The World Economic Forum (WEF) reported in 2023 that employment experts had predicted in the coming years people would experience multiple career changes during their working lives, and would therefore need to be lifelong learners. Its Future of Jobs Report 2023 suggests that, in the future, half of all workers’ core skills will need to be updated every five years.

To be able to adapt to this ever-changing world, young people will need interdisciplinary abilities, rather than knowledge housed purely within traditional siloed disciplines. An entrepreneurial and innovative spirit will be of great assistance, as will digital literacy and proficiency in the application of technologies, such as artificial intelligence. A firm grounding in possessing ethics, a sense of responsibility, traditional cultural literacy and a global perspective, will also be needed, so that innovation can be driven in a positive, human manner to the benefit of all members of society.

To help address these needs and equip students with diverse competitiveness, EdUHK has introduced its ‘Education Futures, Diverse Talents’ approach for the 2025 to 2028 academic years. Part of this initiative is to revamp several existing five-year Bachelor of Education programmes to become 13 double degree programmes, starting from the 2025/26 cohort, enabling students to pursue both teaching and another profession (see full list). “The combinations devised are designed to be cross-sectoral, so graduates are prepared to be able to teach in both primary and secondary schools, meeting demand in the education sector,” says Professor May Cheng May-hung, Vice President (Academic) and Chair Professor of Teacher Education at EdUHK. “Students will also participate in internships related to the non-education programmes, to give them experience and broaden their horizons outside of the classroom,” she adds.

The University will also revamp the undergraduate curriculum in 2025/26 with four key emphases called ‘Digital Literacy’, ‘National Security Education and Legal Knowledge’, ‘Entrepreneurship and Innovation’, and ‘Living and Working in our Country’. “This will provide whole-person development for students: something we feel is of great importance,” explains Professor Cheng.

In addition, three new four-year bachelor’s degree programmes will be introduced. They cover the areas of healthcare and rehabilitation, Chinese culture and communication, and personal finance.

The BSc (Honours) in Speech Pathology and Rehabilitation is EdUHK’s first-ever undergraduate programme integrating speech pathology, rehabilitation and psychology. It trains language professionals in a cross-disciplinary manner to meet the evolving demands of global healthcare and rehabilitation.

The BA (Hons) in Digital Chinese Culture and Communication trains students to become proficient in Chinese linguistics, language, culture, media, and digital literacy. This enables them to understand the depth of Chinese tradition, while grasping an international perspective and a local viewpoint.

The BA (Hons) in Personal Finance provides a more inclusive personal finance curriculum as an alternative to the conventional ‘corporate-centric’ curriculum. It incorporates the latest developments in global financial services, including fintech, risk management, wealth management, investment analysis, and green and sustainable finance

Bachelor of Education students will also benefit from practical experience in a Mainland China school, which will become a mandatory part of the programme in the 2025/26 academic year. “This experience takes students outside of the campus, gives them valuable teaching, while broadening their outlook and helping them stay up-to-date with the latest education developments in the region,” says Professor Cheng. This follows phased arrangements for all undergraduate students to visit cities in the Greater Bay Area starting from the 2023/24 academic year. Students not majoring in education will be required to take a compulsory subject called ‘Living and Working in Our Country’.

In order to attract ambitious and high-performing undergraduates, irrespective of their financial means, EdUHK will also increase the amount of entrance scholarships by 40% to over HK$ 24 million in the 2025 academic year. This includes the introduction of the HKDSE ‘Star Scholarship Scheme’ for JUPAS entrants, which aims to further enhance Hong Kong’s position as an international hub for higher education.

Looking further ahead, a new Master of Social Sciences in Educational Psychology programme will be offered to the 2026/27 cohort. This two-year programme follows a scientist-practitioner model, merging academic studies, research and practical experience. Its aim is to produce professional educational psychologists capable of practising in Hong Kong.

These innovations to EdUHK’s education curriculum are designed to result in well-rounded graduates. “We aim to develop our students so they become professionals with diverse talents. Apart from gaining competence in the subject taught, our programmes encourage aspiring teachers to develop different skills, achieve in different areas and across disciplines, such as STEAM education, AI, metaverse, meeting students’ educational needs, national security education and patriotic education,” explains Professor Cheng.