Academic year 2020/2021

One academic year has passed so swiftly, with most of us being able to meet each other physically on campus. This is a luxury if we compare to other parts of the world. While we should appreciate how much the Chinese and Macau governments have done to fight against the pandemic in order for us to have relatively more normal lives, we must not forget our peers, your fellow classmates, HCers, and teachers, who are still prohibited from coming back to Macau. We hope HCers and other UM students are doing well, apart from the suboptimal conditions of learning online.

Your examinations are fast approaching. Here are some tips from “The Two Awesome Hours” by Josh Davis:

• To refresh yourself from fatigue and tense emotion, you can (1) take deep and slow breaths (believe me, it works!), (2) Have a good laugh, (3) Take a short 10-minute nap (longer than that will make you grumpy).
• (1) Coffee can boost productivity 30 minutes after drinking. But please do not over dose! “Less is more” in this case! (2) High-carb snack (carbohydrates) can help you focus and feel good for about 15 minutes only. If you need longer focus, do not eat carb-rich meals. (3) Moderate exercising (such as fast walking for 20-30 minutes) can amplify positive moods; intense exercise does not boost more.

To wrap up this academic year, I hope you enjoyed the different activities that HC has offered over the past year. We have launched the revised Honours program that is designed with more focused high quality learning goals and activities. The newly renovated HC facilities have been opened. We increased the number of Honours Forums, added Tea with Leaders which include Mr. Grant Bowie’s two teas, and Mr. Carlos Alvares’ lunch next week. We will plan for more forums, seminars and workshops that would cover more topics to suit a wider audience with different interests.

Finally, enjoy your summer break and challenges to come! For returning HCers, see you next academic year! For graduates, see you at the convocation in June, and/or somewhere in Macau or other places in the future!

According to the Mariam- Webster dictionary, disruption means “a break or interruption in the normal course or continuation of some activity, process, etc.” As negative as this term sounds, it has become a very important word in the Fourth Industrial Revolution as it represents “breakthroughs”, “leaving the comfort zone”, “thinking outside the boxes”, all these terms that you always hear from me.

I recently came across a few articles about designs and what design teams in organizations need, prompting me to think that these attributes can be applied by every person in his/her work (including your work as students) from different angles and sides. Some of these are:

• User-centric strategies
• Collaboration
• Balance between quantitative and qualitative angles that links user satisfaction with performance.

They sound like a cliché list. Yet, if you think through, they are just applicable anytime everywhere.

Inventions can be very disruptive, totally changing our world, our habits, and ways of living. Think of how smart phones have disrupted the world. Think of Amazon and Taobao have disrupted how we shop and how the retail business has been affected. Why do they succeed and others don’t? Inventions can disrupt our lives only if they provide very good user experience. Designs can eventually be marketed only when everyone in the organization understand what the designs are, how useful and/or attractive they are, and how efficient they can reach the customers. If you think designs are very distant from mathematics, you can’t be right! Think of how the structure of a piece of music can actually be explained quantitatively. How are the above related to your studies? Use your intelligence, please!

In the nutshell, I hope you can open your mind to incorporate different angles of thoughts into your work rather than following only what you think you are told or taught. Be disruptive once in a while! In the good way, of course!

The term “unintended consequences” is being widely used after the work written by Robert K. Merton, one of the most influential sociologists and also the late father of Robert C. Merton, the 1997 Nobel Laureate in Economic Sciences, also the recipient of the Honorary Degree  (Doctor Honoris Causa) of the University of Macau in 2014 (which means a Nobel Laureate is also an alumnus of your Alma Mater! J).

Post-it Note is an example of unintended GOOD consequence. It was a product when a scientist at 3M meant to invent a very strong adhesive (glue).

Another example is the chocolate lava cake. In 1987, a chef in New York took out a chocolate cake from the oven before it was supposed to be completely baked. He found the warm runny center of the cake tasted good and has since promoted it in the US.

