9 maps showing student sharing on different cultural experiences

In 2020, we couldn’t be in the same room in Hong Kong. So we built new ones.

When the campus went quiet, we got creative – turning Zoom rooms into windows to the places our students call home, from Indonesia to Italy and  beyond, bedrooms into recording studios, and distance into a reason to reach out.

A two-year season of distance became an unexpected chance to rethink how we bring students together. Here are some snapshots of our attempts to keep connection alive when everything else stood still.

On-air Café
In April and May 2020, On-Air Café turned Zoom into a cultural living room where HKUST students from all over the world could connect.

 

9 sessions were hosted by UG and PG students who shared stories about their cultures, lifestyles, and traditions. Each session was captured in a graphic recording.
A Capella Together
A 4-month journey of music co-creation that began with a cancelled concert.
 
In 2022, we teamed up with student singers from Tunatics A Capella to produce a campus-wide Shakira’s Try Everything. From live recordings to personal submissions, we opened up the music experience to anyone who wanted to lend their voice.
 
It was never just about the song – it was about making something together when being together wasn’t an option.
Revisit our Journey