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The Chinese University of Hong Kong is an open, diverse and culturally inclusive school. As a mainland student, I participated in a lot of activities since my first year. Some are related to traditional Chinese culture; others can help you learn about local and foreign cultures, such as the Mid-Autumn Festival Tour, Traditional Food Festival, Thai boxing, aerial yoga, hiking with college students, teaching Cantonese to ethnic minority children, etc. CUHK has provided me with an excellent platform to broaden my horizons, expand my knowledge, and better understand multiculturalism. I really enjoy my university school life, which gives me valuable experience.

It is such an honour for me to promote cultural diversity in CUHK. When I was in charge as the Project Leader of organising the 2019 Indonesian Cultural Night, I was very proud to introduce Indonesian cultures and heritages to both local and international students. As an international student, I was very grateful to have the opportunity to step out of my comfort zone by participating in leadership projects in several extra-curricular activities, such as being a Student Mentor in the Onboarding Programme for freshmen and being the Public Relations Team Leader of the Green Life Ambassador in my College.

The phenomenal collegiate system of CUHK facilitated my adjustment to university life. I belong to a new college that has an intimate, international, intellectual and involved environment. It is a great opportunity for us to meet new friends, thus expanding our social circle. One crucial benefit of this is that it fosters open-mindedness to embrace differences, meet new people and build friendships. This is the core value of the cosmopolitan society of which I am a part, which aims to bring together people from different backgrounds and cultures to promote mutual dialogue.

As the only international cabinet member on my college volunteer team, I had the opportunity to make some wonderful local friends, visit homes for older adults and work closely with local people during our fundraisers and service engagements. I also had opportunities to interact with ethnic minority communities in Hong Kong under the I-Ambassador and CLOVER programmes, organized by the OSA. As the event manager of the Association of Indian students, I got to share aspects of my culture, such as teaching henna art, celebrating holi, while enjoying a home-like experience and participating in many cross-cultural events.

MORE ABOUT DHVANII’S RESEARCH JOURNEY

I’m from South Korea, but I’ve spent more than half my life outside of Korea, having lived in Australia, the Philippines, and mainland China since I was 11. I originally enrolled in the Bachelor of Social Science programme in our Centre, but later decided to change to the Bachelor of Arts programme. The change happened because of a professor who is not with us at the moment, Professor Igor Chabrowski. I took his Modern China class, and he thought Arts was a better fit for me. My concern at the time was, “Oh, I think social science is more practical than arts”. But he gave me some advice: Do something that you like, something you enjoy. So I switched, and it was a big change in my college life.

I went on an exchange to Taiwan, organised by my programme, and it proved to be an invaluable experience. I met students from Taiwan and all over the world who saw the cross-strait issues differently from how I did. Whether I was taking lessons with my friends, using a foreign language to travel around Taiwan, or making new friends in the new environment, these were all priceless opportunities. An exchange is a great way to continue studying what you like while embarking on your very own adventure.

Back in the days when I was a biology student, I participated in an exchange programme in the US, where I had a chance to make friends with people from different linguistic and cultural backgrounds. That eye-opening experience reinforced my interest in language learning. After graduating from CUHK, I ventured abroad again and pursued a Master’s degree in Linguistics in the US.

I was given a chance to go on a student-exchange in the Netherlands, and it literally changed my life. I discovered that in this small, thinly populated country, everyone was treated as an equal and unique individual. They were given full latitude to become whoever they wanted to be. This liberty and openness enraptured me.

I enjoy studying a lot. The programme offers a series of foundational courses, including management, marketing and finance. Students are equipped with knowledge essential for any business career before they decide to choose their concentration area. Thai people are more passive and normally shy, but I had to speak a lot and communicate in group projects and tutorials. With this real-life training, I’m driven to be more active, sociable and confident, and have learned ways of befriending people.

