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Health care is vital to all of us some of the time, but public health is vital to all of us all of the time”, a famous quote from Charles Everett Koop, an American pediatric surgeon and public health administrator in the 80s. I was first impressed by this quote to begin delving into the domains of Public Health. I am a part time MPH student in the concentration of Health Economics, Policy and Management. I am also a Graduate Biomedical Engineer working at a private hospital in Hong Kong. Working in the usual hustle and bustle of a high volume usage of medical equipment, it is no surprise to ponder about the underlying reasons and find out the demands for medical supports are much wider than everyone can think of. From the use of thermometers to anesthesia machines, it is difficult if not impossible for a normal person to stand for, whereby a clear mindset and positive attitudes towards the medical industry is of paramount importance, and this paves the way why Public Health is the right choice. Thanks for the grant of the UGC Targeted TPg fellowship, it nurtures me as a person of diverse thinking. The curriculum consists of core courses and concentration courses, even the debut course – principle of public health can be quite challenging yet interesting. I was given a host of opportunities to share experience from the workplace and through numerous research, this also enlightens my angles of critical thinking plus encourages my communication skills with teammates from all walks of life. The curriculums are designed to equip students with the knowledge they need to face whatever public health issues or emergencies arise, and this topic is especially in the spotlight during the outbreak of COVID19. My future aspiration is to acquire the knowledge and utilize the skills learned within the MPH courses and to stand out for career advancement in the public health field. It will be even ideal if the proposed activities brainstormed under the assignments can come true in one day!

I graduated with a BSc degree in Public Health at the CUHK. During my undergraduate study, I was fortunate to gain work experiences at various sectors such as the Department of Health, NGOs and university affiliated researches. Driven by my passion to improve population health, I became increasingly drawn to this field because I realised the window of opportunity to build sustainable healthcare through disease prevention in Hong Kong and beyond. I was motivated to pursue a MPH because I wanted to equip myself with more rigorous training in epidemiological and biostatistics. I believe they are important methodology and research skills that will help me excel in qualitative and quantitative research. I was very excited to be granted the UGC Targeted TPg Fellowship. The most rewarding part of receiving the UGC Targeted TPg Fellowships was to know that I am not alone in my journey to pursue a career in public health. Although this field can be overlooked or underappreciated by some people, it was wonderful to know that there are abundant financial resources to support us towards our passion. My MPH study has been very rewarding so far. It was very intellectually enriching to be taught by some of the leading epidemiologists and researchers in this field. I was inspired and stimulated to hear about their work and learn from them. In particular, I really enjoyed doing the newsflashes during the Dean’s class in the first semester. The process of discussing recent public health news taught me to tackle issues with multiple lenses including political, social and economic consideration. Working with classmates from diverse backgrounds also provided me with practical experiences in interdisciplinary collaboration and teamwork skills. Overall, I am impressed with the quality of teaching in the MPH course. Professors and teaching assistants are always there to help us improve by giving us insightful feedback and comments

Hi, I am Rigil Yeung. I am doing a part-time MPH in HKU and working in a pharmaceutical company as a project manager. Prior to this program, I have received a PhD in Life Science and a BSc in Biochemistry (First Class Honour) from HKUST, with specialities on psychiatry and oncology. There are two main reasons for me to take this program. Firstly, I would like to dedicate myself in healthcare and pharmaceutical industry in the long run, and the MPH program will definitely help a lot for my career development. Besides, I hope I could develop my expertise and skillset in policy. Therefore, I pick HEPM as my concentration in this MPH program. I felt very honoured to receive the fellowship as I knew it is a merit-based award. The fellowship also recognizes my professional qualification and previous hard work, supports me to achieve further and motivates me to serve Hong Kong in the future. Due to COVID-19, all lectures are now conducted online. Still, I am happy to make some good friends from this MPH program. After the COVID-19 peak period, I hope the class will resume and I could meet my friends in the class. I believe this MPH program would help me to advance my career further. More importantly, equipped with knowledge and skills related to healthcare policy, I hope I could contribute further to Hong Kong in this area.

It is my great honour to have been selected as one of the 20 awardees of the UGC Targeted TPg Programmes Fellowships 2020/21. I received my qualification as a registered dietitian in the U.S. and have been working as a dietitian at a private oncology clinic since I moved back to Hong Kong. During my service, I noticed a number of challenges the Hong Kong healthcare system is facing. As a dietitian, I have been working closely along with physicians and other healthcare professionals to prolong and improve patients’ quality of life. Among the professional knowledge in public health I expect to gain from the HKU MPH programme, I am particularly interested in the concentration of health economics, policy and management. Being in a private medical institute, I have been in various administrative roles and I am aware of the utter importance of health management effectiveness. The medical resources in society are limited while the increase in population is not. I would like to acquire additional skills from the HEPM concentration to serve as a healthcare administrator in the sector. My personal mission is to increase health awareness and decrease health disparities for not only the patients that I am currently closely working with, but with a larger population, including the less fortunate in the community. Despite the pandemic situation, I could still easily acquire knowledge with the help of the faculties and connect with my classmates in a dynamic study environment virtually. I have been learning a lot not only during class times, but in group projects with peers from diverse background. I have built friendships with students from different professions and countries. Once again, I would like to thank HKU for providing me with the reward. Also I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to my family, mentors, classmates and professors for continuous support throughout my postgraduate journey

