College of Business
AACSB International EQUIS - European Quality Improvement System

City seminar on virtual reality’s impact to the real world


Dr Simon Shen, Associate Professor from the Faculty of Social Science of the Chinese University of Hong Kong and Founder of Global Learning Office, gave a talk titled “Brave New World: Virtual Reality’s Impact on IR” at City Seminar on 13 July 2018.

Professor Weiyu Dou, Associate Dean (Graduate Programmes) of the College of Business, welcomed Dr Shen by saying that he was an influential scholar not just in Hong Kong but the world. His articles and publications offer a wider insight on international relations. It was a good opportunity for the audience to have inspiring discussion on current social political affairs with Dr Shen.

In the seminar, Dr Shen discussed about the connection between the real and the virtual world. He used examples of international political affairs to explain how internet and virtual society were affecting the real world. He also talked about some new phenomena that demonstrated how the real world came virtual. In the QA session, he shared with the audience on topics including the rise of ‘slasher’, universal value etc.

Dr Shen graduated from the University of Oxford and Yale University. He has published more than 70 academic articles and publications, including 13 in leading Social Sciences Citation Index journals such as China Quarterly, China Review, Journal of Contemporary China, Pacific Affairs, Pacific Review, Asian Survey, among others. His scholarship on contemporary anti-Western Chinese nationalism and its online format has gained worldwide attention and made him one of the most interviewed Hong Kong scholars by overseas media. He is regarded as one of the most representative scholars in the younger generation due to his active participation in public affairs as a public intellectual and a think tanker. He has served as a member of the Central Policy Unit of Hong Kong and various consultation committees.

About City Seminar 
The City Seminar 香港席明納 was initiated by Professor Houmin Yan, Dean of the College, with an aim to discuss topics together (席Xí), to understand such topics in depth (明Míng), and to gain something of value from the discussions (納Nà). Professors and/or scholars are invited to explore a wide range of topics during the series.

For more information about past and upcoming seminars, please visit the City Seminar website.