When summer presents a period for some students to relax, two business undergraduates, Kelly Cheong and Angel Li, chose another way to contribute their time and effort to a good cause. They found a meaningful learning platform to pass on their knowledge and care to the community.
The “Project for Hope – Ethnic Minority Youth Social Enterprise Competition cum STEPS-Mentorship Scheme” is a tripartite partnership project between the HKUST Business School, the Hong Kong Christian Services (HKCS) and the Hysan Development Company Ltd. The project is designed for HKUST business students under a credit-bearing course called the ‘Social Responsibilities Project”. Since 2008, Hysan has been the course sponsor and advisor, and HKCS has been the NGO partner because of its experienced community service in Hong Kong.
This summer Kelly and Angel, together with four other HKUST business students, were paired up with six teams of ethnic minority secondary students brought together by HKCS. The six HKUST students worked as mentors, each grooming a team to develop a sustainable business plan for its proposed social enterprise project. All their projects were targeted at ethnic minorities with a different focus. For example, cultural promotion, environmental protection, career development, catering services, etc.
Before meeting their mentees, the HKUST students began with a series of “train-the-trainer” activities designed by HKCS to learn more about the concept of social enterprises, coaching and counseling skills for youths, and ethnic minority cultures.
Kelly and Angel were assigned to mentor a different team, and the teams planned to start up a “used book recycling service” and an “art and craft teaching program” respectively. After a thorough and critical review, the two mentors found some “glitches” in their proposals.
“I did have a lot of reservations about the social value their project could create and its sustainability,” said Kelly. “But my team was very self-conscious, so I tried to take a softer approach by making some thoughtful inquiries and asking for clarification, instead of posing challenging questions.”
Kelly found her approach worked well with the team. She not only learned a way to groom others, but also found the mentorship process thought-provoking. “I learned to respect the diverse cultures of peoples as well as different voices in a team, such as the importance of relations in doing business in some ethnic minority groups,” she pointed out.
Angel worked out problems with her team in a different way. She thought her team was born with an appetite to win, but were a bit slack in time management and decision-making skills.
“I took a stricter approach and clearly defined our roles and responsibilities within the project,” said Angel. “I also gave them a task list to complete within a required timeline.”
While using their own ways to groom their teams, Angel and Kelly with other trainers and all teams also received some practical entrepreneurship training on the HKUST campus, where they learned how to write business proposals and make presentations, marketing and brand building, and resources needed for a startup. All these prepared them for their final presentations and the project competition.
With its enhanced business plan and polished presentation, the team mentored by Angel won the competition and a cash award of $30,000. Angel was proud of her team adding that all participating students in the course were winners. She reckoned the course provided an ideal opportunity to test their consulting and management skills, understand the social enterprise ecosystem and the ethnic minority community.
This project is an integral part of the HKUST Business School’s efforts to create more enriching learning activities for students to reach out, show a caring attitude and make a meaningful difference to the communities where they live. Both Angel and Kelly are convinced they have positively changed the way their mentees see the power of knowledge and ignited their interest in higher education.