PolyU: PolyU announces new programmes and optimised flexible admission arrangements for 2023/24, offering a variety of alternative admission routes to students with special talents

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) has launched the new departmental scheme-based admissions arrangement as well as two new elements, namely “Artificial Intelligence and Data Analysis” (AIDA) and “Innovation and Entrepreneurship” (IE), from the 2022/23 academic year onwards to better equip students for societal needs. The University is also offering a variety of admission schemes to provide quality tertiary education to students with special talents and help them excel in both academia and their area of expertise. Starting from the 2023/24 academic year, PolyU will further optimise some of the departmental scheme-based admissions programmes, the flexible admission arrangements and other admission schemes, so as to enrich students’ learning experience and prepare them to become “leaders of tomorrow” with a global vision and strong sense of social responsibility, enabling them to bring positive impact to the community.

New programmes: Focusing on Chinese history and culture to deepen and widen the scope of study
Hong Kong plays a significant role in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area as well as other national development strategies. As such, young people who are biliterate, trilingual and well versed in Chinese history and culture are talents that the city longs for. In this regard, PolyU’s Faculty of Humanities will launch the new BA (Hons) Scheme in Chinese History and Culture in the 2023/24 academic year. The programme aims to deepen students’ understanding of Chinese culture through various dimensions such as history, philosophy, religions, arts and technologies. With an emphasis on both integration and practicability, students will be given chances to learn outside the classroom and participate in activities like field trips and visits. The programme will be taught in both Putonghua and English to enhance students’ language ability and oral proficiency.

Besides, the Linguistics programmes offered by the Faculty of Humanities will be restructured as the BA (Hons)/BSc (Hons) Scheme in Language Sciences, Translation, and Speech Therapy to cultivate the next generation of language talents. The new programme will offer new elements such as Language Analytics and Speech Therapy, to better equip students for societal needs. Students can select their Major in their second academic year from Speech Therapy, Linguistics and Translation, and Language Sciences and Analytics according to their own interests and specialities. In particular, the curriculum of BSc (Hons) in Speech Therapy is designed with reference to the practice/registration standards of speech therapists in the UK, US, Canada and Australia. Graduates will be qualified to practise as registered speech therapists in different service settings, such as the Hospital Authority, schools and private clinics.

In addition, PolyU’s School of Accounting and Finance will launch the first BBA (Hons) in Digital Finance and Investment under the BBA (Hons) Scheme in Accounting and Finance to respond to the needs of fintech talents. PolyU’s School of Fashion and Textiles will also restructure and rename the BA (Hons) Scheme in Fashion and Textiles to BA(Hons) Scheme in Fashion to address the demands of industry talents.

PolyU’s Vice President (Education), Prof. Kwok-yin WONG, said, “We have been enhancing our undergraduate programmes in line with the needs of social development. Starting from this academic year, PolyU has launched the departmental scheme-based admissions arrangement and two new elements, AIDA and IE, so as to meet future societal needs. These developments are well-received by students in general, as they find that the enhanced curriculum can help broaden their perspectives, enrich their academic knowledge and improve their competitiveness. Looking forward, Hong Kong will give full play to its unique strengths to speed up its integration into national development. Meanwhile, PolyU will continue to nurture more talents for societal needs. I hope that all of our students can leverage the flexible study options provided by the University to better equip themselves for the opportunities in the future and make contributions to the community.”

STARS and other admission schemes unleash students’ potential
PolyU offers a variety of admission schemes to serve as alternative admission routes for those whose exceptional achievements cannot be fully reflected in their Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE) examination results. In addition to the Outstanding Sportsmen Recommendation Scheme (OSRS), which has been running for over 20 years, the University has commenced the Special Talents Admission and Recognition Scheme (STARS) in the 2022/23 academic year. Students who have demonstrated remarkable talents in sports; arts and culture; community service and leadership; and Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) will be provided with opportunities to receive quality tertiary education.

