Courses set up to meet demand
A growing demand for public relations professionals and journalists, both in Hong Kong and the mainland, has prompted a university to introduce related studies in the new academic year. Chinese University's School of Continuing and Professional Studies will run Chinese Journalism and Public Relations and Advertising higher diploma courses from September.
A market survey conducted by the school found that the mainland placed importance in brand building, and the need for public relations professionals to promote products and services. It also found there were many job vacancies for mid-level editors and writers in magazines and journals.
'Although the course is called Chinese Journalism, there will also be much emphasis on English grammar and writing as well,' said school director Victor Lee Sze-kuen. 'It is very important for a successful journalist to be good at both languages.'
He said Chinese journalism and public relations were closely related, and students could study one of them as a major and the other as a minor. For students wishing to launch their career on the mainland, the school has arranged 'top-up' degrees with leading universities there to help graduates continue their studies to obtain a degree.
A similar link-up has been made with local universities, and the school is also exploring such arrangements with overseas universities.
The school offers a variety of higher diploma programmes, including art and design, social science and Chinese medicine. Over the years, its graduates had achieved promising results. More than 40 per cent continued their studies in local or overseas universities, and about 60 per cent found jobs within months of graduating.
Dr Lee said higher diploma and associate degree courses offered school-leavers a second chance to continue their education after losing the first opportunity to enter a university. 'While students should appreciate this, our society should also give these young people a chance and should not classify their ability at this early stage. They still have many opportunities to develop their talent,' he said.
According to Dr Lee, running the school is challenging. Although the school had arranged internships for students with many public and private organisations, he said the school was exploring more of these opportunities. 'We have been working hard to find such partnerships. We want our students to be more prepared to work in the real world. The experience they gain will be rewarding for them.'
Another challenge is to improve the language skills of its students. Dr Lee said students proficient in languages would find it easy to get jobs and play a leadership role in the market. 'Good language is the key to success. We will help students to take English exams, such as IELTS [International English Language Testing System], to show potential employers their language ability,' he said. The school also organises exchange programmes to help students' personal development. For example, some students did voluntary work in Sichuan after the recent earthquake.
