| The University of Hong Kong | |
|---|---|
| 香港大學 | |
Shield of HKU |
|
| Motto | Sapientia Et Virtus (Latin) 明徳格物 (Classical Chinese)[1] |
| Motto in English | Wisdom and Virtue |
| Established | 1887 (as Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese) 1911 |
| Type | Public |
| Chancellor | Sir Donald Tsang |
| Vice-Chancellor | Tsui Lap-chee |
| Students | 21,652 (2009 total)[2] |
| Postgraduates | 9,690 |
| Location | Pokfulam, Hong Kong |
| Campus | Urban, 50 hectares (0.50 km2) |
| Colours | Green |
| Affiliations | Washington award, ASAIHL, Universitas 21, ACU |
| Website | hku.hk |
| University of Hong Kong | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Traditional Chinese | 香港大學 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Cantonese Jyutping | hoeng1gong2 daai6hok6 | ||||||||||||||||||
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The University of Hong Kong (or HKU, Chinese: 香港大學) is the oldest tertiary institution in Hong Kong. Its motto is "Sapientia et Virtus" in Latin, meaning "wisdom and virtue", and "明德格物" in Chinese. The medium of instruction in most classes is English.[3].
According to QS World University Rankings 2011/12, it was ranked 22nd in the world and the best in both Asia and Hong Kong.[4] In another rankings, the 2011–2012 Times Higher Education World University Rankings cooperating with Thomson Reuters as the new data supplier since 2010, the HKU was ranked 34th in the world, 2nd in Asia and the best in Hong Kong.
The University of Hong Kong traces its origins to the former Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese, founded by the London Missionary Society in 1887 and would later become the Medical Faculty of the University of Hong Kong. The college is noted for being China's Father of the Nation Sun Yat-sen's alma mater.
The university was founded in 1911 when Governor Sir Frederick Lugard proposed to establish a university in Hong Kong to compete with the other Great Powers opening universities in China, most notably Prussia, which had just opened Tongji University in Shanghai. The colonial Hong Kongers shared British values and allowed Britain to expand its influence in southern China and consolidate its rule in Hong Kong.
Parsi businessman Sir Hormusjee Naorojee Mody learned of Lugard's plan and pledged to donate HK$150,000 towards the construction and HK$30,000 towards other costs. The Hong Kong Government and the business sector in southern China, which were both equally eager to learn "secrets of the West's success" (referring to technological advances made since the Industrial Revolution), also gave their support. The Swire Group also contributed funds, wishing to repair its corporate image following an industrial accident that had injured many Chinese sailors. Along with other donors including the United Kingdom government and companies such as HSBC, Lugard finally had enough to build the university.
Lugard laid the foundation stone of the main building on 16 March 1910 and hoped that the university would educate more Chinese people in British "imperial values", as opposed to those of other Western powers.
The university was formally established in 1911 and had its opening ceremony in 1912. As Lugard felt that Chinese society at the time was not suited to ideals such as communism, the university originally emulated the University of Manchester in emphasising the sciences over the humanities. It opened with only a Faculty of Medicine, which had evolved from the Hong Kong College of Medicine.[5] However, within a year the Faculties of Engineering and Arts (which then did not offer sociology and philosophy degrees) were established. In December 1916, the university held its first congregation, with 23 graduates and five honorary graduates.
After the 1925–26 Canton-Hong Kong strikes, the government moved towards greater integration of Eastern culture, increasing the number of Chinese courses. In 1927, a degree in Chinese was created. Donations from wealthy businessmen Tang Chi Ngong and Fung Ping Shan – for whom campus buildings are named after – triggered an emphasis on Chinese cultural education. In 1941, the Japanese invasion of Hong Kong led to the damage of university buildings, and the university closed until 1945.
The university was founded as an all-male institution. Women students were admitted for the first time only ten years later. In 1937, the Queen Mary Hospital opened and has served as the university's teaching hospital ever since.
After World War II, the university reopened and underwent structural developments as post-war reconstruction efforts began in earnest, requiring more investment in law and social sciences. The Faculty of Social Sciences was established in 1967 and the Law Department in 1969. The student population in 1961 was 2,000, four times more than in 1941.
In 1982, the Faculty of Dentistry, based at the Prince Philip Dental Hospital, was established. It remains to this day Hong Kong's only faculty training dental professionals. In 1984, both the School of Architecture and School of Education became fully-fledged faculties, and in the same year a separate Faculty of Law was created. The Faculty of Business and Economics was established in 2001 as the university's tenth and youngest faculty.
After 1989, the Hong Kong government began emphasizing local tertiary college (大專) education, retaining many local students who would have studied abroad in the United Kingdom. In preparation for the 1997 handover, it also greatly increased student places and course variety. Consequently, the 2001 student population had grown to 14,300 and degree courses on offer numbered over a hundred.
