The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) has provided valuable opportunity for hundreds of freshmen to listen to the sharing of leaders of their chosen academic disciplines during the faculty and school-based Common Orientation Programme before the start of a new academic year.
The list of star speakers included Mr John Slosar, Chief Executive of Cathay Pacific Airways, and Mr Kevin Kobayashi, President and CEO, Canon Hong Kong Co., Ltd., to name but a few. In addition, the Student Affairs Office has put on a special programme featuring success story sharing by outstanding students.
The University has also decided to rename its Faculty of Construction and Land Use as the “Faculty of Construction and Environment” to better reflect its academic focus and strengths especially in the areas of environment and sustainable development. The change will take effect from the 2011/12 academic year.
The new academic year also sees the admission of some 4,370 students funded by the University Grants Committee, including 2,445 Bachelor’s degree and 1,925 higher diploma students. Close to 89 per cent of the undergraduate students who are admitted via the Joint University Programmes Admission Scheme (JUPAS) have chosen PolyU programmes as their Band A choices.
On the admission of mainlanders, some 240 Chinese mainland students are joining the foundation programme this year. PolyU received about 4,200 applications from mainland students. Among them, nearly 90 per cent have met the entrance requirements of state key universities. The majority of them came from Beijing, Guangdong and Liaoning.
At postgraduate level, PolyU received about 6,405 applications from non-local students this year, representing a 25 per cent increase compared to last year. The University has admitted some 1,040 non-local and 2,405 local students for its taught postgraduate programmes covering a diverse range of disciplines.
In addition, the University has admitted about 85 international students from 21 countries and territories, including Austria, Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, Finland, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Macau, Malaysia, Mexico, Myanmar, Norway, Russia, Singapore, Sweden, Thailand, Taiwan, US and Vietnam. They will pursue their first degree studies of their choices.
In recognition of their academic or non-academic achievements, PolyU has awarded scholarships to 148 students. They include 90 local students who have performed well in the Hong Kong Advanced Level Examinations or in non-academic areas by international standards; 36 mainland students who excelled in the Mainland Joint Entrance Examination; and 22 international students. Different levels of scholarships, including a waiver of tuition fee, or plus a living allowance, have been granted to these scholarship recipients.
With an emphasis on the all-round development of students, PolyU also considers students’ non-academic performances in its admission exercise. This year, 80 students are admitted to the University via the Outstanding Sportsman Recommendation Scheme, 33 through the JUPAS Sub-system for School Principal’s Nominations Scheme, and 1,150 through the Self Recommendation Scheme.
Committed to cultivating its international ties, PolyU’s Student Exchange Programme offers students opportunities to study and experience a different culture at about 200 renowned universities across more than 25 countries and regions. In line with the University’s Strategic Plan to help develop the global outlook of students and encourage cross-cultural exchange, PolyU targets to receive 550 international students and send forth an equivalent number of its undergraduate students abroad for exchange every year.
Currently, around 260 exchange students from 17 countries across the world, including Australia, Austria, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, the Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, UK and US, have been admitted to PolyU for exchange in the first semester.
