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Programme and Events

HAVE, U Can Programme

Details of the programmeAbout the programmeProgramme componentsEligibilityProgramme rundownActivity ListEnquiries

Date : 4 – 8 June 2018 (Monday – Friday)

Venue : HKU Campus & Residential Halls

The HAVE, U Can programme was originally designed to enhance secondary school students’ holistic competencies and virtues and prepare them for career and life. Approximately 400 secondary students have participated in the programme since its establishment in 2017 and it was extremely well-received among teachers, parents and students. We have now modified this programme and tailored to meet the needs and interests of 1st and 2nd Year undergraduate students.

This 5-day-and-4-night student-centered programme covers a challenging schedule of activities and events as well as an exciting residential hall experience dedicated to providing students with immense opportunities to learn, grow, communicate, and express. The programme will have an initial intake of 240 first and second year student participants. In addition, the programme is looking to recruit 60 Year 3 & 4 undergraduate students to become peer mentors and provide assistance to a group of mentees. The programme aligns with the university’s educational aims and graduate attributes.

At the end of the programme, students are expected to be able to demonstrate the following competencies:

1. Creativity
2. Teamwork
3. Leadership
4. Communication Skills
5. Presentation Skills
6. Organisational Skills
7. Time and Self-Management
8. Critical Thinking
9. Problem Solving

10. Appreciation
11. Respect
12. Professionalism
13. Resilience
14. Consideration
15. Openness
16. Adaptability
17. Self-Confidence
18. Responsibility and Trust

All participating students and mentors will be awarded a certificate stamped by all 6 universities upon satisfactory completion of the programme.
**For HKU students, a credit for out-of-classroom learning experience will also be given.

Applications are now open to all eligible student participants and mentors.

Get inspired and be ambitious.

** For HKU students: This programme has met the requirements of the University’s Credit Award Scheme for Out-of-classroom Learning Experience which aims to enhance students’ holistic competencies for whole-person development. To apply for such credit, all student participants and mentors should submit an application for formal approval to the HKU Horizons Committee by the end of the academic year in which the learning experience took place. The formal application should be submitted via https://tl.hku.hk/out-of-class-credits/. The information required includes evidence of completion of the experience/activity as listed in your application, an essay of 300-500 words reflecting on the experience/activity and the outcome, inclusive of what has been learnt, the difficulties encountered, the achievement of the intended learning outcome, and the impact on personal, professional and/or career development.

Experiential Learning Activities

Social Events

Community Service

Residential Experience

Entrepreneurial Opportunities

Mentoring

Under the facilitation of trained mentors, participants will immerse themselves in a fun, collaborative learning environment and engage in a wide range of interactive activities. From team building to role playing to planning a business, each activity is carefully designed to enhance a specific set of holistic competencies and virtues and to strengthen students’ self-awareness and self-confidence. In these activities, students will be constantly challenged while experimenting and developing their own approaches to work towards reaching the activity goals.

The HAVE, U Can Programme registration is open to all current undergraduate students of the 6 participating universities.

Participants – Year 1 & 2 of all disciplines

Mentors – All Year 3, 4 & Postgraduate students

For Participants

Why participate?

  • To meet new people and make life-long friends
  • To connect with other motivated individuals
  • To improve holistic competencies including critical thinking, creative thinking and collaborative skills
  • To gain a deeper understanding of yourself and foster personal growth
  • To challenge yourself and push yourself out of the comfort zone
  • To experience the residential hall life and a true sense of community
  • To nurture innovation initiative and cultivate entrepreneurial spirit

For Mentors

Become a mentor and make a difference!

Why become a mentor?
  • To improve your employment prospects by sharpening your skills in communication, leadership and networking, etc.
  • To learn more about your strengths and weaknesses and better yourself
  • To make a positive impact on someone’s life
  • To share your passion and values with others
  • To meet new people and make life-long friends
  • To experience the residential hall life and a true sense of community
Mentors should demonstrate:
  • a good command of spoken Cantonese and English;
  • good interpersonal and organizational skills;
  • a mature and self-motivated attitude with a strong sense of responsibility and teamwork;
  • strong communication and listening skills;
  • a willingness to share experience and encourage others; and
  • the ability to act as a role model to motivate others and provide guidance to mentees.
Mentors will be responsible for:
  • providing support, feedback, advice and encouragement to mentees;
  • helping mentees to identify problems and reach their potentials;
  • enhancing mentees’ holistic competencies and virtues development; and
  • general administrative support and any other duties as assigned.
  Date Location
Check-in and Check-out Check-in: 4th June, 2018
Time: 3:00 pm – 5:30 pm
Check-out: 8th June, 2018
Time: 8:00 am – 9:00 am
Residential Colleges
High Table Dinner 7th June, 2018
Reception: 6:00 pm – 6:30 pm
Dinner: 7:00 pm – 8:45 pm
The College Hall
Closing Ceremony 8th June, 2018
Time: 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm
HKU Campus
Name of Activity Description of Activity
Amazing Race Amazing Race is a 1.5-hour long activity which requires students to complete a list of challenging tasks within a limited period of time. The race is an exciting adventure that aims at encouraging students to build team spirit and teamwork, interact with others, and solve problems creatively.

