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The HKSI and Hong Kong Metropolitan University (HKMU) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) today to offer substantial support for full-time elite athletes to realise dual development in sports and academics.

The MOU was signed by Prof Paul Lam Kwan-sing SBS JP, President of HKMU and Dr Trisha Leahy SBS BBS, Chief Executive of the HKSI, witnessed by Prof Reggie Kwan Ching-ping, Provost of HKMU and Mr Ron Lee, Director of Community Relations and Marketing of the HKSI.

Addressing at the ceremony, Prof Lam hopes this collaboration would further strengthen the relationship between the two institutions, and provide flexible and diversified learning support for elite athletes. He said, “HKMU is committed to contributing to the development of sports in Hong Kong. We offer programmes in Sports and eSports Management, as well as Sports and Recreation Management, so as to nurture sports management talents and promote the professionalisation of the industry. Moreover, the University places great emphasis on students’ whole person development. Various sports teams and athlete scholarships have been set up to encourage our students to lead a healthy lifestyle.”

Dr Leahy thanked HKMU for joining hands for the betterment of dual career pathways development for elite athletes. She said, “The HKSI attaches great importance to whole person development of elite athletes and has continuously explored and pushed forward services to realise that goal. Offering tertiary education support is one of the meaningful and practical measures to empower our athletes to devote in full-time training and fulfill educational aspirations at the same time. With this collaboration with HKMU in place, I am looking forward to welcoming more gifted young persons to take elite sports as a career.”

Under the MOU, the HKSI may nominate full-time scholarship athletes to enroll in any full-time undergraduate programmes of HKMU. The University will allow flexibility during the study period in order to accommodate athletes’ special needs for training and competitions. Mentorship will also be dedicated to each student athlete to assist the individual to adapt to university life.

Tang Ho-lam, year two student of HKMU’s Physiotherapy programme, is a member of the HKMU badminton team. She believes the collaboration can benefit student athletes and help them strike a holistic balance between their training, competitions and study. She also shared that the Physiotherapy programme at HKMU helped her understand more about the skeletal and muscular structure of the body, enabling her to prevent injuries effectively and learn how to strengthen her training.

Elite gymnastics athlete Cheng Lai-chun, who graduated with a Bachelor of Sports and Recreation Management and achieved her master qualification in Social Sciences at HKMU, shared at the ceremony how much she enjoyed the challenges and rewards during her study and gymnastics training. She believed that the flexible study mode at HKMU is particularly suitable for elite athletes and she encouraged her counterparts to pursue dual development for a better post-athletic career.

Targeting to attract more sporting talents to devote themselves in full-time training, the HKSI has established Elite Athlete-friendly School Network in 2014 and Partnership School Programme in 2015. HKMU is the twelfth tertiary education institution engaged in MOU with the HKSI for supporting athletes on their dual career pathways in their sporting life.