Hong Kong Polytechnic University (Hong Kong)

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) is a public university in Hong Kong. It originated as the Government Trade School founded in 1937, which became the Hong Kong Technical College in 1947, the Hong Kong Polytechnic in 1972, and The Hong Kong Technical University in 1994. Today, PolyU has six faculties and two schools has a total student enrollment over 28,000. Today, PolyU has six faculties –Applied Science and Textiles; Business; Construction and Land Use; Engineering; Health and Social Sciences; and Humanities – and two Schools – Design, and Hotel and Tourism Management. The Hong Kong Polytechnic University’s website>>

Commitment to social responsibility

PolyU and other Hong Kong universities are currently undergoing a reform of their curriculum. As part of its curricular reform, PolyU is committed to “Developing all-round graduates with a high level of professional competence, social and national responsibility, and a global outlook with the attributes of responsible citizens and leaders of tomorrow.” PolyU’s motto is “To learn and apply, for the benefit of mankind.”

Community Service Learning Programme

PolyU works to establish a close link with society and serve the community at large through its Community Service Learning Programme (CSLP), launched by the Student Affairs Office (SAO) together with over 20 academic departments. It aims to encourage PolyU students and staff to serve the community by applying their professional knowledge and skills. In the 2010-2011 school year, the CSLP is focusing heavily on serving the needy in the Sham Shui Po community. The CSLP encourages excellence in service programs by offering awards to exemplary projects, and by making grants available to subsidize student-initiated community engagement projects. The CSLP also offers a Volunteer Training Workshop to furnish students with necessary skills in planning, organizing, and conducting community service projects.

The CSLP supports both course-based projects and self-initiated extracurricular projects. Course-based projects have included Optometry students conducting vision screening for students in rural China and providing free eyeglasses and nursing students providing health education in local schools. An example of a recent student-initiated project is a group of computer science students providing a range of services for a local primary school for orphans, such as developing and installing a computer system for the school, conducting IT training for the teachers, and demonstrating interactive teaching. Learn more>>

Community Health Services

PolyU operates a Mobile Integrative Health Centre which aims to enable needy elderly in the community to attain a healthy lifestyle. The MIHC provides a range of medical services, screening, and workshops/activities related to health and wellness. Through this work, students at PolyU’s Faculty of Health and Social Sciences gain valuable clinical training and scientific research opportunities, putting what they have learned in the classroom into practice. The School of Nursing’s Integrative Health Clinic also undertakes a range of other community service activities, such as organizing blood drives and public health awareness campaigns. Read more>>

Sichuan Post-Quake Support

In the wake of the devastating earthquake in the Sichuan province of China in 2008, Hong Kong Polytechnic University and Sichuan University signed an agreement to set up the “Sichuan Earthquake Rehabilitation and Research Support Centre” to provide training, research and services, covering rehabilitation and nursing services, psychological counseling and community redevelopment, business support, architecture, and engineering. Read more>>