Message from The Deputy Vice-Chancellor
Dear Students, Colleagues, Alumni and Friends,
With the start of a new academic year just around the corner, I am pleased to give you a brief update about some of the developments and challenges that the new semester will bring.
The academic year will commence on September 17, and will see more than 6,000 freshmen entering HKU, compared with the annual 3,000+ new students in the past. New facilities are ready to meet the needs of the additional students and various arrangements are in place to welcome our freshmen to an exciting new learning environment when they arrive.
Construction work on the new campus has been largely completed and some 70 new classrooms will be put into use when the new academic year starts. The 6,000m2 Chi Wah Learning Commons, which is a self-learning space, will be operational in phases by the start of the new semester. The 1,000-seat Grand Hall (located in the Lee Shau Kee Lecture Centre) will be completed in the fourth quarter of this year. Overall, our teaching and learning needs will be adequately met to welcome our expanded student body.
The increased number of students this year demands a greater need for accommodation as well. In addition to the existing 4,000 hostel places, the phased opening of the new Residential Colleges on Lung Wah Street in Kennedy Town will provide 1,800 new places. The University has also made various short-term and long-term arrangements to secure another 530 places around the city to meet the demand.
There will be four new canteens and four food kiosks opening on campus, with most of these new food outlets in service at the beginning of the new semester. Concerning transportation, we have been liaising closely with the Transport Department, bus companies and the District Council to provide adequate services to our campuses. For example, there will be increased services of bus numbers 23, 970 and 970X during peak hours to meet the increased demand. We will closely monitor the traffic flow around HKU campuses when classes begin.
The University has also set up an inter-departmental task force to oversee the risks and challenges for this new double-cohort year, to draw up contingency plans, and to manage rapid response whenever necessary.
Let me close by saying that the double-cohort year presents an exceptional opportunity for the University to realise its mission in teaching and learning after all the preparation in the past 4 to 5 years. There will be formidable challenges, especially teething problems at the beginning of the semester. Thank you for your patience and understanding during this exciting time. I am sure that together we will be able to make HKU an excellent place of learning and working, for both students and staff.
Professor Roland T Chin
Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Provost
Chair Professor of Computer Science
看来今年注定是一个与众不同的年份