Press Releases

The College of Professional and Continuing Education (CPCE), an affiliate of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU), invited local media organisations to a Lunar New Year luncheon on 28 February 2019.  Prof Peter Yuen, Dean of CPCE, and senior management of the College greeted friends from the media and took the opportunity to share the College’s mission, edge, and strategies.

Offering Flexible “2+2” Articulation Pathways to Complement Government-funded Higher Education Sector

CPCE offers multiple pathways for further studies to students and working adults at different stages through its two educational units, namely Hong Kong Community College (HKCC) and School of Professional Education and Executive Development (SPEED).  CPCE’s full-time student enrolment now totals over 12,000, making it one of the biggest self-financed tertiary education institutions in Hong Kong.  Among them, over 9,400 are HKCC students, constituting one-fourth of the total number of sub-degree students in Hong Kong. 

At the luncheon, CPCE Dean Prof. Peter Yuen said, “Comparing to four-year bachelor’s degree programmes, CPCE’s ‘2+2’ articulation pathways are more flexible in that HKCC students who complete two-year sub-degree programmes may articulate to SPEED’s two-year top-up honours degree programmes or apply for government-funded bachelor’s degree programmes offered by the eight local universities.  Over the years, sub-degree programmes have given more articulation opportunities to HKDSE graduates, helping young people realise their dreams of furthering studies and providing manpower for Hong Kong’s social and economic development.”

According to graduate surveys in 2018, a total of 2,385 HKCC graduates articulated to bachelor’s degree programmes, representing a high articulation rate of 88.2%.  Among them, 1,458 (61.1%) were admitted to government-funded bachelor’s degree programmes, a record high.  Besides, the employment rate for 2018 graduates of SPEED’s full-time programmes was 90%, on par with those of the eight UGC-funded universities. 

“Although the local higher education sector has been facing challenges posed by the shrinking secondary student population in recent years, we are glad to see CPCE’s steady student enrolment and the continuous development of our programme portfolios.  Our encouraging articulation and employment figures prove that CPCE plays an important role in the local tertiary education sector, and the self-financed and government-funded higher education sectors are indeed complementary,” said Prof Yuen.                                                                               

Providing Professionally-recognised Programmes to Facilitate Hong Kong’s Latest Economic and Social Development

CPCE has been continuously updating its programmes.  To support the development plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, the Hong Kong SAR Government will invest HK$ 1 trillion in infrastructure, including the airport’s three-runway system, the Central Kowloon Route, housing construction, and a large-scale medical services development plan.  In the 2017/18 and 18/19 academic years, the self-financed Building Engineering and Management, Surveying, and Mechanical Engineering top-up degree programmes, etc. were transferred to SPEED from PolyU Departments.  In addition, the BEng (Hons) in Electrical Engineering top-up programme has been introduced through SPEED’s partnership with CLP Power.  All these programmes are offered in both full-time and part-time modes to sub-degree graduates and working adults, facilitating their pursuit of becoming sought-after engineering professionals.  Besides, SPEED has also launched the Health Services Management and Convention and Event Management programmes, etc. to cater for the strong demand for professionals in the hotel and tourism, exhibition, and healthcare industries.  

To ensure that its programmes stay abreast of industry needs, CPCE actively collaborates with industry and professional bodies in getting professional recognition.  Dr Leung Chun-wah, Discipline Leader of Applied Sciences and Technology of SPEED, said, “Taking our engineering disciplines as an example, we are working hard on obtaining full recognition from The Hong Kong Institution of Engineers.  These programmes have already gained recognition from professional organisations such as The Hong Kong Institute of Surveyors and the Hong Kong Institute of Construction Managers, meaning that students are able to enter their relevant professions soon after graduation.”  Besides, SPEED regards research activities as a driving force for knowledge development.  Apart from receiving funding from The Research Grants Council for establishing the Centre for Ageing and Healthcare Management Research in January this year, SPEED aims to expand research activities in the areas of advanced design, materials and manufacturing technology, and sustainable tourism.

Join Hands with Industry to Enrich Learning Experiences

CPCE values its linkage with industry; it has signed co-operation agreements with different organisations to offer related disciplines, professional training, short courses, and internships, etc.  New industry partners include CLP Power Academy, Hong Kong International Aviation Academy, and Hong Kong Public Relations Professionals’ Association.  More collaboration projects on digital media and creative technology would be initiated.  The College endeavours to open up more internship opportunities for students.  One example is students of the BA (Hons) in Business (Health Services Management) programme undertaking internship training in Hong Kong and Shenzhen hospitals in this academic year.  In addition, SPEED received funding from the Self-financing Post-secondary Education Fund of the Education Bureau in 2017/18 for launching the project entitled “Means to an End: Employability Competency Development in Work-Integrated Education” (Project ECD-WIE Office), with the aim of enhancing students’ employability.

About CPCE, HKCC and SPEED

HKCC and SPEED are two self-financed educational units operating under the auspices of CPCE, which was founded by PolyU in 2002.  HKCC currently offers more than 30 sub-degree programmes spanning the domains of arts, science, social sciences, business and the specialised areas of health studies and design.  As for SPEED, it provides about 30 top-up honours degree programmes leading to PolyU-SPEED awards which match closely the articulation needs of HKCC graduates in related disciplines.

Prof. Peter P. Yuen, Dean of PolyU CPCE (2^nd from left), Prof. Warren C.K. Chiu, Associate Dean (Quality Assurance) of PolyU CPCE (3^rd from left), Dr Simon Leung, Associate Dean (Development) of PolyU CPCE and Director of PolyU HKCC (1^st from left), and Dr Jack Lo, Director of PolyU SPEED (4^th from left) welcomed media to attend PolyU CPCE Chinese New Year Media Luncheon.

Prof. Peter P. Yuen introduces CPCE’s mission, edge and strategies.

Dr Leung Chun-wah, Discipline Leader of Applied Sciences and Technology and Programme Leader of Bachelor of Engineering (Hons) in Mechanical Engineering, PolyU SPEED, highlights PolyU CPCE’s academic programmes and the related research development.

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