According to the ‘Survey on the Demand for Continuing Education in Hong Kong’ conducted by HKU SPACE in 2001, one out of every five adults in Hong Kong, engaged in continuing education of one type or another in the two years preceding the survey.
This astonishing figure clearly reflects the importance that many people today place on lifelong learning, but 60 years ago, this was still a new concept in Hong Kong.
Then on 21 May 1957, HKU launched the Department of Extra-Mural Studies (DEMS) which later became HKU SPACE. In the department’s first academic year, twelve courses were offered and they attracted 330 enrolments. It was a promising start.
60 years on, accumulated course enrolments are now in excess of 2.62 million and we have pioneered programmes in law, housing management, librarianship, business management and even dietetics. These programmes, among many others, have provided the skilled professionals who have helped Hong Kong to grow to its position in the world today.
Over the years, the School has also provided a wide range of courses in art, culture, and languages that have helped to enrich people’s lives for the well-being and development of society as a whole.
As the policy of the city’s further education has evolved over time, the School established Hong Kong’s first Community College in 2000 to provide sub-degree programmes, again fulfilling our fundamental mission to grow with the society.
Each and every one of our 2.62 million past and present enrolments has a story to tell, that is part of the very fabric of Hong Kong and HKU SPACE. So it is with great pride that we now share with you all our story of promoting lifelong education for the past 60 years. To find out more about our story of growing from DEMS to HKU SPACE and news of our celebratory events, please click here to visit our dedicated anniversary site.
60th Anniversary Cocktail Reception and Community College Homecoming Dinner have been held successfully on 15 October at our Kowloon East Campus to mark the auspicious start of a series of celebrations. Please click here to let us share the happy moments of the events with you.
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