Media

HKU to hold Asia’s first IB World Student Conference

09 Aug 2013

 

The University of Hong Kong (HKU) will host the IB World Student Conference (IBWSC) themed "iResponsibility: Explore How We Engage in the Online World" from August 12 to 16, 2013 in collaboration with the International Baccalaureate.

The IB invited HKU to host the first ever IBWSC to be held in Asia. More than 150 IB students from across the globe will attend: from Europe, North and South America and Africa. The University has attracted some of the best speakers from Hong Kong, the region and beyond: 23 industry leaders, successful young entrepreneurs and HKU academics and alumni will share with students how they can make a difference through social media and online technology. Also, the conference is held in partnership with Cyberport, where some sessions will be hosted and where students will be given a chance to experience leading-edge technology and visits to the digital centre.

The Fiji Honorary Consul General, France Consul General, and Kazakhstan Consul General have provided scholarships to add to those provided by the IB and HKU, to enable students from diverse backgrounds around the world to attend.

For details of the Conference, please visit http://www.als.hku.hk/ibwsc/conference-schedule.html

Media representatives are cordially invited to interview representatives from HKU, IBO, local IB school and IB students on August 15 (Thursday). Details as below:

Date: August 15, 2013 (Thursday)
Time: 2pm to 4pm
Media reception: Main entrance of Grand Hall, Centennial Campus, The University of Hong Kong
(Map: http://www.cpao.hku.hk/media/CC_map.jpg )

Rundown:
14:00
Two full HKU scholarship recipients Ms Iwani Mawocha (UWC of Southern Africa, Africa) and Mr Bryan Chen (Nexus International School, Malaysia) will share their experience
14:20
Photo opportunity -- IBWSC activity
14:30
- Professor John Spinks, HKU Director of Undergraduate Admissions and International Student Exchange, will share his views on the IB program.
- Dr Siva Kumari, Chief Operating Officer from the IB, will introduce the IB curriculum, world trends with regard to the IB, and, in particular, the latest situation in Hong Kong.

About IBWSC
Each summer, the International Baccalaureate partners with world-class universities to jointly host the IB World Student Conference (IBWSC).  This is the first conference to be held in Asia, and HKU is honoured to have been chosen as the site.  In 2012, this conference series inspired hundreds of students of 50 different nationalities to discuss and debate the different conference themes.  Many of these attendees are now IB Diploma graduates well on their way to some of the top universities in the world. The conference was official established in 2012, to build global engagement and advancement of students’ personal Creativity, Action and Service (CAS) projects, a prerequisite to earning the IB Diploma, and an undertaking that encourages each student to forge a creative service action plan that can positively make a difference in the world.

The HKU Scholarships
In order to allow IB students with particular talents in the theme of this conference to attend, HKU offered full and partial scholarships to eligible IB students. Two participants received a full scholarship and one received a partial scholarship. In the spirit of the conference theme, these students were asked to submit a video cover letter and garner support for the video by getting the most “Likes” on Facebook, thus truly experiencing and demonstrating the power of social media before attending the Conference. In addition to the response on Facebook, the quality and originality of the videos, as well as candidates’ academic and non-academic achievements, were considered. For details, please visit http://www.als.hku.hk/ibwsc/scholarships.html

For press enquiry and interview arrangement, please contact:
Rhea Leung, Manager (Media) of the Communications and Public Affairs Office at 2857 8555 / 9022 7446 or rhea.leung@hku.h k or
Betsy Lee, Executive Officer, Academic Liaison Section at 2219 4202/ 6373 9927, betsylee@hku.hk