HKU has nurtured the largest number of research postgraduate students in Hong Kong, making up approximately 10% of the total student population. All ten faculties and departments provide teaching and supervision for research (MPhil and PhD) students with administration undertaken by the Graduate School.
The year 2001 marked the 90th Anniversary of HKU. Growing with Hong Kong: HKU and its Graduates – The First 90 Years was published by the University Press in 2002 as an impact study on HKU's graduates in different fields of Hong Kong.
In January 2006, despite protest from some students and various alumni, the Faculty of Medicine was renamed as the Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine "as a recognition of the generosity" of Mr. Li Ka Shing and his Foundation, who pledged HK$1 billion in support of the university "general development as well as research and academic activities in medicine".
On 16 August, 2011 Communist Party of China Vice Premier Li Keqiang began a three day visit to promote development between Hong Kong and mainland China.[6][7] The school was locked down and mishandled by the local police force causing the Hong Kong 818 incident.[8]
In a statement to the HKU community, the university’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Lap-chee Tsui, admitted that the security arrangements could have been better planned and organized, and apologized to the university’s students and alumni for not having been able to prevent the unhappy incident. He assured them that “the University campus belongs to students and teachers, and that it will always remain a place for freedom of expression”. [9]
On August 30, 2011, the university’s Council resolved to set up a panel to review issues arising from the State leader’s visit, in order to improve arrangements and establish appropriate mechanisms and policies for university events in the future in a manner that would be consistent with its commitment to freedom of expression.
The design of the university's Shield was proposed to the College of Arms by the university in October 1912.[10] On 14 May 1913, the Shield, along with 2 motti (1 in Latin, 1 in Chinese) were granted by the College of Arms.[10] The field resembles the lions on the Coat of arms of England, whereas the book on the shield is a common reference to university's role in learning and knowledge.
The Latin motto Sapientia et Virtus translated in to English as "Wisdom and Virtue". The Chinese motto on the pages of the opened book, written from right to left, top to bottom in accandance with traditional Chinese writing direction, contains 2 phrases: 明德 (ming tak) and 格物 (kak mat), meaning "illustrious virtue" and "the investigation of things" respectively. The first phrase ming tak makes homage to the opening sentence of classic Confucian Classical Chinese literature the Great Learning, in which the author discusses the 3 great duties of a ruler – illustrious virtue, the renewal of the people, and repose in the highest good.[10] The second phrase kak mat is a reference to the writing of Confucian scholar Zhu Xi 致知在格物 (lit. exhausting by examination the principles of things and affairs) The phrase occurs in discussion regarding how wise rulers set about cultivating wisdom and virtue. If one desires to rectify his hearts, he must first sought to be sincere in their thoughts. Wishing to be sincere in their thoughts, he must first extended to the utmost their knowledge. Such extension of knowledge lay in the investigation of things.[10]
In 1981, the year of the university's 70th anniversary, an application was made to the College of Arms for a full coat of arms, which was granted in 1984, comprising the original shield and motti with the addition of a crest, supporters, a helmet and compartment.
The supporters of the coat of arms are a Chinese dragon and a lion representing Britain, indicating the university's aspiration to blend East and West, from the foundation by British people in Hong Kong and the later development of the university's research and studies in both west and east culture and technology. whereas the compartment is an allusion to Hong Kong Island, where the university is located.
The university's main campus covers 160,000 square metres of land on Bonham Road and Pok Fu Lam Road in the Mid-levels of Hong Kong Island. HKU buildings are some of the few remaining examples of British Colonial architecture in Hong Kong.
The Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine is situated 4.5 km southwest of the main campus, in the Southern District near Sandy Bay and Pok Fu Lam. The medical campus includes Queen Mary Hospital, the William M.W. Mong Building and research facilities. The Faculty of Dentistry is situated in the Prince Philip Dental Hospital, Sai Ying Pun.
The university also operates the Kadoorie Agricultural Research Center, which occupies 95,000 square metres of land in the New Territories, and the Swire Institute of Marine Science at the southern tip of the d'Aguilar Peninsula on Hong Kong Island.
The oldest structure in the University of Hong Kong was sponsored by Sir Hormusjee Naorojee Mody and designed by Architect Messrs Leigh and Orange. Constructed between 1910 and 1912, it comprised two courtyards in the post-renaissance style built with red brick and granite. The main elevation is articulated by four turrets with a central clock tower (a gift from Sir Paul Chater in 1930). Two courtyards were added in the south in 1952 and one floor in the end block in 1958. It was originally used as classrooms and laboratories for the Faculty of Medicine and Engineering and is now the home of departments within the Faculty of Arts. The central Great Hall (Loke Yew Hall) is named after Mr. Loke Yew, a benefactor of the university in its early years. It became a declared monument in 1984.
