Student Life

Principle

The Hong Kong Baptist University is a community of individuals aspiring to academic excellence, personal wellness, and spiritual maturity. All members of the University are expected to behave as responsible persons with high standards of honesty and conduct.

The Office of Student Affairs is especially concerned with student life and self-discipline of students. The University affirms its commitment to academic freedom, to the rights of the individual, and to provide an open forum for differing opinions. Students are to conduct themselves with dignity in accordance with University regulations. They should therefore seek to understand thoroughly the information in this University Student Handbook as well as other University publications. When a student accepts admission, there must be a willingness to abide by the social, moral, and academic standards of the University throughout the programme of study.

Standards of Conduct

Students are required to observe the following Standards of Conduct that are considered appropriate to the educational purposes and Christian principles of the University:

Students are to exhibit a regard for the rights of others at all times.
Students are to show respect for the safety and property of other persons as well as of the University.
Students are expected to value their personal integrity and therefore to demonstrate honesty at all times.
Students are expected to show respect to University administrators, faculty and staff at all times and to establish friendly relationships with other students.
Students are expected to comply with the rules and regulations set by the University.

The following examples of misbehaviour, while not exhaustive, are intended to give a student an idea of what kind of behaviour amounts to a breach of the University’s Standards of Conduct and would therefore result in disciplinary action.

Dishonesty in completing assignments and examinations, including plagiarism and cheating.
Obstruction or disruption of learning, teaching, research or administration such as talking, eating or drinking in classrooms and using of mobile phone during lectures.
Disorderly behaviour related to drunkenness.
Smoking in any enclosed or non-smoking areas on campus.
Use or possession of illegal drugs or illegal drug paraphernalia.
Gambling on campus.
Stealing, defacing or destroying properties of another person or of the University.
Unauthorised entry into or occupation, damage, improper use, and defacement of of University's facilities.
Forgery or falsification of or use of forged or falsified documents.
Misuse of University documents.
Indecent behaviour.
Assault on or defamation of or sexual and other form of harassment towards or battery against the person of any staff or student member of the University or of any visitor to the University.
Failure to provide identification to authorised staff upon request when being suspected of violation of University's rules and regulations.
Failure to observe rules and regulations governing the use of various facilities and resources provided by the University.
Violation of local law or ordinance.

Sanctions for Breach of Standards of Conduct

Students who fail to comply with the University’s Standards of Conduct will be brought before the Director of Student Affairs or the Panel on Disciplinary Cases as appointed by the Student Affairs Committee for inquiry and, depending on the seriousness of the matter, be given one or more of the following sanctions:

Censure
Written warning
Written reprimand
Restitution
Suspension of the right to use certain facility within certain period
Order to provide voluntary service on campus
Disqualification from serving as office bearers of student organisations and/or sitting on University committees for a specified period
Barred from examination for specified period
Probation
Suspension of study
Dismissal
Others

Student Induction and Guidance

New Student Induction

New Student Induction, which is usually held in August every year, aims to promote new student’s understanding of holistic development and adjustment to their university life. During this period, the University Life Orientation Workshop (Personal Transformation) is offered to all new students to facilitate their planning of university life through introducing the concepts of whole person development and a wide range of university resources for supporting students’ holistic development and increasing awareness of their current state of whole person development. Senior students are recruited to serve as peer mentors for new students to facilitate their adjustment. For non-local students, a series of customised training and programmes are offered for their smooth transition to university life in Hong Kong.

Guidance

Upon admission, each new student will be assigned mentors who will provide guidance to the students for their academic and personal development in the new environment. This assistance does not relieve the student of the responsibility to consult the University Student Handbook and other information booklets for basic information on the University. She/He should be particularly aware of all the regulations, procedures and requirements relating to her/his own programme. Students entering the final year should take the initiative to consult their respective departments with regard to academic progress, study programme and graduation requirements.

