Embarking on the new academic year, Hong Kong Metropolitan University (HKMU) President Prof. Paul Lam Kwan-sing and Vice President (Research and Student Development) Prof. Ricky Kwok Yu-kwong welcomed students back to the campus in-person yesterday morning (4 September), encouraging them to set goals for themselves and wishing them a “good start”.

Since the 2021/22 academic year, the number of students admitted to the University through the Joint University Programmes Admissions System (JUPAS) has seen double-digit percentage growth every year, with a 19% increase this academic year. Together with other admission channels, the University recruited more than 3,000 new students this academic year, marking highly encouraging admissions results.

Prof. Lam warmly welcomed the freshmen to the HKMU family and said he was pleased to see that the University's programmes were well received by the students. He said, “The programmes offered by the University are competitive and tailored to meet the needs of students and society. The strategic role, positioning and teaching quality of the University after the retitling in 2021 have been widely recognised by the wider community,” he said. Prof. Lam said he was also delighted with the remarkable admissions figures, resulting from the University members' hard work in the area of academic advancement, and the significant recognition of HKMU's vision and direction by the community.

Among the five schools, the number of students admitted to the School of Science and Technology through JUPAS this year is 1.5 times that of last year, with its Bachelor of Applied Science with Honours in Integrated Testing, Inspection and Certification programme (included in the Education Bureau's “Pilot Project on the Development of Applied Degree Programmes”) and the new Bachelor of Science with Honours in Medical Laboratory Science programme (funded by the “Enhancement and Start-up Grant Scheme for Self-financing Post-secondary Education”) being particularly popular, indicating that the University's efforts in promoting STEAM education over the years have been duly recognised.

In addition, the number of new senior-year students has increased by approximately 15% this academic year; and the proportion of non-local students has risen to 15% of the total number of students. In recent years, the Government has provided various types of support for the University's development, including expanding the Study Subsidy Scheme for Designated Professions/Sectors (SSSDP) to subsidise top-up degree programmes, and raising the Mainland, Macau and Taiwan student quota to 20% of the total number of students. These measures have helped attract more local and non-local students to HKMU.

At the Inauguration Ceremony last week, Prof. Lam delivered a speech to encourage the students to pursue balanced development. In addition to pursuing academic and professional learning, they should develop interpersonal and communication skills, as well as leadership abilities, he said. “The most important thing is to understand your own strengths, set yourself a goal and move towards it step by step. This may be a long-term or even a lifelong learning process.” The University will fully support students' growth in the hope that they will make the most of these learning opportunities, he added.

In view of the growing number of non-local students, the University will strengthen its support for them, including awarding Entrance Scholarships, implementing the “Peer Mentorship Scheme” to facilitate the students' integration into local life, and offering Cantonese language courses. HKMU will also continue to solicit resources to establish various scholarships for local and non-local freshmen who demonstrate outstanding academic performance or talent, and promote the holistic development of students through various student development support programmes.