{
  "id": 168628,
  "title": "Saved as a baby, HKU medical newbie aims to pass on ‘hope and courage’ to society",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/05/saved-as-a-baby-hku-medical-newbie-aims-to-pass-on-hope-and-courage",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-08-05T09:13:37.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "South China Morning Post",
    "slug": "south-china-morning-post",
    "url": "https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education/article/3363046/saved-baby-hku-medical-newbie-aims-pass-hope-and-courage-society"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Twelve top-scoring students from Hong Kong’s University of Hong Kong (HKU) medical school have chosen medicine as the path they wish to pursue, with one inspired by her own doctor experience hoping to \"pass on hope and courage\" to society. This sentiment emerged following the release of Jupas results, which saw a slight drop in secondary school students securing tertiary education places, from 37 per cent last year to 34.3 per cent this year. Out of the 24 top scorers, HKU admitted 12, with 155 students opting for the regular MBBS programme and 28 for the Distinguished MedScholar (DMS) programme. Ma Tuen-hang, who survived a pneumothorax shortly after birth and received nine days of intensive care at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, expressed her desire to provide comfort to patients and their families, drawing from her own experience of receiving such care. Brendan Hui Lok, another DMS entrant, was drawn to medicine by its constant discovery, noting that it involves lifelong learning and scientific advancement. Athena Chan Lai-Kwan, another DMS student, was inspired by her mother's recent cancer diagnosis and is considering oncology or paediatrics, but said more clinical experience would help her make a final decision. All students will receive their offers via SMS and through their Jupas accounts, with the acceptance fee due by 5pm Thursday.",
  "summary": "Top scorers who have secured places at the University of Hong Kong’s (HKU) medical school have expressed a desire to pursue both clinical care and medical research, with one student, inspired by her doctor, saying she wants to pass on “hope and courage” to society. Their comments followed the release of the Joint University Programmes Admissions System (Jupas) results on Wednesday. About 34 per…",
  "key_points": [
    "HKU admits 12 top-scoring medical students",
    "Ma Tuen-hang survived birth pneumothorax, aims to provide comfort",
    "DMS students inspired by personal experiences, medicine's constant discovery"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}