The Manifestation of “Erudition and Perseverance”
The year 2020 marks the ruby jubilee of HSUHK. In its 40 years of history, HSUHK has always upheld the founding motto “Erudition and Perseverance” to cultivate not only our students’ humanistic qualities, but also their professional skills, with the goal of nurturing students to be visionary and responsible future leaders of society.
The origins of “Erudition and Perseverance” come from the chapters “Zhongyong” (The Doctrine of the Mean) and “Xueji” (The Record on the Subject of Education) in Liji (The Book of Rites), one of the Chinese classics describing the social forms, administration and ceremonial rites of ancient China. “Erudition” means to acquire comprehensive knowledge and be innovative in a magnanimous and lenient manner; while “Perseverance” means to be dedicated and persistent despite difficulties with a never-give-up spirit. What the motto advocates is therefore a combination of knowledge and practice, encouraging us to apply academic knowledge in real life and advance learning outcomes through practice.
To manifest “Erudition and Perseverance” and put it into practice, HSUHK has developed a unique Liberal + Professional education model. “Liberal” means a broad-based and cross-disciplinary approach to connect different knowledge domains that facilitate thinking and solve problems. “Professional” means to equip students with the competencies to enter particular professions through our targeted programmes. We believe this education model benefits the future career development of our students and helps cultivate their personal values, interests and transferrable core competencies, so that they are better prepared to handle future work and life challenges with confidence.
The Transformative Power of Liberal + Professional Education Model
While inspiring the all-round development of students, the transformative power of HSUHK’s unique Liberal + Professional education model also leads the way to numerous milestones that all staff and students are proud of, of which our transformation in the last decade is particularly impressive. In the past 10 years, we grew from a post-secondary school offering mainly programmes in commerce, to a private university now with five Schools providing diverse major programmes. Such rapid development is not only encouraging, but also demonstrates the dynamic and innovative spirit of HSUHK. We have not become satisfied with our current success but always strive to creating more possibilities for the future.
In celebrating the 40th anniversary, it’s the moment for us to look back our development path and recall the contributions and missions of our founders and the people would have contributed to HSUHK’s accomplishments. It’s also a time for us to look forward and formulate a long-term strategy for curriculum design, academic research, student development, campus development and public engagement, for a brighter HSUHK in the coming decade.
HSUHK Development Path
The Beginning of HSUHK: Hang Seng School of Commerce
The roots of The Hang Seng University of Hong Kong (HSUHK) reach back to 1980 when Hang Seng School of Commerce (HSSC) was established, with funding from the S H Ho Foundation, the Ho Tim Charitable Foundation, Dah Chong Hong Limited, several Hang Seng Bank founding directors and Hang Seng Bank Limited.
Founders of Hang Seng Bank had a profound understanding of the importance of education and a mission to contribute to the education of the young generation in their hearts. Already from 1963, Hang Seng Bank had provided 6-week Elementary Banking Programme for the staff, and the course was then extended to outsiders for free as requested by clients and friends. This inspired Dr Sin-hang Ho, one of the founders of Hang Seng Bank, to establish HSSC.
In 1969, Dr Sin-hang Ho, the then Chairman of Hang Seng Bank, proposed to set up a non-profit full-time educational institution offering programmes to Form 5 graduates for the future development of Hong Kong financial sector. Meanwhile, Sir Quo-wei Lee, the then General Manager of Hang Seng Bank, applied for land allocation with exemption of land premium from the Government for building the campus.
In 1974, the Government granted a site in Sha Tin new town, allowing for the establishment of HSSC. The Foundation Stone Laying Ceremony was held on 2 November 1979, and the construction of HSSC campus was completed within 10 months in time for the commencement of the new school term in September 1980. This is a demonstration of the unique determination and motivation of the Hong Kong people.
HSSC Turning to HSMC
HSSC steadily developed a reputation as a top post-secondary school in commerce. In 2010, HSSC was re-structured and became Hang Seng Management College (HSMC), a degree-granting institution registered under the Post Secondary Colleges Ordinance (Cap 320), marking its development with big strides towards delivering university programmes. The College first launched with three degree programmes, namely Bachelor of Business Administration (Honours), Bachelor of Business Administration (Honours) in Supply Chain Management and Bachelor of Translation with Business (Honours). The Bachelor of Journalism and Communication (Honours) Programme was also granted approval and commenced in September 2011. Several campus extension facilities were also completed during these times as HSMC, including Block A (now the S H Ho Academic Building), Block B (now the Lee Shau Kee Complex), Block D (now the Lee Quo Wei Academic Building) and the HSMC Square (now Wei Lun Square).
Renaming as The Hang Seng University of Hong Kong
On 30 October 2018, after rigorous institutional assessments, HSMC was granted approval by the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) to be renamed as “The Hang Seng University of Hong Kong” (HSUHK), as the first accredited self-financing degree-granting institution to acquire the university title according to the criteria under the HKSAR Government’s Roadmap for Becoming a Private University issued in 2015.
