Strategic Plan 2022-28

Guided by the liberal arts education philosophy, the University has endeavoured to meet the societal needs through our educational provision, research and knowledge transfer (KT). Interdisciplinary undergraduate programmes have been offered to nurture students with broad intellectual foundation so that they can quickly respond to changes in a competitive world. At the postgraduate level, the University grooms working adults to realise their dreams and potentials in careers. Together our undergraduate and postgraduate programmes have engendered a synergy in teaching and research. On the research front, the University values research and knowledge transfer that generate social impact and demonstrate care for the local community. In this section, some of these achievements are highlighted:

Under the 1st strategic area “Enhancing Undergraduate Teaching and Learning”, we have 

• been ranked 3rd in the world in “Quality Education” among over 1,000 universities by the Times Higher Education (THE) Impact Rankings 2021
  
• scored the highest in “teaching and learning satisfaction” and second highest in “undergraduate satisfaction with their overall learning environment” among UGC-funded universities’ student evaluations, according to the UGC’s University Accountability Agreement (UAA) annual progress reports for both 2018 and 2019
  
• been ranked 1st in “International Faculty”, “Inbound Exchange Students” and “Outbound Exchange Students” among 650 universities by QS Asia University Rankings in 2021
  
• introduced five new undergraduate (UG) programmes (including self-financed ones) and a number of majors/concentrations/minors that feature creativity/creative arts and media, artificial intelligence (AI) and ethics, big data and business psychology
  
• over 80% of our undergraduate students participating in semester-long exchange or outbound summer programmes before the onset of the global COVID-19 pandemic
  
• enriched students’ international learning experiences through over 250 exchange partners, including members of the Global Liberal Arts Alliance (GLAA) and the Alliance of Asian Liberal Arts Universities (AALAU)
  
• admitted over 400 non-local exchange students per year from many countries/regions, significantly increasing our campus’ international character before the COVID-19 pandemic
  
• admitted non-local degree-seeking students representing over 20 nationalities, generating ample opportunities for cross-cultural learning and appreciation

For the 2nd strategic area “Expanding Postgraduate Education”, we have

• expanded postgraduate (PG) programmes not just at the taught master’s level but also at the taught/professional doctoral level to address changing needs in areas including “creative arts and creative industries”, “health and social care”, “smart cities” and “big data analytics”, and to promote Hong Kong as a leading international education hub
  
• increased modestly the number of research postgraduate (RPg) students by using non-UGC funds and over-enrolment of UGC-funded quotas to create a critical mass of postgraduate students required for a more lively research environment
  
• partnered with renowned overseas/Mainland institutions (particularly those in the Greater Bay Area) to develop joint PG programmes and to internationalise our programmes through such partnerships and collaborations to further enhance the provision of international learning opportunities for our students, e.g. placement, internship, exchange, study tours, etc.
  
• attracted a high percentage of non-local PG students to our programmes
  
• recorded an impressive completion rate of RPg students
  
• nurtured young researchers and scholars as reflected in the high percentage of our RPg graduates having pursued a research-related career/studies after graduation
  
• established the School of Graduate Studies in 2019 to strengthen the central support provided for PG programmes as well as the monitoring of their quality while the Board of Graduate Studies was also established in 2020 to strengthen the quality assurance of academic programmes at the school/faculty level
  

For the 3rd strategic area “Driving Research Excellence and Knowledge Transfer”, we have

• been recognised in Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) 2020:
  
  • the percentage of publications rated 4-star (“world leading”) or 3-star (“internationally excellent”) has more than doubled in comparison with the RAE 2014
    
  • the percentage of outputs rated 4-star in Sociology & Anthropology, Accountancy, Philosophy and Social Work & Social Policy were ranked top two in these four Units of Assessments (UoAs)
    
  • Social Work & Social Policy and Accountancy achieved notable results in terms of 4-star and 3-star outputs in these two UoAs
    
  • more than half of the Impact Cases were rated 4-star (“outstanding impacts”) or 3-star (“considerable impacts”)
    
• increased research funding and broadened social impact since 2019 (e.g. HK$63 million and HK$32 million were received from the UGC Research Matching Grant Scheme and the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust respectively)
  
• established five joint research centres in the Greater Bay Area and partnerships with international universities to access worldwide research platforms
  
• recorded an increase in cumulative income from on-going social projects and contract research by 209% and 54% respectively
  
• launched the Fighting COVID-19@Lingnan campaign to meet the changing social needs of society during the pandemic
  
• launched the Intellectual Property (IP) Clinic in the Office of Research and Knowledge Transfer since 2020 which had supported six patent filings, two trademark registrations (apart from three patent filings and one trademark registration prior to that), and the first licensing deal of the University
  

For the 4th strategic area “Advancing Residential Education and Promoting Student Training in Leadership and Entrepreneurship”, we have

• recorded a high student participation in international exchanges, Service-Learning, humanitarian entrepreneurship and research with social impact
  
• involved over 600 student-participants and benefited more than 12,000 community beneficiaries annually through Service-Learning activities
  
• offered 45 entrepreneurial trainings/activities and 26 global start-up internship opportunities for students in 2020-21
  
• introduced the Wellness Hotspot and Living Well Academy
  
• launched a CC4U (Closely Connected for You) Campaign
  
• established a laboratory on physiological indicators of well-being
  

For the 5th strategic area “Strengthening Institutional Advancement”, we have

• promoted LU’s success stories to local and international communities
  
• participated actively in the international community of liberal arts institutions, including GLAA and AALAU
  
• established University-wide undergraduate and postgraduate alumni associations
  
• raised HK$131,662,722.60 of funds from 1 September 2019 to 31 August 2021 (HK$71,949,265.62 in 2019-20, and HK$59,713,456.98 in 2020-21)
  

For the 6th strategic area “Accelerating Campus Development”, we have

• built Heng Kam Lin Computer Centre, LU Jockey Club Gerontech-X Lab and LEO Dr David P. Chan Data Science Programme Learning Resources Centre
  
• built an additional Mezzanine floor in the Library which among other things houses a Design Innovation Lab to create a Learning Common