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1. MPH concentration and expected graduation year Health Economics, Policy & Management, 2018 2. Job title and Community Outreach Works Manager of Jack-of-all-trades (joking!) Responsible for optimizing my company’s healthcare service business in Asia Pacific Volunteer for IMC Sunday School since 2011 Best Volunteer Award from the Boys’ and Girls’ Clubs Association 3. Tell us your story! How did you become interested in public health, and how does public health relate to your current line of work? My company is in the renal industry. Our patients are towards the end of the NCD chain, meaning most already have diabetes and/or hypertension that led to gradual deterioration of the kidneys. Renal replacement therapy is extremely costly for both patients and governments. For example, in Taiwan, 0.3% of the population has chronic kidney disease that utilizes >7% of total healthcare expenditure. I understand, first hand, how detrimental NCD is to any health system. Although I work for a for-profit company, we are involved in supporting governments, especially in developing countries, to provide the necessary services to meet rising demand. Recently, I have been involved in discussions with the public sector regarding reimbursement and healthcare infrastructure in my line of work. This type of work sparked my interests in how a government organizes and supplies healthcare services. Then I realize there is actually an entire degree dedicated to it. 4. How have you applied what you have learned within the MPH program to your line of work? MPH has broadened my view of health systems (actually of the world in general). I now have a better understanding of how my line of work fits into the intricate patchwork of public health and not just in delivery of healthcare. Biostatistics and epidemiology have certainly helped in the clinical area of my work. The management and policy type of classes are very useful in the operation and business side. 5. What advice would you give to current MPH students who will be entering the workplace for the first time? No task is ever too small or trivial for you. You can always gain something out of any type of work that you do if you look hard enough. Be humble and work very hard, as in give 200% into everything that you do. Learn to really listen and empathize with everyone that you work with. Wisdom does not only come from intelligence but also life experiences through compassion and self-awareness. Opportunities will always come to those most prepared for them. 6. Any other wisdom to share with the readers? Never stop learning! Know a fellow HKU SPH student or alumni with an interesting story? Let us know! Email Ms Shereen Ayub (sayub1@hku.hk) to nominate your MPH peer for the next 'Meet Our Students and Alumni' blog series.

1. MPH concentration and expected graduation year Concentration: Public Health Practice Expected graduation year: 2019 2. Job title and Community Outreach Works Job: Manager, iDendron, Technology Transfer Office, The University of Hong Kong Responsible for running iDendron, HKU Innovation & Entrepreneurship Hub, to incubate HKU students and alumni early stage startups and promote innovation & entrepreneurship culture on campus Senior Resident Tutor, University Hall, The University of Hong Kong Taking care of the welfare and discipline of the residence and providing guidance to students Community Work/social service: Member, Basic Law Promotion Steering Committee, Hong Kong SAR Government Member, Committee on the Promotion of Civic Education, Hong Kong SAR Government 3. Tell us your story! How did you become interested in public health, and how does public health relate to your current line of work? I studied Politics, Public Administration and Social Policy in my undergraduate as I have been passionate about public affairs and policies to improve well-being (that is also why I took up the position of Students’ Union President of HKU few years ago!). From my work, I learn about medical technologies which brought impact on human evolution. I find that improving one’s health is the most direct way to improve well-being. That’s why I picked public health: it’s a combination of public policies, healthcare and medical knowledge. Some of the start-ups under my purview are medical technology start-ups, gadgets or solving some unmet healthcare needs. 4. How have you applied what you have learned within the MPH program to your line of work? The MPH program covers a wide range of topics, related to policy making, politics, medical science, statistics, research etc. The entire training is intensive and comprehensive. My work is about innovation, entrepreneurship and technology, which are not directly related to healthcare or public health sector. However, one of the core objectives of my work is to make use of technology to create innovative solution to solve problems or fulfil unmet needs in the world. We all know that there are many bottlenecks and unmet needs in healthcare setting. The program provides my perspectives and new problem settings to let me rethink what kind of technology and innovations could help improve our well-being. Meanwhile, the research and science training sharpen my understanding towards the emerging technologies in the world, which requires continuous learning and reading science journals. 5. What advice would you give to current MPH students who will be entering the workplace for the first time? There is no straight path to where you are going. So be open and humble. The knowledge we have learnt from college becomes obsolete easily when the world changes so fast. Try to find a way to say yes to things. Say yes to invitations to a new country, say yes to meet new friends, say yes to a new challenge or task, say yes to learning something new. When you look back, you can connect the dots. 6. Any other wisdom to share with the readers? Bruce Lee inspired me a lot and would like to share his quote below –  “Empty your mind. Be formless, shapeless, like water. Now you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle, it becomes the bottle. You put it in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Now water can flow, or it can crash. Be water, my friends.” Learn to adapt to any situation. Don’t be constrained by any one system or doctrine. Know a fellow HKU SPH student or alumni with an interesting story? Let us know! Email Ms Shereen Ayub (sayub1@hku.hk) to nominate your MPH peer for the next 'Meet Our Students and Alumni' blog series.

