‘A residential college offers much more than accommodation. It is a place where students can meet like-minded people and build a community that embraces social inclusion,’ says Prof Janny Leung, who became the master of Choi Kai Yau College (CKYC) at the University of Macau (UM) in late 2019. Having herself benefited from living in a residential college in her student days, Prof Leung thinks that residential colleges play an important role in whole-person education. 

 

Growing in Collegiate Universities

A distinguished scientist in operations research, Prof Leung has held many important positions, including founding master of Shaw College at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen (CUHK Shenzhen). She has also served as the deputy master, dean of students, and warden of Morningside College at the CUHK. When talking to Prof Leung, one can easily feel her passion for residential colleges. ‘When I first went to college, I only wanted to go as far away from home as possible. It has been 40 years since then, and I now realise that I have benefited greatly from spending time in my residential college, my home within the university,’ she says. 

 

Upon graduation from high school, Prof Leung left Hong Kong to study applied mathematics at Radcliffe College, Harvard University, and soon found that she was one of the only two undergraduate students from Hong Kong at the university. ‘It was impossible to form our own circle, which means I had to make friends with people from different areas of studies, cultural backgrounds, and countries in my college,’ says Prof Leung. ‘Neither I nor my friends came from the neighbourhood, so we often explored places together. I have learned a lot about the world from them. Some of them remain my closest friends to this day.’

 

After studying for four years in the United States, Prof Leung pursued further education on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, at the University of Oxford, for her second bachelor’s degree. At the time, most Oxford colleges were only beginning to admit women. ‘I was among the first batch of female students in my college, and it was rather controversial,’ says Prof Leung. ‘Many professors and students joked that women were finally welcomed in the college after so many centuries, but some called the change a diversion from tradition. Of course, it is no longer an issue today.’

 

After graduating from Oxford, Prof Leung went on to pursue a PhD degree in operations research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She later became a faculty member at Yale University and the University of Arizona. She returned to Hong Kong and joined CUHK in the late 1990s. As a global transport hub, Hong Kong offered Prof Leung many great research topics in transport and logistics.

 

Building a College from Scratch  

In addition to academic research, Prof Leung also participated in the planning of a residential college at CUHK. When she returned to Hong Kong, CUHK only had four colleges. Between 2006 and 2007, the university established five new colleges, which became operational in 2012. ‘I was very lucky to be involved in the planning of CUHK’s Morningside College in 2005. Its founding master was a Nobel laureate in economics from Oxford,’ says Prof Leung, who describes the planning process as a ‘great learning experience’. ‘We learned a lot from studying the differences between colleges at Oxford, Harvard, and other universities, as well as their experience in designing general education courses for students in colleges.’

 

In 2016, Prof Leung became the founding master of CUHK Shenzhen’s first college – Shaw College, which is now home to nearly 2,000 students. However, she thinks the size of UM’s residential colleges is more appropriate. ‘Each college at UM is a community of around 500 students. It is not too small so that you don’t get too constrained, and big enough so that there is a diversity of students,’ says Prof Leung. ‘In a college of this size, students can actually get to know each other. So I’m very excited to be a part of CKYC.’ 

 

Creating a Caring Community

 

When asked about her goal for CKYC, Prof Leung replies that she wants to create a stimulating academic environment to encourage knowledge sharing among students. She adds that the college will also provide learning opportunities for students through event organisation, sports teams, workshops, and overseas trips. ‘I also want to create a caring community, where we care about not just people around us, but also our community,’ says Prof Leung. ‘Along the way, I hope that students will find their goals in life and cultivate lifelong friendships.’

Chinese & English: Davis Ip, UM Reporter Wilson Iong 

Photo: Jack Ho, with some photos from the interviewees 

Chinese Editor: Ella Cheong

Source: E-My UM