An elite group of 158 first year engineers at the School of Engineering (SENG) were honored for their academic excellence at the Dean of Engineering Scholarship Presentation Ceremony 2013, which was held on 27th and 28th November on campus.

The ceremony aims to celebrate the success of the engineering students who achieved outstanding performance at the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE) Examination. Attending the event were Dean of Engineering Prof Khaled Ben Letaief, Associate Deans Prof Roger Cheng, Prof Hong K Lo, Prof Christopher Chao, department heads as well as faculty members. About 90 principals and teachers from the students’ secondary schools also joined the ceremony to witness the joyful moments where their students’ achievements were recognized. Nearly 300 people attended the highly enjoyable 2-night gatherings.

The Dean of Engineering Scholarship was first launched in 2012 and this is the second year it was presented. The scholarship has been scaled up this year to include not only students with at least one 5** subject, but also students with at least two 5* subjects. With the expanded scope, the School is pleased to present the scholarships to 158 students, which showed a more than twofold increase from last year.

The ceremony got off to a flying start with a welcome address by Prof Khaled Ben Letaief. “The students’ achievements are driven by their quest for excellence, which is also the mission of the School of Engineering. I am confident that our shared goal will drive the School further to be a world-leading engineering school,” he said. Prof Roger Cheng then gave an introduction of the pioneering tri-modal education which is newly developed for 4-year students at the School. The musical talents of the scholarship recipients were demonstrated with a violin performance by Mary Long Yee Wong and piano performance by James Tsz Him Cheung. Awardees Johann Sao Jing Chung, Ben Yung Pan Lee, Mary Long Yee Wong and alumnus Jeff Ka Lok Li also shared on their fruitful university life and why they chose HKUST engineering. Each student was then presented with a certificate on stage. The ceremony closed with a heartening thank you note by Prof Hong K Lo.

The ceremony proved to be a memorable and meaningful occasion for all. It provided a great opportunity for the students to catch up with their principals and teachers at their alma mater. It also enabled the secondary schools and SENG to develop better understanding of each other’s latest development and establish stronger ties to cultivate the future leaders of tomorrow.