Ms Joyce LEUNG graduated with a major in Japanese Studies from the University of Hong Kong in 2008. Her university life was substantial and fruitful; and her work journey has been challenging but rewarding. Currently she works in a digital marketing agency, with multiple roles serving the company and contributing to society.

Joyce is Senior Corporate Affairs & Culture Manager at Fimmick Limited. She oversees corporate affairs and marketing teams, and is responsible for corporate governance, stakeholder engagement, CSR (corporate social responsibility) & CSV (creating shared value), as well as fostering corporate culture through recruitment marketing and employee engagement.

Alongside her “employee” capacity, she at the same time takes up an “intra-preneur” role as she co-founded a social enterprise with the support and experiences from the parent company, in promoting Hong Kong culture and traditional craftsmanship through organising handicraft workshops and operating an e-shop selling hand-made products that are representative and iconic of Hong Kong.

She enjoys taking part in talks and guest lectures sharing with different walks of life on her unique and interesting work and life journey. She holds some public roles in academic institutes, NGOs (non-governmental organisations) such as foundation and council, serving as organising committee member, panel judges and mentors exchanging knowledge, skills and trends in digital marketing and social innovation.

Memories of Japanese Studies and HKU

Being a Japanese Studies student at HKU was her dream since she was young. The three-year university life proved to be the best time and place for making many more dreams. Core courses of Japanese language taken within those three years not only solidified her proficiency in Japanese language, but also confirmed her belief that her enthusiasm in language could act as a catalyst to bridge gaps in communication.

Other courses regarding Japanese society, culture and business had profound effects on her life and work too. She got to know and later better understood through many lectures the socio-psychological phenomenon behind why Japanese think, behave and interact in certain manners. Since then, she encouraged herself to be more caring and empathetic to each and every person she meets.

The most unforgettable and life-changing period in her university life appeared in her third year when she took the course “Project in Japanese Business”. Dr. Yoshiko Nakano was the course supervisor. Her group partnered with Japan Airlines to review and propose new ideas for their mileage programme. That one-year course provided her with the resources to better understand a Japanese company, in particular their business philosophy and corporate culture.

Internship and Work Experiences

In addition to acquiring knowledge through lectures, she accumulated some work-related practical skills through various extra-curricular activities. Being an intern at Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Group (MSIG) enriched her life with three invaluable opportunities: first, she met her mentor of life (whom she often meets and shares life experiences with); second, she learnt from scratch the idea of corporate social responsibility (CSR) as a member of the CSR team responsible for planning employee activities; third, she presented her internship final assignment as a proposal for digitalising paper documents to the Managing Director.

While many of her classmates went on exchange programmes to Japan, she continued to seize every opportunity to gain practical work experience in Hong Kong. For example, she was the first student to work part-time at The Hongkong Japanese Club every Saturday. She had countless gratifying moments speaking Japanese and assisting members both face-to-face and over the phone. She was also able to practice using the honorific form keigo (敬語). Those experiences allowed her to embrace the art of hospitality in the Japanese way.

Life Within HKU

The bonding between Dr. Nakano and Joyce was further developed after her graduation as she became Dr. Nakano’s full-time Research Assistant. She had the honour to be involved in many of her academic and communication works. The most memorable project was to support her in producing the far-reaching publication “Where There Are Asians, There Are Rice Cookers”. Her professionalism and dedication taught her the true meaning of meticulousness and the essence of editing a book. Since then, she become a fan of old Hong Kong, traditional culture and craftsmanship.

Life Beyond HKU

Her study at HKU has profound and significant impacts on how she grows and who she is now. After working with Dr. Nakano for around two years, she went on a year-long working holiday in Australia where she had her happiest “working” experiences working in a Japanese restaurant.

Shortly after returning to Hong Kong she joined Fimmick Limited as a Corporate Communication Executive and has been there ever since. Thanks to all the knowledge and skills she acquired during her university years, and advice she received from her mentors and Dr. Nakano, she understood herself well and was determined to develop her career in a communication-related field. Her interest in communication and culture, as nurtured during her work with Dr. Nakano, paved the way for her remarkable career path.

She is thankful for everything she has gained during her school years in HKU and grateful to all the teachers she met in Japanese Studies, especially Dr. Nakano, for nurturing and empowering her. She hopes you all will be proud of who she is now, simply because “she loves what she does; and she does what she loves”.