Faculty Members and Students Participate in the APEC Vietnam 2017 Conference in Hanoi
Our faculty members and students were invited to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Vietnam 2017 Conference held in National Convention Centre in Hanoi, on 10-14 May 2017.
Do you know fashion industry is one of the most important industries for Asian countries? Representing the APEC Study Centre housed by The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), a group of Business School faculty members and students were invited to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Vietnam 2017 Conference held in National Convention Centre in Hanoi, on 10-14 May 2017. The team presented the preliminary results of a study in the Workshop on Small and Medium Enterprises’ (SMEs’) Integration into Global Value Chain in Fashion Design during the conference.
Invited by the Trade and Industry Department, HKSAR government, the team of researchers, including Prof. Michael Fung, Dr. Fred Ku and Dr. Andrew Yuen from the Department of Decision Sciences and Managerial Economics and Dr. Cheung-kwok Law from the Aviation Policy & Research Centre, worked on the research project since November 2016. Five undergraduate students including Harry Chan (Integrated BBA, Year 5), Heather Hsu (International Business and Chinese Enterprise, Year 2), Elizabeth Chan, Gladys Lam and Sherman Leung (Global Business Studies, Year 1) assisted the professors in different capacities varied from researching different trade policies to conducting interviews with different fashion designers and industry players. The preliminary results of the study were presented by Dr. Yuen in “Workshop on SMEs’ Integration into Global Value Chain in Fashion Design”. The workshop provided a platform for members of different economies to share their experiences and exchange their ideas on this topic.
“During the research, we had to conduct interviews with market leaders and successful fashion designers in the Hong Kong fashion industry. They shared with us the difficulties encountered and also expressed their views towards government policies based on the genuine situation in Hong Kong,” shared Sherman Leung. Students find the research project helpful in gaining a deeper understanding towards the industry. “I did not expect the fashion industry is that important to a society’s economy before the project. With more knowledge about the fashion industry, I may consider working in this field in my future career,” said Harry Chan.
“Through conducting research and hearing the stories of prominent fashion designers from Thailand and Korea, I gained deeper insights into the global value chain, along with how collaboration between countries and companies could be conducted successfully,” said Elizabeth Chan.
This was a valuable opportunity for students to attend international conference organised by APEC economies and meet with various senior officials of different governments such as Ms. Pannakarn Jiamsuchon (Minister Counsellor [Commercial], Office of Commercial Affairs, Royal Thai Embassy in Ha Noi) and Ms. Monica Chen (Assistant Director-General of Trade and Industry, Trade and Industry Department, HKSAR). Internationally renowned designers, such as Mr. Barney Cheng from Hong Kong and Mr. Ek Thongprasert from Thailand were also invited to share their experiences in the workshop.
“The sharing delivered by representatives from different APEC economies has given me a clearer picture of the role for which a country takes up in the fashion industry depends on its culture and background, as well as the benefits a country can enjoy with the complementary of other countries’ fashion policies,” said Gladys Lam.
After the conference, the team enjoyed sightseeing and experiencing local culture and food, including watching the Vietnamese traditional water puppet show, and appreciating the beauty of the renowned Ha Long Bay. “Vietnam has nice view, nice atmosphere, nice culture, nice food, all at a nice price. I enjoyed chatting with the locals and get a taste of their traditional cuisine and fusion that tells the history through the delicacies. The Hanoi exposure is certainly a bonus of the APEC project,” shared Heather Hsu.
The research study is still under way and the report is expected to be presented later this year. Besides Prof. Michael Fung, Dr. Fred Ku, Dr. Andrew Yuen and Dr. Law Cheung Kwok, the project team includes Prof. Stephen Chiu (Department of Sociology, CUHK), Prof. Bernard Suen (Centre of Entrepreneurship, CUHK) and Dr. Bruce Erik Bergstrom (Hang Seng Management College).