UC Graduate Studies Catalog 2019-2023 Section IV Extra-Curricular Activities to Facilitate Students’ Rounded Development

1. Distinguished Lecture Series

Up until now, UC has hosted ambassadors, film stars, Nobel Laureates, foreign professors, and other local and international government officials.

These series of invited lectures, including the Diplomatic Lecture Series for example, help our students and other members of the UC community to keep in touch with the world at large, based on insights provided by top-tier members of the global community. More broadly, it serves to enhance the networking capacity through the cultivation of meaningful relationships with these and other individuals, for our students and others alike.

2. Short Course Programs

These are open to our students as well as the general public, with the aim of encouraging life-long learning.

As their name implies, they aim to give concise coverage of particular fields of interest. As such they aim to either provide introductions to particular new fields of interest (language courses and certain IT-related ones) or higher-level courses which aim to provide deeper insights into a particular area of interest for those with background experience in that field or those other professionals who wish to develop an understanding of ancillary dimensions of their existing area of expertise.

i. Language Courses The School for Foreign Languages offers a variety of different non-degree courses catering for different interests. The Department of English Language has taken over the variety of programs previously run by the Center for English Studies, including the ‘FasTrax’ suite of intensive English language courses designed to bring potential students up to speed for the University’s International-track degree programs; this set of courses also sets out to further develop an individual’s soft skills, including organizational and time management skills and research, critical thinking and essay-writing skills. Various other options are available such as courses in English for Specific Purposes for those who wish to learn terminology and vocabulary related to a particular profession or area of study.

Similar programs in other languages will be implemented in the near future.

ii. IT-Related Courses The College of Science and Technology offers a variety of courses, from the novice to the potential expert level, in various aspects of the use of computer applications (see Section III.3).

Whilst various basic courses (including practical hands-on experience) are aimed at the development of an individual’s soft skills in the use of various computer software, high-level ones provide advanced-level implementation of skills related to computer security and other specialized aspects of recent developments in IT.

iii. Other Professional and Executive-Related Courses Other Colleges and Schools offer courses relevant to their particular domains which serve to provide participants with in-depth insights into specific aspects of a particular topic, whether to supplement their existing background or to otherwise augment it. The Skills and Career Development Center can be contacted for further information.