IP3 announced that the award winner in 2024 is Dr. Man Fung LO. Dr Lo holds many roles, including at present where he serves as the Director for Technology and Infrastructure Development and a Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Education.
Dr Lo joined the IFIP General Assembly remotely on 19 September 2024. On accepting the award Dr Lo thanked his nominator, IP3, the award sponsors, and the judges for affording him this privilege.
He went on to say “This award holds special significance as it recognizes not just individual excellence, but also the values of professionalism, ethics, and diversity — values that David O’Leary exemplified throughout his illustrious career. David served as the Canadian Information Processing Society (CIPS) BC Board President and Past President, making this award particularly meaningful to me, CIPS, and all our members. His legacy in promoting professionalism and ethics in ICT continues to inspire us all. I owe this recognition to many individuals and organizations who have supported and guided me throughout my journey. In addition to CIPS, I am also a proud member of the British Computer Society, the Australian Computer Society, and the Association for Computing Machinery. These organizations have provided me with numerous opportunities to serve and learn from a community of esteemed IT professionals, and I am truly grateful for that. I am also profoundly grateful to my University, The University of Hong Kong, for offering me various opportunities to grow and develop.”
Find out more about Dr Lo on his LinkedIn page.
The David O’Leary award acknowledges an individual or organization that has promoted and demonstrated Professionalism, works as an Ethics Evangelist, and/or has made strides in fostering diversity among ICT practitioners. An individual or organization can be nominated.
On announcing the winner, Moira de Roche, Chair IP3 said “We had three very strong nominations this year, and our judges GIC Directors Eliezer Manor, Tan Moorthy, and Josine Overdevest (winner 2023), had their work cut out to select the winning candidate. I thank them for their commitment to the process. Dr Lo exemplifies everything the award stands for. In addition to his remarkable academic career, where he has made a significant contribution to education, he has volunteered for three IFIP member societies: CIPS, ACM, and BCS, demonstrating the vital ingredient of Professionalism – Service”.
The David O’Leary award includes a cash prize of USD1500, and travel to IFIPs General Assembly to receive the prize (maximum travel allowance is USD 1000). The person who nominates the winner will be rewarded with an Amazon gift card to the value of USD100. Dr Lo was unable to travel to General Assembly (GA) to accept his award this year but will hopefully attend GA in 2025.
Watch out for the call for nominations for the 2025 award early in the new year.