Since 2021, the Nuclear Division has been organising the mentorship program for the undergraduates studying Nuclear and Risk Engineering Program at the City University of Hong Kong (CityU). The annual programme aims to build up connection between practising engineers and engineering students as well as to provide professional advice on the career path in nuclear industry to students. To kick off the program in 2023, the Nuclear Division with the support of the CityU Department of Mechanical Engineering hosted a gathering session on 18 March 2023 at the CityU Campus to which all mentors and mentees were invited. It is fortunate that physical meeting may be resumed this year to facilitate closer interaction among participants. The objective of this session was to introduce the program, indicate some ground rules as to how the program would run, provide ice-breaking opportunities among mentors and mentees, and to encourage and motivate the participants to establish strong bonding with their mentors.

During the kick-off meeting, Prof Pan Chin, Head of Department of Mechanical Department of CityU, delivered the opening speech and shared the view about the carbon neutrality in which nuclear power would be required to take a very important role. With more countries considering nuclear and renewable power development, there would be plenty of promising career opportunities for the students in the future. Afterwards, Ir Prof Ken Cheung, Deputy Chairman of the Nuclear Division, shared his experience of being mentees as well as mentors in his professional career and encourage the students to be pro-active to communicate with their mentors. Subsequent to a matching session for mentors and mentees to know more about each other, the mentees also shared their expectation in the mentorship programme.

For the way forward, a sharing session on nuclear industry, which is exclusive for student mentees, would be held in July/ August 2023, and the closing ceremony would be held in December 2023. It is hoped that the mentorship programme could provide helpful information and meaningful supports to the nuclear students to have better knowledge on and therefore be better prepared for their career path.

By Ir Annie Kou and Ms Kathy Yeung