800 new students begin their experience with the diversified international learning opportunities at Lingnan University

About 800 new students celebrated the beginning of their studies at Lingnan University at theNew Student Orientation (NSO)held from 23 to 25 August, during which they were introduced to the diversified international learning experience characterised by the University’s unique liberal arts tradition.

Apart from the freshmen comprising local students as well as non-local degree-seeking and exchange students, some 220 senior year Lingnan students were recruited to the University’s Peer Mentoring Programme. They joined the NSO to share their study lives at Lingnan and help freshmen adapt to the campus environment.
 
In his welcoming address to the freshmen, President Leonard K Cheng described Lingnan University as having “unlimited possibilities”. “Lingnan University is a multi-cultural residential campus providing an excellent environment for students to understand the idea of common good, diversity and respect,” said President Cheng. He encouraged the new students to learn from the differences between each other and keep empathy and respect.

Lingnan University endeavours to provide a truly international learning environment which offers a diversified global learning experience. It has been dedicated to building a multi-cultural campus and actively establishing strategic collaborations with institutions worldwide. Over 50% of its 180-plus faculty members have an international background in academic training and research work, while more than 300 exchange students pursue their studies at Lingnan every year. With more than 180 partners in about 40 countries, over 80% of its undergraduates benefit from international exchange opportunities.
 
The University organises various international internship programmes to provide students with opportunities to gain experience in real work settings and broaden their exposure in culturally diverse environments. Furthermore, each summer over 70 students from both Lingnan and partner universities join the Mainland and International Service-Learning Programme and Cross-Border Service-Learning Summer Institute to gain global experience on Service-Learning by serving all over the world.

At the NSO, two outstanding fresh graduates of Lingnan shared with freshmen their years of fruitful ventures with the University. Mr Kelvin Ching Ka-chun, the most distinguished student of the year from the applied psychology department, also the bearer of other five scholarship titles during his study at Lingnan, will start his study at University College London for a master degree of Philosophy in September. He shared his views to the freshmen on how to avoid being an average student, and encouraged them to shoulder the responsibility to bring Lingnan to new heights with entrepreneurial spirit. He suggested freshmen to go the extra mile from the ordinary role of a student, reach out to the community and think of their own ways to achieve. He also encouraged new students to consider Lingnan’s needs, their own strengths and interests in order to create opportunities for themselves.

Another fresh graduate in translation Mr Richard Yoong Wai-chun, who received a scholarship from a world-class university, the London School of Economics and Political Science for his further study on a master degree in Philosophy of Social Sciences in the coming academic year, shared his own story on how to utilise the opportunities offered by Lingnan.  He shared his invaluable experience as an Administrative Officer intern at the Government’s Central Policy Unit and his overseas exchange experience in an internationally renowned University. Reminding the students not to underestimate their own ability, he emphasized that there are a lot of opportunities in Lingnan, and what students should do is simply try their best and seize every single opportunity in this excellent university.

Apart from the NSO, Lingnan University offers a First Year Experience Programme to help new students adapt to university life and unleash their potentials. Orientation activities were also organised on 18 and 19 August for new non-local degree seeking students at which the Host Family Scheme was kicked-off to provide care and support to help them adapt to lives in Hong Kong and enrich their experience in Lingnan. Since its inauguration in 2008, the Scheme has supported a total of 311 non-local students.

Please click here to download the full speech of the President