Global Leadership Project - Day One - What We Share

On the first day of the GLP, students from the University of Birmingham, the University of Nottingham, and Hong Kong University came together for the first time.

When we arrived we signed in and picked up a name badge, before heading into the room that would be our base at HKU for the next 4 days.

Hong Kong university's main building is an absolutely beautiful place. It's the oldest building on campus, and it's post-renaissance style gives it a unique look compared to other buildings nearby. There are a couple of tranquil courtyards with lush green plants and soothing water features too.

The university is all interconnected and it's easy to get from one building to another, although you might need a map!

There are some beautiful art pieces scattered throughout, including this thought provoking piece called "Pillar of Shame" by the artist Jens Galschiot. It was originally erected in Victoria Park in 1997 to mark the eighth anniversary of the Tiananmen Square protests, and was designed to mark the loss of life there. The base has the words "The Tiananmen Massacre", "June 4th 1989" and "The old cannot kill the young forever." engraved into it.

When we arrived, we were warmly welcomed by Louise, Ivy and Shradha from Common Purpose. Louise and Ivy introduced themselves and the program, and introduced us to the core values of the course. Day one was titled "What we share", and was a day full of openness and getting to know each other.

Then everyone got up, went to mingle with new people (the rule was that the person you chatted with couldn't be someone you'd spoken to before!) and asked ice breaker questions, as well as some personal questions about goals and ambitions, in order to better get to know each other.

Throughout the day, we discussed key concepts such as cultural intelligence, what challenges faced us as leaders, and we were lucky enough to have two guest speakers, Tina Arcilla (Senior Manager, Diversity and Inclusion in Asia) and Lehui Liang (Purpose Capital, Social Ventures Hong Kong) who  came to discuss with us how the city works and to give us a raw insight into the city and it's challenges and successes. I won't speak much about what was said, as one of the core principles of the GLP is that we operate under Chatham House Rules in order to encourage openness of dialogue.

We also discussed as a group our core and flex values, and discussed a number of statements on flashcards and debated on how far we agreed or disagreed with them. It opened up a healthy debate between everyone, and it was great how everyone listened to each other, and even when disagreeing, did so eloquently and politely. It was a great start to the program!

In the afternoon, we started to discuss the challenges we would be facing, which was "How do we ensure technological innovation delivers societal as well as economic value in cities?". We were again extremely fortunate to have three more guest speakers; Janet Pau (Program Director, Asia Business Council), Devi Novianti (Equal Opportunities Officer, Equal Opportunities Commission) and  Emily Lau (Previous Chairperson of the Democratic Party, and the first woman to have been directly elected to the Legislative Council of Hong Kong). The speakers spoke with passion and care about the challenges faced by Hong Kong. We discussed the current protests and the poverty crisis, the political crises and many other things, and it was truly an honour to speak with and listen to these incredible people. 

We also did an exercise called "speaker, listener, observer", where a group of three took it in turns to discuss what challenges they face as leaders. Each time, the speaker spoke about their issue, with the listener listening for the first couple of minutes, and then after that spending several minutes asking the speaker questions about their issue. The observer watches the interaction and at the end comments on how the conversation went. This was a great exercise as it helped people figure out which role they felt most comfortable in, as well as some people also saying they found it quite therapeutic and even helped them to see more clearly in terms of their perceived challenges. It was really lovely and again helped to make new connections with the people we partnered up with. 

At the end of the day, we were put into our working parties, and signed up for our immersion visits the next day.

Following the program, we had some free time in the evening. Some people went back to the accommodation and chilled for the evening, some people went out for dinner, some went shopping, some explored, and some people grabbed a few drinks and went to watch the sun set at the harbour. All in all, our first day of the program was a great one. 

Sunday in Hong Kong

We all awoke on Sunday glad of the night's rest. Some of us went out exploring and visited some beautiful places, some went out for breakfast, and some stayed in bed until later in the day to get over their jet lag.

Hong Kong offers lots of places to explore, and explore we did. On the first day, most people chose to explore Nan Lian Garden & Victoria peak.

Nan Lian Garden

Nan Lian Garden is a stunning garden located in Kowloon. It's a beautiful, peaceful place, with some beautiful Tang-Dynasty style architecture. There are lots of gorgeous flowers, Bonsai trees, tranquil ponds filled with Koi Carp and so much more. It was such a calming place, right in the middle of skyscrapers and city life, just like a little oasis. There's even a vegetarian restaurant there if you fancy staying for something to eat.

