Professor Simon Ho Shun-man, president of the Hang Seng University of Hong Kong. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)
As a cradle of young talents with a broad international vision, Hong Kong enjoys a good reputation worldwide for its higher education. Different from its local peers, the Hang Seng University of Hong Kong (HSUHK) has formulated a unique way to cultivate students’ professional skills and humanistic literacy with an education model of “Liberal + Professional”, a cutting-edge curriculum and abundant practice opportunities.
“About eight years ago, I thought Hong Kong needed a small private university with more room than a public university to implement some particular educational ideas or practices. At the same time, we hope to introduce an educational model that combines liberal arts with professional training,” said Simon Ho Shun-man, president of the HSUHK, recalling the university’s history.
The university’s “Liberal + Professional” model follows a tradition of liberal education which provides students with a broad cultural background, and extends it with certain professional disciplines teaching so that the students can have a broad vision, as well as professional knowledge.
“The situation in Hong Kong is quite different, compared with Western countries or the Chinese mainland where most undergraduates continue their studies in graduate schools,” Ho said, noting that a large proportion of fresh graduates in Hong Kong would turn to the job market.
Ho said he wants to use this model to fill the gap between the traditional academic-oriented education and the requirements for the job market so that local students can have more choices when they turn to the latter.
“We want our students to have interdisciplinary perspectives and abilities so that they can fit well into the fast-paced world and society,” he said, adding that the world is ever changing and many young graduates may switch jobs every few years.
“I wish to equip those students with abilities and qualifications that they can use no matter what directions they turn to and no matter when they shift their careers,” Ho explained.
A 2021 seminar organized by HSUHK Centre for Public Policy Research and Save The Children Hong Kong. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)
Unlike other public higher education institutions in Hong Kong that usually highlight postgraduate education, the HSUHK pours most resources into cultivating undergraduates. “The undergraduate period is a treasure for youngsters in their lifetime,” Ho said. “I hope to provide them with vast room and opportunities, to try, to ask and to think.”
To facilitate student participation, HSUHK adopts small class teaching, with usually no more than 32 students in a class. The arrangement will not only enhance their sense of participation, but also help strengthen the connection between teachers and students.
“Students at the HSUHK can directly put forward questions to their teachers and have more interactions with them instead of simply receiving information at tutorials. That’s quite different from other universities in Hong Kong,” Ho said.
The university also implements a special system called “residential colleges” — a living and learning integrated community where students are expected to foster their professional growth and cultivate their interpersonal skills through interactions with their peers and teachers.
“I expect a lifelong relationship is built between students and teachers through the system,” the university president said. “The students can keep in touch with their teachers even after their graduation,” he added.
Apart from that, the university tries to provide its students with world-class environmentally-friendly accommodation facilities. Most of the facilities were made from sustainable materials, such as bamboo.
Students pose for a photo during the IYSL-funded project “Embracing the Differences”, which was granted the Social Capital Builder Logo Award. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)
In such an environment, Ho said he hopes to convey a concept of what kind of a person a student can be expected to be. For example, students could learn some noble characteristics from bamboo, such as perseverance, integrity and modesty.
As a young university, the HSUHK always follows the global trend to improve its curriculum. Ho said he hopes to keep the institution’s courses abreast of the time so that the students at the HSUHK can better understand the context of the world through diversified programs.
Currently, the HSUHK has five schools (Business, Communication, Decision Sciences, Humanities and Social Science, and Translation and Foreign Languages) which offer a total of 26 bachelor’s programs and 12 master’s programs to more than 6,000 full-time students.
In the 2021/22 academic year, the HSUHK launched three brand new programs, including two bachelor’s programs — Bachelor of Philosophy, Politics, and Economics, and Bachelor of Psychology — as well as a master’s program in Business Management. It will also launch five master’s programs in the humanities and social science and decision sciences fields in the coming academic year.
“As a liberal-arts-orientated university, we attach great importance to language-related and humanities-related programs,” Ho said. “We own most foreign language-related courses among all the local universities. We also hope to set up more creative subjects that could catch up with the world’s development, for example, a combination of arts, media and new technology. That’s also the main direction for our future curriculum.”
Apart from the cutting-edge courses, the HSUHK also provides young students with abundant practice opportunities, enabling them to get engaged in society and prepare for their careers before graduation.
Students pose for a photo at the campus of the HSUHK, which focuses on cultivating students’ humanistic qualities and encouraging them to realize their potential. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)
As the environmental issue becomes one of the hottest topics in the world, the HSUHK launched a Research Center for ESG (environmental, social and governance) in early 2022, which aims to conduct research and consultancy projects to support ESG integration for businesses and society, as well as to equip HSUHK students with ESG-related knowledge.
The Institute for Youth Sustainability Leadership (IYSL) at the HSUHK also mobilizes young people to achieve the United Nations’ Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs) through youth education and empowerment.
Moreover, the university started the Centre for Public Policy Research, where faculty and students can discuss social policies and participate in social research with academic rigour, thereby promoting their awareness of and engagement in public issues. “Through these projects, our students will have the chance to participate in international competitions and communicate with their peers globally,” Ho said.
Located in Hong Kong — one of the key cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area — the HSUHK also has the advantage of tapping the huge opportunities on the mainland.
In 2019, the university launched the HSUHK Greater Bay Area Innogration Hub — a platform that helps students find jobs or start businesses in the Greater Bay Area, supported by professionals, industry experts and investors.
In addition, the university provides young graduates with up-to-date information about the Greater Bay Area’s development to help them seize the opportunities in the region.
“Here at HSUHK, we hope to nurture future talents for society, with critical thinking, innovative minds, caring attitudes, moral values and social responsibility” Ho said.