Funded by CityU’s Career and Leadership Fund as a key event of the CLASS Elite Leaders Programme in 2018/19, a study tour to Taiwan was organised from 31 December 2018 to 5 January 2019. Associate Deans of CLASS, Professor Hon S CHAN and Dr Peppina LEE, and eight elite leaders attended the trip.
The six-day study tour to Taipei was a real eye-opener for the elite students of our College in developing their career interests through knowledge acquisition, intellectual exchange, as well as industry visits. In a seminar, Professor Bennis SO, Chair of Department of Public Administration of National Chengchi University (NCCU), provided the CityU student group with a solid foundation on the political background of Taiwan. Students of NCCU then offered their hospitality by taking the group a scenic cable-car ride up the mountain and the two groups of students had a fruitful exchange over cups of tea in a decent teahouse.
The group was given a valuable chance to visit the government units, including the Executive Yuan, Legislative Yuan and Examination Yuan. Zita TSUI, a Year 2 student majoring in Public Policy and Politics, said she found the visits and interactions with the Taiwan officials very insightful. “They answered our questions in details, briefed us on the work they are in charge of, and emphasised the paramount importance of the spirit of separation of the Five Powers in Taiwan. Such experience is very inspiring to me as a politics student and greatly deepened my understanding of the political structure of Taiwan,” said Zita.
Apart from civil service, the student group also took the opportunity to explore the private sectors by visiting the local well-established companies. Vienna CHAN, a Year 3 student majoring in Digital Television and Broadcasting, highly valued the visit to the Eastern Broadcasting Company. “Visiting the Eastern Broadcasting allowed me to compare the mechanism of journalism of Taiwan and that of Hong Kong. The real-life experiences shared by the media professionals there were truly enlightening to potential journalists like me.” The group also visited TECO and Global Views – Commonwealth Publishing Group. The visit to TECO and the valuable exchange with the Sector Executive Mr Eugene HUANG inspired the students a lot, and made them rethink the impact of technology on mankind. Professor Charles KAO, founder and CEO of the latter, highlighted the significance of reading books of different genres and selecting quality literature.
Photo 1: Vienna Chan enjoyed a taste of being a news anchor at the local TV station.
In general, participating students were mesmerised by the culture and politics in Taiwan. Professor Hon S Chan, Associate Dean (Internationalisation and Outreach), said he was impressed that the students gained valuable insights in the tour. “To prepare our students well as a global citizen, CLASS continues to expand its ties with leading institutions and organisations around the world. I am glad to see our elite leaders gain a cultural experience on their studies which might be helpful in their future career development.”
Dr Peppina Lee, Associate Dean (Undergraduate Education and Quality Assurance), agreed that the study tour was an exceptional experience that helped equip students with experience in early workplace immersion. “Grooming our students to be future leaders is our goal. It is crucial for them to identify their career interests and get to know where their passion is on the journey of self-exploration. To my great delight, their active engagement and encouraging feedback proved this study trip a great success.”
Check out the special moments of the study trip by viewing the video prepared by one of our participating elite students, Vienna Chan.