Support from Unit for Students with Special Educational Needs

The University is committed to provide equal educational opportunities for all students, including those with special educational needs (SEN). SEN students should first register their documented special educational needs with the University. The Unit for Students with Special Educational Needs will coordinate with relevant academic and administrative departments to provide fitting accommodation, facilities and services to facilitate their learning and studies. Eligible students are also encouraged to apply for disability grants and awards which provide financial sponsorship for the cost of study aids. Please click here to visit the website of the Unit for Students with Special Educational Needs.

Co-curricular and Extracurricular Activities for Whole Person Education

With the University’s emphasis on educating whole persons exemplified into its Graduate Attributes, in conjunction with the academic programmes, the University provides many opportunities for co-curricular and extracurricular activities to help enrich students’ educational experience. Complementary, and in supplement, to academic programmes, these activities are also designed to help students attain the University’s Graduate Attributes.

Creative Drama Festival

With generous support from the Tin Ka Ping Foundation, this festival aims to raise students’ awareness of current socio-cultural issues in order to develop their creativity and teamwork skills by participating in drama performance. This large-scale event is the first in Hong Kong attempting to promote Drama in Education at all education levels, from primary to tertiary institutions. Students develop skills by overcoming challenges set by the festival: firstly, participants will prepare, with their teammates, a 4-min drama of a given topic within 15 minutes; furthermore, they need to make use of a set of provided props for reasonable purposes in the drama. The objective is to challenge participants to think outside of the box. Training workshops will be provided in order to help participants develop confidence and the necessary skills for drama performance. Festival website: http://chtl.hkbu.edu.hk/main/wpe/cdf/.

Discipline x Healthy Lifestyle Project

“Discipline x Healthy Lifestyle (DHL): Design & Delivery of Learning Activities for Secondary School Students” is a pioneer service-learning initiative developed by the Centre for Holistic Teaching and Learning with the generous support of the Jiangsu Hong Kong Cultural Association. Healthy lifestyle in the DHL project aims for a balanced development of a healthy brain and a healthy heart based on six areas: physical exercise, food and nutrition/environment, positive values, sleep and relaxation, mental fitness and social interactions. Based around these six essential elements, HKBU students from different subject disciplines apply their knowledge to design and deliver health activities for secondary school students. The positive peer influence brings together a remarkable array of students, teachers and educators in the pursuit of a better study/work-life balance that concerns everyone at all ages. Project website: http://chtl.hkbu.edu.hk/dhl/.

Gansu Sustainable Service Scheme

This scheme aims to deliver educational services for sustainable development to the rural communities in Gansu Province. Participants will receive a series of training workshops on generic skills (e.g. communication, teamwork skills, etc.) and service-learning activities. Afterwards, they will organise fundraising activities in Hong Kong for the purpose of facilitating sustainable development of education for Gansu rural communities. These educational services include home visits, voluntary teaching, setting up learning facilities in primary schools, and planning open day activities with teachers and principals in local schools, etc.

Music and Visual Arts Activities

The opportunities for music performance at Baptist University are rich and diverse. The Department of Music offers many performing groups that can be taken for academic credit including the University Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra (Collegium Musicum), University Choir, Chamber Choir (Cantoria Hong Kong), String Ensemble, Wind Symphony, Women’s Chorus and a wide range of smaller instrumental ensembles. All of these and more are available to students regardless of major.

Students can enjoy a wide range of visual arts activities offered by the Academy of Visual Arts (AVA), ranging from on-campus exhibitions of works in different art forms at Koo Ming Kown Exhibition Gallery (Baptist University Road Campus) and Gallery of Academy of Visual Arts (Kai Tak Campus), artist talks and seminars, guided tours, visual arts conferences and visits to large-scale international art festivals. AVA also organises various community arts activities for students in partnership with the community and the creative industry, including art workshops, knowledge transfer projects, exhibitions and summer school programmes. All these activities have helped link up students with the art world and the audience, as well as foster art appreciation in the community. In addition, the AVA offers many general education courses in visual arts for non-visual arts students, and opens up Visual Arts major courses in studio and media arts, crafts and design, and visual arts studies to all students irrespective of their major.

