Distinctive Features

 

Our four-year undergraduate curriculum has been designed to prepare students with abilities/ attributes that will prepare graduates to become "preferred leaders" for the professions, and responsible global citizens in the 21st century. The main features of our curriculum can be grouped into two categories:

 

             Preparing Students for Success in Their Chosen Professions

 

             Nurturing Students into All-Round Global Citizens

 

I. Preparing Students for Success in Their Chosen Professions

 

Rigorous Application Orientation 

 

All of our programmes are thoughtfully designed, meeting the needs of industries, the professions and the community, with an appropriate balance of theory and practice in the curriculum. Most of our academic programmes are accredited by relevant statutory or professional bodies, both local and overseas.

 

Strengthened Language and Communications Component 

 

We aim to nurture our students to become effective communicators, both biliterate and trilingual (English and Chinese, including Putonghua). In addition to the English and Chinese language subjects in the core (General University Requirements) curriculum, extensive reading and writing components with adequate support from the teaching team are introduced to the general education programme and the discipline-specific curriculum.

 

Mandatory Work-Integrated Education (WIE) 

 

All PolyU full-time undergraduate students will complete a mandatory WIE component to gain real-life experience in the actual workplace before graduation. This will enable our students to deepen their understanding of industries and professions, to apply classroom learning in real-life situation, and to develop their workplace skills. 

 

Enrich Students' Experience with Industries and the Professions 

 

With our strong and long-standing relationship with industries and the professions, we are able to organise many "out-of-classroom" learning activities (e.g. mentorship programme, talks by experts from various disciplines, site visits and study tours, industry-based student projects, etc.) that bring students closer to real-life professional practice. This relationship has also further stepped up collaboration between the University and industries in research, high-level consultancy projects and knowledge transfer activities which in turn support the application orientation of our academic programmes.

 

Capstone Project 

 

We include, in all of our programmes, a capstone project or thesis to enable students to consolidate their learning experience accumulated over the entire undergraduate study to deal with or solve a complex problem related to their profession/discipline. This will better prepare our students for professional practice or further studies.

 

Developing Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Problem-Solving Skills 

 

We place a strong emphasis on nurturing students' entrepreneurial and innovative spirit, as well as critical thinking and problem-solving abilities, and offer a wide range of curricular and co-curricular activities, e.g. PolyU Micro Fund Scheme and PolyU Innovation and Entrepreneurship Global Student Challenge, to help students develop these skills.

 

 

II. Nurturing Students into All-Round Global Citizens

 

Globally-Oriented Education

 

PolyU has long been committed to internationalisation of its curriculum, staffing and student bodies. We provide students with global learning experience through our established Student Exchange Programme, WIE Offshore Placement Scheme, and General University Requirements (Cluster Area Requirements and Service-Learning) subjects offered overseas and in Mainland China. In 2018/19, over 960 PolyU students went on exchange at one of PolyU’s 251 exchange partner institutions, and around 960 students from overseas countries and regions came to study at the University. In 2018/19, over 1,200 students participated in offshore internships worldwide and in the mainland.

 

Under PolyU's academic collaboration agreements with some 300 institutions spanning 45 countries and regions, our faculty and staff have been actively engaged in academic, joint degree and research collaboration initiatives. These further enhance the international exposure of our students and staff.

 

Broadening Students' Perspectives

We provide an enhanced general education programme to broaden students' horizons beyond their chosen professions. Students will study subjects of their own choice under four Cluster Areas that represent different domains of knowledge and methods of enquiry. They are:

 

  • Human Nature, Relations and Development
  • Community, Organisation and Globalisation
  • History, Cultures and World Views
  • Science, Technology and Environment

 

Leadership and Intra-Personal Development

 

To prepare our students to become "leaders of tomorrow", we offer to all students a core general education subject on "Leadership and Intra-Personal Development". The subject is designed to enable them to:

 

  • understand and integrate theories, research and concepts on the qualities (particularly intra-personal and interpersonal qualities) of effective leaders in the Chinese context;
  • develop greater self-awareness and a better understanding of oneself;
  • acquire interpersonal skills essential for functioning as an effective leader;
  • develop self-reflection skills in their learning; and
  • recognise the importance of the active pursuit of knowledge on intra-personal and interpersonal levels and its relationship to leadership qualities.

 

Cultivating a Heart to Serve

 

We aim to develop our students into educated global citizens with a heart to serve. All our students will have to take a credit-bearing subject on Service-Learning so that they can apply their knowledge to serve the people in need. They will:

 

  • participate in community service or civic engagement activities that will benefit the service users or the community at large in a meaningful way;
  • apply the knowledge and skills acquired from their Major or other learning experiences at the University to the community service activities; and
  • reflect on their Service-Learning experience in order to link theory with practice, and to develop a greater sense of ethical, social and national responsibility.

 

Promoting a Healthy Lifestyle

 

Healthy lifestyle is the platform for all-round development. Our students will complete a non-credit-bearing programme in healthy lifestyle. The programme will enable students to:

 

  • acquire, synthesise, and evaluate knowledge on healthy living;
  • differentiate between useful healthy facts and myths about health;
  • identify components of healthy living that contribute in one's well-being; and
  • make responsible health decisions for oneself.