Bulletin No. 2, 2021

Greater Expectations : CUHK's vision and action in the Greater Bay Area 19 him various valuable life lessons along the way. ‘It was definitely an eye-opening experience,’ he commented. ‘For one, the working style is actually pretty different between Hong Kong and the GBA; being able to “adapt” and be “flexible” has never been so important.’ He then gave us an example: on 28 October 2021, government officials, innovation and technology pioneers, academia and guests committed to national development from cities across the GBA were invited to attend the ‘Forum on Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Developments and Output Showcase of The Chinese University of Hong Kong’, an event where CUHK shared the fruits of its work in the GBA with a wide range of stakeholders. There were, however, several hiccups he had encountered during the preparation of the forum. ‘About a week or so before the forum was held, we were told that there was a drastic change in the GBA government personnel, some of whom were guests who had been invited to give a speech during the day of the forum. We thus had to immediately contact the new incumbents and rearrange the rundown of the programme. ‘Contrary to the rather rigid and formal working style in Hong Kong, anything can literally happen when you are working with somebody in the GBA, so you have to be adaptive and always expect the unexpected. You should also expect last-minute changes and need to be quick on your feet.’ Apart from being adaptive, Professor Chan also stressed that being open-minded and able to ‘alter the attitudes of the mind’ are of utmost importance. ‘I was once in charge of organizing a cross- border learning activity, bringing students from CUHK to pharmaceutical companies and research centres in Guangzhou and letting them try out their summer internships in the GBA.’ He admitted that some students who applied had had second thoughts on the activity. ‘Nevertheless, all these initial doubts or concerns were wiped away when they began to intern. Those who were lukewarm at the beginning even told me, after the internship, that they had a blast and would definitely go again if given the chance in the future. ‘As educators, we have to make opportunities for students to take their first steps and come out of their shells. Don’t be afraid to be the ones who take the initiative to make a change. With a word of encouragement, anyone can go the distance and travel far.’