Sports and Physical Education Programmes

The University is a member of the University Sports Federation of Hong Kong, China. It maintains an intercollegiate programme of athletics, badminton, basketball, cross-country, dragon boat, fencing, football, handball, karatedo, rugby, squash, swimming, taekwondo, tennis, table-tennis, volleyball, water polo and woodball. Competition is scheduled for both men’s and women’s terms. A comprehensive intramural programme is also offered to all students. Besides, a variety of elective courses in physical education is provided through the Department of Sport, Physical Education and Health.

Student Organisations

Membership of student organisations is open to all students of the University. The University encourages every student to engage in activities initiated by student organisations. However, joining any such organisation is entirely voluntary. Becoming a member of a student organisation may involve payment of a membership fee. Students may participate in activities organised by those organisations which have been registered with the Office of Student Affairs or the Students’ Union. https://sa.hkbu.edu.hk/cls/goto/soc

The Students’ Union aims to promote activities in the best interests of all students and the University, to help collaborate various student organisations, and to co-operate with the University administration for the common good of all. These activities include welfare services, campus-wide projects, recreational, social and cultural activities.
The Postgraduate Association aims to promote the welfare of the postgraduate students who registered on all full-time and part-time research degrees and taught postgraduate programmes of the University. The Association also aims to facilitate intellectual and social communication among the postgraduate students of the University and to establish academic, intellectual and social links between the postgraduate students of the University and other tertiary institutions.
Academic societies composed of students studying the same programme, seek to cultivate a professional attitude amongst members through co-curricular and extracurricular studies and projects. There are currently 46 societies active in this aspect:
Faculty of Arts—the Chinese Language and Literature Society, the English Language and Literature Society, the Humanities and Creative Writing Society, the Music Society, the Religion and Philosophy Society, the Student Union Liberal and Cultural Studies Student Society, the Students’ Union Faculty of Arts Society, the Translation Society;
School of Business—the Association of Business Students, the Society of Accountancy, the Student Union Economics Society, the Student Union Society of Human Resources, the Student Union Strategic Marketing Society, the Students’ Union Business Management Society, the Students’ Union Human Resources Management Society, the Students’ Union Management Information Systems Society;
School of Chinese Medicine—the Chinese Medicine Society, the Society of Chinese Materia Medica;
School of Communication—the Communication Society, the Student Union Creative Writing for Film, Television and New Media Student Society, the Student Union Integrated Communication Management Student Society, the Students’ Union Academy of Film (Higher Diploma) Students’ Union;
Faculty of Science—the Biology Society, the Chemistry Society, the Computer Science Society, the Students’ Union Mathematics Society, the Students’ Union The Student Association of Science Faculty;
Faculty of Social Sciences—the China Studies Society, the European Studies Society, the Geography Society, the Government and International Studies Society, the History Society, the Physical Education and Recreation Management Society, the Psychology Society, the Social Work Society, the Sociology Society, the Sport and Recreation Leadership Society, the Students’ Union Education Studies Society, the Students’ Union Environment and Resources Management Society, the Students’ Union Social Policy Society, the Students’ Union The Association of Quaternary Societies of Faculty of Social Sciences;
Academy of Visual Arts—the Students’ Union Visual Arts Student Society;
School of Continuing Education—the College of International Education Students’ Society, the Early Childhood Education Society, the Students’ Union Society of Higher Diploma in Management (Sport and Healthy Living), the Students’ Union Sport and Recreation Studies Society.
In addition, there are currently 59 active interest clubs open to all students: the AIESEC, the Association of Mainland and Hong Kong Youths, the Astronomy Club, the Band Society, the Base of Youth Enlightenment, the Business United Society, the Catholic Society, the Chinese Debating Team, the Chinese Music Club, the Cinemania, the Computer Association, the Dance Association, the Dramatics Club, the Game Theory Society, the Judo Club, the Karate Club, the Magic Club, the Psychological Competence Association, the Rotaract Club, the Rowing Club, the Social Service Association, the Student Union A Cappella Society, the Student Union Animation and Comic Arts Society, the Student Union Chinese Traditional Martial Art Association, the Student Union ENACTUS, the Student Union French-German Club, the Student Union Gansu Sustainable Service Group, the Student Union Golf Club, the Student Union Hiking Explorer Association, the Student Union Iaido Club, the Student Union Japanese Culture Club, the Student Union Kendo Club, the Student Union Korfball Club, the Student Union Mandarin Debate Team, the Student Union Mandarin Drama Performance Association, the Student Union Mountaineering Association, the Student Union Orienteering Club, the Student Union Society of Bowling, the Student Union Society of Dance Sport, the Student Union Society of Muay Thai and Boxing, the Student Union Rugby Club, the Student Union The United Association of Sports and Entertainments, the Students’ Union Archery Club, the Students’ Union Campus Run Crew, the Students’ Union Chinese Health Care Society, the Students’ Union Chinese Tile-based Game Society, the Students’ Union Dodgeball Club, the Students’ Union Mystic Society, the Students’ Union Photographic Association, the Students’ Union Society of Fitness and Health, the Students’ Union Sports Climbing Club, the Students’ Union The Entrepreneurship Society, the Students’ Union The Investment Society, the Students’ Union The Riddlebusters, the Taekwon-Do Club, the University YMCA, the User Unit of the Hong Kong Award for Young People, the Wine Association, and the Wing Tsun Society.
Hall Councils aim to promote activities and interests of hall residents. There are altogether four Hall Councils, each with a unique hall motto: the Student Union Hall Council of Y. P. Cai Hall, the Students’ Union Hall Council of C. L. Soong Hall, the Students’ Union Hall Council of C. N. Yang Hall and the Students' Union Hall Council of S. R. Zhou Hall.
The International Students Club serves as a platform to facilitate communication between international students, local students and the University. The Club also acts as a support group helping international students to assimilate into university life as well as establish networks with other student societies.
Student Participation in University Governances: To ensure that students’ views are properly addressed in the University’s policy formation process, membership of a majority of the policy making and advisory organisations of the University is open to student representatives. The opinions and interests of students can be reflected through their participation in the University Senate, Faculty/School Boards and other campus-wide administrative committees. For details, please visit http://sa.hkbu.edu.hk/goto/ugov.

