The CityU expedition team has completed its 21-day adventure in Antarctica, collecting data for various research projects on extreme climate and environments, and returning home on 3rd January. A welcoming home reception headed up by Prof Way Kuo, President of CityU, was held on 13th January at the Staff Lounge to celebrate their successful expedition and safe return. Prof Arthur Ellis, Provost of CityU, Prof Houmin Yan, Dean of College of Business, and other senior management also attended the reception.
Two expedition members were from the College of Business, Jacky Wong Chun-kit, a Year 3 student in BBA (Hons) Marketing and Ada Au Pui-yee, a Year 2 student in BBA (Hons) Accountancy. Both of them felt joyful and honoured to have taken part in such a meaningful event and to have contributed to raising public awareness for environmental protection and resources conservation.
Having been actively involved in environmental protection events during high school study, Ada and her teammate picked The Exchange as the topic for their research project, studying ‘international goods bartering as a sustainable strategy’ in a remote and isolated region. She experienced a real bartering transaction with an official working in Antarctica which was one of the highlights of her trip:
“We were brought to visit a research workplace managed by Chile government and one of the officials was very excited to meet us coming from overseas. She took out all of her coins and suggested to conduct a bartering with me. I was heartened by her passion and felt touched to experience such traditional trading exercise that still exists.”
Ada recalled the scene as one of the inspiring incidents of the journey.
“People working there were from different countries or nationalities. They were nice and helpful and were willing to share anything they had with us. To me this trip gave me a lot of valuable insights and opportunities to broaden my horizon. Sitting on a rock and looking at the penguins without thinking about anything or of Hong Kong was another kind of enjoyment of life,” she added.
Jacky felt happy and was proud to have taken part in such a large-scale special project in his last year of study.
“Undoubtedly, many students would not participate in any extra-curricular activities in their final year. However, I would treasure this as an once-in-a-lifetime experience which is rare and commendable, especially as this is held on CityU’s 30th anniversary.”
He further mentioned that the team’s topic had been changed twice since the locations were not suitable for the original project targets.
“Our team wanted to study The Penguin Wave, a common phenomenon conducted by a cluster of Emperor penguins to keep warm during the austral winter in Antarctica or to identify the leader from the cluster. As our destination was summer time in western Antarctica, we ended up finalizing our project to study how penguin parents guard and hatch their eggs in the extreme temperature.”
Jacky did not feel disappointed about the topic change. On the contrary, he was surprised to gain more than he and his teammates had expected.
“My team studied how penguin parents protected their eggs and how baby penguins live in extreme and dangerous environments. Even though the three of us are not from biology academic background, especially me, with only business background, this did not deter us from exploring the biological world in Antarctica. I think this is truly an inter-disciplinary learning. For example, we studied the behaviours and defensive mechanism of three types of penguins that we saw during the Antarctica trip, namely Gentoo Penguin, Adelie Penguin and Chinstrap Penguin in western Antarctica finally. Besides, sleeping in the snow with only a sleeping bag was interesting, though it was very cold.”
When reflecting on the adventure, both of them agreed that the trip was extraordinary and unforgettable.
“I have never ever imagined I can go to the southernmost city in the world - Ushuaia and Antarctica at the age of 19. What I saw and experienced in these 21 days was incredible, precious and will definitely be one of the most valuable memories in my life. It is hard to describe in words, as the feeling is very personal and abstract. I could only summarise the expedition as a journey that introduced to me another taste of life. I am glad that I made the right decision to participate in this project. I believe I would not have the chance to travel to there again. Not to hesitate, just be brave, willing to take the first step to try, explore and seize every opportunity or else you will regret.'' Ada concluded.
Jacky found the nature to be a classroom and he learnt a lot when getting in touch with it.
“The life in Antarctica was relaxing as I was so close to the nature. The environment was so quiet and clean that you would not want to see any destruction or pollution happening in the region. The trip also strengthens my determination in preserving our precious natural resources and creatures, saving energy and reducing pollution. I believe we all want to share and pass these natural gifts to our next generations. It is also the responsibility of human beings to preserve and treasure the nature.”
For more information on the expedition and projects: http://antarctica.scm.cityu.edu.hk.
For photo album of the Expedition: http://www6.cityu.edu.hk/puo/newscentre/Antarctica/Album1_1219.html.
For previous news report about this project:
http://www.cb.cityu.edu.hk/media/news/NewsDetails?id=1854
http://www.cb.cityu.edu.hk/media/news/NewsDetails?id=1838
http://www.cb.cityu.edu.hk/media/news/NewsDetails?id=1773
CityU NewsCentre:
http://wikisites.cityu.edu.hk/sites/newscentre/en/Pages/201401140911.aspx
http://wikisites.cityu.edu.hk/sites/newscentre/en/Pages/201312241541.aspx
http://wikisites.cityu.edu.hk/sites/newscentre/en/Pages/201312131045.aspx