UMIST alum ‘pays it forward’ with gift to the Manchester China Institute

In 1994, as a researcher in CEPRI, Beijing, China, Ruomei Li was awarded a Lee Kai Hung Fellowship, enabling her to spend 12 months studying at UMIST. She began her studies in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Electronics in November 1994 (right), under the supervision of Professor Ron Allan, before departing in January 1996 to study for a PhD degree at the University of Bath, which she completed in 2000. After returning to China, Dr Li continued to pursue a successful career in the field of electrical engineering.

For over a quarter-century, Dr Li always held deep gratitude to the Lee Kai Hung Foundation. To recognise this, Dr Li has very generously donated £10,000 per year, for three consecutive years to the Manchester China Institute (MCI). Dr Li’s philanthropic gift is a perfect example of ‘paying it forward’ – the recipient of a good deed repaying a kindness to others, rather than her original benefactor.

Currently based in China, Dr Li is the Chair of Women in Power (WIP) at the Power & Energy Society of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE PES). She is also in the Executive Council of the World Federation of Engineering Organizations (WFEO). 

Dr Li’s gift will support the work of the Manchester China Institute (MCI), which promotes mutual understanding in UK-China relations by conducting and supporting multidisciplinary research, teaching, and activities about China.