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Distinguished guests from various sectors were invited to City University of Hong Kong (CityU) to share their success and life experience with more than 160 secondary students at the “Shaping Your Future: A Lifetime of Difference” programme on 18 April.

In addition to the sharing session, the students had the opportunity to talk with CityU staff and students, and find out more about the programmes and the learning environment during their campus tours.

Recommended by their respective school principals, students from more than 50 secondary schools attended the event, which was organised by CityU for the sixth year. The guest speakers were Mr Charles Chyi, CEO of Hong Kong and Macau at Vitasoy International Holdings Ltd; Mr Ricky Yu, Founder and CEO of Light Be; Mr Steven Lam, Co-founder of GoGoVan; Ms Stephanie Au, Olympic Swimmer for Hong Kong; and Mr Jozev Lau, novelist and CityU alumnus.

In his talk, Professor Way Kuo, University President, encouraged students to set their goals. “When I was in the secondary school, there were no smart phones, no computers. Without air conditioners and electric fans in classrooms, we were sweating while attending class but every one of us had a goal. I felt good at that time,” he recalled.

Professor Kuo said that students today had a lot of choices so they found it hard to make decisions. He advised students to follow their heart and do what they think was natural and would bring about the most happiness because there were no absolute right choices.

Mr Chyi talked about the ways of developing innovative thinking in his talk, encouraging young people to set goals for different stages of life and conduct a regular review of the progress of their self-improvement.

Led by Ms Akina Fong, a former news anchor and now a part-time lecturer at CityU, other distinguished guests talked about how to identify and achieve goals in a roundtable discussion. Their sharing inspired students to think about how to make plans for their future and set a course for their future professional career.

In addition to the talks, the participating students visited six colleges and schools at CityU where representatives introduced programme features, entry requirements and graduate career development. The students also visited CityU’s teaching and research facilities including the Gateway Education Laboratory, the Aquatic Science Laboratory, the Japanese tea room, and the Student Hostel.

Ng Cheuk-lam, a Form 4 student from King’s College, said the talks were inspiring. He had visited the library and was impressed by the well-equipped facilities and excellent learning environment in CityU, he said.