Victoria Peak

Victoria Peak is the highest hill on HK Island, with an elevation of 552m. Usually, there's a tram to the top, but sadly this was out of commission during our visit due to planned upgrades, so you can instead choose to walk, catch a bus, or hop in a taxi. Once at the peak, the views of HK are absolutely breathtaking, and there are even telescopes so you can really enjoy the view. Once you're at the top (well, as high as you can go because the summit isn't accessible to the public), there is lots to do as well as admire the incredible views. There are shops, restaurants, and even Madam Tussauds!

The Night Market

In the early evening, we all headed to the Clock Tower in Tsim Sha Shui, just next to the Star Ferry terminal, to meet for our walk down to the night market.

We walked along next to the water, and got some amazing photographs of the Hong Kong Island shoreline. 

From there, we walked about a mile down Nathan Avenue towards the Temple Street night market, stopping for a brief photo opportunity opposite the Hong Kong Space Museum...

We were originally planning on going for a walking tour, but due to the protests going on that day, and how crowded the streets were, we just headed straight down to the Night Market. 

After about a mile, we knew we had reached the night market as the entrance was marked by a set of beautiful red and green gates. The market was huge and stretched way back, and we couldn't wait to get in and start snapping up bargains! 

There were stalls selling all sorts! Food, fans, electronics, gadgets, toys, clothing, bags, bowls, magnets, umbrellas... and soooo much more. The trick with the night market is to not be afraid to haggle! Never accept the first price a smallholder gives you, as you can usually haggle them down to less than half of this. And don't be afraid to walk away if they're still too pricey, they'll sometimes even shout after you with better prices! 

There are also plenty of places to eat or grab a drink in and around the night market. Lots of fresh seafood restaurants, as well as street food, dim sum and even McDonalds and Pizza hut if you're not feeling too adventurous. Then there are places to grab fresh fruit juice, bubble tea and, if you fancy something sweet, grab a fresh and hot sweet egg waffle!

After a long night of walking, we started to head back up towards the Clock Tower in order to catch the Star Ferry back to Hong Kong Island. We stopped for a little while to enjoy the views (Everything looked so much better all lit up!) and sit by the fountains, before hopping on the ferry. 

The Star Ferry operates between Hong Kong Island and Kowloon, bringing passengers across Victoria Harbour. The crossing only takes a few minutes, but it's thoroughly enjoyable, and a great way to see some awesome views! 

Once back in Central, we hopped in a cab, and headed back to St John's college to catch some sleep ready for the first day of the Global Leadership Project with Common Purpose the next day. 

Leaving the UK & our first day in Hong Kong

On Friday afternoon at 1:15pm, 24 super excited University of Birmingham students, laden with bags aplenty, descended on the pick up point outside of the UoB Sports Centre.

The drizzly weather had no effect as we all stood there getting soggy, because we knew that in less than 24 hours, we'd be in hot, sunny Hong Kong, about to embark on our Global Leadership Project.

The coach ride was nice and smooth, with everyone excited for the journey ahead.

When we got to Heathrow, we proceeded to check our bags in, and we were all pleasantly surprised by how fast we managed to drop our bags off and get through security.

Once through security we had a bit of time to have a mooch about (I particularly loved the Harry Potter shop just past security!), grab a drink and a snack, and make our way across to the C gates to await boarding. Quite a few people used this opportunity to grab some vital last minute purchases, with travel pillows appearing to be most popular. After all, with a 12 hour flight ahead of us, comfort would be key!

The boarding process was nice and smooth, albeit a bit delayed as the crew had been sent to the wrong gate, oops! However, despite taking off around 40 minutes later than planned at about 19:25, we still arrived in Hong Kong on time at 13:40 local time (around 06:40 BST).

The flight itself was great, and with 50 GLP participants onboard, you could feel the excitement in the air. The flight attendants were having a good laugh and joke with everyone, and even offering advice on their favourite places to visit in Hong Kong. We were lucky enough to be flying on an Airbus A380, the world's largest passenger airliner! With our own TVs with a huge range of entertainment, a snuggly blanket and a squishy pillow, we put on our compression socks and settled in for a long flight.

The flight attendants kept us well fed and watered, with pretzels and a drink just after take off, followed by a hot meal and a drink (Szechuan chicken and rice or tomato and mascarpone pasta were our choices!). Throughout the flight there were plenty of drinks to be had, and around an hour before landing we were served a hot breakfast (a choice of full english, or a Spanish omelette).

Some managed to sleep for a few hours, and others were just too excited to sleep and made the most of the onboard entertainment.