The Hong Kong Project – Forging interdisciplinary collaboration in community projects
Source: https://tl.hku.hk/horizons/hkp/ Parent: https://tl.hku.hk/plagiarism/
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
[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
| Community Partner | Area of Focus | Project(s) |
| A Plastic Ocean Foundation | Environmental Protection | - Empowering Educators: A STEAM Guidebook for a Circular Future (2526APO01) |
| Agewhale | Elderly Welfare | - Agewhale’s Care Compass App Development (2526A01) |
| Bloom Association Hong Kong | Marine Conservation | - Understanding Hong Kong SAR’s dried seafood and sustainable seafood markets (2526B01) |
| Engineers Without Borders (Hong Kong) | Sustainable development through engineering solutions | - Integrated Volunteer Management System for Charity Engineering Organisation: Tracking Volunteer Hours, Contacts, Skills and Project Impact (2526E01) |
| Mighty Oaks Foundation | Elderly and Youth Services | - Strategic Social Media Planning (2526M01) - Develop Content for Educational Talks on Character Building (2526M02) |
| Hong Kong Shark Foundation | Marine Conservation | - Shark Conservation Educational Project 2026 (2526SF01) |
| Praxis (HK) | Poverty | - 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 from Mongkok to Tsim Sha Tsui. (2425P01) - Study the problem of homeless people in areas from Mongkok to Tsim Sha Tsui, explore whether the government’s policy of supporting homeless people can respond to their real needs, and propose recommendations. (2526P02) - Study the causes of hoarding problems in the areas from Mongkok to Tsim Sha Tsui and propose solutions. (2526P03) - Study the mental wellness needs and emotional support recommendations for elderly people living alone in areas of Mongkok to Tsim Sha Tsui. (2526P04) |
| Project Futurus | Positive Aging | - Beyond the Meal: Measuring Impact and Inclusion through “Sensory Restaurant on Wheels™” (流動五感大茶樓™) (2526F01) |
| Save the Children HK | Children Welfare | - Coming soon |
| Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) | Animal Welfare | - Coming soon |
| The Hong Kong Society for the Deaf | Well-being of the Hearing Impaired | - SLP Report Automation System: A Web-Based Solution for Speech-Language Pathologists (2526D01) - Sing Bright, Speak Right (2526D02) |
What are the deliverables?
5 major pieces of deliverables to be prepared and submitted. These include:
- A group 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.
- An individual essay (not more than 1,500 words), focus on how s/he applies his/her own disciplinary knowledge to the group deliverables.
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 18, 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 18 (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.