional training such as mock interviews and image building workshop. Some mentors will also arrange company visits, allowing mentees to gain a deeper understanding of the real-life working environments and requirements. Furthermore, the Scheme will organize some more relaxed get-together events like wine tasting workshops to strengthen the relationships between mentors and their mentees. “Many mentors are willing to provide internship opportunities to HSUHK students after getting in touch with them, which surely benefits the students.”
Dr Fong believes that, besides paving another path for students to expand their social network, the Scheme also helps to connect across generations and cultivate students’ self-discipline. It lets mentors know more about the mindset of the young people, while mentees, appreciative of the dedication of the mentors, are also willing to spend their free time to take part in the activities proactively. As such kind of mutual trust and understanding is built up, the Scheme becomes sustainable and generates a positive impact on society, making the Scheme more meaningful.
Ms Rebecca Chan, Director of Student Affairs, mentions that there are over 50 mentors and around 120 students in total joining the Scheme this year. Mentors are from more than 10 career fields, dominated by accounting and banking and with new mentors from the aviation sector and the environmental technology entrepreneurship sector. With the plan to recruit more mentors from different industries as the University continues to develop, Rebecca points out the benefits of the Scheme, “While the university is considered as being more theoretical whereas the business world focuses more on the actual interests and operation needs, the Scheme perfectly serves as a platform so that the two can complement each other, from which the mentees can learn through the mentors about how business world operates, while mentors can enjoy an unique satisfaction.” Mr Cannon Fung, Manager of Career Planning and Development, adds that there is a spirit of legacy in the Professional Mentorship Scheme. He hopes to invite more alumni and former mentees to participate in the Scheme as mentors in the future.
Kick-off Ceremony for HSUHK Professional Mentorship Scheme
The Kick-off Ceremony for HSUHK Professional Mentorship Scheme 2019/20 was held at the Auditorium, Lee Quo Wei Academic Building on 18 January 2020, with around 140 mentors and mentees attending the event. Dr Tom Fong, Vice-President (Organisational Development) and Ms Rebecca Chan, Director of Student Affairs gave welcoming remarks, followed by sharing from former mentees about what they had learned from the mentorship scheme.
Case Sharing
Beyond offering students guidance on career development, HSUHK Professional Mentorship Scheme serves as a platform for mentors and mentees to build friendly relationships. Mentor Mr Vincent Tam and his mentees Ms Joan Ho and Mr Mark Lee provide a good example of this. Vincent, a veteran of talent development, interacts with mentees frequently, providing them with career advice and sharing with them his life experience. Joan and Mark have learned a lot from him. They share with us the experience and memories brought by the mentorship scheme.
Mr Vincent Tam（Mentor）
Assistant General Manager – Corporate and Talent Development, New World Development Company Limited
Mentor since 2015
Wearing a big smile on his face, Vincent waxes lyrical about HSUHK Professional Mentorship Scheme. “I love getting along with the youngsters, as this helps me learn more about the mindset, the language and the needs of the young generation. It not only gives me a chance to share my experience and opinions with them, but also enhances my knowledge and is inspiring.” He likes the interactions with the mentees, building trust and relationships with them.
Though busy with work, Vincent welcomes other students in addition to his assigned mentees to approach and share with him. While face-to-face gathering is not frequent, they keep close contact through social media. As Vincent is experienced in the talent development field, he is able to share updated information for job interview with them and give advice on their career plans. He always encourages students to think out of the box and look wider and farther, so that they can equip themselves to embrace the changes and challenges in the workplace. He believes that the Professional Mentorship Scheme is certainly an eye-opening and beneficial experience for students, as this offers them opportunities to meet professionals from a wide variety of sectors while they are students.
Talking about the unforgettable memories with the mentees, Vincent shared that the graduation ceremony is always a touching moment for him. “Witnessing their growth from timid Year 1 students to poised graduates confidently sharing their study and work with others, I really feel gratified.” He is so close with students that they often introduce him to friends and family members.
Based on his rich experiences, Vincent believes that “attitude determines altitude”, as skills can be enhanced by training, yet personality is difficult to be modified. He encourages students to cultivate a positive mindset so as to enhance their abilities to overcome adversities. “I wish youngsters could be more persistent and not to be afraid of failure. Keep trying, as once you start, there will always be a chance to succeed.”
Ms Joan Ho（Mentee）
Marketing Officer, MetLife Hong Kong
Mentee since 2014
When Joan Ho first joined HSUHK, she decided to participate in the mentorship scheme with her friend when she saw the promotion on campus, thinking that she could make new friends and gain a better understanding of different industries through the scheme.
In addition to her assigned mentor, she also had the chance to meet Vincent Tam, another mentor in the scheme. Joan recalled that she once took part in a visit to Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre with Vincent and other mentees. The group became good friends and continue to meet up together every year.
Joan says that the mentors always encourage them to try something new and advise them on career development and planning, which benefits them so much. “What the scheme enlightens me most is that I should never underestimate myself. Just go ahead to try whatever you wish.” She considers the various kinds of activities of the scheme helpful in boosting her social skills, which enables her to better prepare herself in different ways.
Joan strongly encourages fellow students to enrol in the mentorship scheme. “Not only does the scheme broaden my horizons, but it also helps me find the like-minded peers in the University pursuing the goal together.”
Mr Mark Lee（Mentee）
Assurance Associate, PwC Hong Kong
Mentee since 2017
In order to enrich his campus life and expand his social network, Mark Lee took part in the mentorship scheme in the first semester of Year 3, expecting to learn the life philosophy from the mentors and their preferred attributes when recruiting talent. In addition, he wished to make friends from different departments and gain an eye-opening experience.
“The mentorship scheme organises different kinds of workshops, such as those about table manners and professional social etiquette. I find these activities interesting and enhance my knowledge.” He feels grateful to have met Vincent Tam, his mentor who he describes as very “down-to-earth”. Beyond interview skills and industry trends, they would also discuss social issues and share thoughts on daily life. From the mentor, Mark realises the importance of positive thinking, “He told me that the state of mind was very crucial. There are always solutions for problems. Just take a break, if needed, before moving on.”
Mark concludes that he has gained more than he expected through the mentorship scheme, which he highly recommends fellow students to join.
