Lingnan University (LU) collaborates with Tuen Mun Hospital Patient Resource Center (TMH PRC) starting from late March 2024 to launch a health promotion activity. With the participation of the Jockey Club Gerontechnology and Smart Ageing in Place (GTSA) team from the Institute of Policy Studies and the School of Graduate Studies, the collaboration aims to train LU postgraduates to become health ambassadors and serve at the TMH PRC to provide health literacy and gerontechnology information to the hospitals, caregivers, as well as the community.

About 10 postgraduate students from the health-related programme join in the services. After a series of training, students become health ambassadors and participate in the promotion of health information and gerontech products to the public. The collaboration provides students with valuable experience in close contact with medical and health professionals and related services, and builds up theoretical and practical opportunities for students. The following are the sharing of the students:

Miss. LI XI from Master of Health and Social Service Management, said,"The service experience at Tuen Mun Hospital was very interesting and meaningful, which also provides me with an opportunity to put into practice what I have learned in the classroom. During the services, we introduce different gerontech products to the community, and serves to explain to the visitors the usage of the products, as well as to collect their feedback and suggestions. TI have been motivated to think more about the needs of the older adults and to enhance my ability to provide people-oriented services."

Miss. ZHANG Xinyue from Master of Smart Ageing and Gerontology, shared,"After serving in Tuen Mun Hospital for a few weeks, I notice that the knowledge I gained from the classroom is being widely applied to real life. In the process of serving the public, I am able to utilize my knowledge flexibly to provide services to the public. This activity is very meaningful to me for reflecting my professional learning."

In the stage of preparing the service, LU’s GTSA team also trains a student from the Master of Health and Social Service Management to take up the role of coordinator. Mr. TIAN Haobo, as the coordinator, not only has to communicate with the students, but also needs to liaise with different parties for the services. Mr. TIAN shared that"I was able to use my knowledge to provide services to the public. By involving in the planning, recruitment and coordination of the service, I gained experience in planning the event and acquired administrative skills, also able to gain an in-depth reflection of the positive development that my profession can bring to the society, which gave me a new understanding of the integration of my profession and the society, and also inspired me to have a better planning on my future career development."

Dr. Chloe SIU from GTSA team and School of Graduate Studies believes that continuous collaboration with hospitals is very important to the promotion of gerontechnology and has successfully developed the"Medical-Social-Academic" cooperation model. The process of training postgraduate students also have a significant impact on their understanding of the local healthcare system and their future career development.