The following is what I think a really bad unintended consequence! Have you heard of George Floyd? Are you aware of the “Black Lives Matter” protest? Last week, on April 20, 2021, Derek Chauvin was found guilty of second degree murder after kneeling on the neck of George Floyd for 9 minutes 29 seconds on May 25, 2020. Whether this policeman, Derek Chauvin, just tried to fulfill his duty as a police or took the chance to apply way more force on George Floyd than necessary because he was black, the consequence was really tragic! A life was taken because of what happened in those 9 minutes 29 seconds.

In 1936, Robert K. Merton (Merton, 1996) identified five possible causes of unintended consequences, namely

• Ignorance (failure to anticipate the outcome)
• Errors in analysis of the problem; and this includes continuing the practice adopted in the past, without updating the solution for current situation and/or needs
• Focusing on short-term interests over long-term benefits
• Some basic values that if actions are taken (in some cases, actions are stopped from being taken) would ultimately lead to unfavorable consequence in the long term, and possibly leading to changes in the basic values
• Self-defeating prophecy, in which people try to find solutions even before problems occur (and which problems might not even occur) because of fear of some consequences

When you make plans, please think along the above possible causes to avoid unintended bad consequences. Objective thoughts and reasoning, abundant preparation, and thorough analysis and trials will always pay off.

Reference (References should appear at the very end of a paper or article; but I put it here because I am afraid you would have missed it otherwise): Merton, Robert K (1996). On Social Structure and Science. The University of Chicago Press.

Have you imagined about famine? We often hear or see from TV about how kids and babies in several African countries die of hunger. The truth is that even though the world, in the aggregate, produces more food than everyone needs, not everyone has access to food. Worse off, through the journey transiting food from farms to landfills, 1.3 billion tons of food are wasted every year. A new United Nations environment report, “Wasting food just feeds climate change”, issued on March 4, 2021 warns that a third of all food produced is wasted or lost on farms and in supply chains. Some are lost at the farm because there are not enough people to harvest the crops. Supermarkets have to remove the food from the isles after the “best before” dates arrived. The biggest loss are in homes or restaurants, contributing to wasting 10% of food. Yes, 10% of all food, not 10% of food wasted! In number, this represents more than 930 million tonnes of food sold in 2019.

From “How Food Banks Succeeded and What They Need Now” on the March 31, 2021 issue of New York Times, it is reported that charitable food banks in the US has distributed 50% more food in 2020 than in 2019, which is from roughly 300,000 people per month before the pandemic to nearly 700,000 at its June peak.

The United Nations has started a campaign to achieve the goal of cutting global food waste in half at retail and consumer levels by 2030.

How is this related to you? Even if we all have abundant food around, it does not mean we can bring the food to the needy, such as the kids in Africa. But what you might not know, though, is that reducing food waste can cut greenhouse gas emission! This means that we can help slow down the destruction of nature. If you do not understand why and how, please search for the answers yourselves. I am also happy to discuss with you.

You can help!!! From now on, buy or order only the amount you can finish. Do not have your eyes wide open when ordering, only to find later that you could finish less than half of the food you ordered. Do not stock up food and then forget, and eventually throwing them away because the “best before” date is passed. Please help the Planet Earth!

My topic today is about Catherine Duddy Wood, the founder, CEO and CIO of Ark Invest, which is an investment management firm. I pick her not because I am in Finance, and she is considered as the female version of Warren Buffet, nor because she is one of the richest female in the US, but because of her personality. She founded the Ark Investment Management at the age of 57, an age when many people start planning their retirement. She became very successful since. Here is why.

Her company focuses on investing in Disruptive Innovation, because her personality traits include the following:

• Firmly believing and be proud of your job is just the minimum. To have good progress, you have to think big and think far.
• You should innovate like a disruptor (i.e. think without being framed or boxed).
• Sometimes, being successful is not about how much you win, but how many people you have helped, how much you have shared with others.
• Manage your time well. Sleep and rest at the right time. Have a routine lifestyle.
• Always be curious! Be a sponge for learning.

The following is a continuation of the words of wisdom from Mr. Alvares, followed by my interpretations.

