CUHK
News Centre

Today marked the beginning of a new academic year of The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK). Prof. Joseph J.Y. Sung, Vice-Chancellor and President of CUHK addressed new students at the Inauguration Ceremony for Undergraduates as follows:

Video recap: https://www.cpr.cuhk.edu.hk/cutv/detail/740

Making the Most of College

Welcome to the Chinese University. How do we not waste our time in the next few years in the university? Why do some students make the most of university education and college life, while others struggle and some years later look back on years of missed deadlines and missed opportunities? What choices can you make, what courses should you take, what activities should you join, which friends should you network with, to ensure your time is not wasted?

At the start of your university and college days, I suggest you to compile a list of what you want to achieve in your 4 years of College life. Then, twelve months later, produce a list of what you have done and match it with the one on what you had wanted to achieve. You can tell whether you have made your College life worthwhile or a waste. At the end of your studies, you can tell how well your commitments actually match your goals.

While you are compiling this list, there are three things I urge you to learn in the next few years. First: Learn… who you are. Second: Learn… what this world actually needs. Third: Learn… how to work with others.

Learn who you are. You may think that you know who you are. Well, there is much more in YOU to be explored. What are your strengths and weaknesses? What is your self-image and how does it affect your views on others? What are the things you value most and how does they affect your choices in life? What will you do when you are under stress and challenges? If history is a mirror of humankind, then your college life can be a mirror of yourself. Through interactions with teachers, students and colleagues from different walks of life, learn who you are from their reactions. Through reflecting upon the many ups and downs on campus, you will become more mature. Only when you know who you are, will you fit into this world better.

Learn what this world actually needs. Do we need more wealth or a fairer way to distribute wealth? Do we need more medicine to cure cancer, heart disease and prolong life or an improved way of living and quality of life? Do we need more freedom or a value or moral framework? Do we need more criticism and judgement or more love and forgiveness? To answer these questions, you’ll need to read outside your course work and exam syllabus. You need to explore and experience through the many opportunities your university life is going to offer you. You need to listen to different voices with an open mind. You need to broaden your horizon beyond local issues and politics.

Learn how to work with others. To be able to work as a team, or even to lead a team one day, you have to be able to accommodate (people holding different views), to filter (and not be overwhelmed by information that come your way), to find your place in the team (where you can make the best contribution), and finally to share the glory of success and the responsibility of failure. When you are doing an assignment or project with your classmates, when you are joining a trip of service experience, when you are serving in a committee or student body, don’t look at the grades only, don’t just count your credit points, think not of your own good but the achievement of the team.  

I have asked you to compile a list of what you want to achieve. By the time you finish here, take it out and check it against the list of what you have done. Some students will find some overlap between the two lists but the majority will not. Some will find their college experience joyful and fruit-bearing. Others will discover that they have spent much of their precious time on activities they don’t value highly. I don’t want you to regret wasting your precious moments in university. This is the time for you to align your time commitments to reflect your personal convictions. Ladies and Gentlemen, let this final stage of your formal education be a life-transforming experience.