GECW1010 University and Society (3 units) is a required course for Year 1 students (except Senior Year entrants), and is held on Friday afternoons in Term 1. As a key component of the first-year experience, the course introduces students to university learning. Learning activities (number of weeks) include: topical lectures (6), tutorials (3), academic skills lectures (2) and writing workshop (1). The topics are:

• Idea of a University: origin, values, purposes; debates about higher education; universities in the modern world.
• Idea of This University: higher education in Asia and Hong Kong; history and mission of this university; policy and individual choice.
• Tradition and Modernity: concept of modernity; modernisation in Western civilisation; China and the West: contacts and interactions, globalisation and challenges.
• Academic Study Skills: paper outline and structure; searching for information; editing, formatting and referencing.

Current students should refer to updates sent via email (@link email) and/or announced on the CUHK eLearning platform Blackboard.