The Hang Seng University of Hong Kong

Together We Fight through Adversity

Friday May 29th, 2020

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, HSUHK has implemented a series of precautionary measures to prevent the further spread of the pandemic and safeguard the health of our students, teachers and staff, while doing our best to mitigate the impact on teaching and learning.

Following the government’s guidelines, HSUHK has adopted various preventive cleaning and disinfection measures regarding management of the campus environment and hygiene. With respect to the teaching and learning arrangements, we have suspended all face-to-face classes beginning in early February and moved to online teaching in order to reduce the risk of spreading the virus through groups of people. Special arrangements have also been made for final examinations and assessments. Furthermore, flexible working arrangements were introduced so that staff of different departments or units, except for those providing emergency or essential services, could work from home or in shifts to minimise risks according to the departmental needs.

Meanwhile, the HSUHK management team has not forgotten to stay connected with students, teachers, staff, alumni and the community to listen to their needs. Flexible measures supporting students’ learning or employment and after class activities have also been arranged.

The hard times are not totally over yet. However, united we stand and we shall overcome.

Along with President Ho amid the Pandemic

Video Series of the President’s Dialogue with Professor Ronald Chiu

Stepping into 2020, with the COVID-19 rapid global outbreak, Hong Kong has faced another round of challenges. With host Professor (Practice) Ronald Chiu of School of Communication (SCOM), President Simon S M Ho shared with us his feelings and reflections on the pandemic, as well as how he has led the HSUHK team to cope with the virus in a three-part video series titled ‘Along with President Ho amid the Pandemic’.

President Ho first expressed his sincere gratitude to all frontline essential workers for their commitment to safeguarding the health of Hong Kong people. Apart from a number of urgent campus precautionary measures, HSUHK has put together its resources in a concerted effort for alternative arrangements to minimise the impacts of the situation on teaching and learning, as well as standing ready to assist staff and students when needed. He is proud of the grit and team spirit that defines the HSUHK community. He appreciated the demonstrations of cooperation, patience, resilience and responsiveness of HSUHKers throughout this challenging period, allowing the University to manage issues efficiently and in an orderly manner.

Although the University has come across difficulties shifting from face-to-face teaching to online teaching, President Ho was grateful that students and colleagues were all united during the process. “Online teaching requires more preparations from teachers than normal classes. Teachers have to revise their subject lesson plans, assessment details and teaching materials, and adopt new ways to interact with students. Without the collective efforts from students and colleagues, we wouldn’t have made it.” President Ho said that teachers have thought more about how to turn ‘teaching’ into more ‘learning’ when having real-time video teaching.

Apart from modes of teaching and learning, there has been significant changes in our daily lives. President Ho thinks that the pandemic gave us opportunities to slow down, pause and reflect our life values. He reminded us, “social distancing or self-isolation does not mean ‘social isolation’. Even if we can’t meet in person, we can still show our deeper care towards one another. We can take this opportunity to express more care for our family members, friends and colleagues, through phone calls or e-messaging.” President Ho further pointed out that the pandemic has affected almost all sectors, with some businesses folding; yet it also created new opportunities for many others.

Last but not least, President Ho said that members of the community have been rational, calm and positive during the fight against COVID-19. He believes that after the pandemic, there would be a new vista on life and work, leading to a better tomorrow.

Click the links below to watch the videos:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

The President’s Sharing in the Media

In addition to internal communication with students and staff, President Simon Ho has actively communicated with the public and other stakeholders through various media channels during the pandemic:

• Metro Finance Channel’s Hong Kong Cheer Up! : Inspirations and Reflections amid the Pandemic

As the guest host of the Metro Finance Channel’s radio programme Hong Kong Cheer Up! on 9 May 2020, President Simon Ho shared with the audience his inspirations and reflections amid the pandemic. He also selected seven touching songs to cheer up Hongkongers.

President Ho said that, as part of a global community, none of us are able to meet common challenges alone amid the pandemic. Though we have faced a lot of challenges and difficulties amid the COVID-19 outbreak, it was also a good time for us to learn lessons and reflect. President Ho shared that the pandemic reminds us that health is invaluable and we need to look after ourselves to avoid infections or sickness; we should also strengthen our physical, psychological and value immunity system – the last of which means to firmly uphold our values and learn to further strengthen our faith during hard times. It has also reminded us of the importance of family and family members’ caring, especially during difficult times.

President Ho went on to share that humans are tiny in face of nature and a small virus is able to stop the whole world, therefore we should stay humble. The pandemic also teaches us that all people are equal and we need to treat all people equally especially during crises; people need to be connected without borders, even though the virus is transmitted through borders. What’s more, human beings should show more love and care to our environment, ecology and our own lives. Further, some failures of Western capitalism and consumerism should also be addressed, stopping selfish executives and investors to maximise returns at the costs of other stakeholders. Finally, President Ho thought that the pandemic and other diseases were a call for human compassion.

Click the links below to listen to the programme:
Part 1
Part 2

• Cable TV’s GBA Direct : The Impacts of the Pandemic on Fresh Graduate

President Simon Ho was interviewed by Cable TV’s programme GBA Direct about the impacts of the pandemic on university fresh graduates’ employment this year. He also made suggestions regarding the government’s corresponding relief measures. The programme was broadcast on 11 May 2020 on the Finance Info Channel at Cable TV and its online platform.

