Record-breaking number of incoming exchange students

CUHK is hosting about 560 students on its campus this term, a record high for first-term admission in recent years. There are some 420 international and non-local Chinese students from 23 countries plus 144 incoming exchange students on year-long exchanges.

A six-day orientation programme was held by OAL from 29 August–3 September to welcome these incoming exchange students and familiarise them with CUHK's environment and support for learning. The orientation kicked off with welcoming remarks by Prof. Joseph Sung, Vice-Chancellor and President. He gave the students a short Cantonese class on ordering food and navigating their way around campus. The rest of the fun-filled programme included a Chinese banquet, games with Prof. Jack Cheng, Pro-Vice-Chancellor, at a welcoming dinner on 1 September, and visits to the Peak, Stanley market and the Avenue of Stars on 3 September.

Cultural programmes for incoming exchange students

To enrich the cultural experience for incoming exchange students, OAL held a series of tours for a total of 215 exchange students around Hong Kong over different weekends in September. During visits to the Hong Kong Museum of History and Ping Shan, students learned about the development of Hong Kong. At Big Buddha, they had a taste of vegetarian cuisine in Po Lin Monastery, and experienced the beautiful scenery of the Tai O fishing village.

Service learning programmes in Hong Kong and Zengcheng

Two service learning programmes held by OAL encouraged incoming exchange students to have a positive impact on society through voluntary teaching.

Rural Schools Service Project

Since September, 29 exchange students have visited 11 primary schools under the Rural Schools Service Project. These "big brothers" and "big sisters" use a variety of activities to motivate the primary students' interest in learning English. Starting from this year, the project has extended its recruitment to involve CUHK students as volunteers who team up with the exchange students.

Teaching-in-China Programme

Incoming exchange students can enrich their cultural experience by teaching English to local primary or secondary students in Zengcheng, Guangdong Province on the Teaching-in-China Programme. The exchange students help Zengcheng secondary school students learn English in an interactive and relaxing way during three weekend trips in October.

CUHK Outgoing Student Exchange Programmes 2012–13

A series of promotional activities held by OAL from 7–21 October disseminated information on exchange programmes offered in the academic year 2012–13. Road shows and information sessions held on campus at the Sir Run Run Shaw Hall, Chung Chi College's Chapel, Shaw College's Lecture Theatre, and the Esther Lee Building introduced exchange programmes available in different countries and explained the application procedures and schedule. In addition, international students and returning exchange students introduced the culture and lifestyle of different countries at a food tasting corner and a photo exhibition at Cheng Yu Tung Building on 13 October. Returning exchange students shared their experiences in Korea, Italy, and the UK at information sessions, including communal dinners at Morningside College and S.H. Ho College.

Subsequent to recent discussions between representatives from the students' unions and OAL, new policies and rules regarding CUHK students' applications for outgoing student exchange programmes have been implemented, and were introduced to students at the information sessions. The new policies and rules are:

• students should have a minimum CGPA of 2.7 at the time of application
• 20% will be deducted from the composite score if the applicant previously went on an exchange or currently holds an exchange offer
• a quota distribution scheme has been worked out with representatives from the students' unions to manage the anticipated increase in demand for exchanges in the double cohort of 2012–13
• students with exchange places from both OAL and colleges in the 1st placement round can only accept one offer—a 20% deduction on the composite score will be enforced if the applicant wishes to be included in the 2nd placement round

Please refer to the attached leaflet for full details about the new policies and rules. Faculty members are advised to take note of the new policies and rules when advising students.