Objectives

To promote equal opportunities and to provide a balanced co-curricular development for first-generation university students (i.e. their parents have not received any post-secondary or university education), the “First-Generation University Student Fund” has been established at Hong Kong Baptist University to help students who need financial assistance and guidance in expanding their participation in outside-of-classroom activities for their whole person development and future career exploration.

Research has shown that many first-generation university students, compared to their second-generation counterparts, do not engage sufficiently in academic or social activities that are associated with success in university. Their participation in outside-of-classroom activities, which are an important integral part of the university curriculum, may be due to financial constraints and a lack of proper guidance. Therefore, the Fund is to provide financial support to eligible students, while appropriate advice and guidance on how they should plan for their co-curricular programmes and/or outside classrooms activities throughout their undergraduate years will be provided by student advisors in order to ensure that students can benefit fully from outside-of-classroom learning. 

Eligibility

Eligible applicants should be:

1. local students studying in full‐time UGC‐funded undergraduate programmes at HKBU;
2. first-generation university students (i.e. your parents have not received any post-secondary or university education); and
3. receiving full grant* under the Tertiary Student Finance Scheme – Publicly-funded Programmes (TSFS) of the HKSAR Government in 2019-20.

*A student with full grant offer receives the amount of maximum grant, you may visit the webpage below to check whether you are receiving a full grant offer: https://sa.hkbu.edu.hk/sfa/government-grants-and-loans/ugc-funded-full-time-programmes/tsfsnlsft#maxgl_tsfsnlsft

Amount of Subsidy

Basic Plan: Up to HK$15,000 subsidy will be given to each Year 1 successful applicant and the amount will be pro-rata for applicants of senior years as shown below. Eligible students are encouraged to plan for their learning and development, and apply for FGF as early as possible in order to get a higher subsidy amount as well as a longer period to use the entitled fund for approved activities.

Top-up Plan: To encourage and support students to attain learning experience outside Hong Kong with the Fund, the total amount of FGF subsidy granted to year two or above students will be topped up to a maximum of $15,000, on condition that they have used or will use the entitled fund to join at least one approved outside Hong Kong activity.

For example, a student who successfully applied for the Fund in Year 3 will be given $7000 FGF subsidy under the Basic Plan. However, if he/she now applies to spend his/her FGF on an approved outside Hong Kong activity (e.g. summer exchange programme), he/she may get up to $15,000 after top-up.

Scope & Activities supported by the Fund

First-Generation University Student Fund supports outside-of-classroom activities offered by HKBU Departments, Offices and student bodies which fall under the scope of the Fund. They can be credit or non-credit (co-curricular activities) bearing. Learning activities that are organized by external organization will be considered on a case-by-case basis, and are subject to the approval of the Office of Student Affairs. Some activities have a maximum amount of subsidy claimable from the Fund, and the total amount of subsidy granted is subject to the year of study of applicants.

• Academic Exchange outside Hong Kong (support up to 100% of net fee/cost paid by student*)
• Short-term study or service trip, training program, competition or conference outside Hong Kong (support up to 100% of net fee/cost paid by student*)
• Internship or placement outside Hong Kong (support up to 100% of net fee/cost paid by student*)
• Language courses taken in Hong Kong (a maximum of $5,000 from the Fund. Students are recommended to take foreign languages courses offered by our Language Centre)
• Living in Halls (a maximum of $3,000 from the Fund)
• Sports/music/arts or other skills training/courses taken in Hong Kong (a maximum of $5,000 from the Fund)
• Professional certificates/examination taken in Hong Kong (a maximum of $5,000 from the Fund)
• Other co-curricular activities (and maximum amount) subject to approval
  
  *The cost may include program fees, airfare, accommodation, travel insurance (for programmes not covered by HKBU's insurance only), visa and other mandatory fees; but exclude food and local transportation costs as well as personal expenses.

Notes:

1. The Fund is not a bursary which subsidizes students' study or daily expenses. Students can only use it to support their participation in one or several co‐curricular programmes and/or outside classroom learning activities until the approved amount is depleted. They have the flexibility in choosing when to use the Fund and how much to spend on each activity. However, the minimum claimed amount for each activity should be HK$1,000 or above.

2. Students can use the Fund during their course of study at HKBU. For final year students, the learning activity must be completed by 31 August of their graduation year. 

