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To accommodate an additional 3,000 undergraduate students to be admitted under the new four-year curriculum, The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) established five new Colleges in 2007.  One of them is Lee Woo Sing College, which will admit its first cohort of about 250 students this year.  The medium-sized College can accommodate up to 1,200 students and provide 600 hostel places. 

Prof. Joseph Lau Wan-yee, Founding Master of Lee Woo Sing College, is an expert on hepato-pancreato-biliary surgery, an Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Professor of Surgery at CUHK.  Over the years, Professor Lau has made enormous contributions to the field by nurturing surgeons both on the mainland and abroad.  Professor Lau said, 'I'm honoured to be the founding master of Lee Woo Sing College, and I hope my life experience will inspire students to have a broader vision and reach higher goals with courage, strength and resilience.  In the past year, the College has collected views from high school students to understand their needs while formulating the strategic development plans.  As a medium-sized and brand new College, Lee Woo Sing College has enormous development potential and is able to facilitate closer interaction between teachers and students.  In future, I shall join efforts with my colleagues to cultivate a unique college culture and provide holistic and fruitful college life to students.' 

Nurturing Leadership and Promoting Harmony

'Leadership' and 'Harmony', the two key visions of the College, are the philosophies of the College Founder Dr. Li Wo-hing and College Patron Mr. Lee Woo-sing.  The College aspires to instil in its students proper values and caring culture, and help them to build team spirit and develop leadership skills to contribute to the world.         

A Green College with Innovative Facilities

Lee Woo Sing College was built on a green valley facing the Tolo Harbour.  Its campus was designed by the famous architect Mr. Rocco Yim, who has integrated the College campus with the natural environment in a harmonious manner.  Most of the hostel places command panoramic views of the Tolo Harbour or surrounding mountains.  CUHK has actively promoted the development of a sustainable campus, and earned public recognition as an exemplary green campus for the education sector.  As a member of the Committee on Campus Sustainability, Professor Lau translates his commitment to environmental conservation into a series of green measures, energy saving and recycling policies for the College. 

Two pioneering green measures make the College campus unique among local tertiary institutions. They are a newly invented high-efficiency CIGS solar energy generation system developed by the Department of Physics at CUHK; and a smart electricity meter system in student hostels.  The CIGS solar system can generate 25% more electricity than the conventional solar system even when sunlight is insufficient  The smart electricity meter system is aimed at raising students' awareness of energy saving and environmental protection.  The College is also studying the possibility of recycling food and oil wastes generated in its canteens, applying high efficiency heat reduction glass coating on buildings, rooftop planting, and other green measures.  Electric fans and small energy-saving fridges will also be installed in hostels not only to enhance students' living quality, but also to reduce the use of air-conditioning. 

Comprehensive Amenities to Enrich College Life

Lee Woo Sing College provides an array of cultural and recreational amenities to students, including a student-staff catering centre with a capacity of over 400 people; a green courtyard for outdoor musical activities; a multi-purpose hall, the first mini-theatre on the CUHK campus; and a fitness room with French windows and marvellous view, etc.  The College will promote the art of Beijing opera and Chinese culture, as well as provide a great variety of dining choices such as authentic Shanghai cuisine and Italian pizza, to enrich students' college life in every aspect. 

Strategic Forward Planning 

At a preliminary stage, the College has successfully solicited scholarships and bursaries worth HK$1.5 million to award students with outstanding performance and support students with financial difficulties.  To enhance holistic development and widen students' perspective, the College will organize various short-term visits to overseas countries and mainland China for its students, and provide them with experiential learning opportunities through different academic and cultural exchange programmes.  The College is forming collaborative partnerships and co-organizing exchange programmes with several sister universities, including Zhejiang University and Xian Jiaotong University.  Students will also have the chance to visit developing countries and remote areas to widen their horizons.  Besides, remarkable scholars and professionals will be invited to the College for short-term visits. They will join various cultural and social events of the College and share their valuable experience with students.   

To welcome the first batch of students, Lee Woo Sing College will launch a series of orientation activities, climaxing with a Grand Orientation Dinner to be held in late August, where the College Founder, College Patron, College Master, members of the Committee of Overseers, professors, staff and students will gather to share the joy and witness this historical moment.  The College has made use of different social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Youtube to facilitate timely and mutual communication with students.  Interested parties are welcome to search with 'cuhklws' on the above platforms to view the related pages.