Career Centre (CC)

Career Centre (CC), acting as a bridge among students, academic staff and employers, aims to facilitate students’ career development and job search. Staff of CC have established strong links with different business sectors to keep abreast of the current employment market situation. A wide range of services and programmes are offered to help students plan for their career as well as their job search.

Career Education

For the career development of students, a wide variety of services and programmes are offered. These include career talks and exhibitions from both public and private business sectors. Prominent guest speakers from various employment fields and government departments are invited to provide students with a wide range of career information for career choice, and to assist them in understanding the practice, sub-culture and expectations of being an executive in different professions.

Besides, job search workshops are conducted so as to equip students with necessary skills. Major topics include career explorations (through the career test ‘Career Occupational Preference System (COPS)’), writing application letters and resumes, interviewing for jobs, communication skills in workplace and presenting a positive and professional image to employers, etc.

Company visits are also arranged so that students can directly discuss with the senior executives, thereby enhancing their understanding of different business operations.

Career Counselling/Advising

Interview Clinic (one-to-one consultation for about 30 minutes) is regularly arranged to enhance both interview skills and presentation skills of students via face-to-face mock interviews. Constructive feedback is given by professionals or career counsellors/advisors to increase the confidence of interviewees and improve their interview performance.

CV Clinic (one-to-one consultation for about 30 minutes) is arranged regularly to improve resumes and cover letters of job seekers. Career counsellors/advisers give professional advice for students to enhance their writing skills for job search.

Career Friday is a direct career service offered to all undergraduates every Friday. This walk-in service welcomes students to talk to our professional staff for career counselling or advising. Each student will be given a 30-minute face-to-face consultation to discuss career issues, such as career planning, job application, recruitment selection, job search skills, further studies, etc.

