Dear readers,

The new school term has swimmingly started……online.  Welcome on board, anyway.  No matter what role you are playing say a freshman, sophomore, junior or senior in the University, I truly wish you a flourishing college experience to be filled with academic advancement and personal growth.  Regarding all colleagues, there is no other suitable words of describing my gratitude to them than “bravo”.  Since late spring, they have taxed their ingenuity to work out the most practicable and rational system to cater to the students’ needs of learning and teaching, co-curricular activities, campus services and infectious control.  Their diligence to keep the “University Normal” forging ahead amidst the “New Normal” is highly appreciated.  Students’ understanding and cooperation is also vital to putting the plan into practice.

Hong Kong has a pivotal role in international context.  Not only does this city occupy an important position in the history of modern China, but it is also inextricably linked with countries around the world.  Nevertheless, how much do you know about the stories of this “Pearl of the East”?

The I·CARE Hong Kong Cultural Tours Project of this academic year is now recruiting docents.  Admitted students will receive a series of professional training (e.g. content research, itinerary design and formulation, story-telling skills, and tour guiding techniques) before being engaged in developing tour routes and writing scripts in accordance with the designated themes, site visits as well as mock tours.  They will then be given chances to lead cultural tours serving secondary school students to unveil the hidden side of Hong Kong.  Details are as follows:

The Student Development Portfolio (SDP) is a university-wide electronic platform for capturing and presenting students’ Experiential Learning Activities (ELA) under the whole-person development framework namely I·CARE.  It provides students with an inventory of the informal learning opportunities on offer and facilitate their planning of a fruitful college life.  University units can also make use of the SDP to facilitate students’ enrolment for ELA and generate basic statistics for future planning of ELA.

Rolled out by this Centre in this academic year, the Mobile I·CARE is a new programme under the University Lecture on Civility aiming to connect members of the CUHK community through different activities notwithstanding the social distancing measures imposed during the volatile pandemic situation.

The University Lecture on Civility is one of the overwhelmingly received events of the I·CARE Programme.  It consists of seminars and forums that explore the relationship between men and society/ nature.  Scholars, artists and luminaries from around the world share their unique humanistic points of view with CUHK members and catalyse them to reflect on the meaning of life.

The I·CARE Community Research Scheme aims to deepen students’ understanding of the deprived communities and to foster their curiosity to explore ways of civic participation through small-scale research.  The scheme of this academic year is divided into two stages as below:

The Cross-generational Integration Programme rolled out by this Centre aims at facilitating interaction between senior citizens and the youth, so as to promote mutual understanding and respect across different generations.  The programme of this academic year will be held from November this year to March next year.  It will invite students of this university, secondary school students and elderly people at different times to visit various CUHK facilities, and to organise thematic activities in secondary schools or elderly centres.  The exchange of these groups of people is expected to be enhanced that leads to cross-generation integration.

The I·CARE Social Service Projects Scheme encourages students to organise and implement self-initiated social services.  This Centre now invites applications for funding support under the scheme of this academic year.  Details are as follows:

Have you noticed from social media lately that some students feel puzzled about what volunteering teams are worth their assumption of office bearers?  Are you also limping upon different types of social services for which you are suitable?  The CUHK Bridge to China Team is a preferred choice.

Despite the havoc of COVID-19, this Centre’s Social Enterprise Startup Scheme will continue in this academic year.  The scheme aims at encouraging CUHK students and recent graduates to make good use of their expertise to establish or expand their social enterprises.  Participants will enrol in a mentorship programme through which valuable advice on formulating business plan and practical skills of running an enterprise will be offered by the people with great achievement in specific industries.  The horizon and business network of participants are also expected to be widened.  Above all, they may receive from the CUSE Fund a maximum of HK$100,000 as seed money to start up an enterprise with social mission.

Not long ago, the “Value Exploration Series” of the I·CARE Achievers Programme started organising the “Dialogue on Character” with Professor Joseph Sung and Professor Edwin Chan, Co-Chairmen of the Steering Committee for Promoting Personal Development through Social and Civic Engagement of the University, being the hosts.  Influential figures in the city are invited to share their beliefs and stories, by which the participants can be enlightened on how positive character traits are intertwined with personal success and achievements.

The 30 members of the second core group of I·CARE Achievers Programme finished all the three induction activities in January this year to get prepared for the completion of subsequent challenging tasks.  One of the tasks is to organise camping, farming, hiking and marathon by four corresponding small teams which were joined by members as per their own interest.  They will not only acquire professional advice from the mentors in planning the target activities, but can also make reflection on themselves through hearing their mentors’ sharing of wisdom and the ups and downs.  The four mentors are:

Hong Kong has been battling with the third wave of COVID-19 outbreak since July.  In face of the severe epidemic situation, numerous vulnerable groups are short of personal protective equipment.  As such, this Centre has invited students of the I·CARE Social Service Projects Scheme to assist in distributing nearly 5,400 pieces of adult and child surgical masks to five non-governmental organisations from July to September for onward transmission to their service recipients.

The CUHK Entrepreneur Day 2020 organised by CUHK Alumni Torch Fund rang the curtain down yesterday (the 26th of September) satisfactorily.  Despite its online format caused by the threat of COVID-19, the scale of this two-day event was comparable to those of previous years.  The kaleidoscopic activities included: CUHK Entrepreneurship Competition (Final), Keynote Lectures, Social Innovation Seminars, Exhibition of Entrepreneurship Projects, Entrepreneur’s Master Sharing, Workshops on Entrepreneurship, Meeting with Alumni Investors, and Networking Corner - Resources, Funding, Partnership.

Since its establishment in October 2016, this Centre is committed to offering a diversified learning experience to students to promote their whole-person development.  In addition to planning and implementing the I·CARE Programme, this Centre renders support to other services which aim to nurture students’ all-round development.  As such, it has been supporting the “Sustainable Development Solutions Network Hong Kong” which is jointly hosted by CUHK and The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, and organising many activities that achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by the United Nations.  Besides, this Centre conveys the situation and needs of students during other units’ formulation of guidelines and programmes through its Director’s serving as the co-supervisor of various projects receiving the “Teaching Development and Language Enhancement Grant”.  The “Sustainable Development Goals x General Education” Study Scheme rolled out in this academic year is one of them.

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