BSc (Mechanical Engineering) – The University of Hong Kong
1982 GT
The two-year GT training programme not only gave me a strong foundation in gas engineering, it also provided me with a comprehensive view of the operation and management of a gas utility, especially how different units closely collaborate to bring success to an organisation.
There is no pure gas engineering discipline in the curriculum of the University of Hong Kong, nor is it common in universities in other parts of the world. Choosing a career in gas engineering was a new venture to most engineering students at the time I graduated. Nevertheless, realising that gas engineering is closely tied to mechanical engineering, especially my favorite subjects of material science and fluid mechanics, and that the booming economy and development of Hong Kong would require a strong supportive energy infrastructure, I considered that it would be a propitious and fascinating area for my career development. Interestingly enough, that was the only job I applied for after graduation as I had a strong feeling that I “belonged” to the gas industry.
After two years of graduate training, I was appointed to the Transmission and Distribution Department. I was lucky to be selected to get involved in standards and technical development of the department, vested with the responsibility of advancing the codes of practice for all important gas transmission and distribution procedures. This gave me the chance to go into the details of each step of the procedures, helping me to gradually acquire a strong technical competency to face future challenges and opportunities.
The gas industry in Hong Kong has had a dramatic trajectory in the past few decades, and offered great opportunities for all those who have devoted themselves to the profession. With continuing growth and the booming expansion of the energy market in China and other parts of the world, there would seem to be ever-more brilliant opportunities for young practitioners entering the industry today.
The Gospel of Matthew says that “…… as he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the birds came and devoured them: and others fell upon the rocky places, where they had not much earth: and straightway they sprang up, because they had no deepness of earth: and when the sun was risen, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. And others fell upon the thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked them: and others fell upon the good ground, and yielded fruit, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty……” this is a good metaphor for the Towngas GT program as it is certainly one of the best grounds in which to nurture those who have a vision to develop a flourishing future career in the gas industry.