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.

2010 - Now

Keep Abreast of the Times

The School of Communication strives to keep abreast of the times. The newly completed Communication and Visual Arts Building helps the School of Communication advance higher education in communication and media under the new 4-year curriculum.

2024

Professor ZHONG Bu became the 6th Dean of the School of Communication in February 2024.

2022

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

2021

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.

2020

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.

2019

Master of Science (MSc) in AI and Digital Media was launched.

2018

The School celebrated its 50^th Anniversary
The 1^st Global University Film Awards (GUFA), hailed as the “Global University Student Oscars”, was held.

2016

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.

2015

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.

2014

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.

2013

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.

2012

New 4-year curriculum launched. The Majors available in the new 4-year curriculum were:
- Film and Media Arts (FMA)
- Journalism (JOUR)
- Organizational Communication (ORGC)
- Public Relations and Advertising (PRA)
Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Creative Writing for Film, Television and New Media opened for enrollment.

2010

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.