TOEFL Hong Kong Scholarship winners announced, supporting outstanding students to give back to the community through education

HONG KONG, Sept. 14, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- ETS announced the winners of the 2023 "TOEFL® Hong Kong Scholarship" today. Eight excellent students have demonstrated their potential and commitment to contribute to the community with their knowledge. They will embark on their educational journeys at universities in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Europe, and Hong Kong.

The "TOEFL® Hong Kong Scholarship" was established by ETS in 2023 to support Hong Kong students in achieving better development through education. Since its launch on March 9, ETS has received applications from numerous outstanding applicants with diverse backgrounds. After a preliminary screening, 14 applicants were invited for panel interviews. The review panel assessed their academic background and their potential to contribute to the community. Eight scholarship winners were selected, namely, Lee Tin Sum, Lo Sen Sze, Lam Cheuk Hang, Cai Xinni, Wong Ying, Jiang Xinjie, Peng Baiwen, and Wang Wing Wun.

The 2023 "TOEFL® Hong Kong Scholarship" winners come from diverse backgrounds and disciplines, and are at different stages of their education. The awardees have chosen to pursue their studies in various destinations, and their study fields include music business, geography, speech therapy, economics, management, design, and education. They aim to contribute their professional knowledge and skills to address issues revolving income inequality, education equity, sustainable development, the development of the music industry, and speech therapy. Here is the full list of 2023 "TOEFL® Hong Kong Scholarship" winners:

• Lee Tin Sum: Master of Arts in Global Entertainment and Music Business, Berklee College of Music, United States (Valencia Campus, Spain)
• Lo Sen Sze: Bachelor's in Geography, University College London, United Kingdom
• Lam Cheuk Hang: Doctorate in Communication Sciences and Disorders, McGill University, Canada
• Cai Xinni: Master of Philosophy in Economics, University of Oxford, United Kingdom
• Wong Ying: Dual Degree Program in Technology and Management, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong
• Jiang Xinjie: Master of Interaction Design, Carnegie Mellon University, United States
• Peng Baiwen: PhD in Comparative and International Development Education, University of Minnesota, United States
• Wang Wing Wun: Bachelor's in Education, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom

Miranda Wang, Managing Director of ETS China, said: "This is the first year that ETS has awarded the TOEFL® Hong Kong Scholarship. We are honored to have gained the trust and recognition of the applicants and received many outstanding applications. During the interview process, the applicants impressed the interview panel with their passion for their respective fields of study and their aspirations to contribute to society with their knowledge. ETS is privileged to provide support to them as they embark on their journey to pursue their dreams and contribute to societal developments."

Regarding the "TOEFL® Hong Kong Scholarship," Lo Sen Sze, who will be studying for a bachelor's degree in geography at the University College London, said: the "TOEFL iBT^® test resembles university lectures, and the test preparation process helped me gain an understanding of the language environment and academic content at the university level. The scholarship's interview section involved questions around my personal stories and motivations for studying, which allowed me to present myself well with ease."

Another winner, Lee Tin Sum, who graduated from the School of Journalism and Communication at the Chinese University of Hong Kong with a Bachelor's in Creative Media, will be pursuing a Master of Arts in Global Entertainment and Music Business at the Valencia, Spain campus of Berklee College of Music. With strong passion in music creation, she has been involved in over 100 music productions, including concerts, music video filming, and song recording. She hopes to establish her own company to bring positive changes to the Hong Kong music industry and use her marketing skills acquired across the Asian and American music markets to promote Spanish music in Asia. She said, "the TOEFL iBT^® test is widely recognized in Europe, the United Kingdom, and the United States, which is why I chose to take it."

Peng Baiwen, a scholarship recipient who completed his master's degree at the University of Hong Kong and worked as a project research assistant for five years, conducting research on education equity, has already arrived in the U.S. to pursue a Doctorate in Comparative and International Development Education at the University of Minnesota. He firmly believes that excellent TOEFL iBT^® scores are an important consideration for admission to overseas universities. As a non-native English speaker, he spent two months practicing his verbal communications, aiming to improve his speaking section score. He ultimately met the requirements and received a doctoral scholarship from the university. He said, "The TOEFL iBT^® test covers a wide scope of knowledge and skills, it helps me to prepare for my upcoming study and living in the United States." He also looks forward to using the scholarship prize of HK$10,000 to publish a book about his learning and educational stories to inspire young students.

Studying abroad has always been a popular choice among Hong Kong students, with the United Kingdom, Australia, the United States, and Canada being the most favored study abroad destinations. As the TOEFL iBT^® test is recognized by 100% of institutions in each of these countries, many Hong Kong candidates apply for their dream schools with TOEFL iBT^® test scores. To better serve local test takers, ETS, developer of the TOEFL iBT^® test, will increase its investment in Hong Kong, expand its cooperation networks with local universities and organizations, and jointly help test takers realize their education dreams.

The TOEFL iBT^® test is accepted by more than 12,000 universities, organizations and institutions in more than 160 countries and regions around the world, including Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the United States and English-taught programs across many countries worldwide.

To learn more about the TOEFL® Hong Kong Scholarship, please visit www.toefl.cn/hk-scholarship.

About ETS

We believe in the life-changing power of learning. For the last 75 years, we've been driven by a vision of what's possible when all people can improve their lives through education. It's why our uncompromising commitment to equity and fairness is behind everything we do. ETS serves learners, educators and government agencies by providing measurement solutions, and conducting research, analysis and policy studies. ETS develops, administers and scores tens of millions of tests annually — including the TOEFL iBT^® and TOEIC^® tests, the GRE^® tests and The Praxis Series^® assessments — in more than 200 countries, at over 9,000 locations worldwide. www.ets.org

source: ETS