Hong Kong's universities are preparing to launch four-year undergraduate degrees next year. For the most part, they are not adding more specialised training to existing programmes. Instead, they are adding general education and liberal arts courses, notably in the arts, humanities and social sciences.
Given the community's emphasis on jobs and financial success, some may question whether this move towards more education in the liberal arts might be doing students a disservice. But there is little need to worry. More education in the liberal arts will be good for graduates and for Hong Kong's prosperity.
What is meant by a liberal arts education, and how can it benefit Hong Kong?
Some commonly mentioned features of a liberal arts education include enhancing general knowledge; learning about and from a variety of perspectives; encouraging intellectual curiosity; developing thinking skills, reasoning abilities and judgment; and cultivating the mind to maximise each graduate's potential.
Some of the characteristics of a liberal arts education that are mentioned less often include preparation for the real world of work in which one must be able to learn continuously, think creatively and independently, be imaginative, adapt to changing circumstances, be prepared for work in new areas, and be a good local and global citizen.
Liberal arts education is fully consistent with applied degree programmes, such as those in business administration and engineering, and with associate degree and vocational training programmes. Rather than becoming specialist 'machines', graduates with some liberal arts education have exposure to other cultures, to different ways of approaching problems and to the complexities of human and societal interactions. Consequently, they are more likely to question convention and to look for alternative solutions to problems in the workplace.