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At the start of last academic year, I led an informal discussion with a group of incoming students on a topic  I considered to be of fundamental importance to their university life:  why they chose to attend university. 
The loudest answer I got was: 'Well, isn't the university diploma the basic entry ticket for the job market?' 
I was very much taken aback by this answer. The surprise, of course, did not stem from the answer itself; the view that universities have now been reduced to mere vocational training centres has been touted  for many years.  
The surprise also did not quite stem from the answer's rather matter-of-fact tone,  which did not bear even a hint of resignation.  
It stemmed from the fact that the student giving the answer was one of the sharpest in the group. If she gave such an answer, what would the others think? 
It is perfectly understandable for students to be concerned about their career prospects, given that a good university degree is a basic requirement for many jobs nowadays. Yet, does such concern loom so large that students have to worry about it at the very start of their university education?
It is like having blood sucked out of their university life when it has barely started. 
When I reflect upon my own university life, I can think of two invaluable things that it gave me: the room to dream, and the spirit of seeking truth. Two big  claims ... but are they really that big? 
As far as dreaming goes, many individuals regard their  time at university to be the best few years  of their lives: a time to explore the world with youthful zest; to be passionately idealistic, but also sometimes irresponsible; to debate fervently about social injustice and to push for social causes; to figure out what they want to achieve in life; to reflect upon the meaning of life ...  
The fact that the idea of a gap year - taking a year off school to do any of the above - is becoming more and more appealing to students may be a poor reflection on the scope  for dreaming that we are allowing  them nowadays. The more room for creativity and the less guidance students receive when they explore the world, the more they are likely to get out  of the process. 
No one doubts that the university is a place where individuals - faculty and students alike - seek knowledge. 
But there is a fine distinction between knowledge and mere information: knowledge is acquired  through a process of seeking truth. (Incidentally, the dream  school for many,  Harvard University,  has 'Veritas' - truth - as its motto.) 
Of course, everybody  has their own version of the truth, and  that is why the process of seeking truth is central to the functioning of the university. What is at odds with seeking truth is clear: rote learning of hard skills, which, alas, may be becoming ever more prevalent in university education these days.
What makes one seek truth? The desire to do so, curiosity. Can curiosity be taught? Probably not, but it can be conditioned. Curiosity is a psychological quality that is not amenable to any measurement or the quantitative analyses that universities are increasingly keen on  adopting. 
When one is curious, one's focus is on the pursuit of knowledge and nothing else: not fame, not glory, and certainly not materialistic concerns. 
Of course, a man has to eat. However, paradoxically, from what I have seen,  the less one cares about material concerns and the more about  one's art, the better  one performs and the more  one earns. 
In conclusion, a fundamental duty of educators is to create opportunities for students to develop their curiosity, for curiosity allows one to seek truth, thereby gaining  the knowledge required to fulfil dreams - even if one's dream is to make a lot of money.
Dr Louis Lee is dean of students at Wu Yee Sun College, Chinese University



Seek truth and you will gain knowledge to live your dream