In around 1980, the Swire Group sponsored the building of a new residential hall in the eastern extremity of the campus. Because of the sponsorship, the new student residence was named Swire Building. The building was officially opened by Mr. John Anthony Swire, C.B.E. on 11th November 1980. In the first open day of Swire Hall, orange was used as the background colour. Luckily, no other halls used orange as their hall colour. Hence, in 1983, orange was chosen to be the hall colour of Swire Hall in the second Annual General Meeting. In 1983, Mrs. J. Lau (Director of Centre Media Resources) provided a design of hall logo. The Swire Hall Students’ Association, HKUSU, then made some amendments to that design. The logo shows the words ‘S’ and ‘H’, which is the abbreviation of Swire Hall at that time. The design of the word ‘S’ looks like two hands holding together, signifying that all hall-mates should cooperate with each others. This promotes the hall motto ‘Unity and Sincerity’.
Financed by Sir Paul Chater, Professor G. P. Jordan and others, it was opened in 1919 by the Governor of Hong Kong Sir Reginald Stubbs and housed the student union. After World War II, the building was used temporarily for administrative purposes. The East Wing was added in 1960. The building was converted into the Senior Common Room in 1974. It was named in honour of Mr Hung Hing Ying in 1986 for his family's donations to the university. The building was subsequently used again for administrative purposes, and now houses the Department of Music. The two-storey Edwardian style structure is characterised by a central dome and the use of red brick to emulate the main building opposite. The building was declared a monument in 1995.
The idea to establish a school of Chinese was proposed between the two World Wars. Construction of the premises began in 1929 with a donation from Mr Tang Chi-ngong, father of the philanthropist Sir Tang Shiu-kin, after whom the building was named. It was opened by Governor of Hong Kong Sir William Peel in 1931 and since then further donations have been received for the endowment of teaching Chinese language and literature. The building has been used for other purposes since the 1970s but the name remained unchanged. At present, it houses the Centre of Asian Studies. This three-storey flat-roofed structure is surfaced with Shanghai plaster and was declared a monument in 1995.
The three-storey Fung Ping Shan Museum was erected in 1932 as a library for Chinese books. Named after its donor, the building consists of masonry on the ground level surmounted by a two-storey red-brick structure with applied ornamental columns topped by a pediment over its entrance. Since 1962, the Chinese books collection, now known as the Fung Ping Shan Library, was transferred to the University's new Main Library and the whole building was converted into a museum for Chinese art and archaeology. Among its collections are ceramics, pottery and bronzes. In 1996, the lowest three floors of the new T. T. Tsui Building were added to the old building to form the University Museum and Art Gallery.
To prepare for the new four-year undergraduate curriculum, HKU is developing a Centennial Campus on the west of the main campus. The construction of the campus started in late 2009, and will be completed in 2012, the first year of the introduction of the new academic structure in Hong Kong. In 2012, the Faculty of Arts, the Faculty of Law and the Faculty of Social Science will be moved into the Centennial Campus.
| University rankings (overall) | |
|---|---|
| Global | |
| ARWU[12] | 201–300 |
| QS[13] | 22 |
| Times[14] | 34 |
The Times Higher Education World University Rankings ranked the University of Hong Kong as follows:
| Year | Hong Kong | Asia | World |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011–2012 | 1st | 2nd | 34th |
| 2010–2011 | 1st | 1st | 21st |
The QS World University Rankings ranked the University of Hong Kong as follows:
| Year | Hong Kong | Asia | World |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 1st | 1st | 22nd |
| 2010 | 1st | 1st | 23rd |
| 2009 | 1st | 2nd | 24th |
| 2008 | 1st | 3rd | 26th |
The University's Chancellor is the Chief Executive of Hong Kong, Donald Y. K. Tsang. The Pro-Chancellor is David Li. The Chairman of the University Council is Dr. Leong Che Hung. The Vice-Chancellor and President is Professor Lap-Chee Tsui. The Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Provost is Professor Roland T. H. Chin, and the Pro-Vice-Chancellors and Vice-Presidents are Professor S. P. Chow, Professor J. G. Malpas, Professor Peter K. H. Tam and Professor Amy B. M. Tsui. The academic staff population is over 800.
Professor Ian Davies was the Vice-Chancellor for two years before a worldwide search culminated in the selection of Professor Lap-Chee Tsui as the new head of the University in 2002.
The business school (now the Faculty of Business and Economics) was founded by Gordon Redding.
The university is a founding member of Universitas 21, an international consortium of research-led universities. HKU benefits from a large operating budget supplied by high levels of government funding compared to many Western countries. Since 1991, the Research Grants Council (RGC) has granted the University of Hong Kong a total of HK$893 million, the highest amount amongst all eight universities in the territory [1]. HKU professors were among the highest paid in the world as well, having salaries far exceeding those of their U.S. counterparts in private universities. However, with the reduction of salaries in recent years, this is no longer the case.
