Always be yourself and feel with your heart.
I didn't expect that we could have such sincere and truthful interaction with all our CEOs, founders and fellows during our Melo journey. And all these valuable memories will always stay in my heart . I am really glad that we inspire and learn from each other!
Before joining Melo, I was actually a bit worried and scared about the future as a year 3 student. But then, I tried to find my passion back through the journey and become more confident in myself. Will say that it's okay to feel lost but remember to find ourselves again and get back on track!
Project MELO is a self-actualization journey that helps me discover my “IKIGAI” - the intersection of my passion, profession, mission and vocation. The exciting opportunities of working with business leaders to create meaningful impacts on the environment and society has been a life-changing learning experience.
Don’t be proud of your affiliation, be proud of your creation.
We often assume that teenagers’ opinions are not as highly valued as prestigious people in society. The Melo journey has proven me wrong because CEOs are actually quite down-to-earth, and are willing to listen and share. The most impressive sharing to me would be from Randy, the CEO of McDonald’s HK, in which she has given Melo fellows chances to speak up and to express societal concerns. I definitely love her to-do spirit and youth engagement’s aspiration.
I would say the Melo journey has provided me with the lens to see through what shortcomings are in myself and how I should improve. Being humble is sometimes quite contradictory to challenging the status quo because on one hand, you value people’s opinion, but on the other hand, you want to disturb the old ways of doing things. The lesson that lies on me would be how I could balance the two and contribute at the same time.
“I am deeply impressed by the organisers’ commitment to create a differentiated program for Youth. I hope all Melo students always believe in themselves and the society, and always be brave to think differently and take actions.”
Thank you Project Melo for bringing me valuable opportunities to meet and connect with our futuremakers through reverse mentoring. As the perfect wrap-up for everyone’s effort, I’m eagerly anticipating the launch of our Fellows’ “21-Day Challenge Climate Change” Happy Meal book this June! Looking ahead, I cannot wait to connect with more young friends and be inspired by their new ideas and creativity. Together, we can drive positive change for Hong Kong and envision a brighter future for all!
“This is truly a community effort....And I’m honored to be part of this new initiative.Yes, there are challenges ahead, for both our students and corporates... but I remain confident that our Melo Fellows and Peers together with the CEOs can learn from each other how best to weather the uncharted journey ahead.”
Who can apply?
Any full-time university undergraduates from these six universities can apply - Baptist U, City U, Chinese U, HKU, HKUST, and PolyU. We will select 20 Melo Fellows from this pool of applicants. Our selection criteria is simple - we are looking for high calibre students with a passion and track record of leadership and impact on the society. We look for authentic stories and real passion.
The program will kick off at the end of January 2025 and end with a graduation in June 2025. The Fellowship has two main components - Co-Creation and Joint Discovery.
In Co-Creation, 20 Melo Fellows will be divided into 5 teams of 4. Each team will be paired with two leading CEOs / social leaders. Each will work towards a proposal on delivering the most impact on their topic for Hong Kong society. One of the leading region VC firms and its managing partner will seed one or more of their proposed programs for implementation.
In Joint Discovery, these are events for the entire fellowship where Melo Fellows will experience and learn from leaders of our society on a few key themes, in the most intimate and engaging way.
In terms of time commitment, each Fellow will be asked to:
Melo Fellows will go through a one-of-a-kind journey of learning and mindset growth. They will learn hard and soft skills and have direct exposure to leading CEOs, social leaders and thought leaders. The Fellowship includes project based learning as well as group-based interactive learning.
For the first time ever, two Fellows will be selected and be awarded the SHK x Melo Scholarship, which will cover the full tuition fee of the remaining years of undergraduate studies of the awardee.
1. Background details
Your name, mobile number, email contact and your year and degree in HKUST.
2. Choose a topic
Choose from one of the five themes we listed as your preferred topic of interest or you can write to us what one other topic you are interested in
3. Tell us your story
Share why you want to join this program and why you are passionate about the topic you choose in one of three formats (A 500-word essay, a 90-second video, or a PowerPoint of fewer than 10 slides). We care a lot about authenticity. We would love to hear stories that come from your personal experience.