Hong Kong students celebrate at graduation

A total of 252 awards were conferred at Southern Cross University's first graduation ceremony to be held in Hong Kong.

Students at the ceremony received awards including Bachelor of Information Technology, Bachelor of Laws, Bachelor of Social Science and Master of Business Administration. Previous graduates who had not been to a graduation ceremony were also formally presented at the ceremony.

Southern Cross University's presence in Hong Kong started with the Bachelor of Information Technology program in 1999, followed by the Bachelor of Business in 2000.

SCU Chancellor the Honourable John Dowd (AO QC), who officiated at the ceremony, said these were the first two programs from universities outside of Hong Kong to receive accreditation from the Hong Kong Council for Academic Accreditation.

Chancellor Dowd said SCU now also offered the Master of Professional Accounting and Doctor of Business Administration through the Hong Kong Institute of Technology.

The Occasional Speaker for the ceremony was Professor Zbys Klich, SCU Pro Vice-Chancellor Academic, who said the Hong Kong graduates had the best of both worlds.

"You have all the benefits of an Australian 'western-style' degree from Southern Cross University, which is accepted and valued around the world, but you have studied for it in Hong Kong, as part of a productive partnership with the Hong Kong Institute for Technology, and you have as well all the many benefits of Hong Kong culture, and Hong Kong enterprise," Professor Klich said.

"You should therefore be congratulated not just for graduating with your degree, but for the wisdom and the good planning you have shown to do it in this exciting partnership across nations with multiple benefits in an increasingly global future."

Ms Loretta Shuen, a Partner (Tax & Business Advisory Services) with Ernst & Young with responsibility for the whole of Southern China, also spoke at the ceremony. Ms Shuen, who is also Vice-President, CPA Australia Hong Kong Division, and who studied at the Lismore campus, emphasised the growing need for economists and accountants in China as part of the most vibrant economy in the world.

Among the guests at the ceremony were: Professor Lawson Savery, Executive Dean Faculty of Business; Mr Malcolm Marshall, SCU's Executive Director of Corporate Services; and Dr Joy Shi, President of the Hong Kong Institute of Technology.