The following is an interview record:
Moderator: Hello, netizens, I'm glad to meet you in the chat room. The college entrance examination in 2006 is coming, and eight universities in Hong Kong will continue to recruit students in the Mainland this year. How to apply for the University of Hong Kong has become a topic of concern to students and parents. Today, we are honored to have Mr. Wei Yonggeng, Dean of the University of Hong Kong, to answer your questions. First of all, please ask Teacher Wei to say hello to Sina users.
Provost Wei Yonggeng: Hello netizens!
Moderator: May I ask Mr. Wei to introduce the overall situation of HKU?
Provost Wei Yonggeng: Let me introduce the history of HKU first. The earliest medical college in Hong Kong was established in 1887. When it was first established, there were only two students, one graduated from 1893, and the other was Dr. Sun Yat-sen, who was the earliest alumnus of our Hong Kong University. The university itself was founded in 19 1 1, and it has a history of 95 years. This university is a comprehensive research university. Our majors include arts, science, social sciences, education, dentistry, medicine, architecture, engineering and law. There are ten colleges, and most comprehensive universities offer courses that should be offered. This is the sixth year that we have enrolled students in the Mainland. We welcome mainland students to apply for HKU, and our courses are open to all mainland students.
Moderator: Please introduce the major with strong comprehensive strength of HKU.
Provost Wei Yonggeng: It's hard for me to say which of our majors is stronger. In the mba exam, we feel that each major has its own strengths. Now the most popular majors are all in Hong Kong, and medical school is more popular. I know mainland students may have different interests. In addition, our law, business administration, finance, economy and social sciences are very popular with mainland students, and we also hope to recruit some students in science and engineering.
Moderator: Applying to HKU may be another choice for our excellent high flyers, but we don't know much about applying. What are the ways for our students to apply for the University of Hong Kong?
Provost Wei Yonggeng: Students do not need to apply for HKU through unified recruitment in the Mainland. We enroll students independently. If students are interested, the deadline for registration is May 3 1. Mba students can download the application form online. Tomorrow, we will give a lecture on Peking University in Peking University Audiovisual Auditorium from 1 1: 30 to 12: 30 in the morning. We will arrange for students to take our written test, mainly English test. After the college entrance examination, we will screen students to participate in our interview, and refer to the candidates' college entrance examination results, English scores and interview results as our selection list.
We mainly choose students based on his college entrance examination results, our English scores and interview results. Students' college entrance examination scores are a very important part. Besides the college entrance examination, we also look at students' English scores and interview results.
Moderator: How do you set the English test scores?
Provost Wei Yonggeng: We take the English test ourselves. The mba exam is divided into three parts, one is to test students' reading ability, the other is to test students' cultural ability, and the third is to ask students to write an article. In addition, look at students' English writing ability. In addition, our interview is conducted in English, mainly to see the students' achievements in reading, writing, understanding and speaking. Because we arranged the exam ourselves, there is no need for open selection criteria. Generally speaking, make sure that students choose the University of Hong Kong. In listening, reading and expression, all subjects in our university are taught in English. The most important thing is to see if there are any problems when students study. Our main requirement is to make students feel that they can keep up with our courses.
Moderator: You have been enrolling students here for six years. In these six years, because we mainly speak Mandarin here, are there any classmates who can't adapt to you? Is there a transition period to adapt them to this kind of study?
Provost Wei Yonggeng: The arrangement of our university is a little different from other universities, because in Hong Kong, our middle school is seven years, and the university is three years, which is not quite the same as the six-year and four-year system in the mainland, so some of our courses may be taken in the first year of the mainland university and already in the seventh year of the Hong Kong middle school, so after we admit our classmates, they will have a year to study in the sister schools in the mainland for one year, and then go to Hong Kong, such as students in Beijing. Mainly studying in Tsinghua Peking University for one year, and then studying in Hong Kong for our second year in the second year. The whole academic system can be matched, because Hong Kong is a seven-year middle school and a three-year university, and they study in the mainland for one year. We arranged for them to study in our brother university for one year and then come to Hong Kong. The year of mba examination gave them the opportunity to change from middle school environment to university environment.
After arriving in Hong Kong, we will hold some courses in the summer vacation for students to learn Cantonese in Hong Kong. They certainly don't need to know Cantonese in their studies, but they need to know Cantonese in their lives. In addition, we will arrange for classmates to be their sisters and brothers, that is, one classmate will take one classmate and let them settle down. In addition, we didn't put mainland students or international students in a dormitory called the International Building. We didn't do that. We arranged for our classmates to live, live and have activities with our local classmates in Hong Kong. So my experience is that after one semester, students can communicate with their classmates no matter in their homework or after school.
