Focus on applied sciences may be just what Hong Kong needs
At last, Hong Kong has a university dedicated to teaching the applied sciences thanks to the vision of Hong Kong Metropolitan University (“Hong Kong’s first university of applied sciences reveals plan to train local pilots and other aviation talent” (March 21). Parents will be relieved that their children have another option for tertiary education.
More recently, the report “Hong Kong attracted nearly 2,000 professionals earning at least HK$10 million annually, figures for last year show” (April
18) noted that, according to a survey carried out last November, of the successful applicants to the Top
Talent Pass Scheme who had been in the city for more than six months and had secured jobs, 39 per cent were working in the financial services, insurance and brokerage services sectors, 18 per cent in innovation and technology, and 17 per cent in commerce or trade.
The scheme seems to be skewed towards high finance and big money which Hong Kong is famous for. But what about the broader STEAM (science, technology, engineering, the arts, and maths) fields: applied maths, statistics, environmental sciences, marine biology, biotechnology, biochemistry, agri-technology and the like?
The new applied sciences curriculum at Hong
Kong Metropolitan University is presumably designed to attract students to pursue a completely different direction. It is very satisfying to see collective wisdom and social consciousness pointing towards some kind of balance. Perhaps applied sciences education is what we need to move this city forward.