It is a great honour for me to be talking with you today on this very exciting occasion. I am delighted to have the opportunity to address such a talented gathering of hard-working students.
This is a great day for you and I am very happy to be sharing it with you!
In fact, mixing and mingling with young people is one of the great pleasures of my job. As President of City University of Hong Kong, it is vital that I understand the youth of Hong Kong.
By listening to you, the young people of Hong Kong, I am in a better position to develop degree programmes, improve teaching, and encourage interesting areas of research at CityU. By listening, we can adapt to changing trends and respond to new ideas in society.
CityU has developed rapidly over the last 30 years. In fact, we are celebrating our 30th anniversary this year, yet we have already become noted as one of the most important universities in the region.
The major driver behind our transformation has been our strategy to listen, observe, monitor and then act. Thus, at CityU, we have been able to implement a thoroughly unique curriculum, one that aligns directly with the needs of society.
We call this curriculum the Discovery-enriched Curriculum, known as the DEC.
The DEC encourages all our students to make an original contribution to their field of study as an integral part of their professional education. It is a groundbreaking approach to the integration of teaching and learning that emphasises the discovery of new knowledge. In today’s world, young people need to know how to generate new knowledge in order to meet the demands of the modern-day workforce, to practise professionally at and beyond the level of international standards.
We have reached this stage by listening and responding to the world around us, a strategy that will benefit you as you, too, progress to a new job, a new university, a new career, and a new life.
I hope that you will look back fondly on your school days and that you carry with you for your whole lives the dedication, care and love that your teachers gave, and that you will continue to listen and observe as you make your way through life’s journey.
Thank you.