(Front left) Ms Sinfia VONG, PolyU graduate of Master in Physiotherapy; Mr Peter AUYEUNG, Chief Executive Officer of Heep Hong Society; Prof. Hector TSANG, Chair Professor of Rehabilitation Sciences and Head of Department of Rehabilitation Sciences of PolyU; Prof. Alexander WAI, Deputy President and Provost of PolyU and Mr Dino LEE, PolyU graduate of Master in Occupational Therapy share the latest information about the master's degree programmes and the Training Sponsorship Scheme.
Mr LEUNG Chung-tai, Gordon, Director of Social Welfare, says the Training Sponsorship Scheme will be extended for three more cohorts for PolyU's master's degree programmes in occupational therapy and physiotherapy to encourage more graduates to serve in NGOs.
Working at Heep Hong Society, Ms Sinfia VONG is happy to be able to help pre-school children with special educational needs to develop their potential.
Mr Dino LEE works at Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui Welfare Council where he is responsible for serving the underprivileged through outreaching occupational therapy service.
While the demand for healthcare services is growing drastically in Hong Kong, the supply of qualified therapists is far from adequate especially in the social welfare sector, bringing difficulties to non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in meeting the healthcare and rehabilitation needs of society. To alleviate this manpower shortage, the Social Welfare Department (SWD) of HKSARG has been offering a Training Sponsorship Scheme in collaboration with The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) and NGOs since 2012.
The two master's entry degree programmes PolyU is offering under this Scheme are Master in Occupational Therapy (MOT) and Master in Physiotherapy (MPT). Introduced in 2012, these two-year full-time programmes provide an opportunity for those who aspire to serve the community as competent and qualified therapists. Under this Scheme, potential talents are funded by NGOs to take part in a two-year master's entry degree programme either in occupational therapy or physiotherapy. After graduation, these students are required to contribute to the work of the NGOs they signed up for three consecutive years.
The Scheme has yielded good results with over 250 students having been trained in four cohorts under the Scheme to serve in NGOs that offer care and rehabilitation services for the elderly, persons with disabilities or children with special needs. Well received by the social welfare sector, the Scheme will be extended for another three cohorts in 2021, 2022 and 2023. The next cohort is open for application now until 26 August 2020.
Professor Hector Tsang, Chair Professor of Rehabilitation Sciences and Head of Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, said, "According to the Report of the Strategic Review on Healthcare Manpower Planning and Professional Development , Hong Kong will have a shortfall of about 190 occupational therapists and 900 physiotherapists by 2030. Facing such surging societal need in NGOs, PolyU is set to help train talents in these disciplines with the two master's degree programmes. Students were admitted in alternate years in the previous four cohorts in 2012-2020. Due to the favorable feedback from the social welfare sector, we have decided to offer the programmes on an annual basis for the next three consecutive years from 2021 to 2023."
The fifth cohort of the two programmes offered by PolyU is now open for applications. The first semester will commence in January 2021. All bachelor's degree holders, who have obtained credits for the subjects of human physiology and human anatomy (three credits each or equivalent), are eligible to apply. Preference will be given to those applicants who obtained their first degree in healthcare-related fields such as psychology, nutrition and kinesiology. Graduates will be fully qualified to register with the corresponding professional bodies for practising in Hong Kong. The Training Sponsorship Scheme provided by SWD is also available for successful programme applicants.
For more details, please visit https://polyu.hk/QvZKu
Application for MOT and MPT programmes opens now until 26 Aug 2020: https://polyu.hk/xWBuL