In this Webinar, Ms. Leontine Chuang (J.D.), CEO of the American Club Foundation (ACF), will be sharing about her career journey where she began in practicing corporate law and then moved into working in intergovernmental organisations and NGOs. Throughout her work, she has impacted the lives of many refugees and asylum seekers. Prior to joining ACF, Leontine has had extensive experience working for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and the international NGO PILnet. Participants will have the opportunity to ask Leontine questions about her career and advice on building your career in global and public health. Details and Registration: Date: 8 Jun 2021 (Tue) Time: 5-6pm (HKT) Registration: https://hkuems1.hku.hk/hkuems/ec_hdetail.aspx?guest=Y&ueid=75525 Registration closes at 12nn on 7 Jun 2021.

Presented by the School of Public Health Professional Development Hub (SPH PD Hub), join us for a discussion exploring Public Health and Global Health Careers! In this session, we will chat with Dr Nason Tan (MBBS, MPH), Regional Operations Support Unit Director at Médecins Sans Frontières Hong Kong. Dr Tan will share his personal career journey in public and global health. He will also discuss his experience working with MSF and share his insights about the impact of and works of MSF both locally and globally. This is an interactive discussion where you will have the opportunity to ask Dr Tan questions you may have about careers in this field. About the Speaker: Nason Tan is a Malaysian physician with public health background. He is an alumni of HKU’s Master of Public Health (MPH) programme. He started his clinical career serving in rural Borneo and was attached with the flying doctor service. He subsequently left the government sector with Kuala Lumpur General Hospital being his last place of work. He then joined Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) in 2011 working in different capacity as a field worker, Board director, and currently as the Regional Operations Support Unit Director of MSF Hong Kong. Nason has done humanitarian missions in Ethiopia, Sierra Leone, Nepal, Cambodia, Indonesia, and Malaysia. He has managed outbreaks of Cholera, Lassa fever, severe Malaria and malnutrition emergencies. He has also done exploratory mission in Borneo, and coordinated a search and rescue effort for the Rohingya refugees in the 2015 Andaman Sea crisis which led to the founding of South East Asia Refugees Support Network. Nason was previously the MSF Hong Kong Board President. He represents this region’s voice in bringing awareness to the MSF movement on issues of Methanol poisoning, access to treatment for Hepatitis C, plight of the Rohingya refugees, and Planetary Health. In his personal capacity, he is actively involved with the under-privileged community such as refugees, poor urban and homeless folks, injecting substance users, sex workers, orang asli (indigenous tribes), and the rural population. He was also a part-time university lecturer and has provided training and coaching sessions to local NGOs and medical students on humanitarian crises, health needs assessment, sexual health, HIV and substance misuse advocacy, as well as communication skills. Moderator: Dr Polly Wong (view profile) Lecturer, School of Public Health, The University of Hong Kong Details and Registration: Date: April 29th, 2021 Time: 17:00 – 18:00 HKT Registration: https://hkuems1.hku.hk/hkuems/ec_hdetail.aspx?guest=Y&ueid=74591 Registration closes April 28th 2021 at 12 noon If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Dr Polly Wong by email at pollywong@hku.hk About Coffee and Career 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. Stay connected with us at our Linkedin Page.

We are delighted to have Dr Wai-kit Ming sharing with us his career journey at the Coffee and Careers session on 26 February 2021. Speaker Bio Dr. Wai-kit Ming is an HKU MPH alumnus. He is one of the youngest researchers and currently the Head of Community Medicine at the School of Medicine and Public Health, the Assistant Dean of the International School at Jinan University, Guangzhou, China, and the Adjunct Professor of Sun Yat-sen University. While earning his MD and Ph.D. at Jinan University, he earned a master's from the University of Hong Kong and Harvard University. Following his postdoctoral training at the University of Oxford and Harvard University, he was a visiting research fellow at the University of Oxford and the National Centre for Perinatal Medicine Epidemiology in the United Kingdom. He served as the CEO of a medical device company and has 13 national patents for medical devices. As a public health physician, Dr. Ming’s interdisciplinary research spans different fields while maintaining a focus on population health. His research team has extensive interdisciplinary collaboration experience, including health and pharmaceutical economics, health technology assessment, real-world research, health policy, maternal-fetal medicine, and artificial intelligence medicine. He has had a long history of cooperation with the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and with some local universities on national-based clinical research projects. He was invited to be a doctoral thesis committee member of the University of South Carolina. Dr. Ming’s work revolves around COVID-19 research that has major population health impacts locally and internationally. He has had two scholarly papers published as covers of a journal and over 50 other scholarly papers published, mainly in JCR Q1 and Q2 journals. Please click below and watch the video of Dr Ming's sharing.

