As a major component of the University’s orientation programmes, SAO’s Orientation Info Day extends a warm welcome to new students from President Teng, as well as introducing services and support offered by various student bodies and
administrative offices of PolyU.
The Orientation Info Day for the 2023/24 academic year is scheduled for 30 August 2023. This comprises a welcome session hosted by President Teng at Jockey Club Auditorium and an Orientation Showcase at Shaw Sports Complex. The Showcase lets students explore a wide range of student developmental opportunities and services available at PolyU.
In September 2022, 36 local and non-local student organisations jointly presented a Campus Life Festival with support from SAO. The festival aimed to encourage cross-cultural exchanges for students to share their interests with each other and join different clubs to meet new friends. During the five-day event, more than 15,600 students had fun in the activities and registered to be part of various interest clubs.
In a concerted effort with student clubs, SAO’s FUN-on-Campus Series attracted over 800 students from February to March 2023.
The FUN-on-Campus Series was a student initiative with three core themes, namely SPORTify, Welcome-on-BOARD and Universal Comication. SPORTify offered students walk-in sessions at the Shaw Sports Complex and chances to connect with peers through sports. Universal Comication, organised by the Cartoons Art Society, hosted weekly discussions about how comics are intertwined with history and culture. Welcome-on-BOARD, hosted by the Chess and Boardgames Club, offered a cosy space for students to meet new acquaintances who are boardgame fans.
To add to PolyU’s 85th Anniversary Celebration, the Global Culture Bazaar was organised in October 2022. The bazaar drew around 2,300 participants and showcased the PolyU community’s rich tapestry of cultures, heritage and life experiences. 10 student organisations joined hands with SAO to create a host of innovative and inclusive initiatives, displaying their creativity while also preparing the ground for intercultural understanding and appreciation.
NLSA Inter-society Sportathon and Cultural Nights
As part of the exciting series of events held by our non-local student associations in semester 2 of 2022/23, an Inter-society Sportathon brought together 125 members across seven non-local student associations, promoting healthy lifestyles and fostering cross-cultural friendships. Five other initiatives under the Cultural Night series attracted a total of over 600 students and guests, providing opportunities for participants to connect with new friends of various backgrounds.
The SAO platform PolyU’s Got Talent (PGT) embraces the rich tapestry of cultures and talents on campus with dazzling student performances under the “Arts. Culture. Talent for Sharing” framework. Through collaborations with other SAO platforms and PolyU’s Educational Development Centre, PGT brought in 17 activities joined by nearly 2,000 participants in 2022/23. The success is also a result of the synergistic efforts between SAO and student organisations such as the Music Society, the PolyArts, the Chinese Mainland Student Association and the Hall Dance Team.