The professors are what make this a really good programme. The teaching staff are fantastic. They’re dedicated to their field of study, but that’s only part of it. They actually care about their students and about teaching. They’re not just there to do research and be forced to teach on the side while hating it. Well, maybe they do, but I’ve never felt that about any of my CCS professors! I’ve improved so much – my writing, my thinking, and my knowledge of China. That’s the most important thing about the experience. The reason it has been so good is these people. I took a big risk coming to CUHK. It could have been terrible. But it wasn’t, because these people made it a good experience. I will always remember that.

My studies at CUHK equipped me well with the analytical, legal research, teamwork and problem-solving skills I needed to be successful during my traineeship. With the unfailing guidance from my professors and mentors, various opportunities in local, regional and international mooting competitions, internship programmes and business plan competitions, and abundant student resources, the law became easy to digest.

Methodological training in sociology requires students to analyse social incidents from multiple perspectives. What seem like disparate incidents can be organized systematically to reveal a coherent pattern.

After winning our first competition, our team found our way into the CUHK Pre-incubation Centre (Pi Centre), where we enjoyed free workspace, facilities and mentorship for a year. Under the guidance of the Centre staff and with their nomination, our team won several competitions during the year. One of the competition awards was a Fast Track pass for Hong Kong Science Park, giving me access to a rental-free office in the Park and taking my start-up business on a new journey.

In high school, I came across a lot of contests and activities that interested me, but I was too timid to speak in front of people and give them a try. When I got into CUHK, I realized the continuing this trend would be detrimental. If I was to get out of my shell, I needed to learn to speak in public. I attributed my good results in public-speaking contests to the immense help and support I received from my coaches, the three teachers in the English Language Teaching Unit.

I received several offers from different universities, and I visited them all to decide which would be the best for me. Eventually, I chose to pursue further education at CUHK. The main reason for my decision was that when I visited CUHK, I perceived strong bonds among the students, professors and even the school officials, and that really surprised me! These bonds between CUHK people make this school not just a place for learning but more like a home for all the people here.

CUHK provides rigorous academic training and a fruitful campus experience. Studying at CUHK was one of the best decisions of my life.

I joined the College’s Drama Club and the CUHK Drama Society. After trying my hand at all the different roles, ranging from lighting, make-up and costume to screenwriting and acting, I came to realize the diversified nature of the theatre as an art form. It requires combining the passion and wisdom of dozens of people on stage and backstage to give the audience a two-hour extravaganza. This is right up my alley. Throughout my four-year campus life, drama was virtually my second major.

During my early years at the University, I was chairman of the Rotaract Club of New Asia College and the CUHK Social Service Team, organising annually 12 events, including visits to homes for older adults. In just one to two hours, the older residents shared with us their wisdom and experience, which was profoundly enlightening for me.

In the past few years, CUHK has organized various events to enable its students to realize their entrepreneurial dreams. I have also noticed an increase in CUHK graduates-turned-entrepreneurs. This shows that the University’s initiatives are heading in the right direction. What I like best about CUHK is its idyllic campus, which gives free rein to students’ thoughts and imagination.

If I had not studied at CUHK, I would have at most become an engineer in a sizable corporation rather than starting my own business. I enjoyed the rich learning atmosphere at CUHK and embraced the horizon-broadening opportunities, such as competitions and exchange programmes. In my undergraduate years, I won numerous championships in local technology competitions and eventually went to Fudan University for the 7th National Challenge Cup.

As long as I was in Hong Kong, I jumped at every chance to engage in extracurricular activities. On the English Debating Team I made friends from various disciplines, who inspired me to reflect on the role of university students in society. I realized that business is not just about making money and that business majors do not necessarily have to pursue a career in finance. Studying business helps us become strategic thinkers, who can tackle social problems effectively.

Many of the values I hold were shaped in CUHK’s humanistic campus environment. I took many journalism courses and was the deputy head (external affairs) of the campus’s radio channel. When I was shooting documentaries under my tutor’s guidance, I came across numerous deep-seated contradictions in Hong Kong society. It made me realize that apart from earning a living, one could choose to go to the forefront and lead a social movement or an enterprise to help relieve the world of problems or even fix them.