Social Sciences

The programme is designed to give students an understanding of the methodologies and issues in engaging the public in science. It aims to explore the role played by culture and media in science communication and discuss ways to deliver content and utilise technology and digital media to facilitate effective communication of science to different audiences.

Psychology is the study of human’s behaviour, performance, and mental operations. It also refers to the application of the knowledge, which can be used to understand social phenomenon, treat mental health problems, and improve education, employment, and relationships, etc. The subject lies at the intersection of applied, educational, and theoretical science.
 
The objectives of this short course are (1) to introduce participants to the field of psychology; (2) to describe how various psychological approaches contribute to our understanding of everyday life settings; and (3) to apply the knowledge from these studies to our own personal and professional lives.

Applied psychology is the use of theory and findings in psychology to solve practical problems in important areas of the human environment, including education, health, the workplace, and so on. This programme is designed to help participants apply cutting-edge theory to real-world situations. It is made up of different registered psychologists and other related specialists to deliver a powerful curriculum that explores a range of human behaviors, including how to motivate individuals and organizations, how to assess and improve performance and how to pursue healthy lives.

The programme aims to meet the continuing education and professional development needs of people who are currently working in public relations or those who have aspirations in this area. The programme provides students with knowledge in practical public relations techniques and tools to achieve the corporate's branding goals and objectives.

In order to improve the quality of governance in Hong Kong, it is important to first improve the quality of the politicians. This executive programme is a specialized course developed and offered jointly by the Path of Democracy and HKU School of Professional and Continuing Education (HKU SPACE), which aims to train and develop young political leaders to meet the needs and unique political situation in Hong Kong.

In the post-VUCA era, the majority of the workforce is from Generation Z while others are from different generations. In order to engage the Millennium at work and achieve organisational goals more effectively, It is necessary for leaders to understand the beliefs, values, personalities and behaviours of young employees. This understanding will help leaders to be more analytical and able to predict the responses of employees in different situations. Leaders will be more able to influence employees, create a positive and innovate working environment, solve difficult problems, promote team work and facilitate organisational changes.

In the era of digital economy, executives should not only be professional in their functions but also know how to engage their people, including open communication, value people over task, team approach, accept ambiguity and facilitate staff's development. This programme will improve your knowledge and skill in coaching. But, more important is before coaching others, you need to learn how to coach yourself: be more humble, willing to listen, be active in listening. Through the approach of coaching-based leadership, you will understand how to enhance yourself, at the same time, improve performance through the development of your staff.

The main objective of this programme is to introduce students to the dominant perspectives in media and cultural studies, and thus to help them develop the study of media and cultural institutions, ideologies and policies as part of social and economic reality. At the core of the programme is a set of selected scholarly readings that will provide students with an opportunity to review and criticise contesting theories and approaches to the understanding of media and cultural systems and contents in the academic field. The readings and class discussions will be synthesised through a number of presentations and written assignments.

In this mediated network society, use of media increasingly becomes an essential part of people’s everyday life. The media are therefore strategically employed as pedagogical tool by the teaching profession. This programme purposes to critically review the historical and contemporary development of media as a pedagogical tool. By evaluating different forms of media content, it applies principles and concepts related to media literacy for instructional and teaching purposes. The programme equips students with media professional knowledge with a view to assessing teaching effectiveness of media literacy classes.

This Postgraduate Certificate in Public Relations and Corporate Communication aims to equip students with updated knowledge and knowhow to analyse, plan, formulate and design practical and innovative solutions that help address the public relations, corporate communication and media relations challenges that organizations are facing nowadays. By influencing and building up mutual relationships with key stakeholders such as media, employees and community, the organization will effectively achieve their brand goals.

 

This programme aims to help students keep abreast of the contemporary concepts and practices of public relations and corporate communication.

With the multidisciplinary curriculum, students is exposed to the up-to-date knowledge of strategic planning, skills of influencing stakeholders, knowhow of managing crisis and reputation, as well as the many various communication challenges any for-profit, non-for-profit or government organization is facing today.

The programme aims to offer an interdisciplinary exploration of the contemporary development in the social media and digital communication in the local and global contexts.
 
The programme examines the impacts and applications of social media in influencing corporate communication, advertising, public relations, entertainment and commerce. It focuses on developing the students’ imaginative and analytical abilities as well as the communication and practical skills across diverse platforms and environments. It challenges and encourages students to extend and explore their professional practices and become innovative and resourceful leaders in the rapidly evolving media and communication industries.