Teaching Team
Dr. Kwan Nok Chan
Assistant Dean (Teaching & Learning) of Social Sciences
Associate Professor of Politics and Public Administration
Dr. Chan’s primary research concerns the institutions that shape the consumption and distortion of information in different organizational settings. His current research explores how bureaucrats handle information and the impact of institutions on their choices.
Ongoing projects deal with different aspects of bureaucratic control in authoritarian regimes, such as administrative oversight, juridical intervention, internal reporting, and legislative decision-making.
Dr. Chan holds a PhD Degree in Public Policy from the O’Neill School of Public and Environment Affairs and the Department of Political Science, Indiana University Bloomington.
Edward CHAN Kei Fung
Project Officer/Research Assistant, CCSG, HKU
Edward holds an MSc degree in Comparative Politics from University College London, as well as a Bachelor’s degree in social science (Government & Laws) and an LLB degree from the University of Hong Kong. He is currently coordinating the Tech For Good initiative in collaboration with Meta, which involves a series of research and knowledge exchange activities focused on technology policies. Edward is particularly interested in the regulation and governance of Artificial Intelligence and other emerging technologies. His ongoing projects involve exploring public attitudes toward facial recognition surveillance systems and developing design principles for smart city surveillance in Hong Kong.
Guest Speakers
George CHEN
Managing Director, The Asia Group
Former Head of Public Policy, Meta Greater China
George Chen is a practitioner/scholar with over two decades of expertise across media, technology, and public policy. A Senior Fellow at the Centre of Civil Society and Governance of The University of Hong Kong (HKU), George co-leads the “Tech for Good Initiative” and teaches “Opportunities and Challenges in Digital Governance” (POLI8034 / SLGP7018, 6 credits) for Master students. Concurrently, George is a Managing Director for Washington DC-headquartered policy consultancy The Asia Group (TAG), advising many Fortune 500 company clients on geopolitics, digital transformation, and regulatory issues. Prior to his roles at the HKU and TAG, he was Meta’s (Facebook) first-ever and most senior policy leader for Greater China, Mongolia, and Central Asia for more than seven years (2016-2023). Earlier in his career, he was in both editorial and management roles at leading media organizations including the South China Morning Post and Reuters.
George is also a visiting scholar at National Chengchi University in Taipei and a Yale World Fellow at Yale University in New Haven, CT. In 2022, George was awarded Mongolian President’s “Medal of Friendship” — one of the highest honours given to foreigners — for his contributions to Mongolia’s IT industry development. George earned his Master of International and Public Affairs (Distinction) with a concentration on the strategic triangle of US-China-Taiwan relations from the HKU and now remains a Doctoral candidate for public administration at the HKU.
More information can be found here: https://www.bygeorgechen.com/
Pádraig WALSH
Partner, Tanner De Witt
Pádraig Walsh is a partner at Tanner De Witt and has over two decades of experience representing companies across all verticals of tech. He advises on licensing, regulatory compliance, and has extensive experience in complex fintech projects. Pádraig is at the forefront of advising on legal issues for emerging businesses using blockchain technology and virtual assets. He has a core focus on data privacy and protection, advising clients on data protection requirements, privacy assessments, cyber matters, and compliance issues related to data breaches.
Pádraig is the chairperson of PrivacyRules, an international alliance of privacy experts, and a member of various technology law associations. He provides legal training programs for emerging businesses and is a regular writer on technology and law. Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2022 notes his consistently high level of client service, balanced and pragmatic approach, and Proficiency.
Linda Chan
Cofounder of sehji
Linda Chan is a Hong Kong-based corporate finance lawyer and business executive with over a decade of experience in the legal industry. Qualified in Hong Kong since 2008, She has advised clients on cross-border transactions, initial public offerings, and mergers and acquisitions. In 2016, Linda joined a legal-tech startup in Hong Kong, where she served as Head of Product.
In 2020, Linda cofounded sehji, a funding application institute that assists social innovation projects and art and cultural organisations in obtaining public and private funding. She is also legal advisor and executive committee member of Fullness Social Enterprises Society (豐盛社企學會), a charitable institution and one of the four intermediaries engaged by Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development Fund in nurturing social innovation projects.