Under the scheme, the University will provide all-round support to students with the STARS Residential College and the STARS Scholarship. Prof. Ben YOUNG, Vice President (Student and Global Affairs), said, “Harnessing our quality holistic education, PolyU has been committed to nurturing our students into ‘leaders of tomorrow’ with professional knowledge, as well as an affection for Hong Kong and the country and a global perspective. As we value our students’ talents in different areas, we enable them to cultivate their potential and help them excel in both academia and their domain of expertise. A total of 94 freshmen were admitted through STARS this year. Some of them have participated and won awards in major international competitions, while others have been active in volunteering, or achieved exceptional performance in the area of innovation and technology. I sincerely wish that all the students who joined us through the first cohort of STARS can flourish at PolyU, and fully participate in our vibrant and dynamic campus life.” Prof. Young reminds students with special talents to submit their records of non-academic achievements with their applications, and place PolyU’s programmes higher on their JUPAS list.

Support offered under STARS includes:

STARS Scholarship of up to HK$100,000 per year
priority to be allocated at the STARS Residential College in the Homantin Halls to experience the diversified activities in the halls
individual mentorship of academic work
flexibility in learning and study assessments
extension of study periods
For details of STARS, please visit https://www.polyu.edu.hk/ar/ug-scholarships/

Separately, designated programmes of PolyU participating in the School Nominations Direct Admission Scheme (SNDAS) in 2023/24 will be increased to 30 from 23 in the previous year. Secondary school principals are invited to submit their nominations to PolyU via an online system between 6 October and 7 December 2022.

Flexible admission arrangements for 2023/24
The flexibility towards the minimum score requirement for JUPAS admissions will be continued in 2023/24. Students who fall slightly short of the general entrance requirements for degree programmes, i.e. “3-3-2-2-3-3” (level 3 in both languages and level 2 in Mathematics and Liberal Studies together with level 3 in two additional electives) but meet the following conditions will be given special consideration for admission:

one HKDSE subject result is one level below the required level “3-3-2-2-3-3” with a total score# in their best five subjects at least one point higher than the scheme-based average score for the best five DSE subjects of the last admission exercise
have selected PolyU’s degree programmes as their Band A choices, i.e. their first three priorities, in JUPAS
#HKDSE level attainments will be converted to score points where Level 5**=8.5, 5*=7, 5=5.5, 4=4, 3=3, 2=2, 1=1

For further information on applying for PolyU’s undergraduate programmes, please visit www51.polyu.edu.hk/eprospectus/

PolyU Undergraduate Info Day to be held on 8 October 2022
PolyU will hold the Undergraduate Info Day 2022 (Info Day) from 9:30 am to 5:30 pm on 8 October 2022 (Saturday). A broad range of activities will be available on the Info Day, such as admission talks, information seminars, consultation sessions, student sharing sessions, guided visits, exhibitions, and consultations with PolyU academic staff. There will also be talks on the newly launched STARS and the flexible admission arrangements to help prospective students with non-academic talents make an informed choice about their future academic pursuits at the University.

Highlight Events:

one JUPAS admission talk for Secondary Six students;
two admission talks for non-JUPAS applicants with international qualifications or sub-degree qualifications;
one admission talk to introduce STARS;
over 70 programme seminars organised by various faculties, schools and departments;
over 60 guided tours to various laboratories or facilities; and
student sharing and consultation sessions arranged by the Academic Registry and academic departments.
The Info Day will be held in a hybrid format. Participants are required to register in advance and choose the desired format and sessions. Please visit www.polyu.edu.hk/infoday/ for further information.

Undergraduate admission in the 2022/23 academic year

Among PolyU’s full-time public-funded undergraduate programmes, BSc (Hons) Scheme in Hotel and Tourism Management was the most popular, being chosen by 1,123 JUPAS applicants as their first choice. BSc (Hons) Scheme in Computing and AI and BBA (Hons) Scheme in Management and Marketing placed second and third, attracting 1,083 and 1,036 applicants respectively. More than 91% of PolyU admittees this year chose the University’s programmes as their Band A choices.
In terms of admission grades, the top three programmes were, subsequent to the Main Round Offer of JUPAS, BSc (Hons) in Physiotherapy (average score for the best six HKDSE subjects: 39.8), BSc (Hons) in Radiography (average score for the best six HKDSE subjects: 38.1) and BSc (Hons) in Occupational Therapy (average score for the best six HKDSE subjects: 37.6) respectively.
Among the admittees via JUPAS, the average score for the best five HKDSE subjects was 23.9.
277 undergraduates admitted this year achieved 5** in at least one subject, with both Chinese and English at level 3 or above, in the HKDSE examination, attaining a notable admissions profile.