Going to Universities

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Going to Universities

• Chak K. Chan
• A graduate of SSC (1982)
• Department of Chemical Engineering,
• Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

2
Acknowledgment

• Some slides are from Prof. Edmond Ko of City
  University of Hong Kong

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University Education2. Employability3.
Choosing JUPAS programs
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1. University Education

• What it should not be
• An extension of secondary school
• A qualification for a job
• What it should be
• Cultivation of an educated person
• A transformational experience

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Differences between secondary and tertiary
education

• As a university student, you will find
• more freedom and control over what you do and how
  you spend your time,
• a shift from teacher-directed learning to
  self-directed learning, and
• an emphasis on deep learning instead of surface
  learning.

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Deep versus surface learning

• Secondary education focuses on knowledge and
  comprehension, whereas university education
  focuses on application, analysis, synthesis, and
  evaluation.
• Therefore, what worked for you before (for
  example, learning by memory) will no longer work.

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Becoming an educated person
The best-educated human being is the one who
understands most about the life in which he is
placed. Helen Keller
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Becoming an educated person

• Focus on education, not training
• Learn to question the answer, not just answer the
  question
• Have a life that is worth living, not just make a
  living.
• Be the best that you can be, not necessarily the
  best.

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Focus on education, not training

• Words that describe education
• Deep, active, dynamic, long-term, broad,
  experiential, proactive, flexible, open,
  understanding, imaginative
• Words that describe training
• Surface, passive, static, short-term, narrow,
  rote, reactive, rigid, closed, memorizing, factual

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Question the answer

• We have learned the answers, all the answers it
  is the question that we do not know.
• Archibald MacLeish
• The person who knows how will always have a
  job. The person who knows why will always be
  his boss.
• Diane Ravitch

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A transformational experience educating for life

• Lifelong learning
• Learning to learn
• Commitment to continuous improvement
• Lifelong growth
• Promoting intellectual, social, physical,
  cultural, emotional, and psychological
  development
• Lifelong employability
• Preparing for a career rather than for the first
  job at graduation

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Developing a critical mind

• Do not
• accept information without questioning
• rely only on authority
• see things as black and white
• Do
• keep an open mind
• cultivate intellectual curiosity
• develop a habit to think logically and
  independently
• evaluate multiple sources of information before
  making your own decisions

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Participate in meaningful co-curricular activities

• Cultural and sport activities
• Overseas exchange
• Internships
• Community services

A word of caution Do not over-commit!
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Recall University Education

• What it should not be
• An extension of secondary school
• A qualification for a job
• What it should be
• Cultivation of an educated person
• A transformational experience

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2. Employability
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What is employability?

• Not the same as employment, which has to do with
  finding a job.
• Being able to find a job at graduation is no
  longer sufficient. The focus should be on
  long-term career development.
• Lifelong employability means staying competitive
  in the job market throughout ones career.

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Employability in the context of globalization

• Companies can base their operations anywhere, and
  can hire graduates from anywhere.
• People with the right knowledge and skills are
  highly mobile.
• The pace of change is a lot faster than before.
  Many people will change careers/disciplines over
  time.
• There is convergence of what global
  competitiveness means, in terms of the desirable
  attributes/competencies/skills of graduates (a
  form of international benchmarking).

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American College Testing (ACT)Skills that are
sought by employers

• Ability to learn
• Reading, writing, computation
• Listening and oral communication
• Problem solving, critical and scientific
  reasoning
• Motivation and self-development
• Interpersonal skills, negotiation, teamwork
• Organizational effectiveness, leadership
• Sheckley et al., Employability in a High
  Performance
• Economy, (1993), pp.109-113.

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Building a Better Employee

• Selected items from a list published in AAHE
  Bulletin, Vol.32(8), pp.12-13, April 2000.
• Can think critically and can readily apply what
  they learned.
• Will willingly pass on to others what they know.
• Understand the importance of making commitments
  to the team or employer, and following through on
  those commitments.
• Possess personal integrity and value
  relationships based on trust and honesty in all
  fields.
• Understand the value of taking risks and
  combining those risks with judgment based on
  sensible principles and sound information.
• Can function efficiently and considerately in
  meetings, where most of their work likely will be
  done.

