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Making a difference in the lives of others and contributing your skills and knowledge for a good cause, no matter big or small, are simply the right thing to do. Launched in 2023-24, the Hong Kong Project (HKP) is an university-wide elite capstone course, enabling students to venture through the entire journey from understanding social issues to devising practical plans for implementation. 

 

What is the Hong Kong Project (HKP)?

  • A 6-credit one-semester course
  • Open to final-year undergraduate students from all disciplines
  • Students shall work together in groups of four to six from different Faculties to develop solutions to real-life problems faced by an organisation or corporation in Hong Kong
  • An academic supervisor for each group to help students apply their academic knowledge to the project.

The HKP will enable students to:

  • work with community partners, including non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and business corporations, on an elite, interdisciplinary and collaborative group project
  • learn from coaching by and discussions with industry experts and academic supervisors
  • explore key social issues and develop innovative solutions to real-world problems
  • develop skills fit for future-ready graduates, including self-initiative, teamwork, communication, project management, leadership, innovation and research skills.

 

Who is eligible to apply?

  • Students in their final year of study to undertake HKP in the First/Second Semesters, with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or above
  • Students about to enter their final year of study may undertake HKP in Summer Semester, a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or above
[Special permission from Heads of Department/School or Faculty Deans may be given in exceptional circumstances.]

 

How to form groups?

Students will participate in groups of four to six from different Faculties:

  • Group of 4 members: groupmates must be from at least 3 different Faculties
  • Group of 5 members: groupmates must be from at least 3 different Faculties
  • Group of 6 members: groupmates must be from at least 4 different Faculties.

 

What project topics are available?

  • To choose from the list of projects proposed by community partners here
  • Self-initiated projects may be considered after the two-year pilot, i.e., from academic year 2025-26.
Community PartnerArea of FocusProject(s)
AgewhaleElderly Welfare
  • Develop Content for Educational Talks & Workshops on Caregiving (2425A01)
Praxis (HK) Poverty in Yau Ma Tei
  • Faced with the high cost of living and inflation in Hong Kong, there is a significant gap between the amount of Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) and basic living costs. Please study and propose support schemes for CSSA recipients in the Yau Ma Tei area. (2425P01)
  • Study the problem of homeless people in Yau Ma Tei, explore whether the government’s policy of supporting homeless people can respond to their real needs, and propose recommendations. (2425P02)
  • Study the causes of hoarding problems in the Yau Ma Tei and Jordan areas and propose solutions. (2425P03)
  • Study the mental wellness needs and emotional support recommendations for elderly people living alone in Yau Ma Tei. (2425P04)
  • Explore how to effectively let the public and various organizations know about the distribution of supplies in the area, so that organizations can refer to the data for appropriate adjustments and distribute supplies more evenly in the area. (2425P05
New Life Psychiatric Rehabilitation AssociationMental Wellness
  • Enhancing Private Sector Engagement for Floral Products and Services (2425N01)
Save the Children HKChildren Welfare
  • Brochure Design for Save the Children Hong Kong Child-led Research Project (2425C02)
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA)Animal Welfare
  • Leveraging policy to improve animal welfare practices on pest control (2425S02)
  • Public’s perception on the SPCA and competitor analysis (2425S03)
  • How to develop a successful Employer Branding campaign for NGOs? (2425S04)

 

What are the deliverables?

4 major pieces of deliverables to be prepared and submitted as a group.  These include:

  • A learning contract: it outlines the scope of work, proposed learning outcomes and schedule
  • A group deliverables proposal: it summarises the major tasks to be undertaken, resources required, potential challenges, etc.
  • A 10-minute group presentation: It contains not more than 10 slides, concluding the overall progress, results, findings and recommendations, if any
  • A 2,500-word group written report.

 

What’s the grading system for the HKP? 

This course adopts a pass/fail grading system. The credits and grade (pass/fail) shall be shown on student transcripts.

 

Schedule-at-a-glance

Academic Year 2025-26 (Semester 1)
Date Process
August 8, 2025 Applications Deadline: Interested students to submit an online application
August 25, 2025 Announcement of application results
September 1-5, 2025 (wk 1) First meeting with academic supervisor
September 8-12, 2025 (wk 2) Each student group will meet with the community partner and academic supervisor and prepare a learning contract
By September 19, 2025 (wk 3) Submission of the learning contract
September 22-October 10, 2025 (wk 4-6) Each student group will prepare the group deliverables proposal
By October 17, 2025 (wk 7) Submission of group deliverables proposal
October 20 – November 28, 2025 (wk 8-13) Each student group will prepare the final group deliverables: the group presentation and the group written report
December 1-5, 2025 (wk 14) Group presentation: Assessment Students shall make a presentation to the Academic Panel, academic supervisor and community partner.
December 8-12, 2025 (wk 15) Submission of Group Written Report and Individual Essay Community partners will assess and grade the written report.
Academic Year 2025-26 (Semester 2)
Date Process
November 24, 2025 Applications Deadline: Interested students to submit an online application
December 12, 2025 Announcement of application results
January 19-23, 2026 (wk 1) First meeting with academic supervisor
January 26-30, 2026 (wk 2) Each student group will meet with the community partner and academic supervisor and prepare a learning contract
By February 6, 2026 (wk 3) Submission of the learning contract
February 9 – March 6, 2026 (wk 4-6) Each student group will prepare the group deliverables proposal
By March 13, 2026 (wk 7) Submission of group deliverables proposal
March 16-April 24, 2026 (wk 8-13) Each student group will prepare the final group deliverables: the group presentation and the group written report
April 27-May 1, 2026 (wk 14) Group presentation: Assessment Students shall make a presentation to the Academic Panel, academic supervisor and community partner.
May 4-9, 2026 (wk 15) Submission of Group Written Report and Individual Essay Community partners will assess and grade the written report.

Application

Application closing dates are as follows
Projects to be conducted in Semester 1: August 8 (23:59) 
Projects to be conducted in Semester 2: November 24 (23:59)

Download Area

  • Guidelines (requires portal login to download)
  • *Learning Contract | Group Deliverables Proposal | Assessment Guidance and Rubric (*available upon request and will be sent by email)
For enquiries, please contact the Horizons Office by email at hkproj@hku.hk.