[Ivan Wong /Educator]

Ivan: There were ‘Six Arts’ in ancient Chinese culture. Archery is one of them. I really enjoy archery. It often allows me to take a break and meditate. I am Ivan Wong, an educator, a mentor or somebody called me a life coach for young people. My family runs a construction enterprise in Hong Kong which has a history of 61 years. In the 1980s, there were quite a number of school buildings located in mainland’s mountainous regions which were not safe. We, coming from the construction industry, wanted to provide the students with a safe campus for studying. This was how my grandfather contributed to the cultivation of young talents. At that time, I am the third generation of our family business. In addition to safe construction, we also hope to contribute in the fields of basic education, scientific research, and innovative technology. From my grandfather to my father, generation by generation, we have inherited this vision and are dedicated to pass it on.  

Ivan Wong to Michael Hui:

You joined the school (as a teacher) in 2014?

[Michael Hui/PE Teacher]

Michael: Yes, 2014. I used to be a student here and now I have taken the role of a teacher. Back in the old days, I would care about my own academic achievements, but now I have changed. I would be very happy if my students could have made some accomplishments. Perhaps even much happier than the students themselves.

Ivan Wong: We saw an opportunity. In all these years, Hong Kong has developed a reputation in education with a global perspective. However, to progress even further, we must work together with mainland’s academic institutions and learn from each other. It is because the mainland has massive demand and resources. There are eight universities in Hong Kong. The total number of students of these universities is equivalent to the number of students in just one medium-sized university in the mainland. One example is UIC which is an extension of Hong Kong Baptist University in Zhuhai. This is called ’one university, two campuses‘. Under this model, we allow students of both campuses can move around the two campuses in one or two semesters.

[Rose Law/University Student]

Rose: I went to HKBU a year ago. The atmosphere there was a bit more... serious. It’s all compact. I guess it was because the places were smaller. I actually think that the atmosphere here in mainland is a bit freer.

[Nicolas/Associate University Professor]

Nicolas : Good afternoon, everyone. So today...

Ivan Wong: I often speak with them(the teachers) to find out why they would like to join our team. So how you find all the world that you come to Zhuhai? Most of the tutors don’t come from Guangdong or Guangzhou. Many come from Hong Kong, Southeast Asia and overseas.”

Nicolas: They (students) might have some Indian teachers in the future. American teachers, or French teacher…So they need to get used to the variety of pronunciations. Many of our students want to move overseas to study after their undergrad. It will be useful to them in the future.

Ivan Wong: What struck me deeply is that these teachers are very dedicated to education. It’s quite a challenge for them to leave their hometown, and come a long way to join us here. It’s a big challenge, indeed. For basic education, we are now actively promoting STEAM education. Besides traditional subjects, we aim to cultivate the younger generation with a vision for innovation and technology advancement. As they grow older, they would have been equipped for developing on a much larger stage. In the last decade, I’ve been moving between different cities in the Greater Bay Area including Hong Kong. It’s indeed quite tiring. But why continue to push forward such educational work? It’s because I firmly believe that from the development of a place, the infrastructure of a city, to the competitiveness of a country, would be decided not by fate but by the quality of the people there. Education can change a person, particularly for our younger generation. Every time I come to this archery range, I feel that archery is not only about techniques. It is in fact a ritual. The arrow hitting the target signifies the achievement of a goal. Same principle applies when promoting education work. First, we need to have a clear target once we have that, then step by step, we can advance towards the goal.