Ms. LEUNG Siu Ki, Jay, Director of the University Admissions Office, admitted in an interview with Shue Yan Newsletter that due to the facts that there were less students taking the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination, more students emigrating with their families and choosing to study overseas, and local colleges and universities providing more varieties of programmes, students had more choices for further study. As a result, new student recruitment of Shue Yan University would be more challenging in the future.
Ms. LEUNG said that since its establishment three years ago, the Admissions Office had stepped upits work of publicizing. In addition to enriching and updating information on its website, the Office also organized programmes exhibitions to deepen communication with secondary school students, teachers and parents. Besides, the Office held admissions talks and interview skill workshops in secondary schools. Apart from admissions activities, Shue Yan scholars were also invited to give thematic lectures in topics related to their academic expertise to the secondary school students. Recently, the Admissions Office and other institutions of higher education were more closely connected, successfully gaining more reputation of Shue Yan. “Students applying for senior entry may not necessarily be familiar with our programmes. But after the publicity work was strengthened, the number of students applying for articulation programmes has doubled.”
Ms. LEUNG also pointed out that the Admissions Office had adopted a more active public promotion strategy and its ways of promotion were more diversified than in the past, effectively enhancing the image of Shue Yan University. In comparison to advertising on newspapers as a main marketing channel before, more recently, social media such as Instagram, Facebook and YouTube had been used to broadcast promotional videos and live lectures. Since last year, Shue Yan University had been recruiting students all year round, so the Office had also made some efforts on Google to gain more exposure. On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the University, the Office had placed advertisements on public transport as well as the large outdoor LED screens at Causeway Bay and other places.
Furthermore, the Admissions Office had also issued a vividly designed admission compass to introduce the university’s motto, facilities, student u-life, and academic programmes, which were presented not only in simple text and photos.
She said, “Shue Yan is the first private university recognized by the Hong Kong Government and up to now, the first and only private university in Hong Kong listed in the QS Asia University Rankings. We will strive to obtain public recognition for our strength and quality. With regard to the publicity concept, all creative ideas were generated around our slogan ‘Shue Yan Walks Beside You.’ It is indeed very meaningful to the Shue Yan community, and we will continue to work along this direction.”
Since 2021, the Admission Office had been recruiting current students to join a student production team. It is hoped that our students in the team could produce innovative marketing products by making use of their talents and fashion sense, while they were given an opportunity to gain practical experience and contribute back to the University.
Looking ahead, Ms. LEUNG said, in view of the success of the existing publicity strategy, resources would continue to be allocated to facilitate these efforts. Besides, the publicity team of the Admissions Office would launch new campaigns to keep up with the current publicity trend, so as to enhance students’ and the public’s understanding of Shue Yan. Regarding admissions policy, the Admissions Office would assists the University in reviewing the existing mechanisms and practices from time to time to streamline the application process and provide clear admission information to applicants and the public.
She said, “In the future, the Admissions Office will focus on introducing Shue Yan and its new academic direction, ‘Digital Humanities’, to the public. We will explore and employ more playful and interactive elements to attract public attention to Shue Yan.”
Source：50th Anniversary Special Issue