The Program
Unlocking Your Potential: The Common Core Experience
University education goes beyond professional training; it is a holistic experience designed to nurture responsible citizens and independent thinkers ready to excel in all aspects of life. The Common Core Program at HKUST aspires to provide a well-rounded education, empowering you with essential knowledge and skills for the future, including a strong foundation in artificial intelligence.
As an integral part of your undergraduate journey, the Common Core enhances your educational experience by complementing specialized studies with innovative learning opportunities and competency education.
The Common Core logo features a compass, symbolizing guidance and exploration as you navigate your academic journey. The compass represents our commitment to helping you chart your path through diverse fields beyond your major as well as development of essential competencies. The triangle within the CORE symbolizes the three core goals of the Program: to broaden your horizons, ignite your passion for learning, and foster a lifelong pursuit of excellence.
As you engage with the Common Core, you will develop essential hard and soft skills, as well as a deeper appreciation for various disciplines and cultures. We offer personalized learning experiences to prepare you to solve complex problems, engage in self-directed inquiry, and contribute meaningfully to your community.
Embrace the transformative power of Common Core education as you embark on your university journey, and allow us to guide you toward a future filled with opportunities!
Mission
To support HKUST’s mission and vision by providing a broad and well-rounded education to its undergraduates that nurtures them to be responsible, ethical, and compassionate citizens with the aspiration and competency to excel in their endeavors
Goals
Broadening Horizons - To allow students to gain intellectual breadth and an appreciation of intellectual achievements across and beyond the main academic disciplines of their studies
A Passion for Learning - To spark students’ passion for learning and enhance their higher order intellectual abilities: analysis and evaluation; judgment and critical thinking; defining and solving problems
A Lifelong Pursuit of Excellence - To provide a foundation for students’ life-long development through personal growth, preparation for future careers, and opportunities to make contributions to the community
Objectives
At the heart of our educational philosophy is the concept of “BRIDGESS” – a framework designed to enrich your learning experience and cultivate essential skills for your future. Each letter of BRIDGESS represents a core objective that we strive to achieve:
Broadening Knowledge - To broaden students’ knowledge beyond the main academic disciplines: science and technology, social studies, and arts and humanities, such that students can gain intellectual breadth
Responsibility - To cultivate the development of responsible, ethical, and compassionate citizens who can reflect on personal choices and basic human values, and understand the social and human impact of scientific and technical advances
Instilling Knowledge - To instill knowledge on the human achievements in the arts and culture, the social structures and forms, and the significance of scientific discovery and technical accomplishments
Developing Thinking Skills - To help develop higher-order thinking skills through activities that require students to form and communicate judgments, to apply theories and concepts to unfamiliar situations, or to analyze cases and solve problems
Growth - To nurture the development of students’ attributes including social adaptability, the willingness to accept challenges, and the ability to work independently and in collaboration
Engagement - To equip students with strategies to manage their lives, contribute to the community, and live up to the expectations that society places on its educated citizens
Sparking Passion for Learning - To spark students’ passion for learning by teaching and learning pedagogies that stimulate them to think for themselves, taking their own routes through the materials, to conduct self-directed research and inquiry, and to communicate their discoveries, explanations, and narratives to others
Sharpening Skills - To stimulate students’ development of skills in the areas of language and communication, quantitative reasoning, and computer literacy
By bridging the gap between academic knowledge and real-world applications,
the BRIDGESS framework promotes holistic development, guiding you to become not just a specialist in disciplines, but also well-rounded, engaged, and responsible members of society.Together, let’s embark on a transformative journey that empowers you to thrive in an ever-changing world!
Common Core and Desired Attributes of HKUST Graduates
HKUST aims to provide an education that enables you to develop broad graduate attributes, ABC LIVE.
Academic Excellence - An in-depth grasp of at least one area of specialist or professional study, based on a forward-looking and inquiry-driven curriculum
Broad-based Education - Intellectual breadth, flexibility, and curiosity, including an understanding of the role of rational, balanced inquiry and discussion, and a grasp of basic values across the disciplines of science, social science, engineering and the humanities
Competencies and Capacity Building - High-end, transferable competencies, including analytical, critical, quantitative and communications skills
Leadership and Teamwork - A capacity for leadership and teamwork, including the ability to motivate others, to be responsible and reliable, and to give and take direction and constructive criticism
International Outlook - An international outlook, and an appreciation of cultural diversity
Vision and an Orientation to the Future - Adaptability and flexibility, a passion for learning, the ability to develop clear, forward-looking goals, and self-direction and self-discipline
Ethical Standards and Compassion - Respect for others, high standards of integrity, compassion, and a readiness to contribute to the community
The Common Core Program aligns closely with these desired attributes by:
- Enhancing academic breadth (B)
- Fostering the development of high-level competencies (C)
- Employing a pedagogy that promotes personal development, moral reasoning, and responsible citizenship (LIVE)
