CUHK to add national, global perspectives to mandatory courses under 5-year plan

Curriculum of mandatory general education programme for undergrads to be reformed as university maps out development strategy

The initiative was announced on Thursday as part of the university’s new five-year strategic plan, which charts its direction and development from 2026 to 2030.

It is the first five-year plan under the leadership of CUHK president Dennis Lo Yuk-ming, a distinguished molecular biologist, who assumed the role in January 2025.

In a booklet introducing the plan, the city’s second-oldest university said the reformed general education programme – which is mandatory for all undergraduates – would broaden students’ knowledge by “enhancing national education and a systematic understanding of modern China, complemented with a robust global outlook”.

Professor Isabella Poon Wai-yin, CUHK’s provost, said the reformed general courses would ensure all students could learn more about the wider nation.

“We will consolidate our general education to integrate national development and global vision, enabling students, regardless of whether they are local or mainland or students from other countries, to learn about Chinese development,” she said.