The Review 2013

Experiential learning is one of the most important aspects of the new curriculum because it can deepen students' knowledge and understanding of their subjects of study. It takes students outside the traditional boundary of the classroom so they can identify problems and communicate and negotiate with others to find solutions in real-life settings. Experiential learning can include internships, practical research, field work and a host of other activities within the curriculum. All faculties are being encouraged to increase these activities and the University extended additional support in the summer of 2012 with the establishment of the Gallant Ho Experiential Learning Centre. The Gallant Ho centre provides funding and training and develops networks with partners outside the University for experiential learning projects. In the first year seven projects were funded, all credit-bearing, and in 2013-14 10 projects are being funded. The projects are specific to disciplines, for example architecture students helped to create public space in a Chinese village, business students did consulting work, science students did field research on cetaceans and law students provided advice to refugees. Some programmes find it easier to identify projects, especially those in the professions because they are already doing experiential work as part of their training. For example, in landscape architecture, a whole course is designed around an experiential learning project on roof-top farming. For others, such as some arts programmes, experiential learning opportunities may be less obvious. The centre is working with faculties to identify possible partners and projects that can enrich student learning in all areas of study. Community organisations welcome the partnerships because they provide access to both students and faculty members. The first year has been a time to settle in but the centre is already investigating new directions for experiential learning, especially multidisciplinary projects. A major multidisciplinary project will soon be launched in Pok Fu Lam village. Some teachers of the Common Core have also been incorporating experiential learning in their courses and this has received enthusiastic feedback from students. First -hand Insight into the Lives of Refugees Since 2010 the Faculty of Law has offered selected students the chance to earn credit while helping refugees in Hong Kong and learning about the theory and practice of international human rights law. The semester-long programme has been very popular, attracting far more applications than it can accommodate. With funding from the Gallant Ho Experiential Learning Centre, the programme has now started to offer a three-day introductory programme to give more students exposure in this field, especially those in their first and second years. The first session was held in June 2013 and included meetings with United Nations officials and corporate lawyers doing pro bono work for refugees, and a visit to a refugee squatter village. Honor Tai, now a third-year LLB student, was one of the participants and has now enrolled in the semester-long programme. "Seeing the law in action is very different from knowing how it operates through books and lectures. For example, meeting the asylum seekers in person, in the squatter village or in the legal clinic, and working with their legal advisers, makes us acutely aware of the problems they actually face. We may not be alert to those problems otherwise," she said. The faculty plans to offer the introductory sessions three times a year. The University of Hong Kong ⎜ 17 New Support for Experiential Learning THE REVIEW 2013 ⎜ Teaching and Learning Honor Tai (seated centre) and fellow Law students participate in a role-playing workshop learning how to interview refugees