Fostering Social Responsibility at the University
Apart from nurturing students and promoting the flow of academic and professional knowledge, PolyU bears the social responsibility for the betterment of society. Through the provision of Service-Learning, the bonding with the University Social Responsibility (USR) Network and beyond, PolyU cooperates with other partners to nurture our students to become socially-responsible leaders, aiming to drive positive social changes across the community.
Service-Learning at PolyU
Service-Learning is a credit-bearing and mandatory undergraduate subject, which integrates meaningful community service with academic study. Students are encouraged to apply the knowledge and skills they have learned in class to tackle social, environmental, and cultural challenges in the community. It covers a wide spectrum of projects, including community healthcare, elderly care, social inclusion, culture preservation, manpower training and development, education, and improvement of the living environment. Since the introduction of the Service-Learning model, PolyU has developed customized projects to meet the needs of society by working closely with non-profit organizations and other community partners.
During the reporting year, the University worked with several local non-profit organizations to offer 69 Service-Learning subjects in Hong Kong to over 3,900 students. There were also numerous offshore projects under which students provided service in Mainland China, Cambodia, Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan, Myanmar, Rwanda, and Vietnam. These overseas engagements facilitated the exploration and cultivation of talents and empowered the service recipients. Since the introduction of Service-Learning in 2012/13, more than 20,000 students have served over 100,000 people in need for more than 822,000 hours.
The University Social Responsibility Network (USRN)
PolyU took the lead to form the USRN in 2015, aiming to develop a sense of social responsibility beyond the University’s student community and to come up with solutions to address critical social issues. The USRN fosters social responsibility-related collaboration and resources sharing among universities across the world.
Being one of the USRN founders, the University joins hands with other member universities to lead the strategic development of social responsibility in higher education. Various activities are organized through the USRN to promote the exchange of ideas and discussions on integrating social responsibility into institutional management, teaching, research, services and other areas.
In December 2018, PolyU co-organized a three-day University Social Responsibility Summit with University of Haifa and The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The Summit, a biennial flagship event of the USRN, consisted of a number of plenary and parallel sessions as well as study tours in the Haifa region and Jerusalem. Under the theme of “Universities' Social Responsibility in Shaping a Future of Critical Hope”, it brought together over 100 senior government officials, academics, community leaders, and students of higher education institutions from various countries.