The education system and standard in Hong Kong is well-established providing higher quality of education compared to other countries in Southeast Asia. My two previous master’s degrees were completed in Southeast Asian countries (the Philippines and Thailand). I have always dreamt about achieving my PhD. Similarities in the culture, beliefs, and the living style/standard influences my desire to complete the PhD, the last degree and my biggest dream within Asia. The universities within Hong Kong are among the most selective in the world and HKU has a unique programme within the Social Work and Social Administration department which combines aspects of psychology and applied social sciences at a top global university. In the future, I plan to continue providing mental health care and working in research related mental health in my country working in collaboration with experts within Hong Kong and Asia, and the PhD degree from well-known and high standard institution is very necessary.
I am interested in exploring how people experience embitterment in their suffering, how people can embrace life amid adversity, and transform suffering into resilience, wisdom, and growth. By researching on these shared, yet unique, human experiences of vulnerability and resilience, I wish to be a part of the collective effort in supporting and empowering people who suffer.
My experience with the department of SWSA at HKU has been fruitful and insightful. I am encouraged to pursue my passion and interest, and to ponder on how I could contribute to people and society. Comprehensive support, guidance and resources are provided for us to foster our growth, improve our capability, and actualize our potential.
In our department, students are inspired to continuously strive for research excellence, have deep compassion for people, and be motivated to translate research into social practices; and this is the kind of researcher I aspire to be!
I am studying towards my PhD at the Department of Social Work and Social Administration, where I found it an exceptionally good fit to pursue my research interests in ageing and health.
Currently, my research lies in the field of environmental gerontology. I am fascinated by the complex interplay between individual and environment in everyday life praxis. Through the lens of healthy ageing, I am seeking a deeper understanding of the meaning of age-friendly city by investigating how our physical and social environment can be shaped to promote health and well-being in old age.
The HKU-PS speaks to me in a very personal way. I originated from a middle-income family in Malaysia that earns just enough to make ends meet. Despite receiving merit-based partial scholarships for my Bachelor degree and Master degree, my family’s financial circumstances was horrifying that I was close to drop out at multiple points. Hence, I am very grateful for the HKU-PS that voids my financial concerns and allows me to focus entirely on my studies.
My decision to study at HKU arise after experiencing first-hand clients who were unwittingly pathologized by other mental health professionals. Some mental health professionals would pathologize Asian clients for failing to “individuate” from their nuclear family without understanding the relational norm of the family unit and interpersonal relationships in Asian societies. Similarly, I found relational orientation as an important theme that distinguishes Malaysian gay men’s gay identity construction from the individualism oriented gay identity development models by Western scholars. As I reflect upon my clinical and research findings, I decided to address this glaring gap by proposing a PhD proposal that reads “At the crossroads of gay men and sexual stigma: Finding where it hurts and how to heal” to Dr Huang Yu-Te at HKU.
Powerful academic resources, attractive scholarship packages, and the right supervisor who understands my concerns drew me to HKU. Dr Huang Yu-Te, my current primary supervisor completed his PhD at the University of Toronto, is a licensed clinical social worker in Taiwan, and he is one of the few scholars in Asia who specialize in LGBTQ research. He resonated with my observations and decided to supervise my PhD research. Professor Daniel Wong Fu Keung who pioneered indigenous adaptation of CBT for Chinese is my co-supervisor. We believe that a problem must be understood in their context to be effectively addressed. We aim to go beyond the current limits of gay-affirmative psychotherapy by incorporating Chinese cultural concepts and understandings to improve the effectiveness of mental health services for Chinese sexual minorities.
Having spent years as a social worker in the frontlines of the local medical and communities, I felt the need to integrate practice and research better to benefit service delivery and community development.
The search is crucial for a university that could further develop me into a scholar-practitioner focused on studying grief support within the Asia population.
The decision was made to embark on my doctoral study at HKU SWSA because of its long-held commitment to developing innovative solutions to challenging social issues. HKU SWSA also has a stimulating atmosphere facilitated and led by a team of interdisciplinary faculty, as well as a diverse group of research students within its nurturing environment and scholastic ecology.
I aim to develop novel ways, under the mentorship of the renowned Professor Amy Chow, to harness the organic power of community and social support for individuals and families experiencing grief.
Before coming to HKU SWSA, my social work journey has been lasting seven years. During my BSW and MSW study, I was always passionate to embrace any social needs and challenges. While equipping myself with theoretical knowledge, receiving A-level grades and National Scholarships in schools, I had several social work experiences in different settings, including designing service-learning projects to empower the undergraduates and promote social innovation in the campus; conducting group and community work to improve social inclusiveness of the mentally disabled and elder people; co-founding a NGO and supervising localized projects in the minority area; enhancing the understanding about nonprofit management, organizational governance, crowd-funding, social media promotion and project evaluation in the renowned social organizations such as Shanghai Charity Foundation, NPI and Shegongke Social Innovation Center.
Since 2014, I have been trying to balance the roles as both a social work student and a social change maker. Supported and inspired by the pioneers and tutors in colleges and working places, my previous experiences, on the one hand, narrow down my research interests in especially nonprofit management, social innovation and community-based social services; on the other, all the insights further shape my personal goals – to share my stories about social work, influence more promising young generations, and lead them to create better social well-being system, as well as greater social change.
While I clearly possessed a drive to become a social work educator, I had no idea how to go further. HKU SWSA met me exactly where I was, by providing a perfect environment for me to learn new academic and practical skills that refine my passion and realize my goal. SWSA combines both international advanced perspectives and localized practical wisdom, which made enormous contributions to and huge impact on the historical development of Chinese social work and social welfare in the past spectacular 71 years since 1950. Considering the distinguished alumni, quality teaching, excellent research output and international impact, HKU SWSA has been the best fit for me to achieve the advanced study.
Until now, my experiences here in SWSA has been simply amazing. I have gained so much knowledge about the advanced research methods to improve my own research, the multidisciplinary lens to build broader social network, the fruitful discussions and suggestions from my supervisors, and the abundant opportunities (e.g. student-led journal club, cooperative projects) to communicate with excellent peers, professors and external stakeholders (e.g. local NGOs and social enterprises). SWSA provides a solid learning platform that empowers me to relentlessly pursue my calling in the profession. I appreciate it a lot and will continue keeping the spirit of academic and professional excellence of the department in next decade of social work journey.