HKUMed Celebrates Graduates at 213th Congregation
HKUMed graduates celebrated their academic achievements among their peers and loved ones on Sunday at the 213th Congregation.
Almost 600 graduates from the Li Ka Shing Faculty Medicine received their degrees at the dignified ceremony in the University of Hong Kong’s Grand Hall.
Professor CS Lau, Dean of Medicine praised the graduates’ successes and shared the Faculty’s plans for the future in his Dean’s Letter address.
Among these, he explained how the Faculty will facilitate clinical trials on a larger, regional scale as operator of the Greater Bay Area International Clinical Trial Institute.
“The next period in HKUMed’s development will undoubtedly be a busy one. We aim to achieve excellence through advancing our research strengths and opportunities, strengthening our partnerships, and enhancing our education programmes to ensure we produce capable and compassionate graduates,” he said.
Graduates carrying cuddly toys and bunches of flowers were joined by their friends and family to mark the event on HKU’s Main Campus.
Dr Matthew Chau, who was receiving his doctorate degree, said he enjoyed his time at HKU where his research focused on using WhatsApp to deliver chat-based alcohol intervention to university students.
“Right now, I’m very excited as I’ve finally got my PhD degree. My personal motto is work hard, play hard. It played out very well,” he said. “It was my pleasure to study at HKU, especially as it’s one of the top universities in Asia.”
Fellow graduate Dr Kong Li was celebrating the occasion with her family and closest friends.
“I’m so proud of myself for getting my PhD degree,” she said, adding that the support she received at the university had helped her find herself.
“Life at HKU was very happy,” she said. “It taught me a lot about academic study and also how to get along with friends.”
Guest of honour, Ambassador George Hara, a technology entrepreneur, congratulated graduates on their achievements. Ambassador Hara said the graduates should work towards a goal of creating a society where people can live a healthy life right up until their deaths.
“I encourage you to break free from conventional thinking and develop a flexible mindset that invites you to view science from a broader perspective and utilise entirely different scientific methodologies,” he said.
“As you move forward in your medical careers, I hope you will keep that principle of public interest capitalism in your mind, and act to not only protect the health of individual patients but also promote the health of the whole society.”