Accomplishments

Journalism student awarded CY Tung Scholarship to join Spring 2015 voyage of Semester at Sea

Au Yeung Tsui-see (International Journalism, Year 3) of the Journalism Department of the School of Communication won the CY Tung Scholarship to join university students from around the globe to spend a semester on the “floating campus” of Semester at Sea (SAS). The 112-day voyage will start on 7 January 2015 in Mexico. The ship will sail through Asia and Africa before anchoring in England, visiting 15 cities in 12 countries along the way.

Last year, two HKBU students became the first Hong Kong students to win the CY Tung Scholarship to join the SAS voyage since the Scholarship was established five years ago. This year’s awardee Au Yeung Tsui-see is also the sole winner from Hong Kong. Among the other seven winners, three are from USA and four from Mainland China.

Mr Lau Chi-kuen, Principal Lecturer of Journalism, who recommended Tsui-see for the Scholarship, said: “I am very happy that Tsui-see has won the CY Tung Scholarship which will enable her to spend a semester at sea travelling around the world. I believe the experience will enhance her knowledge of the world and sharpen her intercultural communication skills. Whatever she is going to do after graduation, these knowledge and skills will help her succeed in life.”

Tsui-see was surprised and excited to attain the CY Tung Scholarship. She said: “It is one of the greatest honours I have ever received in my life. Though I have been to the United Kingdom for an exchange semester, I believe this unique experience will bring me unforgettable memories. Through the many fieldtrips, I will be afforded opportunities to step into different communities and learn from people from different parts of the world. I look forward to having a taste of how ordinary people live in different parts of the globe. I believe it will help me acquire a new perspective of life.”

Apart from winning the CY Tung Scholarship, Tsui-see was also awarded the HKSAR Reaching Out Award and a sponsorship granted by President and Vice-Chancellor Professor Albert Chan to cover the expenditure of the voyage.

The ship will sail from Ensenada (Mexico) to Hilo, Hawaii (USA), Yokohama and Kobe (Japan), Shanghai and Hong Kong (China), Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam), Singapore, Rangoon (Burma), Cochin (India), Port Louis (Mauritius), Cape Town (South Africa), Walvis Bay (Namibia), Casablanca (Morocco) and debark in Southampton (England).

During the voyage, Tsui-see will study Sino-American Relations, Sociology of the Family, Cross-Cultural Psychology as well as Gender and Society. Through organised field trips, she willvisit the Cu Chi Tunnels and attend a healthy cooking class at the Agricultural Village in Ho Chi Minh City, tour around Cochin on a tuk tuk, join a township homestay in Cape Town, view penguins at Cape Point, go sandboarding in Walvis Bay and spend an evening with a Moroccan family in Casablanca.

Founded in 1963, SAS is the world’s premier global comparative education programme open to undergraduate students of all majors from around the world. The programme is administered by the Institute for Shipboard Education and the University of Virginia is the academic sponsor. Over the past five decades, SAS sailed more than 100 voyages, educated over 55,000 students from about 1,700 institutions around the world and travelled to more than 60 countries.

 

	Mr Lau Chi-kuen (right) believes the experience will enhance Au Yeung Tsui-see’s knowledge of the world and sharpen her intercultural communication skills