• Throughout your career, you sometimes move forward, sideways, and backwards! Everyone understands forward (i.e. advancement). Sideways? We may change to another job for many reasons. Backwards? It is bad to experience demotion, failure, and bumps! Most people will say, “Who wants moving backward?” WAIT! Who could declare you are moving backward? YOU! If you don’t see moving backward is failure, no one has the right to look down on you! Turn “backward” to an opportunity to review what you have done wrong, not good enough, and learn to become stronger and better for the next step and next opportunity! We do not have to always get promotion to define our success. Success can come from overcoming your failure!
• Have a broad network! People are important; organizations are all about people! We all know having more friends, knowing more people, building a good network is important. You will never know when one day, a friend or an acquaintance will call you up for a very important job. But, we do not make friends because we want to sow seeds for our future career advancement. Take one step back! You treat people nicely and befriend because you should! And you will feel good when you treat people well! Remember I told you to at least say “Thank you!” whenever you can?!
• Grab the chance! Opportunities are everywhere. Whether you get one or not have to depend on whether you will grab it, and more importantly, whether you are ready to grab it. To be ready, you will have to learn and explore different aspects of life, various skills, and be innovative! Following the point above, when someone calls you for an important job, you will have the job only if you say yes. But, why would this someone call you? It must be because you have worked hard, learnt, and therefore built up the credentials essential for the job.
• Be Happy! We all know being happy is important. But that does not mean you should never be sad. We of course will be sad at times. You have the right to shed tears. But, do not drag on in the abyss for long. Gather yourself fast! Learn from your mistakes and mishaps. If the sadness is not from what you did, learn to embrace the fact that you will be stronger after every sadness. Positive attitudes could general intrinsic power for lifting tons of problems and challenges. Stay positive! Stand up and become a more resilient you! You can control how happy you are through your effort of appreciation!
• Jobs in the future will change! After the pandemic, lives, hobbies, and habits have changed significantly all over the world. As Mr. Alvares mentioned, there are fewer customers at the physical branches of the bank now. On the other hand, customers trading stocks online have increased seven-fold. What can you do to cope with these changes? Will what you currently major in be still useful in the future? Rather than asking these questions and being unsettled, think of your undergraduate learning as training for better and more logical minds, and not just skills. Learn to be resilient and flexible. There are no theories or doctrines that proclaim what you study is what you should do as career. Enjoy your job, whatever it is, even if it does not seem to be linked to what you study in the university. There are always skills and ties that links the two. You just have not seen it yet!

I normally do not write to you on school weeks ended before Friday. But this time is different! Inspired by the views of Mr. Carlos Cid Alvares, CEO of BNU (for those who don’t know, BNU is one of the two quasi-central banks of Macau, the other one being Bank of China), when he spoke at our Honours Forum yesterday, I would like to jot down a few takeaways for you. I will share half this week, and the other half next Friday. Hope you enjoy!

First all of, thanks to those who joined the Forum. Also, thanks to those who informed us that you could not attend the Forum due to some sudden time conflict even though you have registered. We appreciate your understanding of the basic respect that registering to an activity means making a serious promise which you should not easily break; notice that the organizers of the activities have to make a lot of efforts, and the event would be successful only if there is audience.

Now, here are some highlights from Mr. Alvares, followed by my interpretations of each (a lot of which have been shared in my previous emails, which you could review from our HC website):

• Do not only look for the target; look for the paths! It is true that we need to have goals or targets in order to motivate us to push ourselves to becoming our better selves. Nevertheless, targets are only sources, excuses, or reasons for motivation. How we could learn and improve is always the experience of walking through the path and the process.
• Life is beautiful! Following the point above, the experience of going through the process can itself be very beautiful, let alone helping you grow. I understand that all of you have to strive for better academic performances. That said, you might sometimes need to pause for a moment, go slow, turn around and breathe in the surrounding to appreciate how beautiful the world is, how fortunate you are to live in this part of the world, how lucky you are to simply be human.
• Work hard, do everything you can, and you will learn! Alvares shared with us how in some of his jobs, he had to do everything, from the most basic routine task to the most important decision making. This is how you learn the whole idea of the industry or company you are in. Do not always say “Why do I, in this high position, need to do this?”, “I am too good to do this simple work!”, “Why is he/she so important and I am such a small potato? He/she is not as smart as I!”, “I should be served!” etc. Complaining does not help! Comparing does not help! Rather than lingering in this negative attitude, turn it into positive energy by telling yourself that you could do everything, and you know all processes inside out, which will eventually make you a better leader for the company/unit in the future!