3. Students should join the activities/courses via an organization which can provide official proofs and receipts for the cost/fee paid, i.e. personal trips and private instructors are not allowed. Students are recommended to participate in experiential programmes offered by the Office of Student Affairs.

4.  The Fund does not subsidize honours project, research, graduation‐tied trips which receive additional support from the Government as well as profit‐making activities.

5. Students are allowed to receive the Fund with other funding sources (e.g. EDB Exchange Subsidy, Government Hall Subsidy, Reaching Out Award, scholarships, internship salary & allowance, etc.) concurrently provided that the total funding support obtained does not exceed the net fees/cost they have paid. Students should inform SFA if the activity is funded by other sources of funding concurrently.

6. Students will not be reimbursed any subsidy if they could not complete the approved activity/course or fail the exam/test for professional certificates.

7. The Office of Student Affairs reserves the right to make final decision on each activity application, and to adjust the approved fund amount if deem appropriate.

Application Procedures and Timeline

Please see the flowchart below for the application procedures in brief:

FORM I: Confirmation of Eligibility

Applicants should first complete Form I to confirm their eligibility before proceeding to apply funding for specific activity(Form II).

• Eligible students should first fill in an online application form (Form I) to confirm their eligibility. In addition to personal particulars, they need to state their reasons of application and provide an initial plan of using the fund.
• Application results of Form I will be released to your HKBU email account normally within 2 weeks upon the application deadline, i.e. mid‐Nov and mid‐April of each year.
• Each successful applicant will be randomly assigned an advisor from the Office of Student Affairs who will give advice/guidance on the learning plan and recommend activities that fulfill the student’s interests and learning goals. Advisors may invite students for a meeting when necessary. Students are obliged to meet and communicate with their advisors.
• There will be 2 rounds of application in the academic year 2019-20:
  - Round 1 from 1 September 2019 to 31 October 2019
  - Round 2 from 13 January 2020 to 31 March 2020
• Late applications will NOT be considered unless there are special and valid reasons.
• Please apply for the Fund via this online platform (2019/20 Round 2 Application is open now).

FORM II: Funding Application for Specific Learning Activity

Applicants should have submitted “FORM I: Confirmation of Eligibility” and received our approval email before filling out this FORM II for funding application.

• Applicants who have applied for the Fund successfully can use it anytime during their course of study at HKBU.They can spend it on several learning activities until the approved amount is depleted. They also have the flexibility in choosing when to use the Fund and how much to spend on each activity.
• When students wish to use the fund to support a specific learning activity, they should apply for funding by providing the activity details and budget via another online form, normally at least 2 weeks prior to the commencement of the activity.
• For students who plan to use their approved fund on hall residence in the first semester of 2019/20, they should apply before 30 November 2019; while for hall residence in the second semester or in the whole year of 2019/20, students should apply before 30 April 2020.

• Separate application for funding should be made for each activity.

• Result of the application with approved funding amount will be released to the students via email normally within 4 weeks.

• Please apply funding for a specific learning activity via this online platform.

Submission of Reflection Reports & other obligations

• After the approval of the use of fund and completion of the learning activity, students are required to submit a reflection report for each activity they have participated with an emphasis on insights, intellectual gains, learning impact and outcomes.
• The report should be submitted within two months upon completion of the activity. Please see the table below for the requirements and guidelines for submitting a report.

• Upon invitation, recipients are obliged to attend some experience sharing occasions, and/or meeting with donors of the Fund.

Reimbursement of Subsidy

• Subsidy reimbursement via the Finance Office will be arranged upon students' submission of report, photos, participation proof as well as all the required expenditure proofs, if applicable. Students may receive the subsidy normally in around 8 - 12 weeks (subject to Finance Office's approval) on condition that the documents they submitted have fulfilled the requirements and they submitted before the designated deadline. 
• For activities organized by HKBU Departments or Offices, the organizer will be asked to verify the participation status of students and provide the cost code of student payment.
• For students attending academic exchange or activities offered by student societies or external bodies, they need to provide payment record such as the original invoice/receipt issued by the organizer, flight or train tickets, boarding pass, etc. to the Finance Office via SFA for verification.
• The approved amount will be spent according to the details described in the activity application. Any unspent amount will be retained by or returned to the Fund. 
• Students will not be reimbursed any amount spent in excess of the approved amount.
• Students can check their funding disbursement record via BUniport.

