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Opinion | Hong Kong’s brightest should explore mainland science and technology opportunities to reach their full potential
- We must not allow tunnel vision and outdated notions of success to funnel top students into only pursuing careers in medicine
- Our brightest young minds should look to follow their passion while seeking opportunities in the Greater Bay Area
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This year’s Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education results were released recently. As has been the case for the past 10 years, the media descended on a handful of candidates who attained perfect scores, considered essential for youngsters seeking to secure a subsidised place in one of Hong Kong’s publicly funded universities.
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However, what is striking is that, over the years, more than 50 per cent of those achieving perfect scores have chosen to study medicine at one of the city’s two medical schools to become a doctor. I am glad to see that bright students want to pursue a career in medicine, especially as public hospitals have been under tremendous pressure due to the Covid-19 pandemic and a chronic shortage of doctors.
This issue is worthy of further consideration, and it might even shed light on how Hong Kong can best prepare its youngsters to expand their horizons beyond the city, given the vast potential of the mainland.
For a start, let’s try to understand why Hong Kong’s top students pick local medical schools over other academic disciplines. The answers of this year’s crop are illuminating: some say they want to be a doctor to save lives; others hope to contribute to solving the manpower problems of our healthcare system.
Those are noble aspirations, but one cannot help but wonder whether they have also considered other ways to contribute to the cause. Perhaps, instead, they could study advanced scientific and technology subjects like artificial intelligence, biochemistry or robotics, which can also help save lives.
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These days, some intricate surgical procedures can be better performed by augmented reality-assisted robots. Therefore, students should not brush aside other interesting and worthwhile subjects.
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Seven students achieve perfect scores in Hong Kong's university entrance exams
Seven students achieve perfect scores in Hong Kong's university entrance exams
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