iLANG Guest Speakers Series

The iLANG Guest Speaker Series provides opportunities for all HKUST students who are interested in the impact of communication and language on the world at large – to gain valuable insights from individuals in the professional and commercial sectors from a range of backgrounds. It is our goal to broaden the experiences of our students and equip them with the tools to face confusion in their encounters with academic, personal and professional communication.

The series debuted in Fall 2017 with three culturally diverse speakers from the finance sector: Morgan Stanley and Bank of Montreal.

This Spring, iLANG is proud to invite another three guest speakers. Culturally and professionally diverse in their backgrounds, the three guests have received part of their education and training in psychology or counselling. They have currently established themselves in both the education and commercial sector and are actively involved in volunteer work for the local community.

If you are feeling stressed out over the way you communicate in a tense environment, it is about time that you took a break and spent some quality time with our guest speakers.

It is our hope that these talks can open your eyes to what’s going on across various sectors and support your personal and professional development.

First talk
Please mind the gap – in our communication
Date: 1 March 2018
Time: 6:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Venue: Room 2405 (Lifts 17 & 18)
Speaker: Mr Alan Tong

Alan Tong was a long-serving volunteer with the Samaritans Hong Kong, a suicide prevention organisation providing emotional support to those in need. He studied psychology at the University of Queensland, Australia and obtained his Master’s degree in psychological medicine at HKU. He is currently a senior research officer at HKU. Alan was trained formally on 'mindfulness' when he was working with people having psychotic experiences as a case manager. In 2014, he initiated the mindfulness-based intervention group for the Jockey Club Early Psychosis (JCEP) project to help his clients cope with depression and anxiety. Occasionally, he would run workshops in the community sharing his experience. He is also a contributing author of several mindfulness learning materials and academic research articles.

For his workshop as part of this series, Alan will introduce the concept of 'mindfulness' through experiential practices and discuss with us, on how we might reduce our stress and improve daily communication by being aware of our inner voice. He will also share the concept of 'inter-being' that enables us to connect with our surroundings.

Second talk
Beyond Social Media and Besides Practical Needs: Can We Still Communicate Authentically?
Date: 14 March 2018
Time: 6:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Venue: Room 4582 (Lifts 27 & 28)
Speaker: Mr Andrew Wright

Andrew Wright is a teacher in the government-sponsored Native-speaking English Teacher (NET) Scheme and has been working in education for more than 15 years. He has worked at both the primary and secondary school levels in the United States and since 2008 has taught with the Vocational Training Council and primary schools in Hong Kong. Andrew has also worked with and volunteered at several local non-profit organizations including the Chatteris Educational Foundation and the Samaritans Hong Kong. Andrew studied at the Ohio State University in the U.S., has a Master's Degree in Applied Psychology from City University of Hong Kong and now pursues Education at the University of Hong Kong. His background with teaching and psychology continually exposes him to the value of communication skills and their impact on wellbeing.

Andrew will talk about authentic communication in a social media-dominated world, the value of exploratory interaction and how non-native speakers and introverts can open up to others to increase personal wellbeing.

Third talk
Active Listening in a Fast-paced Society
Date: 26 March 2018
Time: 6:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Venue: Room 2304 (Lifts 17 & 18)
Speaker: Ms May Ly

May Ly received her Master's degree in counselling from Monash University and is by profession a senior manager in an accounting firm (CW CPA). She has been volunteering for the Samaritans Hong Kong (multilingual suicide prevention services) since 2005 and served as the organisation's deputy director from 2009 to 2011. She is perhaps best known for her appearance in several episodes (2014) of 'Radioicare' - a radio/YouTube programme launched by Tung Wah Group of Hospitals to promote mental health. In 2016 and 2017, she was invited by the Hong Kong Housing Authorities to conduct a number of seminars on depression prevention for the staff members. Over the years, she continued her work by reaching out to tertiary institutions such as PolyU HKCC and OpenU. Her story has been featured in radio and published interviews from Students' Union of CUHK and that of HKUST.

During her time as the deputy director of Samaritans Hong Kong, she was invited by local secondary schools (e.g. ECF Saint Too Canaan College) to deliver talks to parents on how to better understand their children. In recent years, she has been actively involved in the Young Samaritans Peer Support Programme (YSPSP) as a project consultant. The project aims to promote peer support of mental well-being for youth in Hong Kong and has attracted over 300 participants from local secondary schools in its 12 cycles.

For this talk at HKUST, May will be pleased to share how her volunteering work has changed her attitude to life. She will also focus on helping the audience use active listening and communication skills in a stressful or strange environment.

Code(s)	OTH-005-003
Date(s)	26 March 2018
Time	6:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Venue(s)	Room 2304 (Lifts 17 & 18)
Facilitator(s)	May Ly
Maximum Number of Participants	30
Eligibility	All HKUST students are welcome.
Registration Dates	Now
Enquiry	If you have any further questions, please contact us at: E-mail: lcilang@ust.hk Telephone: (852) 2358-7851 Office: Room 3018 (Lifts 2 & 3)

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