Support the Fund

The First-Generation University Student Fund at HKBU is jointly supported by the Strategic Development Fund, Schools/Faculties/Academy, as well as private donations. An Alumni Tree Naming Campaign was held in May 2017 which raised over HK$1.6 million for the Fund. The University would like to express its immense gratitude to the following alumni, organisations, groups and individuals for their generous support of the Fund.

List of Donors (listed in alphabetical order):

Make a Donation

To sustain the First-Generation University Student Fund and benefit more students, we appreciate and need the generous suppport of alumni and friends of HKBU, as well as the general public of Hong Kong Society.

Your donation, regardless of amount, will help our students to achieve their full intellectual and whole-person development, and eventually, motivate them to give back to those with fewer advantages in the future!

If you are interested in supporting the First-Generation University Student Fund, please contact the University Advancement Office at uao@hkbu.edu.hk or by completing the donation form at https://foundation.hkbu.edu.hk/sites/default/files/smallBanners/02_FGUSFund2017_updated.pdf.

Sharing of Recipients

 

 

 

Chan Ming Chu (Sociology)
Activity: USA Disney Internship

“It’s where dreams come true! Disney internship program has made my dreams come true twice. It is my second time to participate in this program, but the things I experienced were different from what I had last year. Working in the Magic Kingdom is the most magical thing I’ve ever experienced. You would be amazed at how everything works out backstage and how different teams construct the magic. This time I was a park greeter, responsible for dealing with the guests at the park entrance. I also needed to work with cast members of different teams such as guest relations. My communication skill was improved as my position required me to explain clearly different situations and solve problems/handle requests from the guests.”

 

 

Cheung Ka Hei (Social Work)
Activity: Gangsu Sustainable Service Group

“As a student majoring in social work, caring about the society is important. The economy in mainland China is booming anyway, but the number of “left-behind” children becomes more and more, and the wealth gap is getting larger. We, a group of university students, wished to make some changes to these Gangsu children since Gangsu is the poorest city in China nowadays. We understood that two weeks’ teaching could not bring a huge difference to their lives or solve the internal problems of China. Yet, we had the truest hearts to excite their learning motivation and build up their confidence as education is the common way to climb up the social ladder. Giving the schools more teaching resources is just the materialistic helping laterally, teaching them with heart and giving more encouragement is what sustainable service means.”

 

Lun Wai Lam (Applied Economics)
Activity: Semester at Sea (SAS)

“Growing up in Hong Kong, an extremely affluence city, I have never been able to mediate on the meaning of happiness – should it really be counted on a scale of the “likes” that one receive on social media? On top of that, I had learned about historical events and its significances, like colonialism, from the education in Hong Kong, but I have never been able to contextualize them until SAS. We travelled to lots of former British colonies along the voyage, and it was a vehement blow to my world when I started to see intrinsically the same style of architecture along the horizon of the places that we have sailed to – a vivid legacy of colonialism. I have come to an understanding of how our world in the past has been shaped, and how, concomitantly, our past has shaped that world now that we are currently living in.”

 

 

Siu Wing Sze (Communication - Public Relations and Advertising)
Activity: Student Exchange Programme 2018/19 (Ohio)

“Going to America for exchange was an unexpected event in my life. I had dreamed of going abroad to experience the cultural differences and improve myself as an independent person since I was in secondary school. The host school locates in Ohio, a quiet and vast state which is totally different from Hong Kong. From the exchange tour, I developed more ideas and notions about what other countries are like and what the advantages of Hong Kong are. I also made clearer about my own vision and career after the journey. This is a significant event in my life that has changed me a lot.”

 

Yip Ka Hing (Music) 
Activity: ​Interharmony International Music Festival

“I am very grateful that I had the chance to participate in session II of Interharmony International Music Festival. Playing in Boris Kuschnir’s masterclass was definitely the most valuable and inspiring experience in the festival and also in my life. He is one of the greatest violin teachers in the world. The most unforgettable thing was the sound concept that he shared with us. We spent most of the time on the 6 notes at the beginning, but as he said “these 6 notes will be the 6 notes that you won’t forget in your life”. Every musician needs to sing using his or her instrument. Slow practice is not only for technique, but also for singing the music using the instrument. Not only did I learn a lot when I played for him, I also gained a lot through observing others’ playing and his coaching. The suggestions he made on different students’ playing were different, but all of these were valuable.”

 

FAQs

FORM I: Confirmation of Eligibility

FORM II: Funding Application for Specific Learning Activity