Ms Irene Au (third from the right, first row) served as the President of SCAA from 2019 to 2023
Ms Irene Au (Chinese Language and Literature 1997), our new trustee, is an alumna of Shaw College. With the expectation to start a university life in an innovative and vibrant environment, she chose Shaw College when she was admitted to CUHK. Sir Run Run Shaw, founding patron of Shaw College, was a renowned entrepreneur and philanthropist. Successive College Heads are experts in diverse fields. They contribute to the society with different talents and subconsciously shape students' personalities and values, making the students understand the importance of knowledge application and social responsibility. The experience in Shaw College posed a profound impact on Ms Au’s growth. As a member of the CUHK Debate Team, she especially benefited a lot from college assemblies where she could listen to speakers from various professions and learn to think from different perspectives. The course “Sleeping and Dreaming” offered by Professor Chen Char-nie, then College Head, was deeply engraved in her memory, and she still keeps the notes of the course. All these experiences strengthened her understanding and interest in interdisciplinary topics.
Ms Au was awarded “Star of Shaw” 2017 and served as the President of The Alumni Association of Shaw College (SCAA) from 2019 to 2023 during the pandemic. Ms Au led SCAA to take swift action to revise the Memorandum and Articles of Association to enable the annual general meeting to be held online, and switch to online activities to stay in touch with alumni and reconnect with overseas alumni. During her tenure, coinciding with the university's 60th anniversary, she leveraged her expertise and network to collaborate with the university and the alumni association in organising a concert and visit by the renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma, making it a truly meaningful way to give back to her alma mater. Ms Au works in the field of arts and cultural entrepreneurship and training, she hopes to apply the potential of arts and culture to different industries, education and society in a technology-first era, so as to balance people's minds and work. As a new trustee of the College, Ms Au will patiently learn about the operation and needs of the College from other trustees and college staff, and think about how to introduce related networks and resources to enrich students' learning experience and promote College’s development. When asked to share her belief with Shawers in one sentence, Ms. Au said: “Life is creation”.
This article was originally published in the Newsletter of the College, Shaw Link in Jun 2025.