Two postgraduate students Yang Yanan and Chan Chung-yiu were awarded the Paul M F Cheng East West Center Leadership Scholarship to go to the East West Center in Honolulu, Hawaii, in August for a five-month Asia Pacific Leadership Programme. This year, the programme has selected 38 elite participants from East Asian countries, three of them being from Hong Kong.

A student from mainland China, Yanan (Year 2, Master of Social Science Programme in Social Work) knows the hardships suffered by the grassroots on the mainland very well. ‘I hope the overseas immersion experience will broaden my horizons and help me realize my dream.’ She hopes to join a non-governmental organization or charity to help the underprivileged after completion of her studies. Chung-yiu (Year 1, Master of Social Science Programme in Public Policy) said life at CUHK had given him a chance to reflect on the meaning of life. ‘I eagerly want to interact with students from different backgrounds, and the study trip is a big step towards my goal of serving the community,’ he said.