The Jardine Matheson Group was an active participant in The GREAT Festival of Innovation, a four-day event staged by the UK Government in Hong Kong to promote innovation across industries, society and community. 

To cultivate a culture of innovation in an engaging way, the Group organised the Jardines Innovation Challenge, which followed a Dragons’ Den competition format. 

University students from the UK and Hong Kong could respond to the challenge ‘What is an innovative way to help Dairy Farm win and/or retain customers?’ either as individuals or in teams. The top five entrants were then invited to present their innovative ideas on the final day of the Festival. 

Winners of the challenge were exchange students Kasia Urban and Maya Caddle from Warwick University, who were presented with prizes of a six-week internship opportunity at Jardines and a HK$4,000 (US$500) Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group gift card. 

“Our business requires the next generation of leaders to help us shape what the world is going to look like in the future,” said Group Head of Human Resources John Nolan. “To see this young talent with their creative and inspiring ideas was just great.” 

Meanwhile, the Group continues to reach out to university students in Hong Kong through ‘Operation Zhang Qian’, which was initiated by The Maritime Silk Road Society (MSRS) in 2016 to help local students learn about the ‘Belt and Road Initiative’, seize the developmental opportunities it offers, and broaden their horizons. 

The Group is one of the 18 sponsoring organisations which have offered 185 internship places for Hong Kong undergraduates to work in mainland China, ASEAN countries, Belt and Road regions, Greece and Djibouti (Africa) for four to eight weeks. More than 800 students submitted applications for the various positions with some 600 invited to attend 54 interview sessions conducted by MSRS and about 100 students offered internships. Of these, the Group will take three.