My name is Vincent. Protecting the health of community has always been my greatest wish and aspiration. I have been trying very hard to equip myself with healthcare related knowledge and skills, with a view to serving the public. In 2018, I obtained my nursing degree, and then I worked as a registered nurse in a public hospital in Hong Kong till now. Currently, I am taking the MPH program as a part-time student in the HEPM concentration. After working for two years, I could really feel that our healthcare system is overloaded. High bed occupancy, long service waiting time, healthcare staff shortage and high patient-to-nurse ratio are commonly seen among public hospitals, and they are threatening the quality and safety of the healthcare services our citizens are receiving. As a healthcare professional, I really want to do something about it and I know the root causes underneath the overloaded healthcare system are very complex. Therefore, I wish to acquire myself with more public health knowledge, particularly regarding the healthcare system, so that in the future I could contribute in shaping a better healthcare system, so as to promote the health of the community. I feel really grateful for being granted the UCG fellowship. Without the fellowship, I could probably not take the MPH program. So far, I do enjoy studying MPH in HKU, and it is a wonderful learning experience. I have come across classmates from diverse backgrounds (physicians, nurses, engineer, dietitians and etc.) and we share and learn from each other’s expertise, and it makes my learning journey more fruitful. Frankly speaking, I have not decided what to do next upon graduating from the MPH, but I am pretty sure I would like to make some contribution in the field of public health in the future. Once again, I would like express my gratitude to HKU and UGC for granting me the fellowship.

Hey all! I’m Manson, a HKU Med graduate and now an emergency room doctor by profession. It was a busy night shift which provoked me to learn more about MPH. As the gatekeeper of hospital, dashing around in a hectic environment is not uncommon. There exist multiple clinical problems to be dealt with, yet behind the scene is the bigger issue which carries much more impact – our healthcare system. This drives me to get out of the scope of clinical practice and explore what’s actually happening around us. The interaction between different domains of public health fascinates me. The diversified knowledge in public health echoes well with my career which emphasises on breadth. I’m more than honored to have received the UGC fellowships. It acknowledges the importance of public health in the complicated world nowadays and encourages me to pursue something new yet highly related in my career. You will definitely meet great people in MPH. Sharing from renowned academic staff bring us a high level of personal development. Groupmates from all walks of life can enlighten you and give you lots of insights and perspectives. I believe MPH will pave me the way in achieving the goal of a competent public health leader. As a stakeholder in the healthcare system, it is always my obligation to effectively practice public health, protect and promote health of all with ambition, drive and empathy. Dr Manson Chu MPH HEPM (Part-time, Year 1) Awardee of UGC Targeted TPg Programme Fellowships 2020/21

We are delighted to have Mr Matt Friedman sharing with us the journey and experiences spanning his career at the Coffee and Careers session on 27 Nov 2020. Matt is an international human trafficking expert with more than 30 years’ experience in international public health work with USAID and United Nations in more than 40 countries. He is currently the CEO of The Mekong Club, an organization of Hong Kong’s leading businesses that have joined forces to help end all forms of modern slavery. Mr. Friedman offers technical advice to numerous governments, banks, and corporations working to eliminate all forms of modern slavery and is the author of twelve books. Please click below and watch the video of Matt's sharing.

We are delighted to have Dr Alexander Ng sharing with us his career journey at the Coffee and Careers session on 5 January 2021. Dr. Alex Ng, Vice President of Tencent Healthcare. Alex is currently leading Tencent’s healthcare business. Tencent has already developed multiple products such as the wechat mini-app “Tencent Healthcare”, electronic health insurance and healthcare card, AIMIS (AI enabled clinical decision support system for medical images), Oncology Assistant (AI enabled triaging system to better match cancer patients to oncologists). Alex first started his career as a medical doctor where he was the chief resident at Middlemore Hospital in Auckland, New Zealand. He then moved to the US to become a strategy consultant with McKinsey & Company after completing the Master of Public Health at Harvard. After 9 years at McKinsey between US and China, where he co-led the Greater China Healthcare Practice, he joined the Gates Foundation as the deputy director of the China Country Office, responsible for the health and innovation portfolio. He is also serving as an advisor to WHO’s Digital Health Technical Advisory Group, and an honorary associate professor at University of Hong Kong’s Faculty of Medicine. Please click below and watch the video of Alex's sharing.

We are delighted to announce that 3 of our own MPH graduates are among Honours recipients for the 2020 Honours List and JP Appointment by the Government: Dr NG Wing-yiu, George (MPH, 2005) awarded the Chief Executive's Commendation for Community Service De CHAN Kam-hoi (MPH, 2011) awarded the Chief Executive's Commendation for Community Service Dr LEUNG Yiu-hong (MPH, 2005) awarded the Chief Executive's Commendation for Government/Public Service We are proud of our graduates for their dedication to public and community service in Hong Kong. Congratulations to our awardees, and all the best in your continued endeavours!