Hello! My name is Hao, and I am a 2022 Laidlaw Scholar. I am a law student at the University of Hong Kong and am particularly interested in law and technology and commercial law. During my first year with Laidlaw, I worked with Dr Jedidiah Kroncke of the HKU Faculty of Law in analysing the difficulties faced by current US federal legal standards in establishing legal liability when AI is involved in a hiring discrimination civil lawsuit, and devising a pragmatic solution to the doctrinal problems diagnosed.

The Laidlaw Scholars Programme has been made available to HKU students (HKU Laidlaw Scholars) in 2019 by the generous funding support from Lord Laidlaw of Rothiemay. As a prestigious scholarship programme embedded at the Universities of Leeds, Oxford, UCL, York, to name just a few, the Laidlaw Programme equips students with research and leadership skills to help them pursue their academic and professional aspirations beyond their current course of study.

A graduate of Cambridge University, Susanna’s professional experience includes over 15 years in senior leadership roles in international B2B and learning businesses. Susanna began her career at the Institute for International Research (IIR) where she first worked with Lord Laidlaw, rising to Chief Marketing Officer (CMO). When IIR, which was the world’s largest organiser of commercial conferences, was acquired by Informa plc in 2005 Susanna was appointed CMO of the enlarged group and also led the public company’s investor relations programmes. She subsequently joined Emap Ltd as Chief Marketing & Strategy Officer and CEO of Emap Networks, that group’s conferences business. Later she became CEO of the fashion industry forecaster WGSN and was latterly Group Content and Marketing Partner of the leading strategy consultancy Brunswick Group. A German-American raised and educated in the UK and a committed internationalist, Susanna has been involved in globally trading businesses throughout her career, directing activity in the Americas, across continental Europe, and the Asia Pacific. Susanna has been extensively involved with education and professional development over many years. She was Head of Group Training and led the commercial acquisition and integration of a portfolio of corporate training businesses whilst at IIR; and created learning academies at both Informa and Emap. She believes experiencing and appreciating different cultures promotes better global understanding, creativity and leadership. She is passionate about the power of education to transform lives; and believes that we need to develop a new generation of diverse leaders who are curious, bold and devoted to decency, truthfulness, and innovation. Susanna is committed to diversity not only as a societal imperative but as a critical component of commercial success. As an advisor to the trustees of the Foundation, Susanna first learnt about its purpose and programmes before becoming its Chief Executive responsible for the Laidlaw Schools Trust, the Laidlaw Scholars and its other education programmes. Susanna read English and Philosophy at Newnham College, University of Cambridge. She has five half blues in swimming and water polo; and played netball and rowed for Newnham.

Audrey is Administrative Assistant I of the Horizons Office at the University of Hong Kong. Audrey has been working in the field of international education in Hong Kong since 2010; her portfolio of work spans from programme development and implementation at the undergraduate, postgraduate and faculty level, marketing and promotion, organisation of international conference and events, and providing secretarial support to various committees pertaining to scholarships, fellowships and international mobility schemes.  Her current portfolio includes management of the HKU Laidlaw Scholars Programme, Undergraduate Research Fellowship Programme, short-term experiential learning programmes outside of Hong Kong, and HKU-Common Purpose UK leadership development programmes in Bangalore, Manila, Kuala Lumpur, Shanghai and Hanoi. Currently she is setting up two new initiatives, namely EUREKA and The Hong Kong Project, where students will have the opportunities to undertake research methods online course and conduct a EUREKA research project in the former, and collaborate with community partners by proposing practical solutions to real-life problems in the latter. She graduated with a bachelor's degree in TESL and has an MA (Hons) in Translation from the Chinese University of Hong Kong. 

I am a year 3 student in the University of Hong Kong's interdisciplinary BASc(Global Health and Development) programme (hosted at the School of Public Health, LKS Faculty of Medicine, HKU) while pursuing a second major in Psychology. In the past year, I served as the chairperson of my programme's student society at HKU. My research engagement extends beyond the six-week attachment at University College London's ISEH in summer 2023 – after returning to Hong Kong, I am still working with the researchers at UCL to prepare a systematic review, and following up the results so far to combine with the continued effort back in the UK to write up a journal article for submission soon. Back in HKU, I have joined research labs in psychiatry and psychology departments, working on both statistical analyses and research project managements. More recently, I have led the organisation of a month-long summer research programme for high school students as part of my LiA with the research lab I have been working since Jan 2024. Besides what I have been immersing myself in research, I have a keen interest towards topics like inequality in society, our health, environmental and sustainable development studies. During secondary school years, I steered my school's flagship territory-wide primary school STREAM education initiative for two years and administered school student bodies of the discipline team, school history and gifted education team and took an active role in the environmental protection team. I was named one of the 2021 Hong Kong Outstanding Teens and was twice commended by the Education Bureau as an Outstanding Student Environmental Protection Ambassador. I endeavour to promote equality for underprivileged and underrepresented groups in society including ethnic minorities and enhance their upward social mobility. In 2022, I competed the in first Hong Kong Student Service Leaders Award organized by Dream Compassioneers, undertaking social service projects and was recognized with the title of the Top Ten Outstanding Student Service Leaders 2022. Last updated: July 2024