This has been an eventful year for HKMU. A significant anniversary is always exciting, but this year, our 35th, has been accompanied by some especially major accomplishments. A special highlight was our gaining of a brand new identity as Hong Kong's very first university of applied sciences (UAS). By bestowing on us this title, the Government has explicitly recognised that HKMU has the ability to deliver a wide range of practical professional programmes that answer the needs of our society and economy.
Of course, we have not achieved this status without effort; it follows from many years of working with industry to enhance the quality and relevance of our programme offerings. This year we took these efforts a step further by establishing a new Career Development Advisory Committee, which includes 16 Executive Advisors from different industry sectors. They are working with staff, student and alumni representatives on a wide range of employment and career development opportunities.
Meanwhile, we have continued to expand our industry network. Many of the connections we have forged over the years are now translating into practical collaborations and concrete outputs, in the form of programme development, research collaborations and internship placements. A good example is our first major collaboration as a UAS, in which we teamed up with the Hong Kong International Aviation Academy to add a new Cadet Pilot concentration into one of our existing programmes. This allows students to obtain a degree and train as a pilot at the same time, giving them greater flexibility in career choices.
Another example of these “applied degree” programmes is our new Master of Applied Science in Intelligent Construction and Building Information Modelling (BIM). It has been developed in close collaboration with the Construction Industry Council, ensuring that it addresses the latest and most pressing professional needs of the industry. This is very typical of the sorts of collaborations we have been undertaking with other industry organisations too. Examples of similar programmes to be offered in the next and upcoming academic years include a Bachelor of Applied Science in Gemmology and Jewellery Studies, and programmes in various business areas including real estate and property management and hotel business.
Excellent professional practical education is a major facet of HKMU's reputation, but it is by no means the only one. We have always recognised the importance of ensuring our students' whole-person development and giving them the mental, emotional and civic resources to flourish. At the beginning of this year we allocated over HK$10 million to support a three-year university-wide scheme to enhance our students' mental health. Among other initiatives, we have launched a mandatory Mental Health First Aid course for first-year students from 2024–25 onwards. This unprecedented move helps our students stay fully aware of their own mental well-being and care for those around them.
We are also extending this care more widely into the community. For instance, we have contributed to the establishment of the “City Companion” Community Alliance on Promoting Mental Health, working with other organisations to provide a range of mental health support services in the Kowloon City district. In addition, we recently put ourselves forward as a supporting organisation for the “Jockey Club Embrace Life Series 2.0 — Quality Mental Health Campus Project”, promoting mental health across the education sector.
This urge to care for community well-being is in fact a fundamental part of HKMU's DNA. Our latest campus development project, which will see a fine new building arising on a corner site in Ho Man Tin, will further establish HKMU as a flagship for important community health initiatives. Our plan is to position the new campus as “A Hub for Community Health and Wellness”, in a move that will expand and consolidate the work we have already been doing through our Jockey Club Institute of Healthcare development.
To support the long-term development of our University, I am thrilled to share that the University has just closed a deal on the existing Cheung Kei Center in Hung Hom. This will provide us with the much-needed space for learning, teaching and research, as well as for offering executive training programmes.
In all these ways and many others, HKMU is working for good as a positive force in society. I believe we have so much to offer as a University, and am very excited to see each of these new developments take shape and gain momentum. Together they are helping to realise our vision of HKMU as an important source of the high-quality professional education most needed by our society, of new knowledge that can be shared with industry and transformed into practical outcomes, and of well-balanced, broad-minded and socially committed graduates.
Ir Dr Conrad Wong Tin-cheung
December 2024
