Executive Summary

Excellence in Research and Professional Education is the Strategic Plan of City University of Hong Kong for 2010 to 2015. It is a roadmap for leadership over the next five years. It is a forward-looking, action-oriented plan which positions City University as a leading global university in the Asia-Pacific region, renowned for its excellence in research and professional education and outstanding scholarship in problem-focused research. Building on the impressive success it has achieved in the past, Excellence in Research and Professional Education defines a sharper vision of the future for City University, identifying a new mission and mapping out a clear set of goals and action plans for taking City University forward to new heights of achievement.

The Plan reflects the University’s strategic direction in spearheading new approaches to professional education to reflect the reality of our increasing global interdependence, and the rapid development of the Mainland and the region. The goal is to train a new breed of professional to anticipate and respond to the new challenges of the fast-changing, knowledge-driven global environment of the 21st century. This new approach to professional education emphasises the connectivity between society and knowledge, the internationalisation of curriculum design, innovative problem-driven research, and the multicultural diversity of faculty and students. It highlights City University’s aspirations and its determination to become a worldclass international university for professional education, and a destination of preference for the best students, faculty, scholars and researchers from across the globe. It commits all our Colleges, Schools and Departments to undertake vigorous academic planning over the next five years to identify niche areas and new initiatives for innovative programmes to enhance City University’s professional education and to support new growth points and strategic development opportunities for Hong Kong society.

The consultation for the strategic planning exercise has been the most extensive ever undertaken for such a document at City University. The process began in April 2008 when the Strategic Planning Core Group was formed. This group, chaired by the Provost, engaged in consultations with colleagues and other stakeholders at all levels. The planning was guided by five principles:

• Student success in academic achievement and career development
• Excellence in learning and research, technological innovation and knowledge transfer
• Benefit to the social and economic well-being of Hong Kong
• Accountability in the use of public resources
• Global outreach and international competitiveness

The Strategic Planning Core Group’s resulting analysis culminated in the identification of a number of international benchmarks and six strategic areas which form the core of the Strategic Plan:

• A: Student Learning and Career Development
• B: Research and Technology Transfer
• C: Faculty and Staff Recruitment, Reward and Retention
• D: Campus Planning & Development
• E: Globalisation
• F: Branding, Image and Culture

For each Strategic Area, sub-groups were formed and 'buzz-group' consultation meetings were held between September 2008 and August 2009 to consider the strategic plan blueprint, and to assist with the development of principles, goals and strategies for its implementation. Invitations to the buzz-group consultations were sent to all academic faculty members in March 2009, and a total of around 300 academic colleagues attended at least one of the group meetings. Further similar group meetings were held with alumni, convocation members, employers, students, and students’ union representatives. In September 2009, the Draft Plan was made available online for comments by the University community. The Draft Plan had also been discussed at the Academic Policy Committee, the Senate and the Management Board. It was also presented to the Council’s Strategic Development Committee and Executive Committee where it received unanimous endorsement. On 26 November 2009, the Strategic Plan was formally approved by the University Council.

In the next stage of development, the University community throughout all units, Colleges, Schools, Departments, Institutes and Centres will be intensively involved in developing specific details, benchmarks and indicators, action steps, and proposed timelines at the unit level to achieve the targets and goals of the Strategic Plan. The implementation of the Plan will be overseen by the Provost in consultation with the Vice-Presidents and the Senate. The University community will be systematically updated on the implementation, progress, and impact of the Plan, in order to achieve the maximal success for all in the City University community.