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In the 21^st Century, global challenges are expanding and occurring more rapidly than ever before. Challenges from global warming, hunger, cultural conflicts and terrorism, to poverty and income disparity, urbanisation, controversies over big data and artificial intelligence affect the daily lives of mankind. To broaden the global vision of students, The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) has launched the new “Grand Challenges for Global Citizens in the 21^st Century” general education course. Eight distinguished CUHK professors will give lectures to guide students in understanding the controversies in these global issues so that they can develop their point of views, consider their stance and revisit the relationship between themselves and society from the perspective of a global citizen.  

A Credit-bearing General Education Course Covering Various Global Issues

Organised by CUHK’s Office of University General Education for the first time in September 2018, the “Grand Challenges for Global Citizens in the 21^st Century” is a 3-credit elective course open to all undergraduate students with a quota of 50. Students have to attend a weekly two-hour lecture to get a better understanding of global issues followed by a bi-weekly tutorial session in which in-depth discussions of relevant global issues will be conducted. Moreover, students can participate in various experimental learning activities such as a guided tour of the Jockey Club Museum of Climate Change; meeting with overseas researchers at the CUHK Soybean Research Laboratory and a visit to homeless people in Hong Kong to understand issues of poverty. 

This general education course covers more CUHK academic departments than any other course has in recent years. Experts in CUHK will guide students to ponder on global issues so that they will have a better idea of the details of these issues and the specific knowledge they involve. The lecture topics and speakers are as follows: 

Prof. Leung Mei Yee, Director of University General Education, CUHK said, ““Global Challenge” and “Global Citizenship” are hot issues in recent years. As these challenges are co-related, there is no country which can exempt itself from these challenges. Instead, different countries have to collaborate with others to formulate possible solutions. I hope after taking the course, our students can have a certain level of knowledge of these global challenges and be able to analyse the issues in their cultural and historical contexts and weigh options or formulate possible solutions. It is most important that they can reflect on the responsibilities of being global citizens and communicate their insights and information to their peers.” 

The aim of the “Grand Challenges for Global Citizens in the 21^st Century” general education course is to explore the challenges faced by humankind. Students will learn to identify the global issues from the perspective of international relations and the evolution of social systems, and from cultural, social and economic factors as well as ethics. It hopes to broaden the global horizon of the students and lead them to understand the relation between themselves and society.