I hope you enjoyed these words of wisdom from Mr. Alvares. I will send you the others next Friday. Again, please feel free to share your opinions, or questions, with me like what some of you already did before!

Since the Easter holidays are fast approaching, I would like to share an article on the New York Times with you. Published on December 10, 2019, written by Tarra Parker-Pope, the title of the article is “For the Holidays, the Gift of Self-care”.

The main idea is “to be good to yourself first — then to others”. Haemin Sunim is a Buddhist monk who wrote the book called “Love for Imperfect Things”. How do you care for yourself? It is much more difficult to enact than it sounds. Try the following:

• Take deep breaths for just a few minutes each day, focusing only on your breathing. No other thoughts in your mind. If you can do it, you will find your mind much fresher and calmer, and more focused afterwards. Try this out when you study for your exam. Don’t even think the few minutes is wasting your time. It can be remarkable!
• You are not perfect! Accept who you are! Are you chubby? Are you too skinny? Are you not as beautiful as so and so? So what??? Looking in the mirror and comparing to others is not only a waste of time, but affecting your mood. Who you are and what you look like are gifts from your parents and life (and God, in religious sense). You have no right to criticize! You must instead take good care of yourself and lead a healthy life! You should be grateful that you are you!
• Write down what you are feeling, or the situation that you are in. Writing takes away the heavy weight from your mind. Go to bed without holding these weights in your mind. Then start with the easiest-to-achieve items on that list the next morning. You will find the second task easier than thought. Then try to accomplish the tasks one by one.
• Talk to someone. You will find yourself listening while you talk, and might realize you have already knowing the answer!
• Take a walk! Pay attention to the trees and flowers, and any scene that you can capture. You may be stunned by how many colors you have missed all these days, how beautiful the world always is.

Haemin Sunim noted that “even if you feel there are many things in your life that are imperfect, if you look at them in a compassionate way, you discover that imperfection, in and of itself, is beautiful and has meaning.”

Do you consider yourselves good? Do you lend a hand to your friends? Do you find yourselves polite and helpful to your friends, your peers, your teachers, people you met in your days, but speak to your mom rudely, or not speaking at all? If you have not thought about all these questions before, please start observing from today onwards. Do you thank your friend who helps you buy a drink, but not thanking your mom or dad for cooking you dinner? Do you rush to help your teacher, but turn a blind eye to your family member when they need you?

If your answers are “No” to all the last three questions above, CONGRATULATIONS!!! Keep it up! Many of us tend to treat others better than our own family members. Why is that? We tend to take off all the possible invisible masks and protective garments when we go back home. We mistake that family members understand us, and therefore do not need to say extra. We are too close to say “Thank you!”

Have you spent time with your parents lately? I came across a recent piece of news about a primary school boy winning the Japanese national primary student composition competition for writing a passage about what he will never forget – a short white lie from his late father. One day, when he was two years old, his father said, “Son, I have to go to a faraway place to work. You and your mom must take care of yourselves and live happy lives!” A week later, his father died from leukemia. Of course the boy was too young to remember the incident. Luckily, his mom videotaped the moment, so that he could replay unlimited times. The boy wrote in the passage that this white lie from his father is what has encouraged him to live healthily and positively for all the years because he has harbored the hope of seeing his father. Now that he knows that his father will not come back, he promises himself to continue to live a healthy life as what his father asked him to do.

