The two-day International Conference on Service Leadership Education in Service Economies jointly organized by The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU), The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and Lingnan University, supported by the Hong Kong Institute of Service Leadership & Management Limited (HKI-SLAM), was held on 6th and 7th January. The Conference provided a platform for international education experts and representatives of the eight local higher education institutions to exchange and share views about service leadership education, as well as to explore strategies and the direction for future development.
The Opening Ceremony was officiated by Mrs Carrie Lam, Chief Secretary for Administration of the HKSAR Government; Dr Victor Fung, Group Chairman of the Fung Group; Dr Po Chung, Chairman of HKI-SLAM and Professor Philip Chan, PolyU Deputy President and Provost.
With the structural transformation of the global economy from industrial economies to service economies, soft skills such as moral character, communication, teamwork, work ethics and critical thinking have become paramount factors of employability in addition to the possession of hard skills and technical skills.
"We have the solid background and know-how in the service industry but we are in need of service talents not only for sustaining the service industries in Hong Kong, but also for sharing the huge potentials in China's transformation to a service economy. With a stronger emphasis on service learning, I am sure Hong Kong students will be better equipped to become even more competitive in the global marketplace." Mrs Carrie Lam said at the Opening Ceremony.
To nurture successful leaders in the age of service economies, with the generous support of Victor and William Fung Foundation and based on the service leadership education concept proposed by Dr Po Chung as framework, since 2012, PolyU has provided credit-bearing subjects and non-credit-bearing programmes for holistic education to students.
Starting from the second semester of 2012/13, a 2-credit Service Leadership subject was offered to students studying in the 3-year undergraduate programme. In 2014/15, a free elective 3-credit Service Leadership subject and a 3-credit Cluster Area Requirements subject were implemented for students studying in the 4-year undergraduate programme. The interactive lectures allowed students to engage in role play, group discussion, drawing and debate etc. They were able to gain a better understanding of the beliefs, core skills, character, attitude and values intrinsic to effective service leaders, instilling in them service leadership qualities, including confidence, moral character and caring disposition.
PolyU also offered its students real life experience to understand the attributes and qualities that service leaders should possess. As such, since the second semester of 2013/14, a 3-credit service learning subject "Service Leadership through Serving Children and Families with Special Needs" has been offered to students in the 4-year undergraduate programme. Students were first introduced to the basic service leadership theories and skills in lectures. They were then given opportunities to develop, plan and implement service programmes for children and adolescents in the Society of Boys’ Centre, Heep Hong Society and Christian Zheng Sheng College. Through these projects, students were able to demonstrate, practise, and reflect their own leadership competencies, moral character and caring disposition.
PolyU also offered non-credit-bearing service leadership programmes, like service leadership training workshops in collaboration with Wofoo Leaders’ Network, the Global Youth Leadership Programme jointly organized with Peking University, the Silk Road Youth Leadership Programme jointly organized with Peking University and Xi’an Jiaotong University. Through these workshops and training programmes, PolyU students were able to exchange and learn from their peers from across the world, and better prepare themselves to become service leaders with global perspectives.
Since 2012, more than 700 students from different disciplines and years have completed credit-bearing service leadership subjects, while there were more than 400 students who have taken part in non-credit-bearing service leadership programmes.
Professor Philip Chan said, "PolyU will continue to promote holistic development and cultivate service leaders who possess and demonstrate leadership competencies, moral character and caring disposition."
The theories, curriculum and evaluation research of service leadership of PolyU have been published in the International Journal on Disability and Human Development. The progress of service leadership education in eight UGC-funded institutions has been documented in a book published as well. For more details of the Conference, please visit its official website: http://icsle.ust.hk/
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