The day of 10 July 2024 may have been just another Wednesday for many, but it was a special day for some impact-driven youth in Hong Kong – it was the day when they were recognised by HSBC as HSBC scholars and welcomed by the ever-growing Hub for the Future community.
The HSBC Scholars Day 2024 also bore significance for us at Foundation for Shared Impact (FSI), as we were officially announced as a partner of the HSBC Scholarship Programme and the coordinator for Hub for the Future, an alumni community of HSBC Scholarship recipients who seek opportunities for capacity building, skills learning, and community engagement to drive systems change in our society.
Nurturing Future Leaders Through Scholarship Programme
Since the launch of its first scholarship programme in 1965, HSBC has been nurturing future leaders with different academic and socioeconomic backgrounds through six scholarships: the HSBC Social Work Scholarship, HSBC Overseas Scholarship, HSBC Hong Kong Scholarship, HSBC Vocational Education Scholarship, Innovative Technology Scholarship, and the HSBC Greater Bay Area (Hong Kong) Scholarship.
As of 2024, more than 7,200 students from diverse disciplines have been empowered to reach their aspirations through these programmes. On this year’s HSBC Scholars Day, HSBC recognised 284 outstanding students from 20 local universities and higher education institutions.
Luanne Lim, Chief Executive Officer, Hong Kong, HSBC, highlighted the importance of fresh and dynamic talent for Hong Kong’s future development. “Our goal is to equip students with the tools to unleash their creativity and drive meaningful change in our community,” she said.
Luanne encouraged students to see themselves as ambassadors of Hong Kong, demonstrating the resilience, strength, and spirit that make the city one of the most cosmopolitan and successful in the world.
At the fireside chat, Gigi Ng, a recipient of the HSBC Overseas Scholarship in 2023, shared her learning from her overseas exchange at The University of Sheffield in the UK. “The HSBC Overseas Scholarship has a truly profound impact on my life, and it provided me with the crucial financial support I needed to study abroad. My overseas exchange at The University of Sheffield, which is located in a former industrial area now known for its rewilding scheme, exposed me to a real diversity of cultures, perspectives, and ways of thinking by interacting with people from around the world and learning about environmental conservation in different contexts. With the knowledge I gained in effective community engagement and innovative environmental conservation solutions, I was able to start my own project in Hong Kong, called ‘Connect Ma Wan Chung’. The project aims to introduce the public to the natural habitat in the coastal wetland in the Ma Wan Chung Village, and preserve the cultural heritage by engaging the local community to shape their desired environment. It also raises awareness of the importance of sustainable tourism, village development, and involving village residents in conservation efforts. By connecting people with nature and fostering community involvement, this project not only conserves the environment but also strengthens the bond within the community. It is through projects like this that I want to continue creating a positive impact in Hong Kong.”
The appreciation of a life-changing experience enabled by the HSBC Scholarship Programme was echoed by Thomas Wu, a recipient of the Innovative Technology Scholarship Programme in 2019. “I joined two overseas attachment programmes provided by the University of California, Berkeley, in the US, and the National University of Singapore. While in the US, I learnt how to transform innovative ideas into real-world applications and commercialise them; in Singapore, I learnt various cutting-edge techniques. The learning I gained from the two experiences enabled me to enhance my own innovative business projects. My new initiative, called Plaper, aims to enhance plastic recycling in Hong Kong to transform the city into the waste-free and carbon-free green hub envisioned by the government. Plaper is a reverse vending machine that collects all kinds of plastics, sorts them into seven different plastic waste streams, and sends them to companies specialising in remanufacturing plastic waste into new plastic materials.”
As a former awardee of the HSBC Overseas Scholarship, Marina Tong, Chief Operating Officer, Hong Kong, HSBC, remembered fondly her own overseas exchange experience and the impact it has left on her life: “The HSBC Overseas Scholarship took me on a different path, and the path led me back to HSBC, where today I’m serving as Chief Operating Officer, connecting the Bank with the community. It has always been important for me to pay it forward. I have been on the judging panel for the HSBC Scholarships for the past four years. It always inspires me to listen to the applicants’ proposals, and meeting these scholarship applicants broadens my perspective of the community. I encourage all HSBC Scholars to do service work for the community. Every hour that you can spare for community service can benefit someone who otherwise can’t afford that vital support.”
