The Review 2005

1 1 T HE R E V I EW 2 0 0 5 Our first priority is to ensure students’ formal education stretches their abilities and their willingness to think ‘outside the box’. Many students will remain with their chosen discipline and excel. Increasingly, though, other opportunities across disciplines await graduates who can tackle problems from several different perspectives. Multidisciplinary studies prepare students for this challenge. The University’s academics have blended their expertise to develop a number of multidisciplinary programmes. Cognitive Science, for example, integrates the study of computers with an understanding of how the mind functions and allows students to select courses from seven different faculties. Bioinformatics mixes biochemistry and molecular biology with information technology to help meet growing international demand for this combination of expertise. Medical engineering produces graduates who can help clinicians design better hardware and software for the treatment of patients. Recently, the Faculty of Business and Economics and the Faculty of Social Sciences developed the International Business and Global Management programme, for introduction in 2005- 06. Students will gain broad-based business and management The University of Hong Kong has high expectations of its students. We want them to work to the highest academic standard, mix with people from other cultures, communicate effectively in English (and for local students, also in Chinese) and acquire experiences that will help them develop the international perspective and leadership skills needed to succeed in today’s world. To fill that tall order, students must be willing to work with and learn from others. The University, for its part, must provide opportunities for students to collaborate and broaden their horizons. skills and real global experience through overseas visits and exchanges. Double degrees also broaden students’ education by allowing them to secure two undergraduate degrees in a shorter time. Interestingly, this has benefits for other students. The double- degree students bring insights from one field of study to the other, thereby enriching classroom discussions. The Faculty of Law is active here, allowing students to combine legal studies with business administration, politics and public administration, and from 2004-05, civil engineering. The Faculty of Arts and Faculty of Education have also introduced a new four-year BA/BEd degree course to produce teachers with a strong academic background in English. Even within a field of study, there are many possibilities to widen experience and bring students into contact with viewpoints outside their discipline. The Faculty of Science, following the Faculties of Arts and Social Sciences, introduced a major-minor option for undergraduates in 2004-05. Students who choose this route expand the breadth of their education and increase their attractiveness to employers. Students who prefer to concentrate on a single subject, say chemistry, can still do so with a view towards pursuing higher studies. Partnership and Learning