City University of Hong Kong held its Welcoming Ceremony of the Student Orientation 2005 for undergraduate and associate degree freshmen on 29 August. In line with the theme “Whole Person achiever – Your Ambition”, CityU organized a range of orientation and induction programmes, echoing the University’s commitment to nurturing talented students to make valuable contributions to society.

 

After greeting the new students with video footage of the CityU Musical City Legend, Professor H K Chang, CityU President, said he was delighted that the students had chosen CityU to further their studies and build their future. “As a member of our community, you will be associated with CityU for the rest of your life,” he said. He encouraged the students to work to their best ability and help uphold the reputation of the University.

 

Professor Chang added that the students’ future was closely linked with the development of the mainland China and he urged students to grasp opportunities to speak Putonghua. CityU students could serve as ‘ambassadors’

to introduce the batch of CityU mainland students to Hong Kong. “I hope you can help the mainland students get a sense of the hospitality of Hong Kong people and understand the modernization of this city,” Professor Chang said.

 

Students were also offered a tip for success in learning. “Let me summarize the experience I’ve gained in the past few decades: ‘You decide who you are’,” Professor Chang said. Students were advised to understand themselves better, identify their strengths and weaknesses, and find out what they want to do, what they should do and what they can do in order to fulfill their potential.

 

 

Chair Professor Richard Ho, Dean of Undergraduate Education; and Professor Lilian Vrijmoed, Dean of Student Learning, were also present to welcome students with words of encouragement for their new life at CityU. They also shared their views with the new students on topics of creativity and learning. Mr Douglas Wong, President of the Students’ Union, introduced campus life, and the CityU Philharmonic Orchestra brought the ceremony to a close with a well-received performance.

The welcoming ceremonies held from 29 August to 31 August are part of a number of orientation activities for freshmen this year. The faculty ceremonies will be followed by a series of orientation activities organized by the Student Development Services (SDS), Computing Services Centre and the Run Run Shaw Library.

In order to promote e-learning in the University, CityU has launched the new Blackboard Production environment. Teachers and students can use it as a medium of teaching and learning for the courses offered in the new semester. Training sessions will be organized for new students as part of the orientation programmes to help them get used to the system.

CityU is committed to fostering talented students who are capable of preparing themselves for the challenges ahead and making valuable contributions that benefit society. CityU graduate Dr Chow Cheuk-fai, who attended the welcoming ceremony today to show his support, is a fine example of such ideal graduate. He graduated in 2000 with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry (with first-class honours) and completed his PhD in inorganic chemistry earlier this year. In recognition of his talent and hard work, the Croucher Foundation awarded him a prestigious Fellowship. He will carry out postdoctoral research in magnetic resonance imaging for medical research with Professor Jean-Marie Lehn, the winner of the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1987, at the University of Strasbourg in France.

 

Having studied at CityU for the last eight years, he expressed his gratitude to CityU. “CityU is a caring University and has provided me with a friendly research environment. It’s helped improved my confidence since I participated in a lot of personal development programmes and leadership training schemes arranged by my department and SDS,” he said.

 

Encouraging his fellow freshmen to work hard, Dr Chow added: “I have also gone through this ‘freshman’ stage. It’s been tough at times but everyone at CityU has been very supportive. If you work hard, your talent will be recognized. Looking ahead, one of my ambitions has always been to win a Nobel Prize.”