The Hang Seng University of Hong Kong (HSUHK), a private institution that plans to enroll about 1,500 students in the coming academic year, is committed to maintaining its well-balanced education model and innovating the education ecosystem in Hong Kong.

Established in 1980 as Hang Seng School of Commerce, HSUHK was named the city's second private university in October 2018 by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government.

"It's necessary for advanced economies to have quality private universities, and Hong Kong is not an exception," HSUHK President Simon Ho Shun-man said.

Private universities have many opportunities for initiatives, innovation and flexibility as they don't need to follow the indicators of the University Grants Committee of Hong Kong in the pursuit of recurrent government grants, Ho said. Instead, "self-financed universities are facing the market, which requires them to have a good reputation with quality education to attract students," he added.

Since Ho took the helm of HSUHK five years ago, he has been leading the school in its transformation into a liberal arts-oriented university, while adhering to the "Liberal + Professional" education model, with a primary focus on undergraduate education.

Upgrading to meet market

HSUHK currently has five academic schools with special majors, such as actuarial studies and insurance, which are uncommon in other universities. The university has also pioneered in upgrading its programs, offering options for its bachelor degree, in response to market needs. For example, it introduced data science and a business intelligence program.

In addition, the university plans to establish new academic units such as art, design and law to provide students more-comprehensive academic choices.

To promote all-around development of its students, HSUHK is implementing a "One Student, One Internship" program for every undergraduate student to offer them internship experience. Each student is expected to accumulate three months of full-time internship experience before graduation.

Ho said that the university's teachers and professors are actively seeking internship opportunities for their respective students. Such opportunities include positions in the hotel and automobile industries in the United States and northern Europe.

HSUHK is the first and only self-financed degree-granting institution in Hong Kong to fully adopt the residential college system, which originated in Britain over 800 years ago. The system provides students a living and learning integrated community for a well-rounded development.

All-around development

"Most universities in the world emphasize merely academic performance and the rankings while neglecting the teacher-student relationship, extracurricular guidance and students' personal development," Ho said. HSUHK has interactive small-class teaching to ensure the close interaction between students and teachers, he added.

HSUHK Jockey Club Residential Colleges were the first student residential buildings accredited with the city's BEAM Plus Platinum rating under the category of new buildings by the Hong Kong Green Building Council, which gauges the actual performance of buildings in all aspects of management, operation, maintenance and sustainable development.

The residential colleges have several environmentally friendly and green facilities such as rainwater harvesting systems and solar panels. The materials of the furniture and interior designs are mostly bamboo to encourage students to support green life, Ho said.

Riding on the revolution of digital information and technology era, HSUHK looks to transform its facilities into a smart campus powered by smart technologies, applications and devices.

Ho said that the university has been enhancing the study and application of creative technology, including artificial intelligence, big data analytics, fintech and blockchain. "We hope our students will be fully equipped in the internet era by understanding and using the innovative technology as well as knowing about its limitations and drawbacks," he said. The goal is "to control the technology instead of being controlled by it," he added.

The university's Common Core Curriculum Committee had meetings on curriculum design, giving it a touch of innovative technology, Ho said.

HSUHK has been encouraging the communication, cooperation and knowledge exchange with other universities on the mainland, including Tsinghua University, Fudan University, Beijing Foreign Studies University and Guangdong University of Foreign Studies.

Being engaged in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area development driven by the 11-city cluster, HSUHK is cooperating with universities based in the Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center to establish a business incubator for young hopefuls in the Bay Area to provide a solid foundation for young people starting their own businesses.

Cooperation and inclusion

The university is planning to launch some courses in collaboration with universities in Guangdong.

"It's very convenient now for our teachers to teach in Guangdong cities with the well-connected transportation in the region," Ho said. Due to the region's proximity, the university in the Bay Area has larger-scale cooperation in width and depth, he added.

For the new academic year, the number of applicants for HSUHK has gone up 40 to 50 percent since last year. Ho said that about 1,500 freshmen are enrolling, including some 130 students from the Chinese mainland and students from overseas.

Ho said there are over 1,000 applicants from the Chinese mainland this year, but with the limited places, competition for accommodations, supporting facilities, and places will be fierce.

"We currently have international students from Malaysia and other Southeast Asian countries, and we plan to expand the enrollment to other countries in the future," Ho said, "We hope our students could enhance the understanding of cross-culture in a more diversified campus." He added the university has discussed with the education institutions in Russia where they would recommend students to HSUHK.

Ho said the most popular majors in the new academic year are marketing, financial analysis, human resources management, journalism and communication. On average, about 280 applicants are enrolled in each of these five programs, in which there are four applicants per open spot.

pamelalin@chinadailyhk.com

Professor Simon Ho Shun-man, president of The Hang Seng University of Hong Kong.Photos provided to China Daily

(HK Edition 07/05/2019 page24)