What is the educational model and future of the University of Hong Kong?
Going to college is for a good development prospect, and going to Hong Kong University is for a good future! So what is the educational philosophy of the University of Hong Kong? What is the future after finishing Hong Kong University? This article will help you!
As a completely different environment and system from the Mainland, the University of Hong Kong is very popular with mainland candidates, parents and even relevant scholars, but its specific situation is actually unknown to most mainlanders. What kind of school are they, and what kind of educational philosophy and teaching system do they pursue? What kind of education and training will students receive there, what kind of development direction will they have and what kind of future will they have?
In particular, it is pointed out that this year is the last year of the transition period of China's commitment to open education when it joins the WTO, and the full opening of the education market is not far off. It is more meaningful to know how universities in Hong Kong operate.
At present, there are 8 universities and many colleges in Hong Kong. The eight universities are: University of Hong Kong, Chinese University, University of Science and Technology, Polytechnic University, Lingnan University, Baptist University, City University and College of Education. Among them, the first three are the strongest.
The University of Hong Kong was formally established in 19 1 1 with a history of nearly a hundred years, and it is also the oldest of the eight universities in Hong Kong. Together with the Chinese University of Hong Kong, it is the only two comprehensive universities in Hong Kong, including the School of Architecture, the School of Art, the School of Economics and the School of Business Administration. In 2004, it ranked 39th among the top 200 universities in the world published by The Times.
The Chinese University of Hong Kong consists of four colleges. Except for resource allocation and enrollment policy, which is managed by the central government, all academies are administratively independent and enjoy the freedom of cultural development of academies. These four academies all have their own backgrounds. Like Xinya Academy, it was founded by a group of famous scholars, such as Qian Mu, Tang Junyi and Zhang, and became the academic center of contemporary China, especially in history and culture. Chung Chi College was founded by representatives of the Christian Church in Hong Kong, so it was influenced by Christian culture.
Unlike the first two universities, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology has a short history. 1988 was founded, and 199 1 10 officially started school. However, in just over a decade, it has ranked 42nd in The Times' ranking of the top 200 universities in the world. In the mode of running a school, HKUST imitates American public universities, and 75% of teachers have obtained doctoral degrees from 62 first-class research universities in North America.
In Hong Kong, generally speaking, people will think that the established Hong Kong University is the representative of British education, while the Chinese University is deeply influenced by China culture, while the up-and-coming HKUST is a typical American education. However, Professor Lu Naigui, Dean of the Hong Kong Institute of Education and the Chinese University of Hong Kong, believes that they are all exploring their own paths and are a mixed and Hong Kong-style education model.
Zhang Xingang, president of the City University of Hong Kong, expressed his school-running philosophy to this reporter in this way: he attached importance to the mutual cooperation between humanistic spirit and scientific and technological achievements, and advocated academic freedom, freedom of speech and freedom of information circulation. I have been a principal for almost 1 1 years. My philosophy of running a school is simple, that is, to make the school more like a university.
Zheng, vice president of the Chinese University, summed up their school-running philosophy in more concise words: the combination of tradition and modernity, and the combination of Chinese and Western.
Eight universities in Hong Kong are all public universities. Each university is established in accordance with the relevant laws of Hong Kong. The law generally stipulates the rights and responsibilities, privileges and structure of universities, and the right to amend these provisions belongs only to the Hong Kong Legislative Council.
Ding Xueliang, a professor in the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and a senior researcher at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in the United States, told China Newsweek that the Hong Kong government has set up a special university funding committee to allocate government funding for education through irregular research and evaluation. Government financial allocation is generally used for the daily operation of schools; Social donations are generally used for a specific matter, such as setting up scholarships, establishing research institutes and building facilities.
Although these eight universities are all public, the government is not directly involved in management. According to Zheng, according to the laws and regulations of Hong Kong, the highest decision-making body of a university is the board of directors. The chairman of the school board is appointed by the Chief Executive of Hong Kong, and the members of the board of directors are nominated by the chairman and approved by the Chief Executive. More than half of these members are influential people outside the school, such as legislators, celebrities in business and education, etc. The directors of the school are composed of the headmaster, the dean of the college and some famous professors. At present, all colleges and universities in Hong Kong will control the number of members of the management committee to less than 30, and each director has a fixed term.
