Timeline
The media has always played a vital role in our society. For over 50 years, the School of Communication has nurtured more than 20,000 communication professionals under our motto "Truth is Virtue" and the leadership of our Deans and Heads. As we expanded from a Department into a School, from providing three majors in the beginning – Journalism, Radio-Television and Public Relations – to founding the Department of Communication Studies, Department of Interactive Media and Department of Journalism, our achievements have been remarkable. The School of Communication is the cradle for local communication elites, and a destination of choice for further studies by students from Greater China.
Our History
2010 - Now
Keep Abreast of the Times
The School of Communication strives to keep abreast of the times. The purpose-built Communication and Visual Arts Building facilitates the School of Communication in advancing higher education in communication and media under the 4-year curriculum.
- The Bachelor of Communication (Honours) in Interactive Media Publishing, launched by the Department of Interactive Media, is a government-funded two-year articulation programme.
- Professor ZHONG Bu became the 6th Dean of the School of Communication in February 2024.
- The new logo now frames the cursive script of the Chinese character “傳” within a camera shutter motif, evoking the immediacy and motion of moving image, injecting it with dynamism and vitality. The Chinese character “傳” is now an open circle, symbolising a constant expansion of focus – perfectly capturing the ethos of the School.
The Academy of Film is incorporated into HKBU’s newly established School of Creative Arts with the Academy of Music and the Academy of Visual Arts.
- Department of Interactive Media was founded
Among all institutions doing research in communication and media, the School’s research outputs received the highest percentage of top ratings from the international panel of assessors in comprehensive Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) 2020, which was funded by HK University Grants Committee.
- Run by the Institute for Journalism and Society, the inaugural issue of Asia-Pacific Journalism Review, was published.
- Run by the Academy of Film’s Centre for Film and Moving Image Research, the inaugural issue Global Storytelling: Journal of Digital and Moving Images, was published.
- HKBU FactCheck Service, the first research-based, systematic fact-checking service operated by an independent academic institution in Hong Kong, was launched.
- The School launched two undergraduate double degree programmes with the University of Queensland in Australia and the University of Missouri in United States respectively.
Bachelor of Fine Arts (Honours) in Acting for Global Screen was launched by Academy of Film.
- The School celebrated its 50th Anniversary
- The 1st Global University Film Awards (GUFA), hailed as the “Global University Student Oscars”, was held.
- The Centre for Film and Moving Image Research, established by Academy of Film, promotes research into film, the moving image, and also digital humanities.
Bachelor of Social Sciences (Honours) in Communication programme was retitled as Bachelor of Communication (Honours) programme.
- The Timothy Yu Communication Education Fund was established to enhance the teaching and research development of the School of Communication.
- The School’s long-term collaboration with Leipzig University in Germany and Ohio University in the United States started.
- The School hosted an international research workshop on Future Science Leaders with participants from HKBU, Leipzig University in Germany, Ohio University in the United States and Zhejiang University in the Mainland.
- studio-i, launched by the Academy of Film, sets students on the path to fulfill their aspiration in film production.
Bachelor of Social Sciences (Honours) in Media and Social Communication was launched.
- Bachelor of Social Sciences (Honours) in Integrated Communication Management was upgraded from a general degree to an honours degree.
- The HKBU-SOPA Award Winners Forum was launched by the Department of Journalism.
- 45th Anniversary Celebration of the School of Communication.
- “The Best of Times: Picturing Your Campus Memories” Photo Exhibition.
- The Communication Alumni Association serves as a platform to connect alumni and the School of Communication.
Master of Arts (MA) in Producing for Film, Television and New-Media was launched.
- Professor HUANG Yu became the 5th Dean of the School of Communication.
- The Communication and Visual Arts Building was completed with
11 storeys and a net floor area of about 9,000m2 , offering comprehensive facilities for students.
- The Department of Cinema and Television was reorganized and renamed as the Academy of Film, and offering five additional professional Diploma and Higher Diploma programmes.
2000 - 2009
In Pursuit of Excellence
In order to remain up-to-date with best professional practice, the School organized a number of cutting-edge, large-scale international academic activities and conferences; its programmes are also internationally recognized.
- The Public Relations Summit Conference organised by the Centre for Media and Communication Research (CMCR) secured top honours in the 2009 Gold Standard Awards (GSA). The CMCR's Summit excelled in the "Leadership and Development" category.
- The School of Communication launched Asia's first International Multimedia Training Series titled "Ethical Reporting on the World's Most Under-Reported Issues". The series invited the world's leading practitioners of multimedia journalism to share the latest industry developments in multimedia production at lectures and workshops.
