From Second Chance to First Choice: The Vision of HSMC
The year 2010 witnessed the establishment of Hang Seng Management College (HSMC). During this past year, all the staff at HSMC have been striving hard towards the same goal of building a bright tomorrow for the College.
If one should ask: what is the vision of HSMC? I will probably answer in this way: for a private institution of higher education, survival is both the prerequisite and the bread-and-butter issue. Yet I also firmly believe that, just as human beings do not live merely to exist, HSMC must transcend mere survival and rise above it. We must harbour a firm commitment to higher education, and we must regard the pursuit of academic excellence as our goal. Therein lies the real meaning of our existence as an education institution. HSMC has set its goal on becoming a top-notch university. I can categorically say that HSMC refuses to be second-rate, and we will never languish in the second tier.
Positioning can be the accumulation of objective conditions. It can also be the realisation of subjective wishes, which the subject is able to control and change. We hope that the emergence of HSMC will rewrite the positioning and mission of private tertiary institutions in Hong Kong. Where we stand cannot be clearer: HSMC aspires to be one of a kind and the leader among peers. We want to stand out with our unique ambience, unique conviction and unique academic accomplishments. In business management, which we have chosen to be our focus and specialty, we will be equal with traditional universities and compete with them and thrive.
That is why HSMC values quality highly. From the very beginning, the staff at HSMC have been sharing a single purpose in building an excellent private university. We expect our teachers to be first-rate, our students to be first-rate, and our teaching and research to be first-rate. We will soon have a new state-of-the-art campus which will underpin our vibrant teaching and research. In other words, our vision is clear and simple—to be a first-class university. We will only settle for the best, and only through this will the dedication of our staff at HSMC this last year become worthwhile.
The future of HSMC depends on our continued efforts and support from society at large. We will sustain strong links with the government, our counterparts in the academia and especially the media. Here allow me to make an appeal: Let us work together for the students, for the higher education of Hong Kong and for the well-being of Chinese society.
We have chosen a road for HSMC: from “second chance” to “first choice”. Right now HSMC is offering a second chance to students who underperformed in public examinations. This is undeniably the current situation. In the near future, HSMC will not be a second chance to students; we will be their first choice.
Professor Gilbert C. F. Fong
Acting President and Provost
