'One student, one computer' is the slogan of the City University of Hong Kong's (CityU) new Long Term Loan Scheme, which will allow the university's students to borrow a laptop computer for a maximum period of up to two-and-a-half years.
'The use of personal computers as a communication and collaboration tool has become essential for our students,' said Dr Jerry Yu Jer-tsang, CityU's chief information officer. 'Students no longer like to be restricted to fixed work places within the university, nor do they work regular hours. Therefore, we need the computers to move with the students and achieve the goal of 'one student, one computer'.'
The computers, which will be provided free-of-charge, will come with the MS Windows operating system, as well as MS Office, anti-virus software and other useful applications.
The new scheme will be introduced on a pilot basis in semester A of the 2008/2009 academic year.
It will cover University Grants Committee-funded full-time first year and second year undergraduates, and year one to year three students in four-year degree programmes, as well as first year associate degree students in the preliminary phase.
The loan period will be approximately two-and-a-half years for first year bachelor's degree students and one-and-a-half years for all other students. The computers will have to be returned at the end of June in the year due.