Now that the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education examination is drawing to a close, universities are gearing up to compete for Hong Kong's best and brightest.
To this end, the City University of Hong Kong's new Talents Program for advanced learning targets students who are looking to pursue science or engineering-related pathways.
The program offers training and teaching that includes, but also goes far beyond, the university's highly interdisciplinary, technology-enriched courses and is customized to match eligible students' capabilities and personalities.
There will be targeted support and mentorship for strategic career planning.
All this is to ensure students' success in attaining their career goals and aspirations for further studies.
Requirements for local students wanting to apply are an overall score of 28 or above in four core and two elective subjects in the DSE, two A*s and one A in the General Certificate of Education Advanced level for non-Jupas students, or an overall score of 38 or above in the International Baccalaureate program. Non-local students have to fulfill the entrance scholarship requirements.
The top 10 percent of existing first-year students in each college or school can also qualify for the scheme.
Though CityU moved up four spots to 48th in the QS World University Rankings 2021 and one place to 18th in the Asian University Rankings, the university has centered its academic achievements on science and engineering subjects.
However, it doesn't stand out in the rankings by subject in general.
There, the most prominent major goes to materials sciences' division , which ranked 25th in the world.
The new program sees the university's ambitions in science and engineering evidenced in a suite of new scholarships, including two new schemes - the President's Scholarship and the Hong Kong Tech Scholarship - aimed at students with excellent performance in the two disciplines.
The scholarships will reward academic excellence and potential for research.
There will be one award winner for the President's Scholarship at HK$300,000 per annum and two for the Hong Kong Tech Scholarship at HK$200,000 each per annum. Both are tenable for four years.
Praising the university's north American model of higher education, CityU's president Kuo Way said: "This program provides another invaluable opportunity for top students to engage in specially designed courses and research topics under the mentorship of world-class scholars."
Students joining the program may pursue a double degree in two completely different but complementary disciplines over five years.
An even more intensive learning experience is offered through a bachelor's and master's combined degree option.
The undergraduate degree is completed in years one to three and the master's, to be undertaken at CityU or overseas, in years four and five.
Students with the potential to undertake the rigorous advanced option can then apply for a doctoral program at CityU or highly rated universities worldwide.
This overseas study option is another feature that will ensure that those accepted into the program get a university experience that soars beyond expectations.
The joint bachelor's degree programs are collaborations with highly rated institutions, such as Columbia University, the University of Edinburgh and the University of Manchester.
The students will be awarded two bachelor's degrees - one from CityU and the other from the partner university.
Other notable options include four-year enrichment programs for students from the College of Science and the School of Energy and Environment and a double major program.
cara.chen@singtaonewscorp.com