Employment Information and Liaison

CC liaises with employers for full-time, summer, part-time and temporary job placement. Together with the Joint Institutions Job Information System (JIJIS) which provides a centralised website with job searching features for students/graduates of local universities, CC has also introduced the Baptist University Career Match Engine (BUCME) as another complementary job search device for students. In addition, Career Hot Friday is a job search portal which features some selected graduate vacancies that students should not miss. An alert email is sent to all graduating students on Friday.

Along with the employment information, recruitment talks, exhibitions and campus interviews/tests are arranged to familiarise students with the procedures in job applications, recruitment processes, and information on companies and jobs.

Career Fair and Virtual Career Fair

Annually the large-scale Career Fair is arranged for students to obtain the most updated job market and recruitment information. Recruitment booths of well-known companies are set up, with on-site interviews, career forums and seminars, providing students an opportunity to meet their future employers.

Virtual Career Fair is a signature event of HKBU in which employers and HKBU students can interconnect with each other and chat in real-time. Apart from applying with traditional cover letters and CVs, students can add a video CV in their online applications to give a clearer and stronger impression to employers. Interviews, both on and off-line can then be arranged in a more efficient and boundaryless manner.

Honorary Career Advisors

Senior professionals from different industries are invited as Honorary Career Advisors to provide professional advice on the University’s career programmes and services, as well as to share their valuable experiences with our students. CC also cooperates with external organisations like Hong Kong New Youth Energy Think Tank to host the ‘Mentoring for Success’ Programme and CEO Global to organise ‘The Way to Success’ Programme. Students are expected to develop their career aspirations and have their perspective towards the world of work broadened.

Metropolitan Attachment Programme (MAP)

MAP aims to enhance students’ competitiveness for employment and future advancement by working in different companies overseas. The programme can strengthen students’ language and communication abilities and also develop their transferable skills such as self-confidence and problem solving ability. In summer 2019, twelve groups of students were arranged to have work attachment experience in Berlin and Munich, Chicago, Melbourne and Sydney, Nanjing and Shanghai, Seoul, Singapore, Taipei, Toronto and London. The programme can also enrich students’ living and work experience in different cultural environments.

Local Attachment Opportunities (LAO)

Local Attachment Opportunities (LAO) aim at enhancing the competitive edge of our students for employment. Students can broaden their vision about the world of work, and strengthen their transferable skills such as self-confidence, sense of co-operation and problem solving ability. Students also undoubtedly can gain practical skills from the job experience in their majors or related disciplines and explore their career aspirations.

Global Attachment Opportunities (GAO)

GAO are arranged for high calibre, senior students from different academic backgrounds. They are arranged to travel to different esteemed corporations and organisations overseas for work attachment for up to six months. Apart from the benefits to their future employment, GAO can also foster the development of students’ personal qualities in terms of career aspirations, self-confidence, global awareness, and social and language skills. Gaining this experience, students will have more flexibility in choosing their career across different countries and cultures.

A University Year in the Community (UYC)

UYC Project is a unique gap year/semester option offered to students to defer their studies at the University, and extend their learning boundaries through gaining hands-on workplace experiences that complement their academic studies in different renowned corporations in Hong Kong. It aims at broadening students’ vision about the world of work, strengthening students’ life and transferable skills, assisting students in their career planning and facilitating their smooth transition to workplace upon graduation.

Part-time/Timeshare Internship Programme (TIP)

TIP aims to provide part-time work attachment opportunities for students to extend their learning boundaries through gaining hands-on workplace experience that complement their academic studies in different large corporations in Hong Kong. Through a regular and continuous attachment at real workplace, students would also gain valuable transferable skills, such as self-confidence, sense of co-operation, and problem solving ability, that help prepare them for potential career opportunities.

eSports Talents Development Programme (ETDP)

ETDP aims to provide great insights of the eSports ecosystem to HKBU students who are keen to develop their career in the eSports industry. Besides in-depth career experience sharing by industry professionals and diversified eSports trainings, students will have a chance to organise an eSports Tournament and an opportunity to join an exclusive eSports tour to Seoul with seasoned eSports experts. ETDP is definitely an unparalleled opportunity for students to understand the value-chain of this booming sector, to connect key stakeholders in the field and to unlock their potentials.

