Communication is a Key to the Future in a Knowledge-based Economy as well as in the Creative Industries

Contributed by Professor Huang Yu, Dean of the School of Communication

This is a very exciting time for the School of Communication. Though we are proud of our history as one of the longest established school of communication in Hong Kong, we are continually looking forward, too.

Becoming a communication professional in a rapidly changing world requires much more than practical and technological skills. It requires intellectual flexibility, but rooted in a well-developed ethical sense. Critical, analytical and problem-solving competences of a high order are necessary, too. Our full range of degree programmes prepare students for a wide variety of careers, both in the media and creative industries themselves and for the growing number of positions in corporate and non-profit organisations which require skilled communication professionals.

Increasingly, graduates of the School are finding their way into media organisations not just in Hong Kong but across the region, especially in mainland China, and internationally. Students who decide to follow a programme in the School will find that developing an understanding of the role of media and communication in society from a global perspective will go hand in hand with acquiring practical expertise, including in the areas of interactive and social media, which are now so much in demand. Thus, an international perspective is also very important for the future. This is a globalised world. Whatever we do, having a full picture and understanding the different parts of the world, how they are connected and how they communicate, will help us to do a good job.

Our students regularly win awards in their different fields. Three 2011 graduates of the School’s Academy of Film won the Best Animated Film, Outstanding Documentary and the Jury’s Award at the 9th Global Chinese Universities Student Film and Television Festival Awards held in 2012 - “The University Oscars” - in the Chinese-language community. A team from the School won a bronze medal in the 4th China University Students PR Plan Contest in 2012, organised by the China International Public Relations Association. Two Ph.D. students from the School also won a Top Interactive Paper award at a US academic conference in August 2012 for their research into Hong Kong college students’ viewing of animated news videos.

Alumni have always been one of the strongest assets of all Schools. Thus, alumni development will be another focus of the School this year. An enthusiastic group of 11 alumni from different decades and professions is eager to run for the next Board of Directors of the Communication Alumni Association (HKBUCAA) soon so as to help build the bonds between alumni and the School and to contribute, in many different ways, which will help the future development of the School. So please stay tuned for the next annual general meeting of HKBUCAA coming up later this year !

In future, our School wants to open a window on to the world for our students, to show the students how the world is changing, help students to understand and perhaps to lead that change.