Achievements Strategic Plan 2016-22

Throughout its history, Lingnan University has maintained a fine tradition of pursuing academic excellence that it inherited from its predecessor in Guangzhou. Today, it has become a leading liberal arts university in the region. It was ranked as one of the “Top 10 Liberal Arts Colleges in Asia” by Forbes in 2015 and was ranked as among the top 100 Asian universities in Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) Asia University Rankings 2018.

We have, under the Strategic Plan 2016-2022, made considerable achievements in five strategic areas encompassing academic development and research, student development, campus development, institutional advancement and sub-degree and continuing education. In this section, we highlight some of these achievements.

Under the 1st strategic area of academic development and research, we have

established a coherent set of institutional Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), which are benchmarked with best practices at leading liberal arts institutions and aligned with the University Accountability Agreement (UAA) through strategic dialogue with UGC and in consultation with members of the University community
critically reviewed our teaching and learning processes and addressed fully the recommendations from the 2nd quality audit of the University by the Quality Assurance Council (QAC) receiving highly positive assessment of our progress which has been referred to as ‘exemplary’
fully implemented the “outcome-based approach to teaching and learning” (OBATL) and criterion-referenced assessment for both undergraduate and taught postgraduate (TPg) programmes
engaged undergraduate students in faculty research and supervised student-initiated research projects including community-based research projects, with the introduction of a brand new student research enhancement funding scheme that provides targeted research training for undergraduate and postgraduate students mentored by faculty members
developed and launched nine new taught postgraduate programmes including a professional doctorate with TPg/professional doctorate enrolments reaching a record high of 849 students in 2018-19
made a remarkable leap of 29 places in scholars’ citations per paper in the QS Asia University Rankings 2019, which is further to the big jump of 140 places in the previous year; recorded a 20% increase in total income from Knowledge Transfer (KT) projects and consultancy and a 300% increase in cumulative income from social and community projects; and reached out to serve over 40,000 people who benefitted from our KT activities
institutionalised a funding mechanism that is driven by research performance to encourage, support and reward colleagues in competitive research grant applications, cross institutional research collaborations, and knowledge transfer endeavours
forged closer international and regional research partnerships and collaborations, including a strategic partnership with the Centre for Global Higher Education, the world’s leading research platform on higher education led by the University College London, which now comprises 15 leading universities in the UK, the Netherlands, US, China, Australia, Ireland, Japan and South Africa
established closer regional research collaborations through strategic partnerships with Sun Yat-Sen University and South China University of Technology in promoting student learning and research with a focus on the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area in Southern China

Lingnan University & Sun Yat Sen University release research report

For the 2nd strategic area of student development, we have

broadened students’ international exposure by significantly increasing the number of student exchange partnerships to 210 universities and colleges across 40 countries as well as the number of student exchanges to institutions beyond the Anglo-American mainstream; and through collaboration with more overseas organizations for service/experiential learning and internship opportunities for undergraduate students
strengthened the role of hostels in enhancing students’ language proficiency and established an enhanced support and quality assurance system for advancing hostel education and experiences in line with the University’s mission and the attributes of the ideal Lingnan graduate
provided more leadership training opportunities for students, such as the organization of a High Flyer Club, the Leadership Enhancement Programme for Student Societies, the Higher Education Service-Learning Network, and the Belt and Road Service-Learning Programme in Central Asia
launched the Lingnan Entrepreneurship Initiative (LEI), a platform to offer a comprehensive innovation and entrepreneurship education programme to Lingnan students and to the greater Lingnan community, and established an Entrepreneurial Knowledge Transfer Fund to nurture student-led startups, and a Social Innovation Hub to enhance innovation and entrepreneurship education through service-learning

For the 3rd strategic area of campus development, we have

completed work on a Campus Master Plan and submitted a proposal to adjust the plot ratio to the Lands Department for consideration
built a Multimedia Black Box Theatre, a LEI Beta (β) Lab, a Psychology Lab, a STEAM (Science， Technology， Engineering， Arts and Mathematics) Lab for enriching the cultural and artistic life on campus and for support of STEAM education
completed the preliminary architectural design and started the engineering studies required for the construction of a Lingnan Hub to facilitate closer staff-student interaction, staff recruitment and retention, and the long-term financial sustainability of the University

Lingnan Entrepreneurship Initiative Beta Lab

For the 4th strategic area of institutional advancement, we have

successfully launched a brand campaign in connection with the 50th anniversary of the re-establishment of the University in Hong Kong and reaffirmed our commitment to the Lingnan spirit through the year-long celebration that united the entire University community
promulgated to the university community and the general public our aspiration of nurturing the next generation of world citizens with an undertaking that is summarised by the tagline “Liberal Arts Education - Transformation For Life”
launched the Alliance of Asian Liberal Arts Universities (AALAU) comprising 25 member institutions as of 20 May 2019 where Lingnan University continues to play a leading role as a founding member in promoting liberal arts education in Asia; and continued to foster inter-university cooperation through the Global Liberal Arts Alliance (GLAA) and the United Board for Christian Higher Education in Asia
exceeded the 50th anniversary fundraising target of HK$100M

Global Liberal Arts Alliance – Leadership Meeting

For the 5th strategic area of sub-degree and continuing education, we have

merged the Community College of Lingnan University (CCLU) and the Lingnan Institute of Further Education (LIFE) for administrative efficiency and resource efficacy
repositioned the new LIFE in providing an alternative pathway for high school leavers to pursue quality post-secondary education with unique Lingnan University features as well as quality vocation-oriented academic programmes to meet emerging learning and human resource development needs of society.