Convocation Newsletter, Summer 2018

Honorary Graduates Honorary degrees were conferred to three outstanding individuals at the 199 th Congregation on May 18, 2018: (from left) Dr David Mong 蒙德揚 , Dr Jack Ma 馬雲 , and Professor Tang Ching-wan 鄧青雲 . HKU Chancellor and Hong Kong SAR Chief Executive the Hon Mrs Carrie Lam 林鄭月娥 (BSocSc 1980) (middle) presided over the ceremony, joined by Pro-Chancellor Dr the Hon Sir David Li 李國寶 (Hon LLD 1996), Council Chairman Professor the Hon Arthur Li 李國章 , and the then Acting President & Vice-Chancellor Professor Paul Tam 譚廣亨 (MBBS 1976). Doctor of Social Sciences honoris causa Dr David Mong, Chairman and CEO of the Shun Hing Group, is a champion of corporate responsibility and philanthropy. He has lent his counsel and leadership to HKU as a member of its Court, as a Director of the HKU Foundation, and as a member of the Board of Governors at The Prince Philip Dental Hospital. Under Dr Mong’s leadership, the Shun Hing Education and Charity Fund has contributed substantially to improving the well-being of diverse sectors of society in Hong Kong, the Mainland and overseas. Dr Mong was instrumental in the establishment of Shun Hing College at HKU, which opened in 2013 and was inaugurated in 2015. It has been home to 1,982 students from 63 countries. Doctor of Social Sciences honoris causa Dr Jack Ma is the lead Founder and Executive Chairman of the Alibaba Group, the world’s largest e-commerce platform and big data platform. A former university teacher, his view is that the title of CEO stands for “Chief Education Officer”, as CEOs should be responsible for helping their customers and staff become more successful. The Jack Ma Foundation focuses on philanthropic initiatives in the areas of education, environmental protection, poverty alleviation, and entrepreneurship. He is “the public face of Asia’s emerging digital economy and an emblem of China’s economic transformation over the past 20 years”. Doctor of Science honoris causa Professor Tang Ching-wan is known as the Father of the Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED), an invention that has transformed the electronic displays used in devices all over the world. Today, OLED technology is a multibillion-dollar industry. Professor Tang’s discoveries were made while he was a research scientist at Eastman Kodak in the United States, where he worked for 31 years. In 2011, he was awarded the Wolf Prize in Chemistry. This year, Professor Tang was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in America. “ Of all the great advantages Hong Kong has, there are three attractions that really attracted me: the inclusiveness, the innovation and young people. ” Jack Ma www.hku.hk/hongrads/ 32 SUMMER 2018