HSUHK currently has five Schools (Business, Communication, Decision Sciences, Humanities and Social Science, and Translation) offering a wide range of four-year bachelor’s (honours) degree programmes and master’s degree programmes. Many of these programmes are unique and the first of their kind in the region. All programmes were accredited by the Hong Kong Council for Accreditation of Academic and Vocational Qualifications (HKCAAVQ), and recognised by the governments of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Mainland China and Taiwan.
Proactive Developments Gaining Public and Industry Recognition
Growing rapidly, HSUHK has attained a number of achievements in recent years, which include:
- HSUHK obtained the ISO 9001 Certification in Quality Management System (QMS) on its degree programmes, as well as a full score of 5.0 in the CSR Index assessment on the University, both issued by the Hong Kong Quality Assurance Agency.
- From 2014-15 to 2019-20, HSUHK has secured more than HK$164 million for 137 research projects and 8 teaching development projects from different external funding schemes/bodies. In the six-year cumulative period since 2014/15, HSUHK received the highest funding amount and the highest number of research projects awarded by the Research Grants Council’s Competitive Research Funding Schemes for the Local Self-financing Degree Sector.
- HSUHK has established several research institutes or centres to promote and support research conducted across the University: The Deep Learning Research and Application Centre, Centre for Greater China Studies, Research Institute for Business, Policy Research Institute of Global Supply Chain, and Virtual Reality Centre.
- The Institute for Youth Sustainability Leadership and the Wu Jieh Yee Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship were set up to cultivate students’ global perspectives, as well as innovative and entrepreneurial mindsets.
- Established the Greater Bay Area Innogration Hub and the Centre for Asian Languages and Cultures, aiming at creating platforms for students to explore different opportunities and realise their business aspirations.
- HSUHK was the first higher education institution in Hong Kong to receive the highest BEAM+ Platinum recognition from the Hong Kong Green Building Council, with each of its four new buildings, affirming the University’s commitment to environmental protection and campus sustainability.
- HSUHK was awarded the Asia Excellence Brand Award 2018 and 2019 issued by Yazhou Zhoukan, in recognition of its education practices and leading position in the Asian region.
- HSUHK has clinched the School Corporate Social Responsibility Award (university category) issued by Mirror Post for two consecutive years (2018 and 2019) affirming the University’s efforts to shoulder social responsibilities.
- HSUHK won the Certificate of Excellence in the Hong Kong Sustainability Award 2018/19 issued by the Hong Kong Management Association in recognition of its continuous efforts in sustainable development.
- Triple Gold Award (2015, 2016 and 2018) under the Web Accessibility Recognition Scheme co-organised by Hong Kong Internet Registration Corporation Limited and the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer.
The Asia Excellence Brand Award 2018 granted by Yazhou Zhoukan
Explorations for New Milestones
HSUHK released the Strategic Plan 2018-2023 – Riding on the New Era: Private University with a Difference (5-year Strategic Plan) in 2018 to expound on the development blueprint of the University in the coming five years. To meet the needs and changes of society, HSUHK plans to explore and provide students with more diverse programmes and learning experiences according to the five strategic focus areas in the 5-year Strategic Plan , namely Robust Curriculum and Programmes; Innovative Teaching, Learning and Research; Transformative Student Experience; Dynamic Public Engagement and Advancement; and Sustainable Campus and Resources Management. Some key initiatives include:
- Establishment of the Art and Design programme and new creative disciplines.
- Establishment of a creative culture hub for planning and organising more creative cultural activities.
- Provision for the studies of foreign languages and cultures, e.g. ASEAN, Middle Eastern, Latin and European as a pioneer university in Hong Kong offering an extensive range of ASEAN language courses.
- Launch of the “One Student, One Internship” scheme allowing every undergraduate student to gain internship experience.
- Further implementation of the Residential College System to engage more non-residential students and faculty members, and to offer credit-bearing Common Core and General Education modules at the Residential Colleges.
- Enhancement of the study and application of creative technology including artificial intelligence (AI), big data analytics, blockchain and cloud computing.
- Establishment of HSUHK as a smart university, using smart technologies, developing smart applications and introducing smart practices to empower staff and students, streamline management and operations and transform teaching and learning.
Looking ahead, HSUHK will uphold the motto “Erudition and Perseverance” to implement the 5-year Strategic Plan, and keep playing a unique and substantial role in the higher education sector in Hong Kong.
President’s Message
“The year 2020 marks the 40th anniversary of the founding of HSUHK. Beyond celebrations, this is a good time for us to reminisce about the history of the University and express our gratitude to its founders. It is also a time for us to look forward and explore new areas in our education work. I am confident that our teams, students and alumni will keep developing HSUHK with unity and we will scale new heights in the future. My congratulations to HSUHK for its 40th anniversary and I wish HSUHK every success in the years to come.”
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