CUHK
News Centre

A total of 20 passionate and outstanding students of The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) have been awarded AIA Scholarships 2020-2021. They come from a wide range of disciplines, such as medicine, psychology, translation, financial technology, earth system science and quantitative finance.

Chen Sing Yu Galax, a Year 1 Nursing student, said, “When I learnt that I would be one of the AIA Scholars, I felt as if a massive weight had been lifted from my shoulders….. Throughout secondary education, my younger brother and I both relied heavily on scholarships and school assistance to pay tuition fees, and we often needed our grandparents’ support to pay for our daily expenses.” Since high school, Galax has devoted much of his time to volunteering at some medical related charitable organisations including St. John Ambulance Association, Hong Kong Emergency Medical Services Corps and Bradbury Hospice. Galax aspires to give back to society through his future career and community service, with his effort focused on helping the disadvantaged.

Having migrated from mainland China to Hong Kong at the age of nine, Lau Tsan Yu Steve, now majoring in Economics, initially felt it difficult to adapt to schooling in Hong Kong due to the English language barrier. Steve said, “Back then, I was fortunate to receive help from Windshield Charitable Foundation Social Services, and consequently I became very outgoing and confident. Therefore, I became deeply aware of the positive value that community service can bring to other people, and that has become one of my core development directions.” Steve has been an active volunteer with Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui in recent years, serving the elderly and children in different service activities.

Professor Wong Suk-Ying, Associate Vice-President and Director of Admissions and Financial Aid, sincerely thanked AIA Foundation, “CUHK is much indebted to AIA Foundation for their generous support and their huge commitment to developing future leaders. A pledge of 100 million US dollars for establishing the AIA Scholarship for university students will, beyond doubt, make a great contribution to not only tertiary education but also the Hong Kong community.”

AIA Foundation is committed to offering 100 scholarships each year to Year 1 local undergraduate students among 10 local universities starting from the academic year 2020/21 as a major and generous investment in potential future leaders. The value of each scholarship is HK$50,000, renewable up to the normative study period of the programme on an annual basis. The scholarship recipients are distinguished students who demonstrate both excellent academic performance and a track record of community service or charitable work.