1. Elliot Leung, founder of Gaifong App, gave a presentation on opportunities and challenges for young people in the digital age. He discussed how millennials are different from previous generations in that they are digital natives who value connection and sharing over individual ownership.
2. Leung explained that jobs are changing rapidly with the rise of technologies like driverless cars and delivery drones. Many current jobs will disappear and new types of jobs that don't yet exist will emerge, such as in areas like artificial intelligence and the sharing economy. Only 27% of workers currently have jobs related to their field of study.
3. Workplaces are also evolving, with more people working remotely as digital nomads or in
Self and Society_Lecture at Hong Kong Institute of Education
1. Opportunities and Challenges for
Young People in the Digital Age
Guest Speaker
Elliot Leung, Founder and CEO, Gaifong App
Oct 16, 2015
Institute of Education, Hong Kong
3. One of the first video-conferences in HK! (1994)
4. One of the first video-conferences in HK! (1994)
5. • After Form 5, went to “United
Nations” school
• 200 students, 90 countries
• “UWC makes education a force
to unite people, nations and
cultures for peace and a
sustainable future"
• FREE! http://uwc.org
United World College (Italy)
6. United World College (Italy)
• Living out my passion
(piano,
travel, art)
• Learned Italian
• Brought choir to UN
headquarters
7. Academia
• MA Sociology and
Anthropology, University
of Edinburgh
• Learned Latin and Greek
• Research Assistant (Prof.
Chan)
• Tutor (HKU)
Last tutorial, Dec 2011
8. Fung Global Institute
• Learning via Writing
• Circular Economy
• Sustainable Lifestyles
• Low-Carbon Financing
http://www.asiaglobalinstitute.hku.hk/en/publications/books-reports/
9. Entrepreneur
• Learning by doing
• Founded Gaifong App
http://gaifongapp.com
• App for resource-sharing
with friends and
neighbours:
• Together we have
everything we need
@HKIRC Digital Marketplace 2015
11. “If you’ve got 1 year left in
your life, is this what you’ll
be doing?”
(Once-upon-a-time an
interview question at
AirBnb)
Linking Self and Society
Brian Chesky, AirBnb
16. Millennials rising
• Millennial population
overtook boomer in 2014 (US)
• versus: Gen X (1960s - 80s);
Baby Boomers (post-WWII);
Silent (1920s-1940s)
• Population dynamics shape
consumer markets, politics,
work cultures.
No more gerontocracy
17. Digital Natives - Connectedness
• 2.5 more Facebook friends
than our parents
• In HK: Average 3.5hrs on
mobile devices; 9.7%
“cannot bear
spending a day without
mobile device (HKFYG YRC,
2013)
• 71.3% use mobile devices
before they sleep (HKFYG
YRC, 2013)
21. Specifically, products sharing:
• 42 percent (ages ~15-34) are likely to rent products from
others in (digital) sharing economy
• vs.
17 percent of global Generation X (ages 35 – 49) and
7 percent of global Baby Boomer (ages 50 – 64)
• Electronic devices, power tools, bicycles, clothing,
household items, sports equipment, cars, outdoor camping
gear, furniture, and homes.
Nielsen, Global Consumers Embrace the Sharing Economy, 2014
22. World Economic Forum
Young Global Leaders Position Paper 2013
What makes millennials special:
• Not wish to inhabit a world which is depleted of value
• Want to own less, be more connected with others and
part of something bigger than their individual selves
23. In sum:
• Embrace your difference
• Respect others’ differences as well
24. 2. Jobs are different
Economic growth will
come from very different
places
28. The age of infinite scalability
• Jan 2004, launched in Harvard
• After one month, half of
undergrads in Harvard signed
up
• Two months: Stanford,
Columbia, Yale (Uni. email
address)
• Ten months: 1 million users
• Ten years: 1,500 million users
37. Rise of the “gig economy”
• Jobs separated into minutes,
rather than years
• “This on-demand, or so-called
gig, economy is creating
exciting economies and
unleashing innovation. But it
is also raising hard questions
about workplace protections
and what a good job will look
like in the future.”
Hilary Clinton
38. Taskrabbit -
Get someone to pick up your dry-cleaning/wrap gifts
43. Karl Marx
He is a hunter, a fisherman, a herdsman, or a critical critic, and must
remain so if he does not want to lose his means of livelihood; while in
communist society, where nobody has one exclusive sphere of activity but
each can become accomplished in any branch he wishes […] and thus
makes it possible for me to do one thing today and another tomorrow, to
hunt in the morning, fish in the afternoon, rear cattle in the evening,
criticise after dinner, just as I have a mind, without ever becoming hunter,
fisherman, herdsman or critic. This fixation of social activity […] is one of
the chief factors in historical development up till now.
German Ideology, 1845
44. In sum:
• Broaden your horizons: the jobs you’ll be
doing probably don’t even exist yet
• Don’t be caught off-guard and end up in a
dying industry
48. 2015 - Gaifong’s office… sort of
Cyberport Hong Kong, Co-working space
49. CUHK report
• Number of co-working spaces in Hong Kong
0
10
20
30
40
50
2010 2015
43
3
Kowejko & Au, 2015, Crouching Tigers, Hidden Dragons
50. A different Work Culture
• Annual Leave?
• Free lunch
• Free working
hours
• Emphasis on
“serious play”
and
“creative
confidence”
Corus Entertainment Offices
51. Rise of the “Digital Nomad”
Remote workspace in Bali
52. Stuart McDonald, travelfish.org
“I can run most of the business
from my iPhone, though in
practice I normally use my
laptop. This gives me a
tremendous amount of
flexibility, so it’s easy to jump
on my bicycle, ride down to the
beach 10 minutes away and
work away to the background
thunder of surf.”
53. “Digital Nomads are individuals that leverage
technology in order to work remotely and live an
independent and nomadic lifestyle.”
54. No wi-fi, no king
Clockwise from left: Zion National Park, Cyberport, Pacific Coffee
55. Something to
think about?
Variation on the 80/20 rule
•Define tangible goals
•Eliminate distractions
•Automate simple tasks
•Liberate yourself from
traditional baggage
56. In sum:
•Embrace your millennial
identity and difference
•Keep an open mind when
planning; things change
rapidly
•Look forward to the world
out there: it’s great
58. Recommended Reading.
Dowejko, M. and Au, K., 2015, Crouching Tigers, Hidden Dragons
http://entrepreneurship.bschool.cuhk.edu.hk/sites/default/files/
page/research-crouching-tigers-hidden-dragons/
dowejkoau2015crouchingtigershiddendragonshkstartupreport.pdf
Graham, P., 2012, How to Get Startup Ideas
http://www.paulgraham.com/startupideas.html
Botsman, R., 2010, What’s Mine is Yours: The Rise of Collaborative
Consumption
Available on Gaifong or from your school library