1. MPH concentration and expected graduation year Health Economics, Policy and Management, 2018 2. Job title and/or community outreach work involved in Publication Committee, Mental Health Association of Hong Kong Committee Member, Hong Kong Psychogeriatric Association Director, Hong Kong Brain Foundation Senior Manager (Redevelopment Project and Executive Support), Kwong Wah Hospital 3. Tell us your story! How did you become interested in public health, and how does public health relate to your current line of work? I am a psychiatrist by profession. I spent the first five years of my career on mastering psychiatry as a science, and the second five years on understanding psychiatry as a clinical service. Then I became intensely interested in knowing how the entire health care system can be best organized. I hope I may spur improvement in the health care system of Hong Kong by blending my clinical experience with the public health knowledge. 4. How have you applied what you have learned within the MPH program to your line of work? Do not expect the MPH program will give you a lecture on how the entire health care system can be best organized. However, the MPH program taught me ways to gather the right evidence and develop my own answer. Our health care system definitely needs a diversity of novel and unique ideas from different public health professionals to become a better system. 5. What advice would you give to current MPH students who will be entering the workplace for the first time? Apply the principles of public health always so that what you have learned can truly become your own views. Be brave to speak up. Point out the problems and propose your solutions. Your pair of fresh eyes will be more valuable to your workplace than you would ever expect. 6. Any other words of wisdom to share? “Learning is an experience. Everything else is just information.” -Albert Einstein Know a fellow HKU SPH student or alumni with an interesting story? Let us know! Email Ms Shereen Ayub (sayub1@hku.hk) to nominate your MPH peer for the next 'Meet Our Students and Alumni' blog series.

1.MPH concentration and graduation year Public Health Practice concentration and graduated in 2006. 2.Job title and Community Outreach Works Job: Nursing Officer, Department of Health Community Work/social service: Vice-president, The University of Hong Kong Nursing Alumni Association Executive Committee Member, Membership Committee, The University of Hong Kong Public Health Alumni Society Committee member, Education Subcommittee, The Hong Kong Society for Public Health Nursing Committee member, Research Subcommittee, The Hong Kong Society for Public Health Nursing Grade IV Officer, Auxiliary Medical Service 3.Tell us your story! How did you become interested in public health, and how does public health relate to your current line of work? As I remembered it was the first year that Master of Public Health started over. Everything was novel and challenging - the curriculum, the academic staff, the teaching methods, and the classmates from various professions. It was 2004. It was a year after SARS. Since then, public health became a hot topic and the establishment of Centre for Health Protection drew my attention in pursuit of career in Department of Health. 4.How have you applied what you have learned within the MPH program to your line of work? As a nurse in public health field, one should not only focus on individual health, but also possess international perspectives with principles of public health embraced. Epidemiology, biostatistics, research methods disentangle and integrate data and information. Concepts, models, and strategies in health promotion and health education guide nursing actions and interventions. 5.What advice would you give to current MPH students who will be entering the workplace for the first time? When you start in, MPH knowledge helps understand guidelines and protocols; sooner you will realise how to orchestrate and better the service programme. Public health theories and ideas, indeed, can be utilised and adapted much more than you anticipate. So... think public health when you order a meal, think public health when you buy a birthday gift! (smile) 6.Any other words of wisdom to share? "The future depends on what you do today." – Mahatma Gandhi Know a fellow HKU SPH student or alumni with an interesting story? Let us know! Email Ms Shereen Ayub (sayub1@hku.hk) to nominate your MPH peer for the next 'Meet Our Students and Alumni' blog series.

1. MPH concentration and graduation year Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Class of 2019. 2. Job title and Community Outreach Works My day job is not related to public health (Researcher for corporate intelligence and due diligence), though I am actively looking to plunge back into the field of public health. My weekend/ afterwork involvement is more interesting – I’m enjoying the responsibility of being the President of the HKU Public Health Alumni society and looking for weekend volunteering opportunities. 3.Tell us your story! How did you become interested in public health, and how does public health relate to your current line of work? I’ve always been interested in the evidence and basic science of different fields, and a “big picture” type of person. It was while I was still training as a social worker that I came to understand how health (mental and physical) impacted on every aspect of a person’s subjective experience. I saw that interdisciplinary background and knowledge was valuable in public health and from there, the what’s, the why’s, and the how’s grabbed my attention – I’ve been down the rabbit hole ever since. 4.How have you applied what you have learned within the MPH program to your line of work? While I don’t work in the field, the lessons on how to think, evaluate evidence and present information stuck with me. It shows in my work process as being meticulous and structured. It’s also applicable in preventing biases you are dealing with inter-connected data sources and trying to create an automated aggregator of open-source information. 5.What advice would you give to current MPH students who will be entering the workplace for the first time? Look for a lifestyle that you want to build for yourself and structure your job search around that. Network to know what opportunities are out there and whether your expectations are founded. 6.Any other words of wisdom to share? I’ve found that cultivating empathy, and actively seeking to test stereotypes that I’ve learnt have led to the most fulfilling personal and professional developments in my life – take time to listen to understand, not just to reply. Also, I’d like to make a shameless plug for the Alumni Society – do write in and let us know what you’re interested in! Know a fellow HKU SPH student or alumni with an interesting story? Let us know! Email sphalumni@hku.hk to nominate your MPH peer for the next 'Meet Our Students and Alumni' blog series.