- "2008 Health Communication Series – Enhancing Communication in Health Care" was jointly organised by the Department of Communication Studies and the Hospital Authority.
- Students from the Department of Journalism had the unique opportunity to gain international experience reporting first-hand from Beijing on the Olympic Games.
- The 1st Pulitzer Prize Winners Workshop launched as the first workshop of its kind in Asia.
- Master of Arts in International Journalism Studies opened for enrollment.
- Institute of Journalism and Society, and International News and Communication Resources Centre established.
- Institute of Journalism and Society, and International News and Communication Resources Centre established.
- Professor ZHAO Xinshu became the 4th Dean of the School of Communication.
- Master of Social Sciences in Media Management opened for enrollment as the first programme of its kind in the region.
- Communication and Society, a quarterly journal, founded jointly by the School of Communication and the School of Journalism and Communication of the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
- The Public Relations and Advertising programme obtained accreditation from the Public Relations and Advertising Association (IAA). The programme is the first in the Greater China region to secure this accreditation, and graduates can now obtain the IAA Diploma in Marketing Communications. Second from left is Prof. Georgette Wang, the 3rd Dean of the School.
- Master of Arts (Full time) in Communication opened for enrollment.
- The Cinema and Television Department held "The 1st University Student Film and TV Award in the Greater China Region".
1990 - 1999
New Landmarks for Innovation
The Department of Communication was expanded to become the School of Communication and offers many diverse of higher degree programmes, providing a more extensive study path.
- Professor Leonard Chu became the 2nd Dean of the School.
- "The Young Communicator" was set up for students of the Applied Communication Studies major (run by Organizational Communication major) and "Digiforce" was set up for students of the Digital Graphic Communication major.
Doctor of Philosophy in Communication opened for enrollment.
- Major in Digital Graphic Communication opened for enrollment.
- The Department of Communication was expanded as the School of Communication with three departments: the Department of Cinema and Television; the Department of Journalism; and the Department of Communication Studies. Professor John L. Jellicorse became Dean of the School of Communication.
1980 - 1989
Persevering against Tides of Change
Sing Tao Communication Centre, housing the Communication Department, completed and inaugurated as the academic building of the Communication Department. The Department also launched its first undergraduate programme – Bachelor of Social Sciences (Honours) in Communication.
- The Au Shue Hung Centre for Film and Television named and inaugurated.
- Dr. Lin Nian-tong became the 4th Head of the Department of Communication in the late 1980s.
- Sing Tao Communication centre completed and inaugurated.
- Miss Sally Aw Sian, Chairman of Sing Tao Newspaper, officiated at the Foundation Stone Day for the Sing Tao Communication Centre.
1970 - 1979
Nurturing All-rounded Achievers
The Department of Communication provided practical opportunities for students by establishing the first closed-circuit, campus-based TV Broadcasting channel in South-east Asia. Numerous college facilities were added with a wide range of workshops and activities organized to provide a comprehensive learning environment for students.
- Mr. Chang Kuo-sin, the 3rd Head of the Department (third from left).
- "The Young Broadcaster" (TYB), an experimental campus broadcasting station was established under the TV and Broadcasting Programme. It was the first closed-circuit, campus-based TV Broadcasting channel in South-east Asia. "The Young Broadcaster" offered one-hour of programming per day. The picture shows the Commissioner at the ICAC (second from left) officiating of the Inauguration Ceremony for TYB.
- Mr. Raymond Wong, the 2nd head of the Department, and The Young Reporter's editing team
- Dr. Lyle M. Nelson, Chairman of the Department of Communication, Stanford University, visited Hong Kong Baptist College and gave a lecture to Communication students about the latest trends in communication education in the US.
- "The Young Agency" (TYA) of the Public Relations major founded.
- A reporter's pass of The Young Reporter.
- Promotion materials of the Department of Communication.
- Communication students setting up a booth for the Academic Week.
- Communication Orientation Camp in Wu Kai Sha in 1972.
- Radio-Television option's students learned to operate different equipment in a range of practical activities.
1960 - 1969
Scarce Resources, Inspired Passions
The Department of Communication was founded offering the first academic discipline of its kind in Hong Kong.
- The Department of Communication was founded providing three diploma courses: Journalism, Radio-Television and Public Relations. The Communication Society was formed in the same year comprising students from the entire Department. At the time, Oen Hall building served as the main teaching venue for the Department of Communication.
- Professor Timothy Yu, founding Head of the Department of Communication, explaining the functions of the typesetter.
- The Young Reporter, an experimental English student newspaper of the Journalism option, was first published in 1968. Sun Po Yan, another experimental student newspaper in Chinese, was published in 1969. They are the longest-standing university student newspapers in Hong Kong.
