Keychen-up Project : Lighting the fire in the youthful hearts Professional educators devoted to social services

Stepping into the era of knowledge economy, teachers and parents alike always use the saying “Knowledge is Power" to motivate our younger generation in learning pursuits. In a special occasion held on 13 August, where a group of young boys and girls told us proudly that they have been transformed to a better self, the concept is realized before our eyes as a real-life case. These youngsters are students freshly graduated from the training programmes of the Keychen Up Project. They stepped onto the stage one by one and shared with us their memorable experiences. Professor C.F. Lee, Director of HKU School of Professional and Continuing Education, urged the young students to continue improving their work ethics and social skills in the course of acquiring new knowledges. HKU SPACE is a partner of the project organized by Aberdeen Kai-fong Welfare Association Social Service Centre. Lecturers volunteered themselves in the design and delivery of training courses, hoping to take part in the meaningful contribution and thus be aligned with the corporate social responsibility initiatives.

Professor C.F. Lee, Director of HKU School of Professional and Continuing Education, urged the young students to continue improving their work ethics and social skills in the course of acquiring new knowledge.

Lecturers volunteered in youth training

The Keychen Up Project is jointly funded by the Community Investment and Inclusion Fund and Labour Department , organized by Aberdeen Kai-fong Welfare Association Social Service Centre.

The Keychen Up Project, which is jointly funded by the Community Investment and Inclusion Fund and Labour Department , organized by Aberdeen Kai-fong Welfare Association Social Service Centre, aimed to change the mindset, capability and role of teenagers and their relationships with the community. Through different activities and courses covering basic financial accounting concepts, operation of restaurants, foodways, hospitality, customer services, SMEs management, business operation environment, consumption behavior and fundamentals of entrepreneurship, participants are expected to build up confidence and skills that are essential for them to re-engage with the open market.

For many years, HKU SPACE has been offering professional training courses for adults. Many of their experienced lecturers are celebrated experts both in the academic and business worlds. They have contributed much time and effort in designing and restructuring course contents for the young students whose academic background and capabilities are clearly far from the level of their main faculty students. In order to gain their interest and assist them in absorbing the new knowledge, they have introduced workshops, internships and mentorship sessions.

Mr. Albert Hung, Associate Head of College of Business and Finance, alleged that designing and providing training courses for youths with limited academic knowledge is a real challenge but also a stimulation for innovative teaching methods. He said, “We have extensive knowledge and experience in professional education, but the young students are very different from those adults with professional background. On the one hand, a series of interactive games and activities were inserted between theoretical lectures, as a way to cope with their shorter attention span. On the other hand, we also recruited the help of students from HKU SPACE higher-diploma and top-up degree programmes. They acted as a bridge to enhance communication, helped those junior ones to understand better. As a bonus, the senior students also gained a lot in the process too. This is what we see as an excellent example of mutual benefit between teachers and learners.”

Keychen Up Project Graduation Ceremony and Sharing Session 2010

Students of the Keychen Up Project stepped onto the stage one by one and shared with us their memorable experiences.

A video was shown at the beginning of the ceremony, letting everyone have a glimpse on the interactive learning process among teachers and students. A group of students then expressed their gratefulness towards the help and support from the teachers, at the same time demonstrated how they were led to self-betterment through the training.

Mr. YEUNG Kin-yip, Chairman of Aberdeen Kai-fong Welfare Association expressed his hearty gratitude towards all parties involved in the project to give help and support for youths in Hong Kong. Miss Winnie Ying, Project Management Officer of the Community Investment and Inclusion Fund Secretariat, said that we can efficiently unite efforts from different sectors to tackle challenges if a wealth of social capital is in place.

In the sharing session, lecturers from HKU SPACE joined the students to share ideas and thoughts. Miss Rainey Choi, Programme Manager of HKU SPACE, is one of the teachers in the programme. She said, “We participated the project as a volunteer teacher, so as to do our part to fulfill the corporate social responsibility initiative set by HKU SPACE. But we soon found that the contentment derived from the volunteering work was in fact our biggest driving force so that we enjoyed taking up the tasks very much.”

Rainey confided that when she witnessed her students gradually learned necessary skills and more importantly, the right attitudes in exploring their own paths, no other forms of reward can be compared with the sense of achievement and joy. She added, “We are not the only one to provide such services. Volunteers from the Hong Kong Police Force and various business organizations worked closely with us all the way.”  Corporate citizenship and social capital will never remain conceptual ideas as long as these contributors step forward and walk the talk.

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