HKUST 2006-2007 Annual Report
11
UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION
H
KUST
is a young institution, with the fresh and
forward thinking required to thrive in the 21st
century. We also have experience beyond our years,
derived from the quality of the faculty who have joined
us from respected institutions around the world and also
from the excellence of our students and the strength of
our management.
The University is now taking advantage of these
strengths to meet a twin challenge: that of providing
high quality undergraduate education to our existing
students, while re-designing our bachelors degree
courses that will transition from the current three-year
program to a four-year program in 2012.
Our student population stands at about 9,000, with
64% enrolled in undergraduate programs and 36% in
postgraduate programs. They study at our four schools:
Science, Engineering, Business and Management, and
Humanities and Social Science.
Our faculty members are taking an active part in
an intensive review of all undergraduate programs
to provide the basis for detailed plans for four-year
degrees. In the course of this, we have made the
strategic commitment that new thinking should drive
improvements in our current three-year programs.
Two important themes in the development of the four-
year degree have already had an impact: increased
opportunities for interdisciplinary studies and an
education that integrates disciplinary knowledge with
co-curriculum activities.
E x amp l e s o f t h e f i r s t t h eme
include the research-oriented BSc
in Molecular Biomedical Sciences,
which admitted its first batch of
students in September 2007, and
the introduction of a “double major”
in Economics and Mathematics.
Our well regarded Dual Degree in
Technology and Management has
established additional “capstone”
courses that pull together the two
disciplines. More interdisciplinary
programs are now being organized
under the three-year format which
will emerge as four-year programs
in 2012.
The second theme requires the full development of
students’ potential through extending their experience
beyond the classroom and disciplinary studies. The
internationalisation of campus life has continued, with
the number of full-time international students rising
steadily and more students going on exchange for one
or two semesters. In any given semester, about 1,600
(19%) of our students are non-local. We are now
taking up the challenge of bringing together those with
different backgrounds and building their capacity for
cross-cultural interaction.
Workplace internships and the Undergraduate Research
Opportunities Program (UROP) continue to grow. In
summer 2006, 114 students completed projects under
UROP and 182 students were involved in the internship
program organized by the Student Affairs Office, with
School-organized schemes adding to the number of
students benefiting from these out-of-class experiences.
The structure of teaching at HKUST equips students with
a wider perspective than their specializations might offer
in isolation. All undergraduates are required to enroll in
credit-bearing general education programs under the
School of Humanities and Social Science, to provide
the backbone of a solid undergraduate education. The
medium of instruction is English and classes aimed at
improving language skills are required of most students.
The enriched learning experience and the student
makeup itself help provide an important global
perspective, further boosted by the international mix
of the University’s faculty. About half of the 450 faculty
members are from outside Mainland China and Hong
Kong, and one-third from North America.