The impact of employees’ contribution to society can be magnified by a supportive corporate culture, added William Leung, Division Head, Innovation and Growth, HSBC Commercial Banking: “Finding the time to volunteer is all about priority and balance. I would try to understand the expectations of me as a volunteer and my commitment level, so that it doesn’t overwhelm my own schedule and work capacity. I’m fortunate that HSBC offers a lot of volunteering opportunities for us to choose from, and my manager is also an active volunteer. The support from my manager allows me the flexibility to make alternative work arrangements, and my manager and I often share our own volunteering experiences. Through the volunteering activities, I had the privilege to meet young people from teenagers to DSE students and HSBC scholars, who enriched my perspective with theirs. At a programme that I joined, some 30 to 40 Form 4 and 5 students would form groups to build a company from scratch. They did market research, created a product design, found suppliers, and even commercialised the products. These youth encountered numerous challenges throughout the process but they found solutions to move forward and eventually develop amazing products. I found their passion and resilience very inspiring, and I was able to bring it back to my workplace, which focuses on driving innovation for businsses. To anyone interested in volunteering, I would say, start small by caring more about your community, and sign up for things that interest you – the impact you create can be magnified if you commit to things that interest you.”
William’s advice was shared by Gigi: “Start small and focus on issues that you’re truly passionate about. Find opportunities to volunteer, do an internship, or get involved in organisations that are working on causes that are close to your heart. Building relationships and hands-on experiences in your community can help you identify creative ways to make a difference, even if you’re a student.”
Leveraging what the Hub for the Future offers is also important to cultivate one’s social impact journey, added Thomas: “Utilise the opportunities and resources offered by the Hub for the Future to dare to challenge the status quo, change your own life and the lives of people around you.”
FSI Unleashing HSBC Scholars’ Potentials as Community Leaders
As the new partner of the HSBC Scholarship Programme, FSI plays the paramount role of building a community of future-ready leaders for Hong Kong and empowering them to become a force for good in Asia.
Leveraging our expertise in facilitating broad cross-sector collaboration, we will be promoting mutual support and engagement within the Hub for the Future community through building a shared identity and shared commitment to cultivating the next generation of leaders. We will also organise training, workshops, and various other activities to equip members of the Hub with effective leadership skills, engage them in impactful community services, simultaneously amplifying HSBC’s corporate social impact.
“It was great meeting the new HSBC Scholars and members of the Hub here at HSBC headquarters today,” said Vivian Seo, FSI’s Executive Director. “Greater still to see how excited the HSBC Scholars are about the upcoming activities we have lined up for the Hub this year. At FSI, our mission is to address society’s most challenging problems through community building and shared resources, and we do this by helping high-impact organisations and individuals reach their full potential and drive collective social impact. We are delighted to be partnering with HSBC, who shares our passion for empowering youth to build a resilient community.”
Said Mandy Yeung, FSI Program Officer for the HSBC Scholarship Programme: “It’s heartening to see so many HSBC scholars signing up for the Hub’s new communications channels, eager to learn about the leadership training, skills-based volunteering, and mentoring opportunities FSI will be offering to members of the Hub. I’m really excited about this HSBC and FSI partnership!”
With a solid track record in youth empowerment and community engagement through our shared-impact approach, FSI is renowned for our highly impactful and effective programmes such as the award-winning experiential-learning Impact Lab Course, widely-acclaimed Board Director Training, Community Connections Program, and Community Business Support Program, as well as our Shared Data Project, which leverages data and technology to bring transparency and accountability to the social impact space in Hong Kong.
Get in touch with us at info@shared-impact.com if you want to work with us to tackle society’s most challenging issues by nurturing the next generation of social impact leaders and empowering disadvantaged communities in Hong Kong.
