Celebrating 10 Years of Community Engagement

Mr. Yips sharing stirred great interest from HKUST students and faculty on ICRC's work. We are honored to enter into a partnership with ICRC in 2018 covering a range of activities to facilitate humanitarian work at the global arena and enhance HKUST student' global vision through experiential learning. A trainee position was also designated exclusively to HKUST students at ICRC’s Geneva headquarters for the first time – a popular position usually open for global competition. The trainee works for a full year in the ICRC, assisting on its diplomatic relations issues with donors and collaborators spanning state representatives and senior management of global corporations.

Before joining the ICRC, I was eager to explore the humanitarian field, largely driven by my past volunteering experience. Having visited India several times, the direct experience of living with the less privileged convinced me of the merit of humanitarian work in the field. After working in Geneva HQ, I have a different perspective. Now I understand better how, for humanitarian workers to deliver aid, there is a large, collective, complex effort behind the scene to make it possible. That means, for every humanitarian worker we see on media, there are numerous other workers involved--various other talents and skills needed. If you are a computer engineer, you help by digitalizing the humanitarian database. If you are a law specialist, you contribute by bringing international laws up to date with the latest technology development. If you are a visual artist, presenting the complex work of the organization with simple but poignant images can shift the world’s attention … in our fast-changing world, the humanitarian sector is more than ever like any other industry- in need of talents of all kind to stay relevant and to champion its mission…… With all that saying, I would encourage all those who look for an interesting environment to hone their professional skills while contributing to humanity give humanitarian work a thought. It is wider, more complex, potentially more rewarding than you knew. It might be a field less considered in East Asia in general, but why not be a pioneer? Why not be different?

Rachel HUANG

BBA in Global Business, Year 4

To give HKUST students a taste of the every-day challenges met by humanitarian field agents, ICRC also organized the first ever simulation workshops in HKUST – the first of its kind organized by ICRC in Asia, containing interactive discussions, presentations and role-play exercises. These engagements with the ICRC widen our students' global vision for service.

In November 2018, Mr. Peter Maurer, President of ICRC, made his first public speech in Hong Kong and engaged in a dialogue with Prof. Wei Shyy, President of HKUST, over the theme New horizons in humanitarian diplomacy: The power of new technologies and Asian Youths at the President-to-President Dialogue. The dialogue touched upon issues including the emergence of autonomous weapons, the power of new technologies on humanitarian work, and how Asian youths can make an impact amid Asia's rise in the international arena.