Bulletin No. 1, 2011

28   Chinese University Bulletin No. 1, 2011 T he Chinese University of Hong Kong is fully ready to implement the ‘3+3+4’ academic structure. With a prime focus on cultivating interdisciplinary knowledge and general education, the new undergraduate curriculum will take effect in the academic year of 2012 to sharpen students’ intellectual faculty with both breadth and depth of knowledge across disciplines as well as within specialties. In the new curriculum, all major programmes will include a ‘capstone course’ that gives all students the opportunity to participate in research and/or internship. To enrich students’ interdisciplinary knowledge, each Faculty will provide a faculty package offering a basket of different courses for students to take outside their majors, thus broadening their knowledge beyond their chosen fields of specialization and complementing their major studies. Students will also enjoy greater flexibilit y to pur sue doub l e ma j o r s and doub l e minors, significantly raising their competitiveness upon graduation with their extensive knowledge base. Currently, over 90% of each cohort of students are able to undertake overseas exchange, 20% of that for one semester or one academic year to some 200 pres tigious ins titutions worldwide. Prof. Kenneth Young, Pro-Vice-Chancellor, remarked, ‘In the new four-year curriculum, our goal is for 100% of each cohort to have at least one opportunity for exchange, and for 30% to go for one semester or longer.’ CUHK All Set for New Curriculum Key members of the task force designing the new curriculum (from left): Prof. Leung Mei-yee, associate director of University General Education and programme director of General Education Foundation Programme; Prof. Ho Che- wah, chairman of the Department of Chinese Language and Literature; Prof. Kenneth Young, Pro-Vice-Chancellor; Prof. Andy Curtis, director of the English Language Teaching Unit; and Prof. Lee Homan Jimmy, co-director of the Centre for the Advancement of Information Technology in Education and professor, Department of Computer Science and Engineering