Career Advancement Scheme for Taught Postgraduates (CAST)

CAST targets to assist full-time taught postgraduates on career planning and preparation through a series of professional services and career trainings. It includes self-exploration workshops, job search skills trainings, company visits, individual consultations by professionals in different industries, and networking events.

Career Exploration Trips

During the winter break, overseas career exploration trips are organised to enhance students’ global outlook and to extend their knowledge of different work cultures. These trips feature visits to various companies and organisations in Singapore and Taipei, career talks and cultural exchange with local university students, enabling students to know more about the career opportunities of the two cities.

Graduate Employment Survey

A Graduate Employment Survey is conducted annually to understand the first career destination of current year’s graduates. Survey reports are available for reference.

E-resources

Students can obtain comprehensive information about job seeking hints, tips at workplace, etc., at our E-resources pool.

Counselling and Development Centre (CDC)

A team of trained and experienced counsellors is here to provide assistance to students in enhancing students’ mental health, setting personal goals and fully actualising their potential. Please click here to visit the website of the Counselling and Development Centre.

Counselling and Assessment

Individual Counselling: Counselling and psychotherapy are provided for students to induce personal growth and positive changes in areas such as emotional management, interpersonal relationship, self-esteem, university adjustment, study problems, career exploration, etc.
Assessment: Psychological tests are administered to enhance students' self-understanding and identify areas for growth.
Whole Person Development Inventory (WPDI): This inventory, which was constructed for tertiary students in a Chinese context by the Office of Student Affairs and academics from the Faculty of Social Sciences, is administered to students at various stages of their university life to enhance the understanding about their different aspects of whole person development.
Psychological Online Tests: Self-report psychological tests are available online to promote students’ self-understanding and identify areas for personal growth. Students can log-in to the platform and obtain immediate feedback. Please click here to take the tests.

Psychological Competence and Development

Development Courses: Workshops of two to three hours and 12-hour Mental Health First Aid Standard Courses are offered throughout the academic year. Areas of focus include self-understanding enhancement, EQ development, mental health education and university life adjustment, etc.
eCourses: To cater for students with preference for different learning modes, a series of eCourses are provided through the BU eLearning Platforms to increase students’ self-understanding and enhance their psychological competencies and life skills. Please click here to take the eCourses.
IGE Courses: To provide more extensive psychological skills training, the Centre collaborates with the Department of Social Work to offer IGE courses, namely “Service Leadership and Emotional Intelligence” and “Improving Mental Health for University Success”.
Psychological Services Trip—EQ Express (EQE): EQ Express aims at facilitating participants’ EQ development through training and delivering an EQ promotion programme for children outside Hong Kong. The EQ Ambassadors will promote the concept of emotional intelligence and demonstrate caring spirit during the overseas trip. They will be able to internalise the knowledge of EQ and strengthen their social intelligence.
Mental Health Enhancement: To promote mental wellness proactively, different activities such as displays, talks, web articles, etc. are provided to increase awareness and understanding of mental illness. Mental Health First Aid Standard Courses are offered to provide understanding in various mental illnesses, first aid responses, and community resources to enhance self-care as well as alertness to and acceptance of people in need.

Support for New Students

Transition to University Life Webpage: This webpage for freshmen provides helpful information and resources for students’ psychological adjustment to university life. In addition to helping students be more aware of the changes they are going through in the first year of university study, it also provides students with tips for personal growth and student success. For details, please click here.
Peer Mentor Programme: This programme aims to cultivate peer support on campus. Peer mentors provide assistance to freshmen in their adjustment to university life in the beginning of the semester. They will also have opportunities to learn through training, supervision and their helping experience.
University Life Orientation Workshops: The Personal Transformation Workshop (UOW 1) is organised for new students during their orientation to better prepare them for university life.
Whole Person Development Mentoring: This service aims to raise students’ awareness of the importance of Whole Person Development as well as one’s strengths and weaknesses. With individual mentoring, students are encouraged to use co-curricular and extracurricular activities to facilitate their growth.
Host Family Programme for non-local students: This programme aims to provide an opportunity for non-local freshmen to enhance their personal learning experience by connecting them with local host families. Students will gain a deeper understanding of the people and culture of Hong Kong. They can also receive support and "home care" while they are miles away from home.

