City University of Hong Kong (CityU) held the A+++ Scholarship Schemes presentation ceremony on 24 October and awarded scholarships to 44 first-year students who had registered outstanding academic and sporting achievements. Forty-four newly-recruited students, together with parents and secondary school principals and teachers shared in the joy of the awards ceremony.

Professor David Tong Shuk-yin,

Deputy President, said it was encouraging that so many students were awarded the A+++ Scholarships. "The recipients have increased 57% compared to last year and it shows that the quality of CityU's undergraduate students also improves. I hope students can make use of these three years to gear themselves up and prepare for the challenges of the future," Professor Tong said.

CityU specially assigned a professorial mentor to each scholarship recipient to help them plan for their future. "Students need to cope with a drastic change in these two months. Once they start at CityU, they need to plan for their personal growth and set goals for academic studies and their career in the future. We hope to cultivate and develop the strengths of the students through organising different kinds of activities, seminars and programmes and enhance a balanced development, which underscores CityU’s mission in providing students with a holistic learning experience," Professor Tong added.

Three of the A+++ Scholarship awardees - Toga Leung Yat-him of the Department of Marketing, Faculty of Business; Fan Fan-fan of the School of Creative Media; and Jade Pang Hiu-man of the Department of English and Communication, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences - said they were delighted to receive the scholarships, agreeing that the awards would motivate them to study hard.

Toga Leung, who is studying for his BBA (Hons) in Marketing, said he was delighted when he knew he had won a scholarship. The scholarship fulfilled his dream of studying at a university. "Joining CityU not only provides me with an opportunity to learn more about marketing but also helps me to become more independent and learn more social skills," Toga said. He thanked the Student Development Services for organising activities for the scholarship recipients. "I have participated in a seminar on time management and the speaker has provided some valuable suggestions in making good use of time. Now I can fully utilise my time and get a balance between all aspects of life," Toga added.

Being fond of art and creative works, Fan decided to study at the School of Creative Media. After she came to the University, she found the course was exactly what she had expected and it helped to provoke her creative thinking and inspired her with ideas. Fan said the scholarship really eased the financial burden on her family. "The scholarship can help me pay the tuition fees and I am able to participate in more activities, including the student exchange programme. I hope to gain more overseas experience and this may help me to enrich my life and provide sources for more creative ideas," Fan said.

The recipients will take the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) course to strengthen their language abilities. Jade Pang, who is studying for her BA (Hons) English for Professional Communication, said that she understood she would have an advantage in her future career with good language capabilities. "I believe this course will improve my writing skills and further bolster my listening and presentation skills," Jade said.

The A+++ Scholarship Schemes were launched to reward new students who had registered outstanding academic and sporting achievements. On offer are Entrance Scholarships, Student Exchange Scholarships and Residence Scholarships to nurture talented students and develop their potential to contribute to society.

All students applying for bachelor's degree programmes at CityU through the Joint University Programmes Admissions System are eligible. Students with outstanding academic results will be offered an Entrance Scholarship and a Student Exchange Scholarship. If they demonstrate outstanding sporting prowess, they will be offered a Residence Scholarship as well. The duration of the scholarships depends on whether the recipients are undertaking a three-year or four-year programme. The maximum amount a single student can receive is $280,000.