About 350 freshers from the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences (CLASS) attended the College Orientation Ceremony on 28 August 2018 to kick off their higher education journey. These new students were warmly greeted by the College management team, Department Heads, Associate/Assistant Heads, staff members and senior students.

Professor Xiaowei ZANG, Dean of CLASS, gave an introduction to the College and encouraged the new students to take on new challenges and have fun in their university life. “In CLASS, you will have the power to transform yourself and change the world. And we look forward to doing this with you,” the Dean said in his opening remarks.

Dr Peppina LEE, Associate Dean (Undergraduate Curriculum), introduced the four-year undergraduate curriculum, Discovery-enriched Curriculum (“DEC”) and the University requirements on academic honesty. Professor Hon S CHAN, Assistant Dean (Internationalisation), introduced the internationalisation activities offered by the College with subsidies provided by the University.    

Photo 2: Professor Dennis Wong (middle) invites elite students of the College to share their learning experiences with new students.

In a dialogue session, Professor Dennis WONG, Associate Dean (Student Life and Learning), invited four elite students of CLASS to share their university experiences. Water CHAN, Melody IP, Tommy LAM and Gloria MA talked about their fruitful learning experiences gained from their active participation in the College Study Tour, Servant Leadership Seminars, International Community Service Programme and Joint Bachelor’s Degree Program at Columbia University. They also gave personal advice to the new students.

Water: “Stay hungry, stay foolish” (a quote by Steve Jobs).
Melody: “Be open to all of your options in university. You have nothing to lose.”
Tommy: “Have the courage to try.”
Gloria: “The return could be low even if you put a lot of effort into a task, but the return will definitely be zero if you don’t.”

Nineteen first-year students received University and College entrance scholarships for academic merit. Each of them was presented with a certificate of honour by the Dean at the ceremony.

Photo 3: CLASS students are honoured with entrance scholarships offered by the University and the College.

“I didn’t expect to receive scholarships. I’m really happy that I did,” said LAI Yan-tung, a fresher in the Department of Media and Communication. “I hope I will be able to adapt quickly, make new friends and enjoy university life here.”

“I am honoured to receive scholarships from the College and University. My family and I are so glad about it,” said LUI Hei-tsun, a fresher in the Department of Social and Behavourial Sciences. “The scholarships will cover my tuition fees and other educational expenses. I am very excited to get into university, and I look forward to a fulfilling learning experience at CityU.”

Induction activities were arranged by various CLASS departments to facilitate the academic and social engagement of first-year students and help them embrace the wonderful university journey ahead and become high flyers at CLASS.