Page 9 - Sphere No.9 (Sep 2003)

With Hutchison sponsorship, exceptional scholars are fulfilling their
academic potential in the UK.
By Mark Caldwell
S PHERE
7
W hen British Prime
Minister Tony Blair
visited Hong Kong in
July it was no surprise that
he made time in his busy schedule to meet
with Hutchison chairman Li Ka-shing.
Not only is HutchisonWhampoa the
biggest Asian investor in the UK with
interests in projects worth more than
£10 billion, but Mr Li and Mr Blair share
a common passion for strengthening
cultural bonds through educational
exchange.
In 1999, as part of a package of
initiatives to encourage more inter-
national students to study in the UK, Mr
Blair introduced measures to beef up
the long-running global Chevening
Scholarships scheme, which is funded by
the British Foreign & Commonwealth
Office and corporate sponsors.
In line with his life-long
commitment to supporting education
initiatives, Mr Li has contributed £2.02
million through Hutchison towards
scholarships for Hong Kong and
Mainland students, which the British
government named the Hutchison
Chevening Scholarships.
The scholarships support outstanding
postgraduate students and executives to
pursue specialist studies. The scheme
commenced in October 2002 and will
run for four years, with up to 15 students
from Hong Kong and 48 from the
Mainland participating each year.
A group of these Chevening Scholars
visited Mr Li at the Cheung Kong Centre
on the same day as Mr Blair.They too had
been scheduled to meet the British Prime
Minister but, due to a typhoon, he was
obliged to leave before the meeting
took place. Nevertheless, the students
exchanged views with Mr Li, who urged
them to make good use of their
professional knowledge and expertise and
to seize every opportunity brought about
by the Closer Economic Partnership
Arrangement (CEPA) between Hong
Kong and the Mainland so as to help
Hong Kong through the present
economic doldrums.
Among the scholars,Dr Dennis Ip Kai
Ming, 37, will be enrolling at Cambridge
University to commence a one-year
MPhil – Epidemiology degree. Dr Ip is
already an accomplished scholar. Besides
the medical qualification he earned from
the University of Hong Kong, he has
completed no fewer than four masters
degrees part time – in statistics (HKU),
applied mathematics (CityU), travel
medicine (Glasgow U) and infectious
diseases (University of London).
Dr Ip, who has been employed as a
medical infection control officer at Tung
Wah Eastern Hospital in Hong Kong, said
he would like to work for an international
organisation such asWHO or perhaps go
into teaching on completion of his degree
at Cambridge.
“I am shifting my focus from clinical
to public health,” Dr Ip said. “I have
wanted to study epidemiology for a long
time and I am very grateful to the
Hutchison Chevening Scholarships
scheme for making this possible.”
Another outstanding Hong Kong
student, Lorraine Wong, will be studying
for an MA in Sociology at Warwick
University in the UK.
She currently holds an MPhil degree
from HKU where she specialised in
English Literature and Literary Criticism.
The scholarship, worth several hundred
thousand dollars in tuition and other
expenses, is “a fantastic opportunity,” said
the 25-year-old.
“It’s not only an academic opening
but one of cultural exchange. I am really
looking forward to living in the UK for
a year.”
The third recipient, Jimmy Kwong,
will commence his Master of Laws
degree at Cambridge when the academic
year begins. The 23-year-old has a first-
class honours LLB degree as well as a
Postgraduate Certificate in Laws (PCLL).
Since graduating, Mr Kwong has focused
on corporate and intellectual property
law in Hong Kong.
“With globalisation, legal practitioners
now require an international perspective,”
he said. “The Master of Laws course at
Cambridge will help give me that
perspective. ”
Jimmy intends to return to Hong
Kong and hopes to make a positive
contribution to society. He will continue
to pursue his career in the corporate and
banking world as well as carrying on with
pro bono work in the community.
“I was honoured to meet Li Ka-
Shing,” said Jimmy. “He spoke about law
and order being essential for the future of
Hong Kong and I was inspired by his life
story. Although he never received a
formal education, Mr Li has spent his
whole life improving himself through
reading. He made me want to try even
harder to make the most of this once-in-
a-lifetime opportunity and to play my
part in Hong Kong’s future.”
Creamof the Crop
Hutchison Chairman Li Ka-shing welcomes British Prime
Minister Tony Blair outside the Cheung Kong Centre.
C O M M U N I T Y