Tung Wah College (TWC) held an Inauguration Ceremony recently (2 September) to welcome 1033 new students who were admitted to 16 degree, sub-degree and diploma programmes offered by the School of Nursing, School of Medical and Health Sciences, School of Management and School of Arts and Humanities. The applications to TWC this year were encouraging, with over 9,000 direct applications and 18,000 JUPAS applications. As of 15 September, the number of new full-time student admissions was higher than expected with slightly increase of 8% compared to last year, and 20 students pending registration process completion. Though the number of HKDSE candidates in 2022 marked a record low for the past 11 years, the number of students admitted this year has increased when compared with the corresponding figure last year, showing that the academic quality of the programmes offered by TWC is widely recognised and be able to meet the needs of the society.

The ceremony was officiated by Mr Philip Ma Ching-yeung, Chairman of Board of Governors of TWC, who shared in his welcome address to new students with his experience of participating in motor sports for more than 20 years, to encourage all newcomers to stand firm in their faith to keep passion alive throughout their learning journey, in order to rise to the challenges ahead and achieve personal breakthroughs. “To win a race, you have to understand, upgrade and make the best use of your equipment; to make yourself more competitive, you have to keep growing, keep training and learning. While you make good preparations, you also need to swiftly respond to the actual conditions, grasping the opportunities to stand out in a race.” He stressed that never stop striving for innovations and advancement is the key to success, which is also the commitment of the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals when serving the community, and it is crucial to meet the ever-changing needs of the society and members of the public.

Professor Sally Chan, President of TWC, welcomed at the ceremony all new students who have overcome unprecedented challenges posed by the pandemic for joining the TWC family. Professor Chan encouraged students to exchange their ideas with teachers proactively. “TWC’s incredibly talented academics are renowned experts in their fields and are enthusiastically applying their expertise through scholarship, research, and real-world practice to address the most pressing local, regional and global challenges. They will guide you, and help you open doors to more new possibilities!” Professor Chan also remarked that TWC is still able to attract considerable student applications with its established niche despite the declining HKDSE student population and keen competition in student recruitment among local tertiary institutions, showing that TWC’s programmes are well-recognised by the society, which reaffirms the College’s determination to sharpening its competitive edge and providing tertiary education with higher quality and greater diversity.

At the ceremony, two new students were invited to share their reasons of choosing TWC. Alex Tsang, the student representative from the Bachelor of Health Information and Services Management (Honours), who has also admitted to a Chinese Medicine degree programme offered by another UGC-funded university. He said that the prevailing pandemic has made him aware of the importance of accurate data analysis in fighting the virus. He believed that the programme he admitted to will probably be the turning point for improving local healthcare services in the future, helping patients to receive timely and appropriate medical treatment, and that is why he chose to apply for the programme, aspiring to help more patients with Smart Healthcare.  

Another student representative, Angela Cheng, who is admitted as a student of the Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Occupational Therapy. Angela worked as a teacher and research assistant after getting her bachelor degree. The experience told her that many people with special needs and their caregivers are suffering from lack of community support. She pointed out that Hong Kong needs more occupational therapists to assist the disadvantaged to resume normal daily routines.  She is pleased to know that the programme she admitted to has received professional accreditation from the Hong Kong Supplementary Medical Professions Council and World Federation of Occupational Therapists. She is determined to equip herself to become an occupational therapist for serving the disadvantaged, helping patients to resume motivation and improve life quality.