United College, CUHK has received a donation of HK$50 million from the CKY Education Charitable Trust and the Choi Koon Shum Education Foundation Limited, enabling the College to build a new student hostel to accommodate more residential students. To express deep gratitude to Dr Jonathan K S Choi and Mrs Janice Choi, United College named the new hostel the Choi Kai Yau Residence after Dr Choi’s late father, and named the activity wing and the hall inside the hostel the Jonathan KS Choi Cultural Centre and Janice WK Choi Concert Hall respectively. Choi Kai Yau Residence’s Naming and Groundbreaking Ceremony was held on 4 July 2022.

The officiating guests were Dr Jonathan K S Choi and Mrs Janice Choi, representatives of the CKY Education Charitable Trust and Choi Koon Shum Education Foundation; Professor John Y Chai, Chairman of CUHK Council; Professor Rocky S Tuan, Vice-Chancellor and President of CUHK; Ms Lina H Y Yan, Chairman of United College Board of Trustees; Professor Jimmy C M Yu, Head of United College; Professor Stephen H S Wong, Head-Designate of United College; Mr Eric S P Ng, Vice-President of CUHK and Chairman of the Building Committee of United College’s new student hostel; and Mr Thomas Choy, Vice-Chairman of United College Student Union Council.

Welcome speech by Ms Lina H Y Yan, Chairman of United College Board of Trustees.

Ms Lina Yan expressed her deepest gratitude for Dr Jonathan Choi and Mrs Janice Choi’s donation to support the development of the College. She said, “There were only about 400 students in the early years of the College and now we have over 3,300. The construction of the new hostel allows more students to experience college life and raises their sense of belonging to the College.”  She looked forward to seeing the Jonathan KS Choi Cultural Centre and Janice WK Choi Concert Hall in the new hostel become excellent places for local and international students to interact.

Opening speech by Professor Rocky S Tuan, Vice-Chancellor and President of CUHK.

Professor Rocky Tuan remarked, “CUHK takes pride in its unique collegiate system among universities in Hong Kong, which is vital to our whole-person education that aims to nurture our students to become caring and responsible global citizens and leaders. I am most delighted to witness the groundbreaking of the fifth hostel of the United College – ‘Choi Kai Yau Residence’ – which will not only add vibrancy to our campus, but also enrich our students’ learning experience – a key area highlighted in the University’s five-year strategic plan ‘CUHK 2025’.”

Professor Tuan also expressed his deepest gratitude to Dr Jonathan Choi and Mrs Janice Choi for their most generous contributions and longstanding support to the vision and mission of the University.  He said, “The Choi family has always been supportive of charitable works and has contributed significantly towards education, technology advancement and cultural development of our city and our country. It is our great honour to name the new hostel building after the late Mr Choi Kai Yau, an influential entrepreneur and philanthropist who made tremendous contributions to Hong Kong.”

From right: Mr Eric S P Ng, Vice-President of CUHK and Chairman of the Building Committee of United College’s new student hostel; Professor Jimmy C M Yu, Head of United College; Professor Rocky S Tuan, Vice-Chancellor and President of CUHK; Mrs Janice Choi and Dr Jonathan K S Choi, Representatives of the CKY Education Charitable Trust and Choi Koon Shum Education Foundation; Professor John Y Chai, Chairman of CUHK Council; Ms Lina H Y Yan, Chairman of United College Board of Trustees; Professor Stephen H S Wong, Head-Designate of United College and Mr Thomas Choy, Vice-Chairman of United College Student Union Council.

Ms Lina H Y Yan (far left) and Professor Jimmy C M Yu (far right) present a souvenir to Dr Jonathan K S Choi (2^nd right) and Mrs Janice Choi(2^nd left). It is an artist impression of the new student hostel drawn by UC student, Tsang Sze-ching (CUMT/4).

Choi Kai Yau Residence will be located at the upper car park next to United College’s Tsang Shiu Tim Building. It will be a four-storey building with a footprint of 2,805 square metres. The construction project will be completed in the first quarter of 2025. The new hostel will have 125 twin rooms, providing a total of 250 student hostel places, plus accommodation for a warden and tutors. The common facilities will include a multi-purpose hall that can host up to 300 people, common rooms, pantries, a fitness room, a study room and a warden’s office. There will also be various types of supporting facilities, such as a laundry, storage, reception, an attendant’s room and a network equipment room.

Currently, there are four student hostels in United College, Adam Schall Residence, Bethlehem Hall, Hang Seng Hall and Chan Chun Ha Hostel, with a total of 1,288 hostel places. After the completion of Choi Kai Yau Residence, the total hostel places will increase to 1,538, which accounts for almost half of the College’s student population.