Unexpected path, lasting impact: hearing loss setback leads to decades of teaching

Hearing loss made it difficult for Ivan Fung Wing-hong to find work in Hong Kong’s construction industry after graduation.

Nearly three decades later, that early setback has led to a teaching career spanning young children, postgraduate students and elderly people.

Born with a hearing impairment, Fung struggled with language subjects at school because he could not always hear clearly. He was stronger in maths and art, which eventually led him to study building-related subjects at what was then City Polytechnic of Hong Kong. The institution became City University of Hong Kong (CityU) in 1994.

After graduating in 1995, he applied for a job on a sewage treatment project, but the employer was concerned that his hearing impairment could pose a safety risk on a construction site. His other job applications were also unsuccessful.

His father suggested teaching, but his initial applications to secondary schools came to nothing. A former lecturer eventually encouraged him to take up a junior academic role at the institution where he had studied.

“Step by step,” Fung recalled of what followed.

He went on to spend 20 years teaching at CityU, where he later supervised postgraduate students.

His work has earned him a place among the finalists for the Spirit of Nurturing Award in this year’s Spirit of Hong Kong Awards, co-organised by Sino Group and the South China Morning Post.

Fung’s teaching has since extended far beyond the university. He said he had helped at his wife’s tutorial centre, where some pupils came from single-parent families, and taught younger children art and other subjects.

He has also taught postgraduate engineering students in mainland China and given lessons and talks to professionals and elderly people.

In its nomination, Paradise Home Foundation described his philosophy as receiving help, helping oneself and then helping others. That approach also guides his community work with the foundation and its Chinese culture education centre.

His recent activities range from Chinese cultural education to digital literacy. Fung said programmes included hanfu design activities for students and older participants, as well as projects in which primary and secondary pupils used artificial intelligence to create short videos.

He has also helped elderly people understand the risks posed by AI, explaining how AI-generated images, videos and cloned voices can be used in scams. He urged them to verify suspicious messages or calls, even when they appeared to come from relatives or friends.

Paradise Home Foundation said his academic background helped him explain both the uses and risks of AI in terms older people could understand.

For Fung, the nomination offers reassurance that his unexpected career path has been worthwhile.

“It gives me a sense of recognition and tells me that the path I chose was the right one,” he said.

The Spirit of Hong Kong Awards were established in 2013 to recognise society’s unsung heroes and organisations whose work might otherwise escape public attention.