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Attributes of a highly employable graduate in the
UK

• Self-management communication team-working
  interpersonal skill, self-awareness
  self-promotion exploring and creating
  opportunities action planning networking
  matching and decision-making negotiation
  political awareness coping with uncertainty
  development focus skill at transferring learning
  from one setting to another self-confidence
  managing work loads getting to the heart of
  problems.
• Peter Knight (2002)

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Employability Skills FrameworkAustralia 2002
(http//www.detya.gov.au/ty/publications/employabi
lity_skills/index.htm)

• Personal attributes
• Loyalty, commitment, honesty and integrity,
  enthusiasm, reliability, personal presentation,
  commonsense, positive self-esteem, sense of
  humour, balanced attitude to work and home life,
  ability to deal with pressure, motivation,
  adaptability
• Skills
• Communication, team work, problem-solving,
  initiative and enterprise, planning and
  organising, self-management, learning, technology

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ABET Engineering Criteria 2000
(http//www.abet.ba.md.us/EAC/eac2000.html)

• Engineering programs must demonstrate that their
  graduates have
• an ability to apply knowledge of mathematics,
  science, and engineering
• an ability to design and conduct experiments, as
  well as to analyze and interpret data,
• an ability to design a system, component, or
  process to meet desired needs,
• an ability to function on multidisciplinary
  teams,
• an ability to identify, formulate, and solve
  engineering problems,
• an understanding of professional and ethical
  responsibility,
• an ability to communicate effectively,
• the broad education necessary to understand the
  impact of engineering solutions in a
  global/societal context,
• a recognition of the need for, and an ability to,
  engage in lifelong learning,
• a knowledge of contemporary issues, and
• an ability to use the techniques, skills, and
  modern engineering tools necessary for
  engineering practice.

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EMB Survey of Employers (2002)

• Eight aspects of performance
• Chinese language proficiency
• English language proficiency
• Numerical competency
• Information technology literacy
• Analytical and problem-solving abilities
• Work attitude
• Inter-personal skills
• Management skills

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The bar has been raised

• Depth of knowledge in a specific discipline
  remains important, but is no longer sufficient.
• Application of knowledge to new situations is of
  value.
• Generic skills that cut across disciplines are
  key, especially the ability and motivation to
  learn.
• Many skills, such as self-management and group
  effectiveness, are related to personal
  development.

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A career tool kit

• In preparation for your career, you must develop
  many skills and competencies.
• Even more important, however, is a clear idea of
  what you are going to use these skills and
  competencies for.
• In other words, there must be a reason and
  motivation for you to want to learn and develop.

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3. Choosing JUPAS programs
Recall Generic skills that cut across
disciplines, especially the ability and
motivation to learn, are key to lifelong
employability.
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3. Choosing JUPAS programs

• Knowing the programs
• Knowing yourself
• Preliminary screening
• Reprioritization

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A. Knowing the programs

• Ask the questions
• Acquire information of programs. Be open minded
  in learning about programs, especially those
  which are new to you.
• Talk to the Departments (faculty and students).
  Most departments have designated faculty members
  to handle UG admission. Call or email the persons
  directly.
• Attempt to understand the curriculum of each
  program. It can be very different from your
  perception.
• Search the web to know more about similar
  programs outside HK. Is there an international
  need of the graduates? Are these programs
  sustainable?

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A. Knowing the programs (Contd)

• Ask what type of students they want to admit and
  what type of graduates they want to produce.
• Do not believe in the myths of how each
  department admits students from friends or other
  parties. Get the most accurate information from
  the departments on
• the criteria of admitting students
• the procedure of arriving at decisions of
  admission
• the calculation method of ALE scores, e.g., 3B is
  better/worse than ABC.

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B. Knowing yourself

• Develop a personal portfolio including your extra
  curricular activities
• Identify your interests, strengths and
  weaknesses.
• Make a priority list of the factors that would
  affect your program choice.
• Make a rough prediction of your ALE results.

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C Preliminary program screening

• Match program expectations with your priority
  list of factors.
• Identify a few (3?) programs that you would love
  to get in, including those that may have a very
  keen competition to get in.
• Identify a few programs that you have an interest
  in studying and that you have a high chance of
  get in, by comparing your expected ALE score with
  the median admission score of the program.
• Attend information sessions offered by the
  departments offering the programs for knowing
  more about the programs and talking to the
  students.

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D. Reprioritization of program choices

• After the ALE results are out, focus on 3
  programs for your Band A choices.
• Talk to the departments offering these programs
  again for your re-prioritization for further
  information, including the likelihood of
  admission.
• Differentiate between what you want to study and
  what your parents/teachers want you to study.
• Put the program that you like most and that you
  have a finite chance to get in as the 1st choice.
• Put safer choices as 2nd and 3rd choices.

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Your Year 1 study

• It is not a honeymoon period.
• Time management is most critical. Identify ways
  to make use of the free time between classes.
• Avoid missing classes
• Take part in extra curricular activities,
  including volunteering work
• Caution Do not over-commit.