The introductory talk of Chung Chi College in Orientation Day were well attended, with over 400 new students attending the two talks.

This year’s CUHK Orientation Day (O Day) of The Chinese University of Hong Kong was held on 8 August, and once again, all the colleges were eager to present themselves to attract freshmen – but the preparation of Chung Chi College seems different from the past. This August, Chung Chi adopted the theme of “Find Yourself in Chung Chi” and introduced the popular MBTI personality classification as a design element, hoping to make it fun for the freshmen and provide them with college information that is relevant to their personalities, so that they can learn more about the abundant activities and resources of Chung Chi.

Geography and Deployment

As in the past, O Day was held at the Yasumoto International Academic Park (YIA), and Chung Chi’s counter on the floor was set up near the main entrance of the YIA building. As the deadline for freshmen to select their affiliated college was the day after O Day, the mission of the colleagues and student ambassadors were to act as “frontline” to leave a good impression on the freshmen by introducing the college. Another mission is to instruct freshmen to go to the “base” of Chung Chi on that day.

The “base” is located at LT7 on the second floor of the YIA, near the Wu Ho Man Yuen Building. LT7 was where the Introductory Talk took place, and a group of colleagues responsible for different college affairs, assisted by student ambassador, were also stationed there to answer enquiries from freshmen. To allow in-depth exchange on various topics, Chung Chi has even divided the whole lecture hall into different sections according to college functions like hostels, scholarships, foreign exchanges, student activities, and general education.

What a key highlight in O Day - Chung Chi student ambassadors dedicated in promoting the College.

Theme and Promotion

This year, Chung Chi prepared the O Day ingeniously by introducing the MBTI element and 16 cartoonish illustrations according to each personality classification, which could be found in the promotional pamphlet, counter backdrop and venue decorations of the day. Popular among the youth, MBTI was utilized as a gateway to demonstrate the numerous resources of Chung Chi, and how they can suit different personalities. It illustrated that no matter who is of any temperament, ones can always find suitable and desirable activities at Chung Chi to leverage their strengths and develop their potential. As reflected in the promotion slogan “Chung Chi-ers Assemble! Ready for the Self-discovery Journey!”, freshmen would be able to explore and adapt to their personalities, and have their unique University life in Chung Chi.

In addition, the souvenirs designed by colleagues were also a highlight that worth introducing. There are two types of badges representing Introverts and Extroverts respectively. By following the College Instagram, freshmen would get a badge that represent their personality types. The badge of extroverts is in red color which symbolizes passion and extroversion, and the wavy shape indicates the energy when extroverts interacting with others, while the blue color and neat shape of introverts’ badge signifies their focus on inner world. But how come the introverted badges were far more favorable than the extroverted ones? Colleagues described those nine out of ten freshmen who came to the booth claimed to be introverts! It turns out that introverts are the mainstream of the world!

Through incorporating elements of MBTI into the O Day this year, Chung Chi College would like to encourage freshmen to explore and adapt to their personalities, and have their unique University life in Chung Chi.

Introductory Talks

Two introductory talks were held at 1:00 pm and 2:30 pm in YIA LT7, attended by over 400 new students. The seats were fully occupied, and the aisles were filled with students curious about the college. In his role as an MBTI guide on that day, Professor Marques Ng, Dean of Students of the College, first introduced the history and objectives of the College, and then from the perspective of personality classifications, introduced various aspects of the College. For example, hostels suitable for introverts (I) and extroverts (E), overseas study trips suitable for judgers (J) and perceivers (P), and scholarship schemes suitable for intuitionists (N) who are creative-oriented and sensing people (S) who focus more on reality.

When talking about scholarships, Professor Ng mentioned that there are many different types of scholarships available, and that for students, scholarships are not only a form of material encouragement, but can also be used to build up a resume to show that they have been recognized by others. He highlighted the “Dreaming Through Chung Chi Scheme” which encourages students to design and implement creative, meaningful projects outside their undergraduate studies. He also mentioned that this year, the award recipient was a music student who used the award to organize a graduation recital, as well as an exhibition of music combined with calligraphy and photography held in the Kunkle Student Centre.

College colleagues and student ambassadors answered enquiries from freshmen.

Summary: What Are Freshmen Thinking About?

The O Day is the first day for the College to meet new University students and to understand their thoughts on university life, O Day as well as the College itself. Some freshmen were interviewed that day, and it is great to hear their positive feelings about their future university and college life. Although the results of the college allocation were not yet available at the time of writing, here are some excerpts from the freshmen’s comments as a summary.

“I want to meet more international students at university. I chose Global Studies because I hope to learn more about foreign countries. Chung Chi is my first choice because it is a large college with many hostels and activities, and I feel I can meet many people here.”

Ella (Global Studies)

“I put Chung Chi as my first choice because it is full of musical atmosphere. The music department and the concert hall are here, and I love music. Today, when I came to CUHK, the student helpers from Chung Chi were very proactive in approaching me and trying to help, so I guess Chung Chi will have a great campus vibe.”

Cyrus (Psychology)

“I thought Chung Chi must be a Christian college when I first saw its emblem. And seeing the Chapel on the map, I wondered if there would be opportunities to attend Sunday Services. As I come from a Christian family, I am interested in this aspect.”

Jiaqi (Urban Studies)

“I feel that Chung Chi is a comprehensive College with generous scholarships, a superior location, and many student activities. It seems to have everything needed for campus life.”

Mary (Faculty of Law)

“Since I am studying Japanese Studies, I must travel to Japan for my final year. Chung Chi has ample resources, and the scholarships are not solely based on GPA, which seems to provide substantial support for students’ studies.”

Sophie (Japanese Studies)

“I hope to meet more students from different backgrounds at CUHK. Compared to mainland universities, I feel that the campus environment in Hong Kong is more diverse. Today, the teachers and staff at Chung Chi seemed very enthusiastic.”

Kella (Systems Engineering and Engineering Management)

“I hope to expand my network at university and college because I am going to study Food and Nutritional Sciences. It was difficult to meet people in this field in secondary school, so I hope to learn more about my desired subject here.”

Rachel (Faculty of Science)