The Review 2003

ski l ls, think cr i t ical ly and creat ively, and per form under pressure. We entrust our graduates with our hope they will in turn use their accomplishments to the benefit of the community. Indeed many of our graduates go on to make important contributions in every aspect of Hong Kong life and, internationally, in their fields of study. They represent, in essence, the return on the communi ty’s investment in the University. Without that investment, we would not be able to produce the knowledgeable, skilled leaders that, more than ever, Hong Kong needs. The spread of the Internet, the shift to a knowledge-based economy and the increase in globalisation have created a demand for graduates who are lifelong learners and can adapt quickly to change. Internat ional ly, universities are meeting this chal lenge by mov ing towards more student-cent red learning and closer co-operation with the outside world. Over the past five years, the University has taken these changes on board, with the understanding that any initiative must meet our high standards of quality. We have introduced problem-based learning, wider integration of information technology, more cross-faculty courses and a credit system, among other curriculum reforms. Communication skills are also vital and language training is an essential part of the educat ion we offer. Wi th Engl ish as the medium of inst ruct ion, our students are expected to have a high proficiency in the language; indeed, they were the top performers in the Common English Proficiency Assessment scheme for tertiary institutions launched by the Hong Kong SAR Government in 2002-03. Most students also have good Chinese language skills, which they put to use both in Hong Kong and in mainland China. We feel students could do even better in both languages and we are investigating measures to strengthen language training further. Our on-going efforts to improve teaching and learning – even when we are outperforming our competitors – have earned praise from an international panel of quality assurance experts who have examined many top inst i tut ions around the wor ld. The Teaching and Learning Quality Process Review panel reported informally in 2002 that they were pleased with the University’s progress in ensuring and improving the qual ity of our teaching. This view was confirmed formally in their May 2003 report which stated that the panel was ‘ impressed by what has been achieved’ in our taught programmes, research T he Universi ty deploys a considerable portion of our fully stretched resources into our teaching programmes. Together with the very high level of commitment and dedication from our teachers, this results in high qual i ty teaching and makes us very competitive in the international arena. We consistently attract the cream of the crop of Hong Kong secondary school students, as well as a growing number of top students from the Mainland and overseas. We ‘add value’ to these talented young people by giving them opportunities to develop strong leadership 11 12 The Review 2003 INVESTING IN PEOPLE I chose HKU because of its culture, tradition, learning and the fact that it is famous for other activities that would enable me to develop as an all-round person. Vivian Lam Yan, BBA in accountancy and finance, 1998 “ ” “ ”