Professor Shen Shir Ming has been in the academic field for over 30 years.  She is a graduate of HKU and of Imperial College London. She was the first-ever female faculty member of the University of Hong Kong (HKU) Department of Statistics and later became the first ever female Dean of the HKU Faculty of Social Sciences. In 1998, she was invited to become the Deputy Director of the School of Professional and Continuing Education of the University of Hong Kong (HKU SPACE). Throughout her 15 years at HKU SPACE, she participated in a large number of assignments including the establishment of the HKU SPACE Community College, the Cyberport Institute, the SPACE Shanghai, the HKU SPACE Po Leung Kuk Stanley Ho Community College and the self-financed Centennial College which had its first cohort of students in 2012. 

Professor Shen was also closely involved in the establishment of the HKU SPACE Quality Assurance System, widely recognized as exemplary of its kind; she chaired the School’s Quality Assurance Committee for many years.  Following her retirement from HKU SPACE, she has taken up the Presidency of the Yew Chung Community College, thus continuing her service to lifelong learning.

Professor Shen also trained as a ballet dancer and has been involved in the development of ballet in Hong Kong for many years.