Launched 60 years ago in 1965, the HSBC Social Work Scholarship set forth HSBC’s visionary step towards fostering a budding profession that would prove essential to societal wellbeing. Today, the HSBC Scholarship Scheme has grown into a comprehensive initiative, including an overseas scholarship programme, a local scholarship scheme, awards for innovation and technology, and scholarships for vocational education students.
For over half a century, the HSBC Scholarship Scheme has granted scholarships to enable 7,500 students to pursue their dreams, with the goal of gaining new knowledge, skills, perspectives, and experiences to build more resilient communities in Hong Kong and elsewhere.
Riding on this celebratory spirit, over 200 individuals gathered at the iconic HSBC headquarters building on 16 July to honour the ongoing legacy of the Scholarship Scheme and celebrate HSBC’s 160th anniversary. Amongst those in attendance were notable alumni who have served Hong Kong through their respective leadership roles at government bureaux and social impact organisations, members of the Advisory Committee of the Hongkong Bank Foundation (HBF), young scholar leaders, university representatives, 20 Hub volunteers, and the new HSBC Scholars.
The main highlight of the event was the official recognition of the 277 new HSBC Scholars and members of the HSBC Hub for the Future – a community of past and current recipients of HSBC Scholarships, leveraging their skills and knowledge to make positive contributions to Hong Kong society and beyond.
Celebrating the 60th Anniversary of HSBC’s Gift to Hong Kong
“Hong Kong is a home market for HSBC, and we want to ensure there is a future-ready talent pool for the city,” said Dr. Peter Wong, Chairman of The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited and The Hongkong Bank Foundation, in his opening speech. “Seeing our amazingly diverse alumni make lasting contributions to the wellbeing of the wider community over time is the real payback. It is how we will keep Hong Kong thriving as a welcoming, international city known for innovation and strong global connections.”
“I want to take this opportunity to congratulate HSBC for starting this scholarship 60 years ago, and I am one of the scholars from 50 years ago,” said Dr. Rosanna Wong, former HSBC Scholar, former Independent Non-executive Director of The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited and Non-executive Chairman of The Hongkong Bank Foundation in the opening of her speech. “The first thing we should celebrate is the vision of HSBC 60 years ago. At that time, Hong Kong was less developed compared to today, and HSBC already saw the needs of the people. Today, we celebrate this vision. We celebrate the continuous commitment and we celebrate the impact that has been created. So I congratulate HSBC. I congratulate every scholar. You make Hong Kong different because of this scholarship.”
At the fireside chat, Josephine Lee, CEO of St. James’ Settlement, Marina Tong, COO of HSBC Hong Kong, Peter Chan, Managing Director of Treehole Hong Kong, and Bonita Sham, a recent recipient of the Innovation and Technology Scholarship and GBA Scholarship, were invited on stage to have an inspiring discussion.
The conversation started with them sharing some of the sparkling moments in their life and how they were connected to their respective HSBC Scholarship experiences. The session ended with the four speakers encouraging the newly minted HSBC Scholars to leverage their strengths to uplift others.
The conversation coincided with HSBC’s announcement of two new initiatives to reinforce the Scholarship Scheme’s transformation of youth into a force for good. With the support of Hub for the Future, managed by FSI, all new scholarship recipients will be encouraged to complete at least 16 hours of community service. Additionally, the HSBC Overseas Scholarship will be rebranded as HSBC Global Scholarship, enabling Hong Kong students to study at renowned universities across Asia Pacific (including mainland China), Europe, and North America.
Venus Sheung Ting Chu, a medical student at The University of Hong Kong and recipient of the Overseas Scholarship this year, said, “This scholarship offers me a great opportunity to pursue an overseas master’s programme. Through the one-year master’s programme in London, I will have a lot of opportunities to connect with professors and peers from all around the world. I think this can broaden my global perspective and enable me to gain skills and knowledge that I wouldn’t have been able to if I were to just stay in Hong Kong, so I will grab this opportunity and try my best to contribute to the wellbeing of our community in the future.”
Kenny Shi Nam Woo, currently studying Chinese Medicine and Biomedical Science at Hong Kong Baptist University and a recipient of the HSBC Greater Bay Area (HK) Scholarship this year, expressed his gratitude for the scholarship: “The scholarship encourages me to develop my career in the Greater Bay Area. I want to become a Chinese Medicine practitioner and foster collaboration in the GBA healthcare system. After receiving the scholarship, I would like to organise more workshops and promote Chinese Medicine to the general public.”
Kristen Tzs Wing Lei, a recipient of the Innovation and Technology Scholarship this year, is studying Psychology at The University of Hong Kong and is also the founder of the Hong Kong Society of Psychological Innovation. “I am honoured to be here today to receive the scholarship. I am excited to meet like-minded scholars as I believe in multi-disciplinary collaboration where we can work together to push forward social change. Thank you, HSBC, for this scholarship. I am planning to use it to develop our Flower Project to put mental health concepts into games and technology like VR and AI, and educate the next generation at secondary schools about mental health concepts and raising overall wellness in schools.”
First Anniversary of FSI as the Secretariat of the HSBC Scholarship Scheme
This year’s Scholars Day carries significance for us at Foundation for Shared Impact (FSI). Since HSBC’s official announcement of us as the secretariat of the HSBC Scholarship Scheme and the coordinator for Hub for the Future at the event last year, we have been nurturing Hub members through various opportunities for mentorship, leadership development, skills acquisition, and community service activities.
As of April 2025, 302 HSBC Scholars have registered to join the Hub for the Future, and we have engaged 16 Hub members to build capacity for social impact organisations through eight projects, as well as 132 Hub members through 11 socially impactful events organised by us at FSI.
The camaraderie and bond we have built amongst and with the Hub members are evident in the Hub members’ readiness to volunteer at this year’s Scholars Day. Whether it was serving as the emcees of the event, moderating the fireside chat, engaging with notable alumni, or providing photography and videography support, the Hub volunteers diligently fulfilled their roles and responsibilities while welcoming the newly minted HSBC Scholars to the Hub to be part of the force for good.
Bertina Sum, who received the HSBC Greater Bay Area (HK) Scholarship in 2023 and is studying for her Bachelor Degree in Veterinary Medicine at the City University of Hong Kong, said volunteering at this year’s Scholars Day allowed her to step outside of her comfort zone and meet new people. “I felt that the event was very well organized and it was nice to engage with new scholars!”
A Growing Force for Good for Hong Kong and Asia
For the second half of the year 2025, we have already planned out a series of personal development training workshops and community service activities for the Hub, such as the ‘Starting Your Impact Journey’ workshop, to equip Hub members with the knowledge and mindset to integrate purpose in their career and other personal endeavours, and the NGO Board Director Training Programme to nurture Hub members and HSBC staff into effective leaders of today and tomorrow.
We will also be collaborating with other social impact organisations to organise a movie screening session to help Hub members cultivate empathy and compassion, and a visit to local farms to learn about the principles of regenerative agriculture in Hong Kong.
Another community service activity, co-organised by FSI and Soap Cycling to create colourful recycled soap bars that will be distributed to disadvantaged children as Christmas gifts, is made available to Hub members on Time Auction’s Hub Volunteering Portal. A collaborative project by HSBC and Time Auction, the volunteering portal aims to incentivise societal contribution by gamifying volunteering.