Because of the slower pace of recruitment by corporations and reduced job vacancies, President Ho predicted that more graduates would choose to further their studies this year. He suggested that the government could allow graduates to defer repayment of student loans and provide short-term internship or training subsidies to fresh graduates who were unable to find a job temporarily so as to relieve their employment pressure. President Ho also encouraged this year’s fresh graduates to prepare earlier, to be more proactive and to better equip themselves for recruitment activities.

Click here to watch the programme

• Hong Kong Open TV’s Mega Showdown: The Challenges and Opportunities amid the Pandemic

In the ‘Party with Presidents’ section of the Mega Showdown broadcast on Hong Kong Open TV on 13 May 2020, President Simon Ho shared about the challenges and opportunities encountered by society, staff, students, as well as fresh graduates amid the pandemic, with the programme host Dr Ching Hui.

President Ho reminded us that we should adopt a rational, calm, cautious and positive attitude during adversity, while strengthening the connections between people around the globe and reflecting on the values of human society. He pointed out that this year’s graduates would face immense challenges, but there was no need to be overly pessimistic because many large employers still planned to recruit the same number of university graduates as in past years, although the recruitment pace would be slower. He encouraged graduating students to be more proactive in job searches, to be better prepared and well-equipped, and not to be too picky in selecting jobs this year as it is more important for them to gain work experience at this stage.

In addition, President Ho believes that for this year, most tertiary institutions would commence the new academic term later because of the postponement or cancellation of several local and non-local public examinations. He emphasised that HSUHK does not only considered public examination results in student admissions, but also takes other factors into consideration, such as recommendations from principals, individual statements, and interview performance. HSUHK will issue admission notice as early as possible to reduce students’ worries. He also encouraged this year’s Form-6 students to keep up their perseverance and confidence in handling new challenges in further studies.

President Ho remarked that both students and teachers have had to try new teaching and learning methods during the pandemic but real-time video teaching provided a good opportunity for them to experiment with some new pedagogies such as flipped classrooms or blended teaching. President Ho also mentioned that universities play a crucial role in sustaining and reinforcing some universal core values and unity of the community during this difficult time.

Click here to watch the programme

On the Campus Frontline against the Pandemic

Interview with Dr Hackman Lee
Head of Campus Development and Management

Staff and students of HSUHK must have noticed the implementation of various epidemic preventive measures on campus during the pandemic: wearing masks on campus is compulsory for everyone; temperature checks are conducted by security staff for everyone entering campus at the entrances of the S H Ho and Lee Quo Wei Academic Buildings and the Lee Shau Kee Complex; hand sanitisers are provided at different corners; and more frequent cleaning work by our cleaning staff who are often seen wiping doors and window glass. All these epidemic prevention works are carried out by the Campus Development and Management Office (CDMO) led by Dr Hackman Lee.

Responsible for managing the campus environment and facilities, CDMO stands on the frontline to fight against this unprecedented pandemic to safeguard the health of students and staff. Though a veteran in the property management sector, Dr Lee says that he has never encountered a situation like the COVID-19. “Our top priority is to ensure that the frontline staff, including security staff, cleaning staff and maintenance workers, have adequate safety protection, so that they are worry-free when implementing the preventive measures.”

The hygienic condition of the campus plays a key role in preventing the spread of the pandemic, so does CDMO. Based on the guidelines issued by The Centre for Health Protection (CHP), the management team of HSUHK refines and formulates each of the precautionary measures according to the actual situation of the University, then CDMO comes into play in all the follow-up execution. Dr Lee explains, “firstly, we enforce the ‘closed management’ and set up the automatic body temperature sensors at the two entrances of the campus, with portable thermometers, to measure the temperature of people entering the campus. Similar measures are also applied to the Residential Colleges. Besides, we offer hand sanitisers at various locations on campus. We also distribute face masks to staff and students.” In order to cope with unpredictable situations more effectively in the future, Dr Lee adds that the University will order more sterilisers, gloves and face masks. They will also increase stockpiles of equipment like goggles and protective gowns.

The cleaning, maintenance and repair work on HSUHK’s campus, small but complete in every detail, are no easy tasks. Yet they have been further upgraded with the preventive measures during the pandemic. “Our cleaning staff regularly wipe the frequently-touched surfaces such as elevator buttons, door handles, handrails and so on, using bleach of different concentrations according to the frequencies of their uses. Some are wiped twice every half hour at most. We also increase the frequency of cleaning toilets in every academic building from 4-5 times a day to 7-8 times a day.”

Since HSUHK has put great emphasis on the sustainable development of campus, the energy consumption, lighting and ventilation systems of the buildings are in compliance with the requirements of the Environmental Impact Assessment. To further protect the health of staff and students, Dr Lee remarks that CDMO has strengthened the cleaning and filtering of air circulation and exhaust systems: the air conditioning and air circulation systems of new buildings have been enhanced for better ventilation with the use of disinfectants to clean the dust traps every two weeks; they have also upgraded the ventilators in the old buildings, and advised colleagues to open the windows regularly for adequate fresh air indoors. In light of this pandemic, CDMO will also incorporate epidemic prevention elements into future building maintenance strategies.

Looking back the journey in fighting against the COVID-19, Dr Lee is grateful for the strong support from the University’s management and the cooperation of all staff. “The pandemic has given us valuable lessons to develop a better approach to campus management in the future.”