UTAR alumnus Jerry Chong Hon Fong received the Chinese Government Scholarship (CGS) to pursue his study in Master of Engineering Management (MEM) at Tsinghua University (Tsinghua), China. Chong was a former student at UTAR Lee Kong Chian Faculty of Engineering and Science (LKC FES). The Mechatronics Engineering student graduated in 2017.

He joined the new semester of the MEM programme on 13 September 2021. The programme adopted the combination of online and offline hybrid learning. Students who are in China will attend the offline classes on campus, while international students like Chong, who are unable to enter China due to the current pandemic situation, will attend online classes. Chong will join the offline classes on campus later depending on the pandemic situation.

Chong expressed his happiness for receiving the full Chinese Government Scholarship and said, “The application process was highly competitive as I had to compete with outstanding students from all over the world for the limited number of scholarships. The scholarship has greatly eased the financial burden of my family. I would like to thank my parents for their spiritual support along the way. I am also grateful for the support and assistance I received from the relevant department staff at Tsinghua during the application process.”

Chong applied for the scholarship through the Chinese Government Scholarship—Chinese University Programme (中国政府奖学金高校自主招生项目). Despite being recommended by Tsinghua University as one of the candidates, he still had to compete with applicants from all over the world for the scholarship.

Sharing about the application process, he said, “To apply for the scholarship, I checked all the basic conditions, application methods and application materials of the programme in detail. At the same time, I also prepared the required documents and submitted them to the relevant departments before the deadline to complete the application process. The entire process, from filling the application to receiving the offer letter, took about seven months.”

As an engineering graduate, he said, “Before applying for the MEM programme, I accumulated the required management knowledge by working for a several years. Besides that, I also assisted the community residents’ associations to solve residents’ daily problems during my spare time. It helped me to increase my ability in solving problems involving complex interdisciplinary knowledge. This greatly improved my success rate in applying for this MEM programme.”

He expressed his gratitude to his alma mater and said, “The good learning environment and rigorous scientific research environment at UTAR have laid a solid foundation for me. In my study journey, I had the honour of meeting excellent lecturers, attending a wide range of co-curricular activities/societies and participating in off-campus competitions with team members. I’m also grateful for the school spirit that emphasises on gaining additional knowledge. These experiences have added values to my personal growth and have greatly helped me in the process of looking and admitting to my first job.”

“I would like to also take this opportunity to thank my professors and supervisors at UTAR for their encouragement, constructive suggestion and guidance in the scholarship application. I am very grateful to UTAR for its cultivation and training over the years, which allowed me to have full confidence and ability to pursue my dream at Tsinghua University. I believe in the near future, there will be more outstanding and excellent UTARians who would graduate from the University to shine on the international stage,” he added.

For juniors who are interested to apply for the Chinese Government Scholarship, Chong suggested they prepare at least one year in advance. He explained, “Before applying for this scholarship, you must decide on the university and the programme, and then contact the relevant department of the university to get the pre-admission letter in advance. The university’s pre-admission letter will be a great help in the process of applying for the scholarship. At the same time, other documents must be prepared as soon as possible, in order to not delay the process of application. At present, all applicants of CGS must submit a new application through the CGS Information System (中国政府奖学金来华留学管理信息系统) (https://studyinchina.csc.edu.cn).”

The Chinese Government Scholarship programme was established to enhance the mutual understanding and friendship between China and other economies all over the world; to develop exchanges and cooperation between China and other economies in the fields of education, science and technology, culture, economy and trade; and to support students and scholars from all over the world to study and engage in research activities in higher learning institutions in China. The Chinese Government Scholarship consists of full scholarships and partial scholarships. It is open to undergraduates, postgraduates and visiting students. The detailed information of the complete scholarship programme can be found on the official website of the China Scholarship Council (https://studyinchina.csc.edu.cn).

MEM programme is offered by the Master of Engineering Management (MEM) Education Center of Tsinghua University, China. It aims to cultivate leading talents in major engineering projects who are proficient in engineering technology, possess management skills and can optimise the allocation of economy and resources. MEM Education Center is one of the earliest inter-faculty professional degree education centers in Tsinghua University.