Staff Profile

Biography

Dr Terence Shum is an Associate Professor in the Department of Social Sciences and Deputy Director of the Public and Social Policy Research Centre. His research examines migration, informal economies, and urban marginality, with a particular focus on refugees, asylum seekers, and ethnic minority communities in Asian cities. His work has been published in books, edited volumes, and international journals, including South Asian Diaspora, Journal of Intercultural Studies, Asian and Pacific Migration Journal, and Refugee Survey Quarterly. From 2014 to the present, Dr Shum's research work has received external funding support in excess of HK$2.9 million (as Principal Investigator). 

Teaching Areas & Research Interests

• Migration and refugee studies
• Migration governance and social integration policy
• Borders, culture and identity
• Home and home-making
• Multiculturalism and development

Academic & Professional Experience

Award:

Outstanding Research Publication Award - Bronze Prize, 2021. Katie Shu Shui Pui Charitable Trust.

Selected Research Grants:

Co-Investigator, Project title: 'Fable of the bees in our time: An inquiry to recover assets and values of waste pickers in Hong Kong'. Faculty Development Scheme, Hong Kong Research Grants Council (UGC/FDS16/H10/23) (HK$491,610) (2024-2025).

Co-Investigator, Project title: 'A longitudinal study of the impact of adverse housing conditions on the development of children living in subdivided units in Hong Kong: A mixed method analysis'. Research Matching Grant Scheme, Hong Kong Research Grants Council (HK$1,355,134) (2023-2025).

Principal Investigator, Project title: 'The waste trade and the informal street economy: Negotiating identity, value, and social integration among Pakistani migrants in Hong Kong'. Faculty Development Scheme, Hong Kong Research Grants Council (UGC/FDS16/H08/21) (HK$719,874) (1 January 2022 - 31 December 2023). 

Principal Investigator, Project title: 'Towards a multicultural active ageing policy: a qualitative study of quality of life among South Asian older adults in Hong Kong'. Public Policy Research Funding Scheme, the Policy Innovation and Co-ordination Office of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (2020.B16.003.20D) (HKD$357,159) (2021-2022).

Principal Investigator, Project title: 'Food and music: negotiating diasporic culture, identity and integration among South Asians in Hong Kong'. Faculty Development Scheme, Hong Kong Research Grants Council (UGC/FDS16/H04/19) (HK$690,698) (1 January 2020 - 31 December 2021).

Principal Investigator, Project title: ‘Asylum-seeking journeys among refugees in Hong Kong: processes, meanings and impacts’. Faculty Development Scheme, Hong Kong Research Grants Council (UGC/FDS25(16)/H05/16) (HK$ 626,726) (1 January 2017 - 30 June 2019).

Principal Investigator, Project title: ‘Transnational migration and reconstructing “home”: the African diaspora in Hong Kong’. Faculty Development Scheme, Hong Kong Research Grants Council (UGC/FDS25/H02/15) (HK$567,907) (1 January 2016 - 30 June 2018).

Selected Consultancy Projects: 

Consultant, Stop Trafficking of People (STOP HK), research project entitled "Disrupting trafficking in the Hong Kong sex industry through research and advocacy", 2019-2020.

Consultant, Quality Education Fund project awarded to Tung Wah Group of Hospitals, Hong Kong S.A.R. (Title: “Divergent Blue Planet South Asian Moral & Civic Education Teaching Kit (Activity Version)”), 2016-2017. 

Selected Conference Presentation and Invited Talks

Shum, T.C.T. (2024) "Navigating precarity in urban spaces: Pakistani waste labourers in Hong Kong's informal street economy" In Metropolis International Conference 2024, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 14-17 November 2024. 

Shum, T.C.T. (2023) "Informal street economy and ethnic enclaves: Examining precarity of Pakistani waste laborers in Hong Kong" In the 4th World Conference on Arts, Humanities, Social Sciences and Education, Bangkok, Thailand, 16-17 November 2023. 

Shum, T.C.T. (2023) "Embodied waste laborer: A study of identity, value and social integration among Pakistanis in a Hong Kong's informal street market" In The Migration Conference 2023, University of Hamburg, Germany, 23-26 August 2023. 

Shum, T.C.T. (2022) "Ageing in a multicultural society: a qualitative study of quality of life among the South Asian older adults in Hong Kong" In The Asian Conference on Aging & Gerontology (AGen 2022) The International Academic Forum, Tokyo, Japan, 29-31 March 2022 (Zoom). 

Shum, T.C.T. (2021) "Performing diaspora: food, music and social integration among the South Asian diaspora in Hong Kong" In The Migration Conference 2021, London, 6-10 July 2021 (Zoom).

Shum,T.C.T. (2021) "Culinary sociality: food culture, identity and inter-group relations of the South Asians in Hong Kong" In IV ISA Forum of Sociology, Porto Alegre, Brazil, 23-28 February 2021 (Zoom).

Shum, T.C.T. (2020) "Migration and diversity in Hong Kong" In Point of Displacement Festival, The Garage Museum of Contemporary Art, Moscow, Russia, 20 June 2020 (Zoom).

Shum, T.C.T. (2019) "Multifaceted belonging: food, identity and integration strategies among African diaspora in Hong Kong" In The Royal Geographical Society - IBG Annual International Conference, London, U.K., 27-30 August 2019.