Netizen: Is there a difference between winter vacation and summer vacation in Hong Kong?
Provost Wei Yonggeng: We have two semesters a year. The mba exam is mainly one semester in autumn. We will have a holiday at the end of the year. After the new year, another semester will have a summer vacation, and we have a holiday. Many mainland students can use their holidays to go home for a holiday and then come back, which is similar to the academic system in mainland China.
Moderator: So students here don't have to worry, the learning system there is similar to ours. It's just that our mainland has a transitional period.
Provost Wei Yonggeng: This situation will change in the future. Now the whole education system in Hong Kong is also changing. By 20 12, Hong Kong will keep pace with the mainland, with three years of junior high school, three years of senior high school and four years of university.
Netizen: What are the characteristics of HKU compared with famous universities in Chinese mainland?
Provost Wei Yonggeng: I think every school must have its own special place. I think the mba exam is quite special. It is an international environment for domestic international universities and international cities. Therefore, all our universities teach in English, 45% of our teachers are non-China, and our students come from more than 50 countries. For example, on the one hand, we study international law, on the other hand, we also have English common law. For example, the Medical College and the University of Hong Kong have made a lot of contributions to SARS. The main contribution is that we are close to the mainland, we get some samples of mainland patients, and we do experiments. But at the same time, because we are in an international city, we also have very close cooperation with the World Health Organization, which is also our advantage. Our main advantage is that we are in Hong Kong, because Hong Kong is a city that combines Chinese and Western cultures, a real international city, a financial city and an economic center. Comparatively speaking, these aspects make the teaching and research arrangements of some of our majors different from those of universities in other places.
Netizen: What's the difference between Hong Kong University and British and American universities?
Provost Wei Yonggeng: At first, the University of Hong Kong adopted the British school-running model. Later, around 1996 and 1997, we carried out a great teaching reform. We changed the course. Now the credit system is used, and it is gradually moving towards the American model. At present, our courses and teaching methods are actually mixed with those in Britain and America. For example, in teaching, we attach the most importance to "holistic education" because every school advocates "holistic education". What's going on here? Our understanding and model may be different from other universities. In the mba exam, our educational philosophy holds that classroom education is a very important part and a major part, but it does not represent the whole education. In addition to the education received in the classroom, we also arrange for students to participate in other activities. Our dormitory is not just a place for students to eat and sleep. We arrange for students to go overseas as exchange students. We only arrange students to study during summer vacation or year-end internship. We also arrange for students to participate in the management of universities. When we add up the whole, it is called "holistic education". We don't study in any country. Anglo-American model, we mix all the education models that we think are the most effective and beneficial to students, because we are not in Britain or the United States, but in international cities, and we have the advantage to do these things.
Moderator: Now let's continue to answer questions from netizens.
Netizen: I am a sophomore, and I really want to go to the University of Hong Kong. What suggestions and requirements do you have for those students who are still a long way from the college entrance examination and are interested in applying for HKU? What did you say you should pay attention to during the interview just now?
Provost Wei Yonggeng: This student has such plans and ideals. I like the mba exam. First, this student must do well in the college entrance examination, because as I said just now, one of the main conditions for us to choose a student is the college entrance examination, and we must do well in the college entrance examination.
In addition, if this student is interested in studying at HKU, he should pay more attention to English. Our main subject is English. We have written English test and interview. We don't need any preparation for the interview. Students should not find cram schools to face our interviews. Each student has two interview methods. First of all, let the students meet our professor, so that the professor can understand some students' backgrounds, what subjects he studied at school, what activities he participated in, whether he participated in any competitions, whether he won any prizes, whether he has any future ambitions and what plans he has for his career after finishing college. This is the conversation between a classmate and two or even three professors. After this interview, we also have a group discussion. Five or six students discuss a topic together, and several professors give a topic for these five or six students to discuss. These discussions don't need to be prepared, because the questions we usually give are not wrong or the right answers. It is to let students express their opinions, debate the mba exam by themselves, see his thinking, and see his expressive ability and English ability. We won't ask our classmates some book questions, but we will ask some very simple questions. The most important thing is to have a good college entrance examination. In addition, if you have time, you should work hard on English, read some English novels or books, watch foreign movies, listen to English and do these things.
In addition, we should be mentally prepared. Parents may be very interested. If your child is a sophomore, take advantage of this year to get to know Hong Kong. As I said just now, we have accepted mainland students for six years. Many of our classmates are known to him. Those who graduated from high school earlier than him and went to Hong Kong to study, please ask them to know more about what kind of city Hong Kong is. Because many students know Hong Kong from movies, they may not be completely correct, so they should make more preparations in these aspects.