HKUST Business Review

Professor Rachel Ngai’s life is a story of resilience, transformation, and the profound impact of education. Now a Professor of Economics at the London School of Economics and a Senior Visiting Fellow at the HKUST Institute for Advanced Study, Professor Ngai (Graduate of HKUST BSc in Econ.) credits much of her success to the opportunities and support she received during her formative years as a student at HKUST. Growing up in extreme poverty, Professor Ngai’s early life was anything but easy. “I was an underage worker. I’ve experienced times when I had no money for food and would tie a belt to sleep just to escape the hunger,” she recalls. Against all odds, she credits her journey from hardship to academic prominence to HKUST, which she says saw her true potential when few others did. A Culture of Academic Freedom HKUST’s unique culture of academic freedom and flexibility proved transformative for Professor Ngai. When she expressed a desire to take six subjects instead of the standard five, her professors didn’t hesitate to approve her request. This support helped accelerate her studies, completing her degree in just two and a half years. The university’s broad curriculum exposed her to disciplines far beyond her core business studies. “I learned about theatre, opera, and even engineering. The first time I heard beautiful arias, I was in the library studying the translated Italian opera lyrics,” she shares. These experiences broadened her world, enriching her perspective and nurturing her intellectual curiosity. A Second Chance at Education Professor Ngai’s path to higher education was unconventional. After underperforming in her secondary HKCEE exams, she faced significant obstacles. Her results excluded her from advanced classes, but a perceptive teacher saw untapped potential. The teacher created a special economics class for Professor Ngai and two other students, planting the seeds of possibility. When her A-level results improved dramatically, HKUST became the turning point in her life. She recalls an economics professor interviewing her for hours and recognizing her drive and determination. “He told me, ‘Turn down your other offers. You’ll see your name in the newspaper on August 15. You’ll be one of our students,’” she says. This pivotal moment embodied HKUST’s philosophy of seeing students as multidimensional individuals rather than mere academic statistics. From Poverty to Professor: How HKUST Shaped a Professor’s Journey to Academic Excellence HKUST Business Review 48