Mainland Student Services

Induction Programmes: Induction activities, Cantonese classes, seminars and workshops, etc. are provided to assist new Mainland students to assimilate into the University and Hong Kong society.
Individual Mentoring: Officers of Mainland Student Services Unit provide mentoring and advice for Mainland students to address issues which hinder their adjustment to new life in Hong Kong.
Cultural Exchange Trip: The Cultural Diversity Express is a trip which aims at facilitating intercultural sensitivity. Participants' understanding and empathy for people from other cultures can be enhanced through their interaction and teamwork with fellow participants during the trip. As a result, Mainland students can find it easier to assimilate into Hong Kong society.

Developmental Education Resources

To stimulate students’ self-reflection, computer wallpapers with inspirational quotes and mottos are designed and produced for students’ use. Besides, different types of self-help materials such as books and leaflets are also available at the Centre.

Leadership Qualities Centre (LQC)

In line with the mission of the University to provide a higher education that develops and sustains the integrity of the whole person, and its values of strong commitment to both academic excellence and community service, the Centre aims to empower students to become committed global and local citizens, assume active roles to face and resolve global challenges and to become proactive contributors in local community.

Co-curricular Learning

The Centre offers a wide range of Co-curricular Learning (CCL) activities, which are components of U-Life Programme that are in line with the mission of the Office of Student Affairs and the University and aim to provide provide students with a comprehensive while diverse range of non-formal learning opportunities which will help expand their breadth of knowledge, stimulate their thinking, and broaden their horizons at large. The activities take in different forms including seminars, workshops, campus events, and experiential learning activities.

Leadership Development

In order to enhance students’ self-understanding, ability to work as a team, and to build trust between the youth and society, the HKBU Student Leadership Corps aims to bring students with multi-dimensional experiential learning to develop their personal qualities, team collaborations and sense of serving the community.

The Programme is mixed with trainings, workshops and service opportunities, so that participants can gain development in personal characters, team skills and knowledge to serve community. Peer mentor support groups will also be formed by students completing the programme to build a network with motivated and positive minded students.

Global Vision

Global Leadership Programmes: With the aim of increasing students’ international exposure and global awareness, the Centre nominates passionate and outstanding students on behalf of the University to participate in local and international Model United Nations (MUN) conferences, such as Harvard World MUN Conference, after a series of intensive trainings. The Centre also offers overseas experiential learning opportunities for students; the Change-Makers Programme (CMP), in which students may visit, serve and discuss with probably the most vulnerable groups in the globe. CMP aims to nurture students’ into responsible global citizens, who will promote positive human values and global ethics to both local and global communities after learning from the trip. The Cambodia Community Outreach Programme aims to increase understanding of servant leadership in practice and to enhance exchange among youth coming from different places in the context of serving society. Participants could also explore local culture and life through experiential learning and direct interaction with local children in Cambodia. Service-Learning Global Internship Programme (SLGIP) provides students with summer internship opportunities at non-profit/non-governmental organisation in different countries which aims to enhance students’ intercultural knowledge and understanding towards underprivileged communities worldwide.
Overseas Study Tours and Conferences: In collaboration with academic departments, student organisations and community organisations, the Centre also provides eye-opening opportunities for students in participating overseas study tours and international conferences.

Civic Engagement

Civic Leadership Programme: Through current affairs study groups, visits to prominent social leaders, leadership training workshops and study tours, the programme aims at enhancing the social and political awareness of students, developing their citizenship and national identity and strengthening their sense of belonging to the local and national communities.
Peer Support Scheme: The objective of this programme is to train up students to provide mentoring service for the youth-at-risk in the Kowloon City District. Selected students would be trained as peer mentors and give guidance to their mentees regularly with the support from professional advisers.

