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1,069 Graduates are awarded Bachelor Degrees by Hong Kong Baptist University and Graduation Certificates by UIC this year. Amongst them, 14 students were recognised for their academic excellence..

UIC had about 700 graduates attendy HKBU’s 53rd Commencement on  17 November .

Jointly founded by Beijing Normal University and HKBU in 2005, UIC is the first full-scale cooperation in higher education between the Mainland and Hong Kong. Graduates are awarded Bachelor Degrees by HKBU and Graduation Certificates by UIC.

At the ceremony, which was held between November 16 and 19, about 5,700 undergraduate and higher degrees were conferred.

In addition, on November 19, HKBU also conferred honorary doctoral degrees on five distinguished individuals for their outstanding and professional achievements, as well as their remarkable contributions to the society.

For the conferment for UIC students, the ceremony was presided over by Mr. Wilfred Y. W. Wong, SBS, JP, Chairman of the Council and the Court of HKBU, and Mr. Cheng Yan Kee, JP, Deputy Chairman of the Council and the Court of HKBU. Graduates sent their regards to Prof. Albert S.C. Chan, JP, President and Vice-Chancellor of HKBU after receiving their degree certificates from him.

In addressing the congregation, Prof. Chan said: “Our challenge at HKBU has been to teach students not only to be leaders – in thought and action – but also to be of service to others. This is a core value of Whole Person Education, an ethos championed by our founding fathers.”

Prof. Chan said that the University sought to nurture seven Graduate Attributes in students and that those attributes would hold them in good stead as they charted their own courses in life. He hoped that students would have up-to-date, in-depth knowledge of an academic specialty, as well as a broad range of cultural and general knowledge. They should be critical, creative thinkers and independent, lifelong learners with an open mind and an inquiring spirit. They should also have the ability to articulate ideas clearly and coherently, and the necessary information literacy, numerical and problem-solving skills to excel in the workplace. In addition, the students should be ready to serve, lead and work in a team, and to pursue a healthy lifestyle. Most crucially, they should be responsible citizens with an international outlook and a sense of ethics and civility.

UIC student Yu Feng was invited to speak as the representative on behalf of the 2012 graduating class. He reminisced about university life at UIC, saying it was both challenging and rewarding. “Apart from the mounting workload in study, we had developed ourselves in an open and liberal education environment. We had chances of acquainting with friends from different provinces and different countries, interacting with teaching faculty members from different parts of the world, and participating in training and internship linked to the real business environment. We have begun to figure out who we are and who we want to be.” He said. 

He also acknowledged UIC’s philosophy in whole person education: “We have developed ourselves in an all round manner, both spiritually and intellectually. I am sure all of you will agree with me that we made a good decision to choose UIC four years ago.”

Yu will continue his postgraduate studies at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

The Academic Registry revealed that UIC has rigidly abided by the regulatory framework and the quality assurance mechanism overseen by HKBU. As well as the graduates of the 2012 academic curricula in 14 programmes, 86 students were awarded with First Class Honours Degree and 72% of students received Second Class Honours Degrees.

14 UIC students were recognised for their academic excellence this year at the ceremony by Prof. Franklin T. Luk, Vice-President (Academic) of HKBU.

Over 50% of this year’s graduates have decided to continue on to postgraduate studies at HKBU, University of Hong Kong, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Columbia University, the George Washington University, University of Pennsylvania and other universities in America, Britain and France. According to the Student Career Development Office, those who are already seeking jobs are highly preferred by large cooperations.