Join us on Zoom for our second discussions exploring Public Health and Global Health careers! In this session we will chat with Dr Lincoln Lau, Director of Research at International Care Ministries (ICM). He will share his personal career journey and experience working with ICM. Dr Lau will also discuss how ICM is dealing with COVID-19 and how the pandemic is impacting vulnerable communities in the Philippines. This is an interactive discussion where you will have the opportunity to ask Dr Lau any questions you have about careers in this field. Date: April 17th 2020 Time: 10:00am HKT Please register at: https://hkuems1.hku.hk/hkuems/ec_hdetail.aspx?guest=Y&ueid=69551 Registration closes April 16th 2020, 12 noon Zoom Meeting ID reminder will be sent to registrants About this series: We will invite professionals across different public health and global health employment fields to share their real life experience from time to time. It will give you an exclusive chance to interact with the professionals, and also allow you to get the first-hand career information in the field. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Dr Polly Wong by email at pollywong@hku.hk

In light of the current coronavirus outbreak, HKU Master of Public Health Information Session (Mar), originally scheduled for 28 March, will be postponed to 18:00-19:30, 1 April (Wednesday) and be hosted online as webinar. There will be time reserved for answering questions from webinar attendees. Please register in advance for this webinar. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar. For enquiries, please contact us at mphsph@hku.hk or 3917 6802. We look forward to seeing you.

A Coffee + Discussion Series for students in Public Health and Global Health Join us on Zoom for the first in a series of discussions exploring Public Health and Global Health careers! About this series: We will invite professionals across different public health and global health employment fields to share their real life experience from time to time. It will give you an exclusive chance to interact with the professionals, and also allow you to get the first-hand career information in the field. In this session we will chat with Ms Katherine Weatherburn, Founder of Safetyknot, an NGO dedicated to promoting safety and preventing injuries in low and middle income countries. Katherine has extensive experience working in the NGO sector and will share her experience working in and setting up her own NGO in LMICs. This is an interactive discussion so you will have the chance to ask Katherine any questions you have about careers in this field. Date: March 27th 2020 Time: 2:30pm HKT Medium: Zoom Meeting Please register at: https://hkuems1.hku.hk/hkuems/ec_hdetail.aspx?guest=Y&ueid=69428 Registration closes: March 26th 2020 12pm Zoom Meeting ID reminder will be sent to registrants

In light of the current coronavirus outbreak, HKU Master of Public Health Information Session (Feb), originally scheduled for this Saturday (29 February), will be postponed to 18:00-19:30, 4 March (Wednesday) and be hosted online as webinar. There will be time reserved for answering questions from webinar attendees. Please register in advance for this webinar. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar. For enquiries, please contact us at mphsph@hku.hk or 3917 6802. We look forward to seeing you.

Tuesday, 21 January 2020 HKUMed WHO Collaborating Centre for Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Control releases real-time nowcast on the likely extent of the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak, domestic and international spread with the forecast for chunyun. For details, please refer to https://sph.hku.hk/en/news/press-releases/2020/nowcasting-and-forecasting-the-wuhan-2019-ncov-outbreak. Professor Gabriel Leung, HKU Dean of Medicine (left) and Professor Joseph Wu, Professor, School of Public Health (right) present real-time nowcast and forecast on the extent of the Wuhan CoV outbreak, domestic and international spread.

Applications for September 2020 intake is now open! Information sessions are scheduled for January, February and March 2020, during which our Deputy Director (Education), Dr. Janice Johnston, will share information about admissions, financial aid and key aspects of student life. Please spread the word among your friends and colleagues! Online Registration: https://hkuems1.hku.hk/hkuems/ec_hdetail.aspx?guest=Y&ueid=68548 (18 January) https://hkuems1.hku.hk/hkuems/ec_hdetail.aspx?guest=Y&ueid=68549 (29 February) https://hkuems1.hku.hk/hkuems/ec_hdetail.aspx?guest=Y&ueid=68550 (28 March)

We are proud to announce that 13 School of Public Health faculty members are included in the 2019' list of top 1% scholars at HKU. Congratulations to our top scholars! #hku #publichealth #academia