Professor King Chow and Ms. Helen Wong were introduced to Lumina Spark in 2018 through colleague, Grace Siu, in the Career Centre who had used Lumina Spark within a career-building course. Intrigued by its depth for trait-based measurement of behaviour and its flexibility for shaping insight into intuitive learning application to address any specific developmental challenge, he immediately recognised the alignment between Lumina Spark and HKUST’s educational aspirations. Rather than categorising students with restrictive assumptions about their personal style and potential that many may of already slipped into the narrative of believing, Lumina Spark offered a vibrant, individualised understanding of personality that celebrates different ways of being and demonstrates the changeability of behaviour through its Three Persona model of your Underlying, Everyday, and Overextended self.
Impressed by the tool’s ability to bring out students’ potential, Professor King Chow led efforts to integrate Lumina Spark into the “Habits, Mindset, and Wellness” course, a foundational programme for first-year students. The aim of the course is to develop a Growth Mindset within students. His strategic leadership ensured the tool’s accessibility across the university, securing funding to embed it widely across departments and services. For first-year students, the Habits, Mindset, and Wellness course became an essential space for exploring their profiles, setting goals, and planning for the future.
Professor King Chow prioritised ensuring that advisors, faculty, and co-curricular programme staff were trained in using Lumina Spark effectively. This included detailed debriefing sessions and workshops to help staff understand how to interpret Lumina Spark Portraits and guide students in reflecting on their Portraits.
Professor King L. Chow, Dean of Students, 2018-2024As an academic leader and professor at HKUST, King Chow had spent much of his career in research and curriculum development before transitioning into a broader educational role. He believed that the rigidity of conventional education systems was not adequately meeting the individual needs of students. Students at HKUST came from diverse backgrounds with varied personalities, learning styles, and ambitions, and King was driven to support these differences in meaningful ways. He saw the need to integrate a tool that could guide students toward self-awareness and purpose, helping them grow beyond their academic achievements.
Helen Wong is integral to embedding Lumina Spark within HKUST’s co-curricular programmes. In the wake of prolonged campus closures due to both COVID and local social movements, Helen Wong and her team faced a critical moment as co-curricular programmes ground to a halt. Rather than remain reactive, Helen sought developmental opportunities. A pivotal moment came when she attended a future skills conference in Korea, an experience that opened the door to working with Koru Consulting and deepened her interest in Lumina Spark. This turning point reframed her role from reactive support to proactive development, aligning perfectly with HKUST’s values around student autonomy and innovation. “I didn’t want to be confined to solving the immediate crisis,” she explained, “I wanted to explore what the students of the future would need.” Her approach emphasised resilience, adaptability, and self-reflection, using Lumina Spark to create an environment where students could discover their strengths, explore their values, and understand their stress responses.
Recognising that student experiences were diverse, King and Helen made feedback a priority. Through surveys and self-reflection journals, they gathered feedback from students on their experiences with Lumina Spark. This feedback allowed for adjustments to the curriculum and helped Helen refine co-curricular programming, making it even more relevant to students’ needs.
The goal wasn’t simply to deliver a tool but to create a shared language of growth and development. Lumina Spark became a catalyst for deeper conversations, stronger collaboration, and greater self-understanding across HKUST.
Helen Wong, Head of Co-Curricular ProgramsHelen Wong shared King’s commitment to a more holistic approach to student development. With years of experience in student support and advising, Helen had seen first-hand the importance of resilience, community, and personal growth. She recognised that students needed more than academic guidance; they needed tools for self-reflection and emotional intelligence to navigate life’s challenges. Together, King and Helen formed a partnership dedicated to reshaping HKUST’s educational framework to support students.
