At the Ceremony, Professor Yike Guo expressed his heartfelt appreciation to Dr Li Dak Sum, Mr Kenneth Li and his family for their commitment to education that has inspired future leaders in our society. Professor Guo also encouraged the scholarship recipients to make the most of the opportunity at the universities to pursue their academic and personal goals with passion and determination.

Two HKUST Start-up companies, XOXO Beverages (XOXO) and Not Only Powder (NOP), were invited to showcase their services and products at the Ceremony. Co-founded by Mr Ricky Chan and Mr Peter Yau, alumni of HKUST School of Engineering, XOXO is a pioneering company in providing high-quality drinks by applying unique and robotic solutions to its mocktail machine. NOP, on the other hand, collaborates with local fruit stores to collect ugly fruits and upcycle these fruits into fruit smoothies and fruit crisps, encouraging sustainability in a creative way. The company is co-founded by Miss Lilia Cheung, HKUST alumnus of the School of Business and Management and her business partner. XOXO and NOP’s services and products were highly commended by the attending guests and students.

The Li Dak Sum Yip Yio Chin Kenneth Li Scholarship was established through Dr Li Dak Sum’s generous donation of HK$300 million to the three Universities in 2015. HKUST, HKU and CUHK each set up a HK$100 million endowment fund for the Scholarship that aims to support outstanding graduates from Ning Po College and Ning Po No. 2 College to pursue higher education in the three Universities. Since the establishment in 2015, the Scholarship programs have benefited over 200 graduates from the two Colleges in total.