PolyU-affiliated HKCC and SPEED welcome new students   The PolyU-affiliated College of Professional and Continuing Education (CPCE) held its welcoming ceremonies yesterday (1 September) for nearly 3,200 new full-time associate degree, higher diploma and top-up degree students of its Hong Kong Community College (HKCC) and School of Professional Education and Executive Development (SPEED). Officiating at the ceremonies were PolyU President Prof. Poon Chung-kwong, CPCE Dean Prof. Peter Yuen, CPCE Associate Dean Dr Peter Walters, HKCC Director Dr Simon Leung and SPEED Director Dr Jack Lo. This year, HKCC has admitted more than 2,700 students into its wide range of associate degree, and higher diploma programmes which are clustered into five study areas (Applied Social Sciences, Business, Design, Humanities and Communication, and Science and Technology) and certain specialised discipline programmes. Speaking at the welcoming ceremonies, HKCC Director Dr Simon Leung said, “As a relatively young institution with a short span of seven years since its inception in 2001, HKCC takes great pride in being a leader in all-round associate degree education. This year, we have further added new elements into the College’s comprehensive curriculum by introducing more programmes and discipline choices for students with different interests and aptitudes.” The new academic year also sees the introduction of five new associate degree programmes, including Advertising Design, Environment and Interior Design, Industrial and Product Design, Visual Communication as well as Global Business.  On top of these, HKCC further offers three new higher diploma programmes, namely Event Management and Marketing, Financial and Investment Planning, and Translation and Interpretation. These practical programmes are designed to nurture professional talents for the promising industries in Hong Kong and the Chinese Mainland. Starting with the 2008/09 academic year, HKCC’s new campus at West Kowloon has been put into operation. Adopting the “arch of triumph” design which symbolises the “doors to wisdom”, the new campus comprises two towers with a gross floor area of over 31,000 square metres. The West Kowloon Campus hosts business programmes while the existing Hung Hom Bay Campus runs communication and social sciences programmes, as well as science and technology programmes. SPEED, on the other hand, has admitted more than 460 students this year to study in its five full-time top-up degree programmes, including Bachelor of Arts in Applied and Media Arts, Business (Finance/International Business), Housing Management, Marketing and Public Relations as well as Travel Industry Management. To cater for the different study needs of students, most of the above top-up degree programmes are also offered in part-time mode, together with other part-time programmes including Bachelor of Arts in Policing and Public Order, Executive Diploma in Management (Jewelry), and Diploma in Leadership and Management.  Addressing new students at the welcoming ceremonies, SPEED Director Dr Jack Lo said “As a major provider of continuing education in Hong Kong, SPEED is dedicated to continuously expanding its portfolio of curriculum through enriched programmes in different study modes to suit learners’ needs in this changing economy. As the School’s programme numbers continue to grow, we are offering students excellent accessibility to professional education and great flexibility in lifelong learning.”   In this academic year, SPEED offers a total of 19 award-bearing programmes leading to awards of PolyU SPEED or overseas universities. These full-time and part-time programmes range from diploma, executive diploma, bachelor’s degree to master’s degree levels with a student enrolment of over 2,720. As a pioneer of lifelong learning, the School also offers credit-bearing courses for learners to study at their own pace and accumulate lifetime-valid credits for academic awards through its Credit Accumulation Mechanism (CAM). This year, SPEED has also further expanded its collaboration with renowned overseas universities to offer a wider spectrum of top-up degree and professional programmes leading to overseas academic awards. A wide array of specialisms are covered, including business, finance, human resources management, law, logistics and supply chain management, business administration as well as strategy and procurement management. ***** Press Contact: Ms Catherine Chung         Tel: 3400 2694 School of Professional Education and Executive Development         Miss Winnie Wong         Tel: 3746 0277 Hong Kong Community College