These stories are very heartening to me personally. I firmly believe that real-world experiences, like those provided through the EY, are important for students’ personal and professional development. This is true for students of all our programmes, not only MBBS. Nursing, for instance, has a Life Enrichment Learning Course that keeps expanding exchange opportunities, recently adding institutions in Ningxia and Guizhou. The BASc(GHD) places students with organisations such as the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in Geneva, UNICEF in New York City, and the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention in Beijing. Students are also awakened to the human dimensions of medicine through real world exposure in the curriculum. The HKUMed Community Pharmacy, now in its second year, gives Pharmacy students opportunities for handson, face-to-face work. Hong Kong’s first Chinese Medicine Hospital will give our Chinese Medicine students opportunities for local clinical attachments. The School of Biomedical Sciences has strengthened connections with industry partners, such as Merck Pharmaceutical, to enhance education and talent development, while also revamping its curriculum to give students more options for majors. There is one other programme to mention, that will contribute in a different way by helping to bring innovations to patients. The BEng[BME] has been revamped to provide students with clinical, research and industry exposure, and is now housed in the new School of Biomedical Engineering (SBME). The programme has attracted a high number of applicants from students who are keen to help solve real-world healthcare problems. This mindset is reflected in one of our graduands today, who completed both BEng[BME] and MBBS at HKU. He shared that this dual training has taught him to think as both a doctor and an engineer – to understand the technologies behind clinical practice, break down complex problems and work across disciplines. Most importantly, it has strengthened his desire to translate technology into better patient care. That is precisely what we hope to cultivate through SBME: innovation not for its own sake, but in service of people. 6
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