The FSTE Conference 2023 (“The conference”), organised by the Federation for Self-financing Tertiary Education (FSTE) and co-organised by the Hong Kong Council for Accreditation of Academic and Vocational Qualifications (HKCAAVQ), was held successfully at Holiday Inn Golden Mile Hong Kong on 9 June 2023. The conference themed "Industry-Institution Collaboration and Lifelong Learning, The Necessary Transformation for Success" was attended by around 150 participants.
The conference commenced with the opening remarks given by Professor Ronald CHUNG, Chairman of FSTE and Mr Esmond LEE, JP, Deputy Secretary for Education (1) of the Education Bureau. Dr Lawrence CHEUNG, Chief Innovation Officer of Hong Kong Productivity Council, and Mr Albert CHOW, Executive Director of HKCAAVQ, then delivered keynote speeches titled “The Role of Lifelong Learning in Hong Kong becoming an International Innovation & Technology Hub” and “The Development of Applied Degrees in Hong Kong and the Way Forward” respectively, giving insightful sharing to the guests, peers and industry leaders who attended the conference. Mr Albert CHOW mentioned that the initial outcomes of the pilot project on the Development of Applied Degree Programmes are encouraging in terms of admission from various sources of students and in attracting government support from funding and policies, including in the Policy Address. The second phase of the project is underway. HKCAAVQ will carefully analyze the whole project and submit a detailed report to the Education Bureau.
A Roundtable Discussion themed “Bringing Humans Back to the Centre of the Education Process”, moderated by Professor Ronald CHUNGthen followed. Discussants included several renowned leaders across academic and professional sectors. They were Dr Lawrence CHEUNG, Mr Albert CHOW, Mr Esmond LEE, JP, Dr Kim MAK, BBS, JP, President of Caritas Institute of Higher Education and Caritas Bianchi College of Careers, as well as Dr Daniel YIP, JP, Chairman of the Steering Committee on Promotion of Vocational and Professional Education and Training and Qualifications Framework. Throughout the Question and answer session, the panelists not only imparted their extensive expertise and unique perspectives but also engaged in an interactive dialogue with the audiences, fielding thought-provoking questions and offering insightful professional opinions and recommendations.