The Open University of Hong Kong (OUHK) was retitled “Hong Kong Metropolitan University” (HKMU) today (1 September), marking an important new milestone in the University's development.
HKMU organized a Launch Ceremony today (1 September) in celebration of the beginning of a new chapter for the University. Members of the University community were invited to witness the significant moment in the history of HKMU.
HKMU Pro-Chancellor Dr the Hon Charles Lee Yeh-kwong, Council Chairman Mr Michael Wong Yick-kam, Deputy Council Chairman Ir Dr Conrad Wong Tin-cheung, Treasurer Mr Peter Wan Kam-to, and President Prof. Paul Lam Kwan-sing, joined by the founding Council Chairman Dr Cheng Hon-kwan, former Council Chairmen Dr Peter Wong Hong-yuen and Dr Eddy C Fong, and Emeritus President Prof. Yuk-Shan Wong, officiated at the ceremony and announced the official launch of the new title “Hong Kong Metropolitan University”.
Addressing the audience in the welcoming remarks, Council Chairman Mr Michael Wong Yick-kam explained the reasons for the name change and the meaning of the new title. He remarked, “Although open learning remains an important part of our mission, much of the education we offer today is to full-time students, studying on campus, recruited direct from secondary schools. Our new title will, I believe, help change public perception of who we are as a university and what we do.” While the University has entered an exciting new era with a brand new title, Mr Wong said he is proud of the tradition of open learning and the University's motto “Education for All”. “We have been Hong Kong's primary provider of open and distance learning for 32 years, and have become a leader in the field,” he said. “We are certainly not going to step back from this vital role, and I can assure you all that open learning will remain a core part of the mission of Hong Kong Metropolitan University.”
Apart from offering full-time undergraduate programmes for school leavers and programmes at various academic levels, including Masters and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) programmes, the University established a new School of Open Learning on 1 September to focus its resources and provide an important centralized point for aspiring learners to study at HKMU via the open-learning mode.
President Prof. Paul Lam Kwan-sing said he was pleased to see that the launch of new title marks the end of the year-long retitling exercise. He expressed his thanks to the past generations of leadership teams, faculty and staff, and students, who have contributed to the solid foundation of the University. He said he hoped the new title would drive changes and further enhance teaching and learning in HKMU. “I have set three short-term goals for the University,” said Prof. Lam. “The first is to ensure that we provide all our students with top-drawer education. The second is to ensure we do everything we can to nurture our hardworking talent, so that our graduates are highly regarded by employers and can build meaningful careers. And the third is to give our students the means to become upstanding citizens, fully committed to the wider community and contributing to the social good.”
In addition, Prof. Lam emphasized that three key strategies have been identified to expand HKMU's research work. “Our research activities will be highly focused on areas of special local and regional relevance, for maximum impact,” he said. “Our research themes will be those that allow us to use and share our existing resources wherever possible. And we must be able to 'recycle' some of our research back into our teaching, creating a virtuous circle of teaching and research work.” He added that a “Research Impact Fund” had been created to get the research initiatives moving and provide additional support for the focus areas.
To tie in with the launch of the new title, the University will kick off a new brand campaign starting today. A new website (www.hkmu.edu.hk) was launched today to give a refreshing look to the audience.
For more details, please visit https://hkmulaunchceremony.hkmu.edu.hk