Groups of are given a map (marked with checkpoints) and a list of tasks (carrying different marks) to complete. Students have to manage their time, and decide on their own which checkpoints to challenge and what tasks to complete. There is a wide variety of tasks which challenge their intellectual ability, creativity and teamwork- some tasks require students to approach passersby, while some require them to cooperate with other groups.

Hong Kong’s Got Talent Hong Kong’s Got Talent is a 2-hour long activity which requires students to come up with a short performance of any form (drama, singing, dance etc.) within a limited period of time, and perform in front of all participants of the programme. This activity is a challenging yet exciting opportunity for students to demonstrate their manifold talents, also training their creativity, teamwork, confidence and appreciation for others.

Students work in groups of 12 (except for 1 group that works in group of 8). They are responsible for the entire process of planning and executing the performance. They will be given time for preparation before they go up the stage group by group. At the end of the contest, students will have the opportunity to vote for their favourite performance.

Stories of Hong Kong People Stories of Hong Kong People is a 3-hour outing activity in which students go to the public to explore a community in Hong Kong. They are asked to communicate with people in the community, to find people who they think are interesting. They need to interview and ask the targeted person to share one of their most memorable memories in their life.

Afterwards, each group will share to the whole class the photograph they have taken with the interviewees and will present the stories they have heard from the Hong Kong people.

You Draw I Guess You Draw, I Guess is a 20-minute long ice-breaking activity which requires students to explain a target word through drawing within a limited period of time, and pass the target “word” down the group until the last group member guesses it. This activity provides an opportunity for students to train their creativity, build team spirit, and interact with each other.

Students work in groups. They have 30 seconds to draw and pass the “word” down the team, until the final member guesses what word it is. Within the limited time, students have to express the word through their pictures, without using verbal communication nor body language.

Team Building Team building is a 90-minute long activity which requires students to bond while brainstorming a group name, slogan and mascot/logo together. This activity provides an opportunity for students to train their creativity, build team spirit, and interact with each other.

Students work in groups. They have approximately 50 minutes to brainstorm ideas for their team. Students of the same group are expected to find their similarities, common goals, etc. in order to establish their group name, slogan, and mascot/logo. At the end of the brainstorming session, each group will give a short presentation on the rationale behind their choices of group name, slogan and mascot/logo.

Spaghetti Bridge Spaghetti Bridge requires students to work in groups and build a bridge by using the given materials (i.e., spaghetti, tape and scissors) within 60 minutes. In order to raise the difficulty of the task, every 15 minutes, students are required to draw an “obstacle” card stating restrictions on the groups, for example “2 members of the group are not allowed to talk”. Students then have to abide by the restriction stated on the cards. To pass, each bridge should be able to carry at least 0.75kg for 5 seconds without collapsing. The bridge that can carry the most weight is regarded as the winner of this activity.
What is Reflection What is Reflection? is a 30-minute long activity that introduces students to the ideas of reflection and its benefits in learning. Students will engage in reflective learning as they log on to the YOCLE system (https://yocle.net/) and write their reflective journals by the end of each day of the workshop. Students will become more familiar with the reflective thinking process over time and see the power of reflective learning.
Knots of Hearts Knots of Hearts is a 1-hour long activity which requires students to learn to tie heart knots and write inspirational/encouraging memorandums to attach to the knots. This activity provides an opportunity for students to gain awareness of societal issues, and develop love and consideration for others. Through experiential learning, it is hoped that students will deeply understand the importance of these indispensable values in the community. Moreover, students are expected to practise these values in daily life and become well-round citizens.
Writing a Thank You Note Writing a Thank You Note is a 30-minute activity that helps students to reflect on their daily actions and aims to foster the virtues of consideration and appreciation among students.

Each and every day, there are countless people contributing to the betterment of the society. However, their efforts are often overlooked. This meaningful task allows students to recall how others (apart from friends and family) have helped them in their everyday life and how the help usually go unnoticed. Moreover, students will learn to be more helpful to others and be more gracious towards the help from others in their daily lives.

Heart-warming Heart-warming, or What is Your Dream?, is a 1 hour session where students are asked to think about their own dreams and compare that to a short clip that is pre-recorded by some of their parents. This activity provides an opportunity for students to understand more about their parents and their dreams, such as before and after they have become parents. Students will learn that parental love is often unconditional and that parents can sacrifice a whole lot for the good of their children.

Through reflective learning, students will think about their responsibility for their life and family.

Letter to the Future Me Letter to the Future Me is a 60-minute activity for consolidating students’ self-understanding, self-reflection, self-appreciation and future planning skills. This activity contains three parts: flashback to the previous year, establishing goals for the upcoming year, and writing a letter that would be reviewed after a year. After writing the letter, students would be sharing a same promise which strengthens the bonding among them as they share memories together.

Through reflective learning, it is hoped that students would have a better understanding of the importance of these indispensable values in the community.

Should you have any enquiries regarding to the HAVE, U Can Programme, please feel free to contact:

Ms. Emma Liu

  (852) 3917 6068
  emkyliu@hku.hk

Ms. Lydia Wan

  (852) 3917 1182
  lydiawhn@hku.hk