Selected Publications

Books

• Shum, T.C.T. and Kwong, C.C.L. (Eds.) (2023) Housing and ageing policies in Chinese and global contexts: Trends, development and policy issues, Singapore: Springer.
• Shum, T.C.T. (2019) Asylum-seeking journeys in Asia: refugees in Hong Kong and Bangkok, London: Routledge. [Reviewed in Journal of Refugee Studies, https://academic.oup.com/jrs/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/jrs/feaa024/5822576?redirectedFrom=fulltext]
• Velath, P. M., Chew, V., Ghimire, R. and Shum, T.C.T. (2013) Urban refugees in Asia Pacific, resiliency and coping strategies, Thailand: Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network.
• Man, H., Chan, J., Chan, D., Lam, J., Shum, T., Yim, M.M. and Wong, M. F. (2011) Asylum seekers pastoral care and policy avocation in Hong Kong (尋求庇護者在港的牧養與政策獻議) (In Chinese), Hong Kong: Hong Kong Christian Institute.

Book Chapters

• Shum, T.C.T. and Kwong, C.C.L. (2023) "Housing and ageing issues: Key developments and concerns" In Shum, T.C.T. and Kwong, C.C.L. (Eds.) Housing and ageing policies in Chinese and global contexts: Trends, development and policy issues, Singapore: Springe, pp.1-8.
• Chow, Lok Wo; Chan, Ivy Lok Yiu; Lam, Wai Man and Shum, Terence Chun Tat (2023) "Perceptions of transitional housing: Voice from residents living in subdivided units in Hong Kong" In Shum, T.C.T. and Kwong, C.C.L. (Eds.) Housing and ageing policies in Chinese and global contexts: Trends, development and policy issues, Singapore: Springe, pp.225-246.
• Shum, T.C.T. and Kwong, C.C.L. (2023) "Epilogue" In Shum, T.C.T. and Kwong, C.C.L. (Eds.) Housing and ageing policies in Chinese and global contexts: Trends, development and policy issues, Singapore: Springe, pp.265-268.
• Chan, Y. W. and Shum, T.C.T. (2011) “The Vietnamese minority: boatpeople settlement in Hong Kong.” In Chan, Y. W. (ed.) The Chinese/Vietnamese Diaspora-Revisiting the Boatpeople, New York: Routledge. pp. 65-75.

Journal Articles

• Shum, T.C.T. (2023) "Diaspora aesthetics: Music performance and practices of belonging among the South Asians in Hong Kong" South Asian Diaspora. https://doi.org/10.1080/19438192.2023.2247892.
• Shum, T.C.T. (2023) "Quality of life of South Asian older adults in Hong Kong: Policy implications for a multicultural active ageing framework" Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1177/23337214231179837.
• Shum, T.C.T. (2023) Conducting interviews & ethnographic observations with asylum-seekers & refugees [Video]. Sage Research Methods. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781529623178.
• Shum, T.C.T. (2023) "Performing culinary diaspora: Food practices and culinary encounters of South Asians in Hong Kong" Journal of Intercultural Studies. 44(4):604-624. https://doi.org/10.1080/07256868.2023.2149478.
• Shum, T.C.T. (2022) "Stuck in transit: asylum-seeking habitus and onward migration aspirations of Sri Lankan Tamil asylum-seekers in Bangkok" Migration and Development.11(3):974-993.
• Shum, T.C.T. (2021) “Conceptualizing religious asylum: Security, religiosity and subjective well-being of Christian asylum-seekers in Hong Kong” Asian and Pacific Migration Journal, 30(4):405-427.
• Shum, T.C.T. (2020) "Culinary diaspora space: food culture and the West African diaspora in Hong Kong” Asian and Pacific Migration Journal, 29(2):283-311.
• Shum, T.C.T. (2019) “Conceptualising integrative exchanges: marginalisation, music and identity of African diaspora in Hong Kong” Migration and Development, 8(1):37-54.
• Shum, T.C.T. (2018) “Street-level multiculturalism: cultural integration and identity politics of African migrants in Hong Kong”. Cultural Diversity in China, 3(1): 37-57.
• Shum, T.C.T. (2014) "Refugees' transnational mobility: a study of asylum seeking in Hong Kong and urban Thailand". Refugee Survey Quarterly, 33(4): 50-80.
• Shum, T.C.T. (2011) "Refugee protection and spaces: seeking asylum in Hong Kong". The Oxford Monitor of Forced Migration, 1 (2): 17-20.

Selected Professional & Community Services

• Ad-hoc reviewer: Palgrave MacMillan; Social Transformations in Chinese Societies; Asian Journal of Social Science; Journal of Immigrant & Refugee Studies; Journal of Refugee Studies; South Asian Diaspora
• Research Fellow (External), Centre for Governance and Citizenship, The Education University of Hong Kong. (2016 - 2017)
• Consultant, Quality Education Fund project awarded to Tung Wah Group of Hospitals, Hong Kong S.A.R. (2016-2017)
• Advisor, 2024 Resolve Fellowship, Resolve Foundation
• Academic Consultant, Stop Trafficking of People (STOP), Hong Kong
• Member, RC 31 Sociology of Migration, International Sociological Association

Modified Date: 01 Jun, 2026
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