College General Education

A characteristic of undergraduate studies at CUHK, general education administered by the Colleges consists of diversified programmes which help students fit into campus life during the initial days, assist them to hone their learning skills and develop their potentials. Complementary to university general education modules, the college general education programmes, wide-ranging as they are, also serve to demonstrate the unique objectives, traditions and resources of the respective Colleges.

‘Leadership in Practice’ is a general education programme jointly organized by United College and the Scout Association of Hong Kong. Through workshops and expeditions, the programme attempts to help students develop their leadership abilities, and raise their skills in inter-personal communication and team-building. Students taking part in this programme are divided into groups and take turns to be group leaders as they accomplish a series of prescribed assignments.

The general education programmes of Morningside College aim at assisting students to adapt to university life on every front, and helping them to better understand life and learning at the University. They are also intended to nurture an international spirit among the students, and to help them approach cultures, societies, ways of thinking and modes of living other than their own with an open and appreciative attitude. The programmes also encourage creativity and a critical, analytical and independent way of thinking. Teaching is done in small groups with equal emphasis on individual progress as well as group discussion. There are assignments and experiential learning in the form of participation in service and civic activities, in which the College motto, ‘Scholarship, Virtue, Service’ is infused.

Using an interactive, multi-component teaching approach, the general education programme of S.H. Ho College combines the humanities and community education to provide students with a learning experience outside classrooms. Designed for freshmen, the induction course ‘Orientation and Outreach’ consists of topics around the questions and doubts which would be faced by freshmen. In Freshers’ Fest, the freshmen consolidate their experience in the course and innovatively express their in-depth reflection on their dreams, college and university lives through artwork co-creation. The capstone course ‘Work and Productive Life’ is designed for graduands with an aim to broaden the concept of work beyond vocation, helping them to review their university life and look ahead.

The first general education programme administered to freshmen admitted to Wu Yee Sun College is titled ‘Entrepreneurial Spirit and Social Responsibility’. Its objective is to guide students to understand the role that they play in society, their social responsibility and their relationship with society. This is followed by programmes which usher students into society and introduce them to social issues. They will be shown how an economy-driven society operates, and how economic innovations work to promote social progress. The programme concludes with ways and means to realize one’s own creative potentials, and final-year students are all required to undertake a ‘College Senior Seminar’ programme.