Prof. AU YEUNG Ho-yu (2001 Alumnus)

An International Person

A popular activity for young people after school is to relax in front of the television, maybe to watch a cartoon programme or two. These programmes are designed for entertainment and relaxation, yet one will not fully understand all of the comments and jokes until one is ‘all grown up’ and has more experience in life. I remember one particular episode of Chibi Maruko-chan, a Japanese programme that I loved to watch. The protagonist, Maruko, learnt English at school from her friend Hanawa. At home, her parents were surprised to hear Maruko practising English phrases. They asked her why she wanted to learn English. Her answer was simple, ‘I want to be an international person. I need to learn English so as to be able to communicate with foreigners.’ But, what is an ‘international person’? Does a good command of English automatically mean that you are international?

I was fortunate to be awarded the Croucher Foundation Scholarship for doctoral studies at the University of Cambridge, England in 2007. The three-year-stay in the UK has been a truly valuable experience and finally, I now know what it means by being ‘international’. Cambridge is a small town located in the east side of the country. Compared to Hong Kong, one of the densest cities in the world, the population of around 100,000 people seems to be a very small number. Although Cambridge is small, it has the most diverse population. As a university town, the majority of inhabitants in Cambridge are students, like me, from all over the world. Take our research group as an example. For three years within the same laboratory, I worked with students from Britain, France, Italy, Germany, Spain, Denmark, Romania, Poland, Bulgaria, Luxemburg, Switzerland, America, Mexico, Australia, Japan, Korea and India. In three years and in a single laboratory, I got to know all these people from over four continents and twenty different countries. How amazing!

Getting to know people from different places is interesting. We could share and compare our own languages, cultures, food and lives. The possibilities are endless. I remember one particular discussion on the sounds we used to mimic a dog’s bark. Even a sound as simple as this, the variations are significant. In Japanese, it is similar to Cantonese. They are both pronounced as ‘row-row’. But in Polish, French or Italian, the sound is similar to ‘wow-wow’ or ‘owl-owl’.

At times, working in such an international environment may also be challenging. As we came from different countries and different backgrounds, it is unavoidable that we would have different points of view, expectations and ways of working. Even in procedures as simple as washing glassware, there were several protocols. Someone might expect every single piece of glass in the laboratory to be thoroughly washed - first in acetone (to remove organic residue), then water, soap, water again, then soaked in alkali and acid, rinsed with acetone, and finally dried completely (without any trace of even the tiniest water stains on the surface). For another scientist, cleanliness might be judged by the appearance of the glass, regardless of whether the glassware had been properly soaped or not. For a third, he might feel that it was worthless attempting to clean a flask aged with dirt. It is simpler to bin. What I have learnt is that compromise, respect and consideration are very important qualities, particularly for working in a multi-cultural environment like Cambridge. Sometimes you need to put extra effort into meeting others’ expectations and to maintain a harmonious environment for everyone.

Having the chance to live, travel and study abroad, to learn from world renowned scientists, to work in world-standard laboratories, to meet people of different nationalities and ethnicities and learn about their various lifestyles and cultures have been truly exceptional and enjoyable experiences. While I agree that Hong Kong is a very cosmopolitan city and I feel most at home here, I think that we, as the new generation of young people, should not limit our lives to this small city alone but to go out, experience and know more about what is happening in the rest of the world, to broaden our minds and horizons.

In the coming year, I am fortunate again that I will have an opportunity to work overseas. Although getting used to an entirely new environment is not an easy task, I believe that it will be another wonderful and fruitful experience. I hope that one day I will be able to travel around the world, step by step, country by country, see and learn more, and become a truly international person.