100 members of academic staff (>10% of professoriate staff) from HKU are ranked among the world's top 1% of scientists by the ISI, by means of the citations recorded on their publications. [2]
According to the latest profile indicators [3], the student population of the University was 21,652 in 2008–2009, comprising 11,962 undergraduates, 7,326 taught postgraduates and 2,364 research postgraduates. There were 2,068 non-local students (2008–2009) studying at the university.
HKU attracts some of the best students from the World in Hong Kong. For the last five years, the university has admitted less than 50% of all the Hong Kong A-level Grade-A students. It accepts most of its undergraduate students from Form 7 graduates of local secondary schools through the Joint University Programmes Admissions System (JUPAS). The University also operates an Early Admissions Scheme (EAS) which allows Form 6 students with at least 6 Grade A in the HKCEE (local schools) or at least 6 A* in GCSE or IGCSE (international schools) results to join the university without sitting the Hong Kong A-Level Examination. In 2009, over 50% of all Early Admissions Scheme applicants put HKU as their first choice.
The university comprises 10 faculties and a number of non-faculty academic units, which provide study programmes and courses for students (source: http://hku.hk):
HKU SPACE was established in 1956 to provide continuing education on a wide range of subjects, for instance, Japanese language courses and Mandarin language courses. HKU SPACE runs its programmes without subsidy from the Hong Kong Government and has recently evolved into a community college-type institution, somewhat similar to community colleges in the US.[15]
HKU SPACE Community College was established in March 2000. It mainly provides sub-degree programmes for Form 5 or Form 7 graduates to further their studies. There are three main streams of programmes provided, they are Higher Diploma Programmes (2-year and 3-year full time), Pre-Associate Degree (1-year full time) and Associate Degree (2-year full time).
HKU Libraries (HKUL) was established in 1912 and is the oldest academic library in Hong Kong with over 2.3 million holdings. A web-based library catalogue, DRAGON, allows one to search HKUL's books, journals and other resources.
HKUL now comprises the Main Library and six specialist branch libraries, the Dental, Education, Fung Ping Shan (East Asian Language), Yu Chun Keung Medical, Lui Che Woo Law and the Music Library. They are located in buildings around the campus with varying opening hours.
The HKUL Digital Initiatives, through its digitization projects, has opened up online access to local collections originally in print format. The first HKUL Digital Initiative, ExamBase, was launched in 1996 and other projects of scholarly interests were introduced. More digital projects are being developed to provide continuous access to digital content and services. It provides open access to Chinese and English academic and medical periodicals published in Hong Kong.
These include:
Mostly male and female with shared room types unless specified.
There are two officially recognised student bodies, giving opportunities for students to participate in extracurricular activities.
The Hong Kong University Students' Union (HKUSU) principally serves the undergraduate students. This organization is renowned amongst student activists, having been the main driving force behind evicting a chancellor in recent years. There was controversy when the head of the Students' Union, Ayo Chan, said that some of the protesters involved in the Tiananmen Square Massacre had acted irrationally.[16] Many students thought his remarks were offensive and he was ousted by a vote in under one week. The Postgraduate Students Association (PGSA) represents the postgraduate students.
The University of Hong Kong has educated many notable people. One of them was Dr Sun Yat-sen, founding president of the Republic of China, who was a graduate of the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese, the predecessor of HKU. Over 40 principal officials, permanent secretaries, and Executive Council/Legislative Council members of the Hong Kong SAR Government are HKU graduates. HKU graduates also form the senior management teams of many large organisations in the private sector.
In 2009, the Times Higher Education Supplement ranked the University of Hong Kong 24th in the world. Student welfare is served by several units, including the Centre of Development and Resources for Students (CEDARS), which provides guidance for most areas of student life; and University Health Service, which provides health care, referrals and preventive services. This student run organization offers more than 100 clubs and associations catering to the student population.
Students from abroad will be assigned to a local student with whom they can correspond with prior to their departure for Hong Kong. These local students greet the visiting students upon arrival at the airport, assist with settling into student residence and offer advice and support during their stay.[17]
More than 3,000 students have participated in the exchange programmes through universities spanning 18 countries around the world with the support of the University Grants Committee, the University of Hong Kong Foundation for Educational Development and Research, the Hongkong Bank Foundation, the UBC Alumni Association (Hong Kong), the Dr. Lee Shiu Scholarships for Hong Kong and South-East Asia Academic Exchange, Shell (Hong Kong) Limited, and the C.V. Starr Scholarship Fund and other donations.[18]
In addition to increased academic research and development, HKU aims to promote continuing education to the public, through improved links between the University and the School of Professional and Continuing Education (SPACE).
HKU is also trying to better its alumni and external network for financially sustainable development.[19]
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