Beyond the classroom: how Marshall Jen opens doors for future social entrepreneurs

Mr Marshall Jen Hong was appointed Adjunct Assistant Professor at the Department of Social Sciences and Policy Studies (SSPS) in March 2025. A seasoned entrepreneur as well as a scholarly practitioner, he founded his first company during the final year of his undergraduate studies in Canada, and successfully exited the business before returning to Hong Kong. After returning to the city, he established a consulting firm specialising in succession planning and family office talent development. He also served as the Executive Director of CUHK’s Centre for Family Business.

Besides founding businesses and conducting research, he teaches at SSPS and other tertiary institutions. He often uses his spare time to organise various activities for students, helping them to build extensive social networks. In this interview, Marshall shares his experiences and reflections on teaching at SSPS.

A1: During my teaching experience, I found that students have limited exposure to the outside world, and their thinking and perspectives need broadening. As a teacher, I hope to expand their horizons. Through the courses in the Bachelor of Social Sciences (Honours) in Social Entrepreneurship and Development Studies (BSocSc(SEDS)), I grow alongside the students, encouraging a shift in their thinking modes to help them not only prepare for future entrepreneurship but also solve various challenges they face in life.

Once students learn to handle these challenges, they will be better equipped to face the future independently. The entrepreneurial journey is full of trials and tests one’s values, so as entrepreneurs, one must uphold their principles. I taught design thinking in class. Through teaching them a people-centred approach to problem-solving, I aim to enhance students’ empathy, ability to identify problems, and confidence. Through repeated attempts and learning from failures, students gradually build their confidence.

Witnessing the transformation of my students into innovative and confident thinkers who are not only prepared for entrepreneurship but also able to handle their own problems and eager to contribute to society keeps me passionate about teaching.

A2: There are many memorable moments throughout my teaching. Teaching is like playing chess; I am the one uncovering and securing scarce resources behind the scenes, while students need to seize opportunities to broaden their horizons. For example, I introduced the concept of Public-Private Partnership in one of my courses. To show them how the concept works in reality, I led a group of first-year BSocSc(SEDS) students to participate in an event organised by the Kowloon City District Office in late October 2025.

Although attendance was voluntary, nearly 90% of students from the programme participated enthusiastically. After the event, many students stayed behind to talk to event guests, including Mr Gary Yeung, the President of Smart City Consortium. Interactions with successful entrepreneurs are valuable, as these experiences enrich our students’ understanding of how theoretical concepts are applied. I also hope students can leverage the networks they acquire through these off-campus activities in the future.

Throughout my teaching career, I have also led students to engage in dialogue with executives from various industries, such as senior management from PCCW, to learn about decision-making processes firsthand. I actively assist the department in establishing connections with distinguished persons across sectors, such as Ms Gilly Wong Fung-han, the former Chief Executive of the Consumer Council, and Mr Mahesh Harilela, Family Council Convenor of Harilela Group Ltd. I invited these distinguished leaders to come to EdUHK’s Tai Po campus to engage with our students.

A3: I deeply appreciate the teaching staff and administrative support team of the BSocSc(SEDS) programme. Compared to other higher institutions, this programme has a strong collegial culture and strongly supports its students, creating a positive learning environment. Students at EdUHK generally exhibit the resilient and hardworking “spirit of Hong Kong”, which is impressive and full of potential. Some graduates of the programme have maintained contact with me, and some have even become my colleagues.

EdUHK students are proactively seizing opportunities to participate in various competitions both inside and outside the university. Over the past years, I have guided many students in competitions, assisting their participation in entrepreneurship competitions in Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area (GBA). Recently, one student from the BSocSc(SEDS) programme successfully entered the university’s Education+ and Social Entrepreneurs (EASE) Fund Scheme and was awarded a seed fund of HK$600,000, which is a notable achievement.

A4: As a person from the business sector, I understand the importance of business acumen when starting up a new enterprise. Strong business acumen enables entrepreneurs to analyse market trends, understand financial metrics, and manage resources effectively, ultimately increasing the likelihood of success. One of the quickest ways to improve one’s business acumen is to know how business people really think. For that reason, I work hard to connect my students with practitioners in the industry.

Students from the BSocSc(SEDS) programme are required to take up a capstone project in their final year. They learn relevant theories in the first phase and then draw upon their knowledge and skills to solve real-world problems in the practical phase. As the coordinator for the practical phase of capstone projects, I coordinated our students’ participation in Hong Kong’s largest social enterprise start-up competition, the Hong Kong Social Enterprise Challenge. During the process, I matched students with practitioners from various fields who acted as mentors for their projects. By sharing first-hand experiences, these mentors helped our students to polish the quality of their project preparation before presenting their ideas to the organisers of the competition.

In April 2026, I will bring a group of students from the BSocSc(SEDS) programme to Shunde, a manufacturing base of home appliances for the GBA and home to several manufacturing giants such as Midea and Gree. These students will present their capstone projects to a judging panel composed of industry leaders from several Shunde-based companies with market values in the hundreds of millions. This will be the first time that students from the programme conduct their capstone project presentation outside Hong Kong.

A5: Hong Kong possesses several inherent and evolving strengths that position it well as leading hub for family offices. Rooted in its distinct character and strategic initiatives, its history, marked by waves of immigration and adaptation, has forged a culture characterised by agility, pragmatism, and a blend of Eastern and Western influences. This resilience provides a robust foundation for families seeking to navigate complex global dynamics and adapt their wealth strategies for longevity across generations, aligning well with the long-term perspective required for successful family office operations.

There is a clear, concerted effort across sectors in Hong Kong to build a comprehensive family office ecosystem. Initiatives such as FamilyOfficeHK, HK4FAMILIES and HKAWL demonstrate a structured approach to this goal, moving beyond rhetoric to tangible action through practical tools, knowledge transfer, and engagement with diverse stakeholders. Crucially, Hong Kong is increasingly recognising that family wealth management extends far beyond financial transactions. The focus on nurturing new legacy families and supporting established ones by addressing the real issues they face during succession reflects a more compassionate understanding of next-generation needs, shifting the paradigm from purely financial considerations to one that also embraces family harmony, governance, communication, and personal development.

A further strength lies in the commitment to developing a cadre of trusted professionals who move beyond the limitations of traditional “sell-side” models. By collaborating with top-tier professional bodies, we can train tacticians who combine deep empathy for family dynamics with robust research and a strong body of professional knowledge, ensuring that services genuinely support comprehensive planning for families establishing family offices in Hong Kong and globally.

Hong Kong’s advantages therefore lie not only in its established financial infrastructure but also in its evolving, multifaceted approach that prioritises understanding the unique challenges and aspirations of families, building a resilient and truly comprehensive environment for family offices and further strengthening Hong Kong’s position as a hub for informed decision-making and innovation in family office businesses.

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