Service-Learning

A series of service-learning programmes prepare students to serve disadvantaged groups in rural areas of China and other developing countries, and promote the awareness of humanistic issues such as poverty and aging. Students will provide help and care to needy people along with training of their critical thinking and self-reflection of the current social development through workshops, focus groups and service trips. Collaborating with the School of Chinese Medicine and the Department of Religion and Philosophy, two Interdisciplinary General Education courses are offered for students to strengthen their motivation in caring and enhance the understanding of certain topics and respective service provided in the community. Partnering with the Petra Christian University, Community Outreach Programme@East Java, Indonesia (COP) offers a learning experience to students by living in the community to respond to the actual social life and help the community development problems.

Student Partnership

The Centre has been able to leverage on its well-established student partnership with external organisations, including Wofoo Leaders’ Network (WLN) and University YMCA® (HKBU) to implement the “Train-the-Trainer” and Experiential Learning Model, which aims at developing students as office-bearers and peer leaders in various projects and activities.

Student Accommodation Section (SAS)

Undergraduate Halls

The Office of Student Affairs aims to cultivate a congenial yet stimulating living-learning environment in the Halls that encourages participation and integration of 1,770 residents from different backgrounds. Under the roof of two high-rises, the four Residence Halls are named after four prominent Chinese figures, namely Prof Chen-Ning Yang (楊振寧教授), the late Mr Yuan-Pei Cai (蔡元培先生), Mr Shu-Ren Zhou (周樹人先生) and Madam Ching-Ling Soong (宋慶齡女士) who had outstanding achievements in areas of scientific research, education, literature and social movement respectively in the contemporary Chinese history, and would serve as observable role models to whom students may look up to throughout their University studies and life-long expedition.

In the Halls, all bedrooms and communal facilities are air-conditioned and provided with internet and Wi-Fi service. The communal facilities which serve as platforms for residents’ interaction and engagement, include a 300-seat canteen, a Courtyard, Fitness Rooms, Study Rooms, Laundry Rooms, a Computer Room, Sitting Lounges, a Joint-Hall Convenience Store, Multi-Purpose Rooms, a multi-purpose Chapel, floor Lounges and Kitchenettes, etc.

Under the guidance and care of Resident Masters and Hall Life Team, and with the support from student committees and leaders, residents experience in various kinds of intentional residential education and hall life programmes that contribute to their whole person development and cultivate their abilities and transferable skills. The four residents’ development dimensions namely Personal Enrichment, Green and Health Mindfulness, Residents’ Bondedness and Community & U, are delivered through local and overseas programmes that engage residents with the community within and outside of the University. Some signature programmes include an experiential programme on green and sustainability with local project internship and overseas tour, community care programmes, international cultural exchanges and high table dinners, etc.

Dr Ng Tor Tai International House

Located on the campus, Dr Ng Tor Tai International House (“House”) provides homely and comfortable accommodation to the guests and visiting scholars of the University. It also serves as one of the on-campus student hostels for accommodation of full-time non-local postgraduate and undergraduate students of the University. In the House, every air-conditioned student room is equipped with a private bathroom, basic furniture, electrical appliances and wired and Wi-Fi broadband connection for Internet access. Basic room cleaning and security patrol are also provided to ensure a clean and safe living environment. A common room with food-reheating and self-serviced laundry facilities, the reading corners and the House restaurant are ideal places for meeting friends and small groups’ discussions.

Like those living at hostels, student residents of the House are required to observe and comply with hostel rules and regulations. To protect the safety and health of all student residents and ensure proper functioning of hostel facilities, room inspections are conducted regularly. Besides, to show the House’s caring culture, gifts are given to student residents during festivals and examination seasons. To promote social life and enhance communication amongst student residents, the House organises an array of extracurricular activities such as day tours to the hot scenic spots of Hong Kong, career talk, community services programmes, leadership and team building training and cultural exchange workshops.