Special Feature: Walking Together in Humility, Caring for Lives – An Interview with Dr. Kevin Hung (Issue 502)
Interviewee: Dr. Kevin Hung, Head and Associate Professor, Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering, School of Science and Technology, Hong Kong Metropolitan University
Interviewer: Rony Tse (Head of Inter-College Department) [email protected]
Sam Chung (Inter-College Department Officer) [email protected]
Writer: Sam Chung
The student evangelical movement is not only driven by students, but also by Christian faculty members who, through their various roles, influence and nurture student growth. Meanwhile, they uphold Christian values in the secular university environment and within their professional disciplines. This time, we had the privilege of interviewing Dr. Kevin Hung (also known as Kevin Sir) from Hong Kong Metropolitan University, who shared about his service in campus fellowships, his efforts in mentoring students through experiential learning programs, and how he remains steadfast in his identity and divine calling despite campus challenges.
Building Student Character Within Limits
I first met Kevin Sir during a freshman orientation camp for the campus fellowship. Watching him engage with both new and senior students, I noticed he carried no airs of superiority. Despite being a professor, he willingly invested time in fellowship with students that went beyond his professional duties. With a wry smile, Kevin Sir sighed that due to his declining health and busy teaching schedule, he now has less time to participate directly. Instead, he serves as a “supply ship”, helping allocate resources and raising funds from Christian faculty to cover camp expenses.
Beyond supporting the fellowship, Kevin Sir is deeply concerned with students’ personal growth. Noticing that many students at Metropolitan University struggle with low self-identity, he and his team have designed various student activities. One initiative is an overseas volunteer program where students install solar-powered streetlights in underdeveloped regions. This aims to cultivate design thinking and empathy, helping students see that their studies are not just theoretical but can address real-world needs, encouraging them to respond practically to societal issues.
Upholding Christian Values Amid Tensions
Kevin Sir’s journey to Metropolitan University and his commitment to mentoring students came from an unexpected divine calling. He started out as an engineer and never thought of teaching. However, his wife, while praying at a Korean church, received a vision of him teaching at a university. After years of prayer and exploration, including teaching times in a Dutch dormitory and at the Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education, he felt a growing excitement for education. For four years, he balanced his engineering job by day with completing his Ph.D. at night. Though the process was grueling and fraught with obstacles, he testifies that God sustained him to the end. Kevin Sir was certain God called him to teach at a non-“Big Eight” university, so despite receiving an offer from one of Hong Kong’s top-tier institutions, he turned it down. Eventually God led him to Metropolitan University in hopes of helping students in need.
On campus, he constantly reflects on how to care for students while navigating institutional pressures. A key performance indicator (KPI) for university faculty is publishing research and securing funding, focusing solely on academic fast-track promotions. Yet Kevin Sir describes investing in students as a “living sacrifice,” offering his time and energy without expecting personal gain, all as a testament to the Gospel.
Kevin Sir willingly humbles himself with commitment and lowers himself to walk with his students. This perhaps response to the need for an integral gospel in this age. He helps students integrate academic knowledge with life practice, applying what they have learnt to societal concerns, defining their roles in society, and ultimately giving meaning to their lives.
