Service Learning and Entrepreneurship Support Help Students Maximise Their Potential and Contribute to Society
While academic knowledge and skills are important for students, cultivating empathy and caring for society are also essential components of holistic development. To foster the holistic development and competitiveness of students, the Hong Kong Metropolitan University (’HKMU’) has been dedicated to providing students with diverse learning opportunities. Ms Adele Wan, the Director of Student Affairs, and Mr Edward Chan, the Head of Industry Partnerships and Career Development of the Student Affairs Office, shared with us how HKMU cultivates students to become ‘all-rounders’ through service learning and entrepreneurship support.
The Student Affairs Office (‘SAO’) of HKMU offers various learning experiences for students to equip them with the knowledge and skills they need for future development. Service learning and entrepreneurship support, in particular, allow students to to put their knowledge to use in order to buildtheir generic skills, empathy, and a proactive mindset to understand and serve the community.
Students Apply What They’ve Learnt to Benefit Society
「Service learning combines social service and academic knowledge, allowing students to design service learning programmes based on the needs of the community using their subject-specific knowledge and skills. The programme aims to promote students' holistic growth through consolidation of their professional knowledge and self-reflection.
Service learning combines social service and academic knowledge, allowing students to design service learning programmes based on the needs of the community using their subject-specific knowledge and skills. The programme aims to promote students' holistic growth through consolidation of their professional knowledge and self-reflection.
Since HKMU offers programmes from a wide range of disciplines, students from different majors can participate in interdisciplinary service learning activities. The service learning experience integrates knowledge from various disciplines to provide support to the service targets, and as a result effectively improve the quality of social service and student learning outcomes.
Adele said, ‘The success of the project has enabled the students to engage with the community and comprehend specific needs of different groups, thus developing empathy and extending a helping hand.’
Earlier on, 30 HKMU students participated in the ‘Best Buddies Programme - Art with Intellectual Disability Scheme’ co-organised by the University and the Fu Hong Society. Through exchange activities, participating students became aware of the difficulty intellectually challenged people might face in articulating their ideas and feelings verbally. In light of this, the students then organised art activities, encouraging the intellectually challenged people to express themselves through art, to exhibit their talents and artistic potential, and to build confidence and broaden their social circles.
In addition, the SAO also offers the ‘Life Education Ambassador Programme,’, which enables students to reflect on life and death through various experiential learning activities and training, including death simulation experiences, workshops on communicating with the elderly, photography and makeup workshops for the elderly. These activities improve students communication skills with the elderly and their ability to plan activities. During the visit, students designed different recreational and social activities, as well as makeup and photo shoots, creating beautiful memories for the elderly In the course of the programme, students had the opportunity to communicate with the elderly, learn life lessons, and reflect on their lives.
MetroChallenge: Unleash Students’ creativity and Realise Their Dreams
MU launched the ‘MetroChallenge’ innovation and creativity programme in 2017, allowing students to unleash their creativity and apply what they have learnt in class to actualise innovative ideas through the platform. The university organises different experiential activities for students to take a systematic approach to understand the society and connect with different entrepreneurs. The programme also invites entrepreneurship mentors to coach students individually and to help consolidate their creative ideas.
Participating students received a HK$5,000 grant for producing the most viable product (MVP), including prototype design and market testing, to validate their product ideas. Approved plans also receive a HK$100,000 implementation fund and a series of cross-sector support to implement their creative ideas in society, creating social value and radiating social impact. Over the past few year, the Programme has successfully helped students to develop innovative products to address the needs of people in need in the community, such as cards to help children communicate their emotions to adults and an online matching and employment platform for freelancers. In recent years, the exploration and development of gerontechnology have also been an active directions for students.
Edward said that after students launch their projects, the University will help them scale up their business scale and sustain their development, such as finding mentors and resources and expanding their business networks. In addition, the University actively encourages alumni to share their experiences and networks to help students achieve their goals. ‘Students do not necessarily have to become entrepreneurs in the end, but the experience can certainly enhance their abilities in general, including creativity, problem-solving, collaboration, communication skills, and teamwork spirit.’
Bring Together the Strength of Alumni to Support Student Development
The University is committed to nurturing future talents and also sincerely hopes that graduates can contribute to their alma mater and support its teaching development. Adele pointed out that the university has strengthened alumni support for the future development of students through various means, such as the establishment of the HKMU Alumni Scholarship & Bursary Fund in 2001 with alumni donations to offer scholarships and bursaries to students with outstanding academic achievements or high financial need. The University also co-organises alumni activities with the Alumni Association, bringing together alumni from different years to share their ideas and guidance with current students.