HKUST Annual Report 2016-17

12 HKUST 2016-2017 Annual Report Programs to enhance diversity, student life and the campus community, together with a host of activities to unleash innovative and entrepreneurial potential highlighted an inspiring 2016-17 UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION Leading Programs The Division of Social Science launched an interdisciplinary major in Quantitative Social Analysis, with the first intake starting in Fall 2017. The bachelor program will be the only undergraduate degree in the region that trains students in both the management and quantitative analysis of social data and informed design of analysis and interpretation of results. In addition, the School of Engineering and University of Exeter, UK, launched a collaborating agreement that enables HKUST engineering students to complete a BEng or BSc in the School of Engineering and a LLM or JD law degree in just five years. To fully recognize the importance of and to further the development of sustainable education and research in the University’s goals, the Division of Environment under the Interdisciplinary Programs Office (IPO) was renamed the Division of Environment and Sustainability. It offers both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. The Division of Public Policy was established under IPO, to reaffirm that the University is keen to play a pivotal role in championing public policy research and education. The number and variety of courses and programs embracing experiential learning expanded in 2016-17. Credit- bearing courses and non-credit co- curricular programs involving hands-on learning included the revamped first- year airship design course, a new electric vehicle course, and the RoboMasters robotics competition. As of June 2017, HKUST offered 29 Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) on the global Coursera and edX platforms. Over one million learners were registered for the HKUST courses. The “Introduction to Java Programming – Part 1” MOOC was recognized among the Top 10 Most Popular courses on edX in 2016 and the “Full Stack Web Development” among the Top 10 Computer Science specializations on Coursera in 2016. A pilot program to offer MOOCs to alumni on the HKMOOC platform was launched in Summer 2016 with over 1,000 alumni signing up for the three courses offered. Extending Internationalization To further diversify and internationalize the campus community, HKUST is leveraging a University Grants Committee pilot scheme to increase the non-local intake toward 25%. Students can also broaden their exposure to other cultural and social environments through HKUST’s signature exchange program. This allows students to undertake studies for one academic term or more at institutions in the University’s worldwide network of exchange partners. In 2016-17, 913 students studied overseas on exchange at renowned academic institutions around the world. In 2016-17, HKUST also partnered with other universities to offer credit-bearing study abroad programs in the summer EDUCATION DEVELOPMENT