This week was our annual Project Week, during which all our students travelled outside Hong Kong in small groups to perform community service.  Ever since I came to Li Po Chun United World College almost seven years ago, Project Week has been one of the highlights of my year.  I look back very fondly on the various experiences I have shared with groups of students I have led on Project week to such diverse places as North Korea, Cambodia and outback China.

This year, for the first time, I did not go away with a group of students during Project Week.  The reason was that - unfortunately - there was no other time during the year that we could conduct the final round of selection interviews for the Hong Kong students who have applied to enter United World Colleges in September this year.

As Secretary of the UWC Hong Kong Selection Committee, I have the obligation to attend all the final selection interviews, and it has become the practice to use the scores I award for each session to moderate the scores given by the other members of the panel, none of whom can attend more than a few sessions.  As the UWC Hong Kong Selection Committee is appointed by the Home Affairs Bureau of the Hong Kong Government, it is very important that every step of the procedure is conducted meticulously, accurately, methodically, precisely, thoroughly and properly - which is why I did make a point of attending every interview this week despite suffering from quite a severe chest cold early in the week.

It was certainly a busy and intense week - just multiply the length of each interview by 101 (the number of interviews) to get some idea of the tally of hours I spent talking with and listening to the students who had made it through to the final interview this week.  And yet, as is the case every year, it was wonderfully energising to meet and exchange views with this year’s highly talented short-listed applicants.

Apart from just a handful of IQ (International Quota) applicants, the interviews have now been completed and the long process of standardising the interview scores and preparing the final ranking will start in earnest on Monday morning.  While the work of selection is still far from finished, I am deeply comfortable that the future of our world will soon be in the hands of a generation of talented, articulate and idealistic young men and women, at least if the sample I have interviewed this week is any indicator.

THE AUDITORIUM

Just before the interviews began, I took the time to check the progress of our new auditorium construction.  It is no secret that this project is running behind schedule, and I wanted to check on the rate and quality of progress for myself.

I am pleased to report that the construction of the building’s structure is complete, and the fitting out of the interior fittings is well underway.  All the seats have been installed, and the major work underway at the moment is fitting the overhead acoustic panels, modifying the parapet walls, and fixing the inevitable defects that have been identified.

The photos below show the progress of the auditorium as it was early this week.

SING TAO ARTICLE

A few weeks ago, a reporter from “Sing Tao” visited the College and interviewed several of our students for an article in the “Smart Parents” magazine.  The article was published on Thursday this week, and it presents quite a comprehensive overview of the College and the experiences of our students.

Please click on the thumbnails below to see larger displays of each of the pages, or read the full article (in Chinese!) from my “Print Downloads” page.