HKU School of English, HKU RIICH and IC4CH co-host the
“Transitioning from University to the Workplace During and
Post COVID-19” Interactive Panel

The HKU School of English of the Faculty of Arts, the Research and Impact Initiative on Communication in Healthcare (HKU RIICH), and the International Consortium for Communication in Health Care (IC4CH) jointly hosted an Interactive Panel Discussion titled “Transitioning from the University to the Workplace During and Post COVID-19” on 31 May, 2023. The hybrid event attracted participants from over thirteen countries across five continents. The participants came from diverse backgrounds, and included university students and graduates, university staff members, employers and healthcare professionals.     

At the event, Associate Professor Dr. Olga Zayts-Spence (Director of HKU RIICH) and her research team presented qualitative and quantitative findings from a large-scale Research Grants Council Collaborative Research Fund (CRF) project that examines the impact of COVID-19 on graduates’ university-to-work transitions. The research team also invited five project stakeholders to take part in the event, to provide their feedback on the project’s research findings, and to share their ideas about resources and support services that could facilitate graduates’ workplace transitions. The panel discussants included Honorary Professor at the HKU Faculty of Education, Professor Catherine K.K Chan; Assistant Professor at the HKU School of English, Dr. Brian King; Senior Manager at Jardine Matheson, Ms. Donna Titley; Executive Director of Hong Kong-based Charity Body Banter and PhD candidate at HKU School of English, Ms. Stephanie Ng and Teaching Assistant at Diocesan Boys’ School, Ms. Maleah Do Cao.     

Dr. Zayts-Spence noted that “graduates had been greatly impacted by the pandemic, as they had little to no time to adapt to new modes of distant learning and, swiftly after, had to transition to the workforce amidst an unprecedented time.” She said that the CRF team is working to develop evidence-based resources and to disseminate the project findings widely to support their transitions to the workforce post-COVID, as some changes due to the pandemic are likely to stay long-term.

Speaking at the event, panellist Professor Catherine K.K. Chan also agreed that the impacts of COVID-19 permeate into the post-pandemic era. She said, “what happened during the COVID times, the responses, the adaptability, the digital learning and workplaces have become a new normal, and that we do not go back to the old situation.” She expressed appreciation for the study, which she thinks bridges the gaps between universities and workplaces.

Dr. Helen Tebble, a recently retired Adjunct Associate Research Professor at Monash University, participated in the event remotely from Australia. She commented that Dr. Zayts-Spence’s research project “extend[s] beyond the University and is making a contribution to the transition of university students to the workplace.” She further said that the presentations and the discussions at the event allowed her “to reflect on much of [her] academic career which used Linguistics (applied) as the starting point to theoretically analyse language in the workplace.”

About HKU RIICH’s CRF Project
“The educational, social and health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on university graduates transitioning to the workforce in Hong Kong” is an interdisciplinary research project coordinated by Associate Professor Dr. Olga Zayts-Spence, and funded by the Hong Kong Research Grants Council, Collaborative Research Fund (Project Code: C7086-21G). The project involves local and global collaborations, with co-investigators from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, the City University of Hong Kong, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong NGOs and business organizations, as well as researchers from universities in the United Kingdom.   

For media enquiries, please contact Associate Professor Dr. Olga Zayts-Spence, Project Coordinator of the CRF Project, School of English, HKU (Email: zayts@hku.hk), or Mr. Angus Chan, Research Assistant of the CRF Project, School of English, HKU (Tel: +852 3917 7283 / anguscsm@hku.hk). For further information, please visit the project website: (www.graduatemindmap.com). 

For the online press release and photos, please visit: http://www.hku.hk/press/news_detail_26240.html

香港大學英文學院、醫療溝通研究和影響倡議團隊（HKU RIICH）與
國際醫療溝通協會（IC4CH）共同舉辦
「新冠疫情下及疫情後從大學到職場的過渡」論壇

香港大學（港大）文學院轄下的英文學院、醫療溝通研究和影響倡議團隊（HKU RIICH）和國際醫療溝通協會（IC4CH）於2023年5月31日共同舉辦了一場名為《新冠疫情下及疫情後從大學到職場的過渡》的互動論壇。該線上線下同步進行的活動吸引了來自五大洲、十三個國家的參與者，包括大學生和畢業生、大學職員、僱主和醫療專業人士。

在論壇中， 香港大學醫療溝通研究和影響倡議總監 Olga Zayts-Spence 副教授及其研究團隊成員介紹了一項香港研究資助局 (RGC) 協作研究金 (CRF) 項目的質性和量性研究成果。該項目研究新冠疫情對大學畢業生從校園到職場的過渡所產生的影響。研究團隊還邀請了五位與項目有關的受眾一同參與活動，以了解他們對項目研究發現的反饋，並集思廣益，討論相關資源及服務如何能夠幫助畢業生來面對職場過渡階段。論壇與會人包括香港大學教育學院名譽教授陳嘉琪教授、香港大學英文學院助理教授Brian King博士、怡和洋行高級經理Donna Titley女士、香港慈善機構（Body Banter）執行董事及香港大學英文學院博士生Stephanie Ng女士、以及拔萃男書院教學助理Maleah Do Cao女士。

Zayts-Spence博士指出：「畢業生受到疫情的巨大影響，因為他們沒有足夠的時間適應新的遠距學習模式，特別是在這個史無前例的特殊時期，又需要迅速過渡到職場。」她表示，疫情帶來的改變可能長期影響我們的生活，所以CRF團隊正在努力開發出基於實證研究的一些資源，並廣泛推廣研究項目的成果，以支持畢業生在疫情後順利過渡到職場。

論壇嘉賓之一的陳嘉琪教授在活動中發言時也表示，新冠疫情的深遠影響延續到後疫情時代。她說：「新冠疫情期間發生的事情，包含應對措施、適應能力、數碼化學習和工作場所已經成為新常態，我們不會回到疫情前的舊常態。」她對這項研究表示感激，認為它有助於彌合大學和職場之間的差距。

來自澳洲蒙納殊大學 (Monash University) 近期退休的客座副教授Helen Tebble博士在線上參加了此次論壇。她評論道，Zayts-Spence博士的研究項目「超越了校園的藩籬，對大學生到職場的過渡做出了貢獻。」 她進一步表示，此次活動的演講和討論，讓她「反思了自己以(應用)語言學為起點，在理論框架下分析工作場域語言的學術研究生涯與歷程。」

關於香港大學醫療溝通研究和影響倡議的CRF研究項目
「新冠肺炎疫情對應屆大學畢業生在港就業的教育、社交和健康方面的影響」是由副教授Olga Zayts-Spence博士統籌的跨學科研究項目，由香港研資局協作研究金資助（項目編號：C7086-21G）。該項目涉及本地和國際合作，共同研究方包括香港中文大學、香港城市大學、香港理工大學、香港非政府組織和商業組織，以及英國大學的研究人員。

如有媒體諮詢，請聯繫香港大學英文學院副教授及CRF項目統籌人Olga Zayts-Spence博士（電郵：zayts@hku.hk）或研究助理Angus Chan先生（電話：+852 3917 7283 / 電郵：anguscsm@hku.hk）。如欲進一步了解上述的研究項目，請瀏覽項目網站：（www.graduatemindmap.com）。

新聞稿網上版及照片，請瀏覽: http://www.hku.hk/press/c_news_detail_26240.html