We always tell ourselves that we should meet friends because we can always find time later to spend with our parents. We never do! One day, when you suddenly have the urge to spend time with them, you might find that it is too late. Treasure your family! Treasure your grandparents! Treasure your parents! Sometimes, a light touch on the shoulder, a small hug, or even a soft and short “Thank you” can be magical! Do not give yourselves opportunities to regret!

Last week, I shared some thoughts inspired by an article about LGBTQ+. My aim is to arouse your awareness and adaptation of the wide spectrum of identities that we human beings have. As mentioned at the end of that mail, I am sharing with you a few suggestions on how “we should create, … a fairer world where nobody should be ignored.”

Even though some organizations actually have related policies in place, it is still not enough. We have to “live in”. That means we should create a more pleasant and friendly environment so that nobody feels estranged. I am not saying we have to treat LGBTQ+ specially. Quite on the contrary, ask yourself if you have treated them NORMALLY! How? You can be alert of at least the following:

1. Be careful not to make assumptions about people’s personal lives, such as asking a girl if she has a husband or boyfriend. A “friend”, “spouse”, or “partner” will be more appropriate. This is to avoid “shaming people for who they authentically are.”
2. You can set a good example by introducing your LGBTQ friend’s other important half to others by saying “This is Amy’s partner, Mary!” This will avoid embarrassment to Amy, your friend, and her partner, Mary.
3. Above all, ask yourself if you are avoiding them. If so, change yourself. Remove your discrimination. Learn more about them by approaching them and open yourself to them. Ask yourself if you have actually “opened” yourself.

Studies have found that companies that are inclusive for a diverse workgroup including LGBTQ+ enjoy a lot of benefits. To say the least, they are able to recruit and retain more talents. One can never underestimate the contribution that people can make when they feel being included. LGBTQ+ are particularly resilient and empathetic!

Rather than sharing more from the different studies, I would like to leave this as an open topic for you to think deeper and further. Whether you are an LGBTQ+ or not, please consider whether the society you live in has done enough, and what you can do to help with/in even the slightest changes. Please feel free to share with me your thoughts by writing to me directly. All your comments/criticisms are welcome!

Have you ever thought why going to a washroom is a “binary decision”? That is, why do we have to choose between “female” and “male”? You may puzzle, “What question is this?”

A survey of gender nonconforming people aged 14-25 years old done in the UK in 2016 (done by the Telethon Kids Institute, called the “Trans Pathway project”) showed that 48% of them decided they were “non-binary”. What does that mean? We human beings can be different in race, in complexion, in personality, in nationality. Likewise, we can be different in sex. And I don’t mean only male or female, but LGBTQ+.

Many years ago, the term LGBT started to emerge. LGBT stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender. It has now been extended to LGBTQ+, which stands for “Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender, Generqueer, Queer, Intersexed, Agender, Asexual, and Ally community”. Why has the abbreviation become longer? A reason is that people are more open to accept and admit that we can be different, not just the two categories of “male” and “female”. Yet, to date, discrimination is everywhere, causing these group of LGBTQ+ to hide away their true selves. A recent study conducted by McKinsey & Company found that LGBTQ+ employees face many challenges in the workplace, such as harassment and extra stress. They are often being socially excluded. Because of COVID-19, their work-from-home period has actually allowed them to feel more “freedom to just be able to exist”! Even a physical workplace can be very unfriendly to them. For example, they feel uncomfortable choosing which bathroom to use! Discrimination happens more often with more junior employees, women, and people outside Europe and North American.

Nobody should get left behind! Similarly, no one has the right to discriminate others! We should be given equal opportunities whenever possible. Quoted from the McKinsey survey, “Listening and learning about employees’ lived experiences is the first step business leaders must take to create fairer workplaces.” Similarly, we should create, and strengthen the inclusive culture by listening and learning about the experiences from each other and the nonconforming ones in order to create a fairer world where nobody should be ignored! How do we do that though? I will share with you next time.

Again, inputs and opinion sharing are welcome!

