The CityU Alumni Association and the Alumni Affairs and Development Office (AADO) brought more than 60 alumni together on 17 July so that University alumni and students can get to know each other better and extend their networks. 

Mrs Diana Ying, Associate Vice-President for Institutional Advancement and AADO Director, extended a warm welcome to all the participants and presented souvenirs to each of the senior alumni invited to the occasion. Mr Patrick Lee, Chairman of the Alumni Association, pledged that his Executive Committee would help unite alumni in support of University development.

The keynote speaker was Mr Carlos Cheung, Chief Dealer (Spot Market Section) of the Bank of East Asia. Mr Cheung completed both his Bachelor and Master's degrees at CityU. "It seems that the present economy isn't much different from that of 10 years ago when I graduated," said Mr Cheung. "However, irrespective of the external environment, we should learn to understand ourselves better and enhance our abilities in order to improve our competitiveness."

Mr Cheung and other senior alumni, from a variety of business backgrounds -- including Marketing, Insurance, Accountancy, Economics & Finance, and Information Technology -- met and exchanged ideas with CityU students. A new graduate from the Biology and Chemistry department said CityU's "old boys and girls" helped enlighten him on his career development plans.

"We are very pleased to learn that many people enjoyed themselves tonight. This is a great support for us," said Mr Bryan Wong, Vice-Chairman of the Alumni Association. "We have indeed planned a wide variety of activities for our alumni, such as camping at the new Student Hostels, a Tung Ping Chau outing, a boat trip and other gatherings. We don't mind all the hard work so long as our efforts can unite CityU alumni and help build a closer relationship among them."

In her closing remarks, Ms Kathy Chan, Senior Alumni Affairs and Development Officer, introduced the recent initiatives undertaken by the AADO, among them the publication of an electronic newsletter, the CityU eAlumNet.