A luncheon seminar hosted by City University of Hong Kong (CityU) on 25 November introduced secondary school representatives to CityU’s exciting new initiatives to recruit talented students, and its experience on effective online learning and STEM education.

The seminar is held off-campus.  Due to the pandemic, some participants joined the seminar via an online platform. To ensure social distancing, seating arrangements were made according to government guidelines. 

“CityU is a fastest growing university in the world and its faculty are among the best in Hong Kong,” said President Way Kuo, referring to publicly available data on faculty quality. “We hope to attract more high-calibre students who are keen to benefit from our integrated, interdisciplinary and cutting-edge curriculum.”

Professor Alex Jen Kwan-yue, Provost, added that CityU would continue to utilise its resources and academic networks, as well as devise a series of new initiatives to nurture the future generation of professionals.

Also in attendance were Professor Julie Li Juan, Associate Provost (Academic Affairs); Professor Christian Wagner, Associate Provost (Quality Assurance) and Chief Information Officer; Professor Raymond Chan Hon-fu, Dean of the College of Science; Professor Richard Walker, Dean of the College of Liberal Studies and Social Sciences; Professor Wang Jianping, Assistant Provost (Strategic Planning); Dr David Cheng Xing, Director of the Global Engagement Office; and Dr Ray Cheung Chak-chung, Associate Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering.

 

On the seminar, CityU’s revamped degree classification system, cum laude, which will apply to students admitted from 2020/21 was introduced. As a replacement for the first-, second- and third-class awards system, cum laude eliminates any long-lasting connotation of bias presented in the past, and is similar to schemes implemented in many top universities, representing a step forward for higher education in Hong Kong. 

A series of attractive new programme options for the 2021/22 intake launched by CityU to add value to high-calibre students was among the main foci of the gathering. These include a Bachelor of Science degree programme with a stream option in Global Research Enrichment and Technopreneurship (GREAT), double degree programmes, and joint bachelor’s degree programmes in partnership with Columbia University, the University of Edinburgh and the University of Manchester.

The seminar also involved a discussion of how CityU can facilitate STEM education in secondary schools and thereby foster students’ creativity and better prepare them for a university-level curriculum.