For those who will graduate this year, you might be busy preparing for your job hunting. Others might be preparing for internship interviews, or interviews needed for further studies. In any case, many of you might need to conduct several interviews in the near future. A recent survey done by TopResume (https://www.topresume.com/) revealed that employers and interviewers have put significantly heavier weights on interview thank-you notes than before the pandemic. These thank-you notes have in a way helped recruiters to learn more about the interviewees’ personalities to see if they are fit for the job opportunities. Amanda Augustine, an expert in career advancement, has suggested nine strategies in writing interview follow-up messages:

(Please see https://www.fastcompany.com/90583398/this-is-the-best-way-to-write-that-post-interview-thank-you-note)

1. Good follow-up starts before the interview ends
   • Take notes during the interview so you could be more engaged in the points to be mentioned about the interview
   • g. anything in common with the interviewers, such as school attended? Any of your qualification that the interviewers were most interested? Any concern from them about your skill gap?
2. Timing counts – send one thank-you message to each interviewer, addressing their names one by one; no bulk mail; send in a timely manager, such as within 24 hours of your interview
3. Be grateful – thank them for their time and consideration, even if you decided not to take the job
4. Reiterate your interest – assuming that you like what you learnt during the interview, make sure you communicate this interest; and this point should be clear and precise; be genuine
5. Remind them of your rapport – to get them connected to you, you might want to remind them who you are by touching on your (interesting) discussions with them at the interview
6. Refresh their memory – remind them about the strength you have, or some main points worth emphasizing in your resume (try to remember any points about you that any one of the interviewers seemed interested)
7. Overcome their objections – try to see if you have any example to prove your capabilities which they have doubts, or explain your sincerity for the job if you think they were concerned you were “too qualified”; never use words like “trust me, I will know what to do if I get the job!”; you do not need their trust, you need to prove to them!
8. Add something new – this is a chance to add something you forgot to mention at the interview, in a line or two at most (no paragraphs)
9. Write to influence – proofread, be careful of the use of language, especially noting what you want to convey (e.g. your personality)

Always remember, a note specifically written for a person is way more convincing than a “stereotyped” note for anyone. Show your sincerity! If you cannot have all the nine points, do not exaggerate, do not lie. Be honest!

Last week, I shared with you about WEF. I hope you had a chance to browse through what it is, and are inspired by some of the talks and resources. This week, I would like to continue with this subject by sharing some reports delivered by the McKinsey & Company, an international consulting company. In fact, you will see me citing resources from this Company frequently because it is indeed a very resourceful consulting firm.

Related to “The Fourth Industrial Revolution” suggested by Prof. Klaus Schwab, here are some McKinsey reports about technology, the future of production, and how businesses would be run in the future, particularly the speedy advancement of technology amid the pandemic that has greatly shaken the ways most people on earth live. In other words, these reports will also alert you what you need to know and how you should prepare for your careers.

• The Fourth Industrial Revolution and manufacturing’s great reset
• Industry’s fast-mover advantage: Enterprise value from digital factories
• COVID-19: An inflection point for Industry 4.0
• Reimagining the way businesses operate
• Future of Work
• Building the vital skills for the future of work in operations
• Risk, resilience, and rebalancing in global value chains
• Building supply-chain resilience
• What’s next for remote work: An analysis of 2,000 tasks, 800 jobs, and nine countries

Hope these reports could inspire you some.

You must have heard “The World is ever changing!” in many occasions. Even a famous British film director, Nicolas Jack Roeg, wrote a book with the same title. It is important for you, HCers, who might have the opportunities to change Macau, if not the world, to be better equipped for such purpose. But how? Being constantly updated with news is not enough. You should keep thinking what could be inspired from the news.

Today is the last day of the five-day World Economic Forum (WEF), Davos 2021. WEF was founded in 1971 by Klaus Schwab, a professor in business policy at the University of Geneva. Since then, the very influential politicians, governors, businessmen, innovators, and activists (the youngest being Greta Thunberg who, at the age of 15, had already spoken at the 2018 United Nations Climate Change Conference), have spoken at the WEF, of which holds the mission “committed to improving the state of the world by engaging business, political, academic, and other leaders of society to shape global, regional, and industry agendas”.