The most important decision in the school must be made by the school board. For example, hiring a principal means that members of the school board form a special group to conduct open recruitment all over the world.
However, most of the daily work of the school, especially academic and teaching work, is handled by the academic affairs Committee. The Academic Affairs Committee consists of professors and student representatives, of which professors are the majority. As long as it is a decision on educational affairs, the school board will respect the relevant decisions of the Senate.
An analysis of the education system and employment in Hong Kong universities
Ding Xueliang in his book "What is a world-class university? This book introduces the employment process of HKUST teachers. Whenever there is a vacancy, the department will set up a special recruitment committee and publish recruitment information in several Chinese and English professional journals. The committee is composed of experienced young teachers. After several rounds of screening and secret ballot, the candidate was selected. Relevant grades and opinions of the dean of the department shall be reviewed by the college and finally submitted to the school for approval before employment.
Liu Jitong, a doctoral student at the Chinese University of Hong Kong and now teaching at the peking university health science center School of Public Health, told the reporter of China Newsweek that at present, the employment of new teachers in Hong Kong universities is on a contract basis, usually once every three years.
In addition to the teacher recruitment system, the evaluation system for teachers in Hong Kong is also very strict. Zheng summarized the evaluation and promotion indicators of teachers into four points. First of all, it is the academic achievements of teachers; Second, his teaching level; Third, it is the social service of teachers; This includes participating in different social organizations, such as government consultation meetings and professional organizations, which are all non-profit; Fourth, it is the contribution to schools and institutions. Relevant review is also completed by an academic review committee composed of teachers.
Tao Jin, a freshman in the Department of Industrial Engineering and Logistics Management of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, is currently participating in a self-funded summer exchange program at UCLA. The exam is coming. I spend most of my time reviewing fluid mechanics in my room, but I also travel to Las Vegas when I have time. This summer exchange opportunity was learned through the email she sent to every student from school. Generally, schools will send students various internship information and exchange opportunities by mail. Students only need to fill in the relevant application forms to participate in such exchange activities.
In Hong Kong universities, this kind of international exchange is very common. According to Zheng, the Chinese University of China provides more than 2,400 international exchange places of different lengths for undergraduates every year. China University has carried out student exchange programs with more than 80 famous universities at home and abroad, including Harvard, Yale and Cornell.
The situation of HKU and HKUST is basically similar to that of CUHK. According to the data, there are no less than 400 student exchange programs in the three schools every year. Pan Zongguang of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University told this magazine: We have 500 exchange student places every year. Half of the exchange schools are in the mainland and half are overseas. Our goal is to help our students have the opportunity to leave their hometown before graduation. Now we have accomplished half of this goal.
Students from all over the world also poured into the Hong Kong campus. According to Sun Yuanjia, a graduate student in the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences at HKUST, you can see people with different skin colors at any time, and even the composition of teachers is diverse.
According to the official data of HKU in 2004-2005, among the more than 1 000 students, there are more than 1 000 non-local students from 35 different countries and regions in the world.
Duan Haiyan is a senior at the School of Government Administration of Peking University. In her junior year, she went to the Chinese University of Hong Kong as an exchange student for half a year. During her stay in CUHK, she took an advanced German course. What he admires is that the teacher is German, and the level of German and English is self-evident, even Cantonese and Mandarin can be converted freely.
Yoko, a sophomore in biochemistry department of HKUST, also lamented that even my 1 elective course "History of China" was a doctor who graduated from Yale University.
According to Zheng, all teachers are openly recruited from all over the world, and 95% of them have academic qualifications from famous foreign universities. Zheng believes that every teacher who comes back from a famous international school will have his international network of contacts, which will keep the school in close contact with famous schools all over the world and give our courses, teaching and management a good international background.
International communication is not only about people from abroad. All the people who have studied in the University of Hong Kong are deeply impressed by the richness and rapidity of the school's information resources. Associate Professor Sui Yujie, a doctoral student at the University of Hong Kong and currently teaching at the School of Social and Population Studies at Renmin University of China, told this magazine that the books and information systems of the University of Hong Kong are very comprehensive, especially the latest achievements in the international field, which can be retrieved at any time.
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Professor Liu Jitong also has a deep understanding of this. He remembers a British academic journal called Social Policy. In the CUHK Library, you can even find every issue since it was founded in the early 20th century.