Staff of UOW College Hong Kong officially marked the move to its new temporary offices at Festival Walk Tower in Kowloon Tong with a traditional Chinese ceremony today (24 January, 2020).
As part of its transition away from City University of Hong Kong (CityU), the College moved to 4th floor of Festival Walk Tower over Christmas and started operations on 2 January 2020. The College is expected to occupy the premises until its new permanent campus, currently under construction, is ready for occupation in 2024.
Occupying a total of about 1,900 square meters of usable area and just across the road from the old premises on the campus of CityU, the new office has adopted a mostly open office concept which facilitates staff interaction. The use of glass doors for individual offices of senior management and staff (which totals 44) optimizes the distribution of natural light which comes from windows available in these rooms.
The premises include offices for College academic and administrative staff of its four faculties. Each faculty has a General Office, a shared meeting room, and one to two student consultation rooms and storage area. The consultation rooms with a size of 10~12 square meters are specifically designed to provide a meeting place for four to five students and their teacher for collaborative learning or group discussions. Energy-saving practice is adopted so that ceiling lamps will automatically switch off at night.
Speaking at the ceremony today, Ms Vanessa Bourne, Chief-of-Staff, says that the move is as much physical as it is psychological. “We are glad to be able to move to the new premises. The new office indeed gives a genuine feeling that we are moving away from City University in what is to be the final stages of our transition,” says Ms Bourne.
Today’s ceremony leads into a joyous period of the Hong Kong calendar, with Chinese New Year falling on 25th to 28th January in 2020, The College staff send their wishes to colleagues across the UOWGE group for a very happy 2020, the Year of the Rat. Gong hei fat choy!
UOWCHK senior management proposing a toast to all staff
A traditional Chinese ceremony to mark new office opening
New faculty office counters for student services
Open plan office setting enhances staff interaction
Exterior view of new UOWCHK offices