The BUddy Post – HKBU Alumni Affairs Office

HKBU Alumni Affairs Office (AAO) organised its annual Homecoming Day on 4 November, featuring two highlights: The Alumni Investiture Ceremony and the Grand Reunion Dinner. The theme of this year’s Homecoming is “Brighten Up”.

The University has been hosting the Alumni Investiture Ceremony for 18 years, a unique HKBU tradition that manifests the strong bonding between alumni and their alma mater. By presenting on stage name-engraved medals to each of the alumni who have graduated 25 years and beyond to mark their anniversary every 5 years, the President of the University recognises the contribution of alumni to society over the years. This year, Professor Alexander Wai, President and Vice-Chancellor, presented medals to graduates from the class of 1998, 1993, 1988, 1983, 1978, 1973, 1968 and 1963. It was an exceptionally warm and cosy occasion as alumni reminisced about their good old days while reconnecting with former classmates. More than 200 alumni came back to campus to join this memorable get-together and enjoyed a delightful time.

The Ceremony was followed by the Grand Reunion Dinner that hosted 300 alumni and the University’s senior management. Many alumni took the opportunity to fly back to Hong Kong from around the world including the US, Canada, Australia and Mainland China to participate in this joyous event. Attending alumni were excited to learn about HKBU’s latest developments and accomplishments from Professor Martin Wong, Provost and Ms Christine Chow, Vice-President (Administration) and Secretary, and the buffet dinner continued with two performances offered by alumna Sandy Xiao (Business Administration) and student Lau Chi-lung, silver medalist of men’s wushu (nanquan) at the 31st World University Games at Chengdu, respectively singing and wushu. While guests were all excited, the Dinner reached its climax during the chorus finale when everyone sang aloud “A Thousand Suns”, a song that celebrated the essence of lifelong friendship.

Echoing to its theme, this year’s Homecoming Day indeed featured a lot of brightening moments, from shiny medals to bright smiles. In addition to the Homecoming Day, a series of campus tours featuring two routes with respective focus on Chinese medicine and art-tech were held from late October to November. While the tours covered important landmarks such as the Chapel, Academic Community Hall and the BU Bridge etc, participating alumni were also thrilled to learn about the latest developments of the University on Chinese medicine and art-tech through visiting the Dr & Mrs Hung Hin Shiu Museum of Chinese Medicine and Visualization Research Centre respectively

The Homecoming Day also featured the Second Worldwide HKBU Communication Alumni Conference which was jointly organised by the HKBU Communication Alumni Association, the School of Communication and the AAO. Following the success of the First Worldwide Communication Alumni Conference in 2022, this year’s conference featured a panel consisting of experts in ChatGPT, data journalism, social media strategies, visual communication, etc. Professionals from the industry and academic representatives from the School of Communication provided attendees with insights and latest trends in social media and the communications sector. The hybrid event was attended by 80 participants, including industry leaders and communication scholars.

HKBU will continue its efforts to cultivate and strengthen alumni relations in the hope of building and consolidating stronger networks and connections.