#learningwithoutboundaries

Nearly 200 new undergraduate and postgraduate students, faculty and staff members joined the IPO Online Welcome Session 2020 on 31 August 2020 which is the first year that IPO held the welcome event online via Zoom.

Prof. Huamin QU, Director of IPO, kick-started the session with a warm welcome message to all new students including some exciting new initiatives will soon happen at the University like the new auditorium and new majors. He also prepared a hand drawn message card wishing student a “tea-riffic’ semester ahead as he welcomes students to join him for tea time to share about the campus life when the current pandemic situation improves. In times of online learning, Prof. Arthur LAU, Program Co-director of Environmental Management & Technology (EVMT), UG and TPg Coordinator of the Division of Environment & Sustainability (ENVR), share some effective online learning tips. For postgraduate studies, PG Coordinator of the Division of Public Policy (PPOL), Prof. Kira MATUS, shared tips on conducting research remotely (off-campus). Ms Vanessa CHAN, Career Advisor of IPO, also took this opportunity to introduce IPO’s career and advising services and encouraged students to contact her team anytime in need.

After the fruitful sharing, undergraduate students were divided into groups to interact with their fellow classmates. Although it was not easy to connect with each other for meeting the first time online, students enjoyed mingling and playing interactive games with each other under the guidance of senior students and staff. They showcased team spirit and creativity where they used objects at home to make up the letters “IPO”, the abbreviation of Interdiscplinary Programs Office.

To earmark the year students join the IPO family, we made a time capsule together with no exception this year.  Students submitted their answers for questions like what they want to achieve at university life and what are the hopes for their future selves online. Their answers will be kept in the virtual time capsule and returned to them at their congregations. By the time they leave HKUST, they can review if they have achieved what they wanted and expected, and whether their goals have changed along the study.

At the end of the welcome session, Prof. Tim WOO, Associate Director of Center for Education Innovation & Academic Director of Undergraduate Core Education, delivered the Common Core Talk to talk about what Common Core Courses are and how they facilitate learning in HKUST.   

The IPO Online Welcome Session has been uploaded at IPO Intranet for students’ reference.