Jumping out of the box,
Living beyond imagination


Alex WONG
BSc Integrative Systems and Design, Year 4 student

The most unforgettable experience at HKUST I must count on was the early taste of different experiential learning settings since I was in Year 1, and not to mention, getting the right major matches totally with my passion and personality.

Title
Never ask me to sit still
Description

Exploring and experimenting life never bores me. Instead of just sitting at classes, I am more motivated by hands-on project learning, and so does real-life application. By taking part in different scale of robotics contests, seeing my design becoming real products, I found the enjoyment in the process of turning my ideas into reality day by day. There is a little voice in my head urging and leading me through this determination.

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Title
Living beyond imagination
Description

Admitting to the HKUST School of Engineering allowed me to explore different engineering areas, which gradually recognized my true passion for experiential learning. By the end of my first year, the all-new Integrative Systems and Design major program was just launched. Professors suggested it would be just the right course for me. I am also aware it totally matches my interests in integrating design and system thinking, while “learning by doing” a wide spectrum of projects, which means I am not bound by classroom studies, and can even bring my imagination alive with the flexibilities the program can offer. I still recall how much I was overjoyed when I had a casual discussion with professors about the possibility to design a 3D printer. He was very supportive of this and eventually turned it into a credit-bearing elective. What a great surprise to me!

Title
Design with your life
Description

A good design is more than just creativity. Serving a greater purpose to address real-life issues is a value creation process. During the Global Product Development course, my classmates and I worked together on developing affordable and practical technology for developing countries. We designed a series of low-cost prosthetics, a hammock-style living room, and pressure sensing pads for wheelchair users, etc. We even searched in the downtown area for manufacturing parts and did model testing on campus. It truly reflected how design thinking can be turned into action by solving day-to-day problems with innovative, human-centric, and meaningful solutions.

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Title
Jumping out of the box
Description

The most unforgettable experience at HKUST I must count on was the early taste of different experiential learning settings since I was in Year 1, and not to mention, getting the right major matches totally with my passion and personality. Currently, I am engaged in a startup business along with my study. We are working on a product development recently in observing swimmers’ activities to spot drowning, in which we hope to solve the alarming issue of insufficient lifeguards for a safer beach. Until now, I find it exceptionally rewarding to be capable of solving issues we face on a daily basis with technology and to apply what I am learning to practical matters. To me, constantly breaking through the limits through design is of great significance and meaning to vastly improve and enhance our quality of life.

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