Alumni 2nd place

Janny Shum, Global MBA 2019

Janny  responded to DDAR’s ‘Manchester Day of Action’ (MDoA) call-out for community action projects. At the time, Janny was the Chairperson of the Manchester Business School Alumni Association for Hong Kong (MBSAAHK). Led by Janny, the committee of the MBSAAHK devised a project which would get alumni connected, active and energised - at a time when the world had shrunk to the inside of our living spaces. The project was a global, simultaneous online charity run. Participants were asked to support the University’s student emergency hardship fund and selected local charities. 

Janny led on the Hong Kong side to coordinate the run in September 2020. Nearly 250 people joined the run on the day - with alumni, staff and students joining from all over the world. People of all ages - running in parks, on running tracks, on treadmills, jogging on the spot in their homes. Janny coordinated the broadcast of the ‘online run’ experience from the UoM Worldwide Hong Kong office which acted as a ‘nerve centre’ for the day. Janny was also the online host and ‘run leader’. What is more - Janny persuaded the University to enter this run for a Guinness World Record attempt and coordinated a lot of the work to ensure the application was made and evidence gathered - which created many additional logistical demands.

Janny poured hours and hours of her own time to ensure the very many details were attended to and that a team was ‘on the ground’ to ensure equipment worked and that the run experience was delivered smoothly for everyone.