During the recently concluded Humanities & Social Sciences Week, a series of exciting activities were organized for students, including the Humanities Fete Games, Debate Competition, and Sociology & Psychology Escape Room, allowing them to immerse themselves in the charm of humanities and social sciences.
In addition, we invited two special guest speakers to engage with our students. Mr. Andrew Jack, Global Education Editor at the Financial Times, discussed global education trends and changes in the job market with A2 students. Meanwhile, Dr. Surinder Punjya, Executive Director of the Nesbitt Centre, Hong Kong, delivered a talk on social enterprises, sharing insights on how business models can empower individuals with Special Educational Needs (SEN).
Two students have documented these inspiring discussions—let’s revisit their insightful reflections!
An In-depth Discussion on Education Trends and the Future Workplace
Reading the articles from the Financial Times (FT) has always been a vital part of our economics class. My teacher, Mr. Andrew, gives us FT articles to read and questions to answer every week. On 18th February, he invited us to a Q&A session with a senior FT journalist, the Global Education editor of the Financial Times, Mr. Andrew Jack.
Six A2 students participated in the session. As Mr. Jack has written extensively about global education trends, we came in with questions prepared about college education and the transition from school to the workplace. Mr. Jack was patient and sincere in answering, giving us very detailed insights.
When we expressed concerns about the threat of AI for replacing jobs and the difficulties in finding employment for studying certain majors, Mr. Jack acknowledged that our current job market is full of unpredictabilities. “I can’t say for sure what jobs exactly will disappear,” he said. “However, soft skills will always be useful in succeeding in all industries”.
Therefore, he advised us to focus on building up skills like communication, teamwork and synthesizing information in college, and it’s okay to not be very sure about which specific job to choose. Nevertheless, he suggested us to start exploring different professions as early as possible, and to accumulate some general work experiences that will help us in choosing our final career.
As we asked about his opinion on college rankings, he mentioned that the validity of some rankings is questionable. As a result, he encouraged us to look at the extent to which different rankings disclose their calculation methodology.
Furthermore, he strongly suggested that we shouldn’t make our college decisions only based on the rankings, but should do research in depth for each school to see if they truly match us.
At last, Mr. Jack expressed curiosity about the Chinese education system and our choice to study abroad. The session concluded in a friendly atmosphere, where everyone engaged actively and walked away with new insights.
Such opportunities for us high school students to directly connect with experienced professionals in the journalism industry is valuable. As we move forward to start college life, we will keep in mind Mr. Jack’s suggestions on our approaching future with open-mindedness.
Thank you to Mr. Andrew Jack for his engagement with the SCIE community.
The Financial Times offers free online subscriptions for its content to pre-college students aged 16-19, their teachers and upper secondary/high schools around the world, and to colleges of further education in the UK.
The Power of Social Enterprises
In the afternoon of February 18th, our A2 Economics class welcomed Dr. Surinder Punjya to lead workshop on Social Enterprises. Dr. Surinder is the Executive Director of The Nesbitt Centre, Hong Kong, which has been empowering English-speaking Special Education Needs (SEN) adults by teaching life and vocational skills for over 30 years.
With fun and touching anecdotes, Dr. Surinder shared with us the story of The Nesbitt Centre: it all started with one coffee shop at St. John’s Cathedral in Central (Nest@St John’s Cathedral) – a simple business no different than any other apart from the fact that all their employees had special educational needs.
Through three decades of dedication, the Nesbitt Centre has developed its own business model with emphasis on sustainbility, social responsibility and creating employment opportunities.
Now, they operate 4 social enterprises: Café 8@Hong Kong Maritime Museum, a 65-seat restaurant with 16 SEN staff, Nest@St Andrew’s Church with 9 SEN staff, its central kitchen The Nest Bakery with 4 SEN staff, with 2 new outlets coming on board soon.
Behind the ever-thriving business, Nesbitt Centre encourages its learners and staff the following two tenets:
1. To be happy
2. To be useful to the society
A moment of silence followed after Dr. Surinder addressed these two goals with us. Surprised by the genuine simplicity of this message, we realized, the social enterprise thrives upon equality.
Dr. Surinder also shared with us that of all outlets, the turnover and sick leave rates have been almost zero for the past 11 years – all of their staff members are so reliable and committed to their jobs, even for roles like mopping the floor and cleaning tables.
Currently, the Nesbitt Centre also provides a vocational training centre at Sai Ying Pun for approximately 45 members, running a 6-module Preparation for Life program based on self-advocacy and independence catered to the needs of each student.
Through this program, individuals in need of learning support find self-worth, friendship, employment skills, and a sense of independence. To quote from its founder Mr. David Nesbitt, Nesbitt Centre students and staff are moving forward engaged in the community, with lives enriched, and empowered in the society.
Please think of Nest and Museum Cafe 8 for your next coffee fix or event! Apart from a cup of coffee, I bet you’ll leave feeling enriched, empowered, and embraced.
- Article / Claire Xiao, Michelle Wang
