It seems like only yesterday that I first stepped onto the PolyU campus and wandered around admiring the buildings clad in their signature red bricks. As clichéd as it may sound, I have always been fascinated by the beauty and functionality of civil engineering, which magically shapes our world with infrastructure that blooms like so many flowers: from skyscrapers piercing the clouds to tunnels creeping underground. I was blessed to receive numerous opportunities to explore my interests and uncover my potential in civil engineering while at PolyU. For example, the chance to study in the UK for one semester was invaluable, and I greatly enjoyed learning about its unique indigenous history, peoples, and constructions. In addition, through the mentorship programme, I learnt from well-established figures in the construction sector and came to realise the essential attributes of a leader and the importance of possessing these qualities. These experiences broadened my horizons and ignited my passion for geotechnical engineering, in particular the dynamics of soil behaviours and their substantial contribution to daily life.

In 2020, I graduated with a BEng (Hons) and embarked on a new journey as an engineer in GEO. Since then, I have been rotated to different sections and from the Planning Division to the Standard & Testing Division. Currently, I am working on a site as an assistant residential engineer. I am extremely grateful for the opportunities and unfailing support of PolyU during my years of study towards my degree. I hope to continue serving the community as a civil engineer with professionalism and in keeping with the spirit of Poly U – “to learn and to apply for the benefit of mankind”– thereby ensuring the safety and enhancing the quality of life of the public.

In my third year of study, I was given a chance to be an exchange student at Imperial College London, one of our prestigious sister institutions in the UK. This proved to be one of the most fascinating and fruitful experiences of my life.

Life in London differs in many ways from that in Hong Kong, and I started afresh over there with no friends and family around. So, the first two things I learned were how to be independent and to adapt quickly to a new environment. I also acquired a global mindset as I was in a class of approximately 90 students from 22 countries. I thoroughly enjoyed my interactions with my classmates, from whom I learned about different cultures and the state of the construction industry in different countries. This made me realise that there are many opportunities worldwide for civil engineers.

I ended my exchange with a week working on a construction project. This was a group project, for which we first generated designs and engineering drawings. We then went on site to continue the project and ultimately built the structure we had designed ourselves. This project enhanced my practical knowledge of civil engineering.

I hope you have such an opportunity for an exchange experience during your studies – I am sure it will be an experience you will enjoy!

Four years ago, I stepped onto this campus as an immature and insecure freshman. Now, I am ready to enter society confidently as a civil engineer with a dream and a detailed life plan. Four years is not a long period in one’s life, but it was long enough for me to develop into a competent engineer.

The University and the Department provided me with multiple opportunities to better myself, both in my studies and in daily life. The professional training included comprehensive and in-depth civil engineering courses, practical training modules, a design project and a research project. In addition, an 8-week internship programme, which can be taken either in Hong Kong, Mainland China or overseas, enabled us to practise design principles and incorporate our ambitious ideas into real projects. All of these valuable experiences contributed to my all-round development and imbued me with a passion for civil engineering technology and construction. I also gained exposure to many other cultures through a one-semester academic exchange programme at Purdue University in the USA, where I developed precious friendships within and outside of the University. The only way to understand other cultures is by living among and interacting with them; thanks to the University, I was able to do this at Purdue, where I enjoyed many novel experiences.

The Chairman of PolyU Council, Mr Chan Tze-ching, once talked about university education. He mentioned that an educated person knows everything about something and knows something about everything. PolyU gave me an excellent education in civil engineering design, research and innovation. In addition, it provided me with a platform on which to develop my business and negotiation skills and gain insights into social development trends. Studying doesn’t end at the moment of graduation. PolyU has taught me to be a lifelong learner who is continually seeking new knowledge and always eager to develop. I am proud to say that I am a member of the FCE and that I am a part of PolyU.

My first year at PolyU has nearly finished. It has been a very challenging time but also exciting, interesting and meaningful. My civil engineering courses highlighted the diversity of the discipline, as they covered environmental, geotechnical, hydraulics, structural and transportation engineering. One course, Construction for Better Living, was interactive and thus highly enjoyable. For instance, in addition to regular lectures and tutorials, we had a site visit to Disneyland, where we saw classroom knowledge applied to the built environment and some of the ways in which our chosen discipline is used in real-life situations.

My class timetable as a university student was more flexible and spanned a wider range of subjects than I anticipated, as was designed to enable us to explore interests other than engineering. For example, as part of the Cluster Area Requirement, I took Human Nature, Globalisation, Cultures and World Views, and Science and Technology, which encouraged me to think critically and deeply about the world.

I also attended the IC Training offered by the Industrial Centre in mid-August 2013. This focused on engineering safety, which was another essential part of my educational journey to become an engineer.