This year, the Davos Agenda focuses on 7 themes: (1) How to save the planet, (2) Fairer Economies, (3) Tech for Good, (4) Society & Future of Work, (5) Better Business, (6) Healthy Futures, and (7) Beyond Geopolitics. All these are because of world inequality (significant income inequality within and across countries), the pandemic, global warming, the need for ethical businesses and industries. All these are responsibilities of mankind, for the betterment of the world in the centuries to come, for our next, next, and next generations. We are obligated to build a better world. It is never “none of our business”!

Even though this is an “Economic” Forum, it is never only targeting audience from business and economics. In fact, Prof. Schwab himself studied engineering, in addition to economics! You will learn a lot about technology, engineering, nature, and social science issues from the Forum. I suggest you to browse the webpages of the WEF to learn from world leaders about their vision, their mission, and the way they convey their messages. Here’s the link in case you are really that lazy not to do a Google search: https://www.weforum.org/events/the-davos-agenda-2021/about

A lot have happened in this third week of the New Year! First, you have finished your exams and are starting the new semester. Some of you have left Macau to go back home, and now back to campus. You were suggested not to leave Macau during the Chinese New Year break which is coming soon, amid the worsening pandemic situation in various parts of China. Last Sunday, UM kicked off the Celebration for its 40^th Anniversary at its Open Day. On Wednesday, after months of controversies and interesting episodes, Mr. Joseph Biden took the presidential oath of office as the 46^th US President. Yesterday, a flight from Air Macau brought back 109 Macau residents from Tokyo. These residents had spent a lot of time en route back to Macau from wherever they were. The Macau government officials had been planning for the highest health security possible with the expectation that some of them would unavoidably bring back the virus. The breaking news is that one lady was tested positive, a new case after 7 months of record of zero case! To me, one case is already probably the minimum we could expect. We hope there will not be more. But in any case, we should be happy for these residents who could finally come back home. Imagine you are, or your family member is, one of them. You would really hope that, you or your family member, could finally be home safe after the long hours of such stressful journey. Some of them have been stranded abroad for a year or so. Macau has always been a lucky city. Let’s hope all these 109 residents will continue to be healthy, pass the quarantine period, and finally join their family again.

Looks like we will have to continue to live in this unusual pandemic era for some more time. No one could be sure when the “new normal” could officially start. Let’s stay physically, mentally, and psychologically strong for the new days to come!

Hope you will enjoy your new semester! Embrace the opportunity of face-to-face learning when many people all around the world have to learn through online platforms! Please lend your hands to your peers who are less fortunate and have do online lessons from their homes outside of China. Please also empathize your instructors who have to prepare and teach in hybrid mode. They have to spend tons of extra effort to make it work.

Happy New Year! This week, as a new start, I wish all of you a more “normal”, safe, and healthier 2021!

Good luck to your exams! Add Oil! (Guess I mentioned before that “Add Oil!”, a Chinese term for encouragement, has been included in the Oxford English Dictionary in 2018).

Hope the following will be of some help if you still have some exams to go. But even if not, it should still be useful for your future.

A guy called Matt Ringel (you can Google his blog) suggested a “15-Minute Rule”, which is “If you’re stuck on a problem, take a solid 15 minutes to bash your brain against it in whatever manner you see fit. However, if you still don’t have an answer after 15 minutes, you must ask someone for help.” This is a useful rule not just for studying, but also for work (Ringel actually referred to work when he wrote it). Notice that sitting there thinking of a problem that you cannot solve for long enough would depress you, and it is a waste of time. What you should do instead, according to Matt Ringel, is:

• When you get stuck, push yourself to solve the problem for 15 minutes
• Document everything you do during those 15 minutes so that you can provide the information to the person who helps you later on
• After the 15 minutes, if you are still stuck, then you MUST ask for help.

When at work, by asking someone, you actually save everyone’s time. This is because even though you are paid to solve problems,  you are wasting your time and that of your team if you keep dragging on the unsolved problem! That’s also an opportunity for you to signal your teammates that you value team spirit.

So, please use your time, and others, wisely!