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Established in 2001, the Leadership Development Programme (LDP) is an innovative programme offered by The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) that is aimed at developing and nurturing the leaders of tomorrow. Administered by the Leadership Development Section of the Office of University General Education, LDP was the first conscious attempt among Hong Kong’s universities to offer a comprehensive and systematic programme aimed at cultivating students to be future political, economic and community leaders.

“The Leadership Development Programme provides a soft comprehensive platform that is structured and balanced for selected interested students to cultivate their full range of leadership knowledge, skills and attitude, in order to enable them to become competent global citizens with cross-cultural understanding, appreciation and compassion for humankind.” said Prof. Jack C.Y. Cheng, Pro-Vice-Chancellor and chairman, Committee on Leadership Development.

The LDP provides countless experiences and numerous opportunities for students to develop themselves in such areas as leadership potential, civic education, and ethical and aesthetic education. Admitting only 30 students each year, the application process was very competitive and typically attracted the cream of the crop of undergraduates among the different faculties and departments in the University. Students have to commit to the programme for two years and add a 20-plus credit load to their already hectic study schedule with their existing undergraduate studies. As the programme director Prof. Cheung Chan-fai said, “We believe that a true leader does not become a leader in one day. The competence to lead comes from accumulating experiences and developing capabilities.”

The programme comprises a series of workshops on the essential leadership skills of communication, negotiation, public speaking, team building and decision making. It also invites leaders from political and business sectors to present the Leader to Leader Talk Series and other guest lectures, allowing students to interact with distinguished leaders from the government, NGOs and industry on an intimate level. Students in the programme are also assigned a mentor from outside of the University to oversee their intellectual development. Eddie Cheung, a graduate in Professional Accountancy Programme said, “The programme is not only about developing leaders but also developing your all-round abilities, such as analytical ability, interpersonal skills and time management.”

In addition, the programme emphasizes on cultivating students’ ability to analyse a social issue and understand its various intricacies in order to develop a solution. With such an eclectic group of students, it was possible to analyse each issue with multiple perspectives and multiple solutions. Such a situation also regularly presented a clash of ideas and the need to compromise. Derek Chen, a molecular biotechnology student remarked, “A good leader must be a good listener and also be able to work with people from different backgrounds and training. These group projects really developed my ability to relate to others and to look at things from multiple standpoints. This is something that a leader has to do in the real world on a day-to-day basis.”

The programme also arranges many study tours for students to broaden their horizons and experience different cultures. In the past, study tours were arranged to London, England where students can attend lectures at the University of London on the banking and political system of England, or to visit King’s College to learn firsthand about the UK devolution process from the politicians themselves. There were also study tours to Tsinghua University, Beijing, where students can learn about the environmental and social issues posed by the mass migration of people from the mainland countryside to the cities.