The Review 2006

The Review 2006 12 The Review 2006 13 P REPARING for C HANGE The demands created by globalisation and rapid advances in technology have added a new dimension to our job as a university. Apart from cultivating critical thinking and professional know-how in our students, we must work harder than ever to prepare them to cope with unprecedented and unpredictable change. This imperative comes at a fortuitous time in Hong Kong. All tertiary institutions, including this one, will move to a four-year undergraduate curriculum in 2012, presenting a wonderful opportunity to expand further the opportunities for learning and equip our graduates to meet the challenges of the 21st century. A new campus is planned and a new curriculum developed that will extend students’ learning experiences inside and outside the classroom, on and off campus, even outside Hong Kong. It will also stretch them to cross the boundaries of their chosen disciplines further and learn new strategies and ways of thinking. Ultimately, such an education will equip Planning is underway for the coming four-year curriculum for undergraduates, which will strengthen learning experiences across disciplines and outside the classroom. A central goal is to instil in students the ability to adapt to new situations. Graduates will operate in a world characterised by rapid change and they must be able to keep pace and comfortably take on leadership roles. our graduates to excel at coping with the novel situations and ill-defined problems that define these times of change. A Strong Student Base The University of Hong Kong is fortunate to attract the kind of students who will respond well to the demands that lie ahead. We have striven to develop quality education that, in 2006, brought in applicants from almost every local secondary school, many with an outstanding academic record. We also received 10,231 applications from high-achievers on the Mainland, more than double the previous year. At present the University is only able to admit 250 of these students, which included the top scoring students in four provinces. We are keen to increase our intake substantially in future years.