Linda was a visiting lecturer at PolyU SPEED and taught Management of Social Enterprise in 2022. She has also given guest lectures at HKU SPACE, CUHK, HKUST and Caritas Institute of Higher Education. In 2022 and 2023, Linda serves as COO & General Counsel at Forbole, a Proof-of-Stake blockchain validator.
Linda’s expertise in corporate finance, social entrepreneurship, and Web3 technology has made her a sought-after speaker on topics related to social innovation and digital transformation. She obtained her Bachelor of Laws degree at the University of Hong Kong in 2005 and completed her PCLL in 2006.
Daniel SEAH
Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director
Digital Domain Holdings Limited
As the CEO of Digital Domain, Daniel Seah brings a dynamic, effective, and influential leadership to overseeing all facets of the global organization including growth strategies, and development trajectories. Seah played a vital role in leading Digital Domain’s innovation and patented technologies that revolutionized VFX and immersive experiences, including Virtual Human technology allowing for cutting-edge visual effects to be completed on multiple Hollywood tentpole films such as Avengers: Infinity War, Ready Player One, and Spider-Man: No Way Home, to name a few.
Notably, Seah in 2018 founded the Digital Human Research Lab, a standalone Digital Human Division serving to focus on the research and development of cutting-edge AI technologies to support and push the boundaries of the virtual human field.
Having studied at Peking University earning a B.A. and a master’s degree of Law, Seah began his career working at Barclays Bank as an investment expert in securities, options, fund management, and global enterprise expansion. Seah sits on the board of directors for Digital Domain serving as Executive Director.
Sankar VILLUPURAM
Director for Advanced Digital Engineering
Digital Services Leader (East Asia), Arup
Mr Villupuram holds the responsibility of leading Digital Services for Arup in East Asia. He has over 23 years of experience in design and implementation of transformational smart operational solutions leveraging Internet of Things (IoT) and data analytics across various domains viz. construction, police, customs, casinos, property, cargo terminals etc. He has managed several landmark projects in Hong Kong and gained extensive multidisciplinary experience in bid to strategic delivery. His probono work includes Co-President position at the Hong Kong Internet of Things Alliance and serving Project Management Institute (Hong Kong Chapter Board).
Sankar has led city wide “intelligent transportation system and automatic fare collection system” at Davao, Philippines, defining “Data governance and IT Security policy” for underground utility information system for Lands Department (HK), construction noise management system for Environment protection department (HK), Geo-spatial analytics for Asian Development Bank to analyze “Social and Environmental impact assessment” and many other smart building projects across HK, China, Macau, Philippines.
Mr Villupuram holds MBA (HKUST) with a bachelor’s in electrical & electronics Engineering. He is a professionally qualified CPIT (Project Director), PMP, CISA & CISM. He has completed the executive course from MIT on Innovation & Leadership apart from being awarded “Value Driven CXO” by INSEAD, INTEL & HPE in 2019.
Felix CHAN
Senior Engineer (Climate and Sustainability), Arup
Mr Felix Chan is an experienced mechanical engineer with a demonstrated history of working in the sustainability and smart building design industry. He is skilled in retrofit-commissioning, energy simulation, solar and wind analysis. He is specialised in digital sustainability with a strong emphasis on decarbonisation and other ESG-related areas.
Felix holds a Master’s Degree focused in Mechanical Engineering from Cardiff University. He is a chartered mechanical engineer recognised by both the Engineering Council and the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.
Maggie TAM
Head of Public Policy, Hong Kong and Macau
Meta
Ms Maggie Tam leads public policy and government relations in Hong Kong and Macau at Meta. In this role, Maggie works closely with the government, policymakers, academia, NGOs and private sector organizations, including local, regional and international organizations, on issues of safety, security, and other technology-relevant public policy concerns.
Prior to joining Meta, Maggie has held various roles of public affairs and corporate communications, most notably in two of Hong Kong’s largest conglomerates, Swire Properties and New World Development. Equipped with hands-on private-public partnership experience and diverse industry knowledge, Maggie has been working closely with key business and policy leaders throughout her career, focusing on stakeholder engagement, issue management and community relations.
Maggie started her career as a journalist at South China Morning Post after earning a Journalism and Communications Bachelor’s degree from Hong Kong Baptist University. She also holds a Master of Public Administration from the University of Hong Kong.