To encourage new students to explore and take part in all the different aspects of university life, Lingnan held a key orientation activity, its Campus Life Carnival. Over a thousand new students visited the 40 stands set up by student societies, university teams and units encouraged new students to join, gave advice and explained Lingnan’s many extracurricular activities.
The carnival kicked off with a traditional Chinese lion dance performed by the Lion Dance and Martial Arts Team. Prof Raymond Chan Hon-fu, Acting President and Lam Man Tsan Chair Professor of Scientific Computing, said in his welcome remarks “Lingnan University emphasises diversity in both teaching and experiential learning, and believes in ‘Education for Service’, its guiding motto. We encourage all new students to actively seek out what interests them. Joining student societies and university teams not only enriches students’ lives, but also allows them to step outside the classroom framework, and gain knowledge and experience beyond textbooks, thus fully embodying Lingnan’s holistic education.
“As you wander through the carnival, keep in mind that everyone running the stands is from a recognised student society or university unit. These endorsed activities promise a fantastic adventure and we invite you to choose wisely.”
Prof Chan then visited various stands, chatting with students and asking about their interests and choices.
This year, 13 university sports teams participated in the carnival, hoping to attract new members. Lingnan teams have achieved outstanding results in recent intercollegiate competitions. For the first time, the Lingnan University Men’s Basketball Team reached the final of the Intercollegiate Basketball Competition and finished as first runner-up, their best ever performance. The Taekwondo team also had excellent results in the 2024-25 USFHK Taekwondo Competition, with one champion, three runners-up, and three third-place titles. Through the Student-Athlete Learning Support and Admission Scheme (SALSA), the University has accepted five elite athletes whose outstanding achievements are in cycling, rowing and taekwondo for the new academic year. Their experience and athletic prowess are expected to further strengthen the university teams and inspire more students to play sports.
This year’s carnival featured six sparkling presentations by two student societies and four university teams, including the karate, judo and taekwondo teams. The Christian Student Association and the Dance Society gave a music and dance performance, so that new students were able to see the diversity of campus culture.
In addition to joining student societies and university teams, new students may also take part in cultural, sports and innovation activities in the new academic year. These include the Aquatic Meet, Sports Day, President’s Cup, the Hostel Entrepreneurship Laboratory for driving new ideas through innovative thinking, the Cultural Ambassador Programme and Thanksgiving Celebrations.
Student societies at Lingnan are involved in academia, culture, and the arts and social services. The University also has 39 sports and cultural teams in 19 categories, which have taken part in various intercollegiate sports competitions. These teams nurture students’ talents and potential in sports and culture, foster a sense of belonging and cohesion and offer community service.