{"id":34924,"date":"2025-10-14T11:43:13","date_gmt":"2025-10-14T03:43:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/web.socsc.hku.hk\/?post_type=school_news&#038;p=34924"},"modified":"2025-10-16T17:08:15","modified_gmt":"2025-10-16T09:08:15","slug":"faculty-welcomes-new-masters-students-in-social-data-and-population-analysis","status":"publish","type":"school_news","link":"https:\/\/web.socsc.hku.hk\/tc\/school_news\/faculty-welcomes-new-masters-students-in-social-data-and-population-analysis\/","title":{"rendered":"Faculty Welcomes New Master\u2019s Students in Social Data and Population Analysis"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Faculty is thrilled to welcome new students to two of its master\u2019s programmes. Vibrant orientations were held in late August for the second cohort of the <strong>Master of Social Sciences in Social Data Analytics [MSocSc(SDA)]<\/strong> and the inaugural cohort of the <strong>Master of Social Sciences in Population and Policy Analysis [MSocSc(Pop&amp;PA)]<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>The events were designed to foster collaboration, exploration, and inspiration as these students begin their academic journeys at HKU.<\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-34925\" src=\"https:\/\/web.socsc.hku.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/2.-MSDA-2-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"550\" height=\"367\" srcset=\"https:\/\/web.socsc.hku.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/2.-MSDA-2-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/web.socsc.hku.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/2.-MSDA-2-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/web.socsc.hku.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/2.-MSDA-2-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/web.socsc.hku.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/2.-MSDA-2-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/web.socsc.hku.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/2.-MSDA-2-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/web.socsc.hku.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/2.-MSDA-2-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 550px) 100vw, 550px\" \/><br \/>\n<em><span style=\"font-size: 8pt;\">Students from the MSocSc(SDA) programme connect at their orientation.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>MSocSc(SDA): Fostering Social Data Innovators<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The orientation for the MSocSc(SDA) programme began with an inspiring welcome by Programme Director, Professor Tarani Chandola. Students participated in icebreaking games, a networking luncheon with instructors at the Senior Common Room, and a GPS-guided campus hunt designed to promote teamwork. Following the orientation, a 4-day Bootcamp was held to build a solid foundation for their studies.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-34926\" src=\"https:\/\/web.socsc.hku.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/1.-MSDA-1-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"550\" height=\"367\" srcset=\"https:\/\/web.socsc.hku.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/1.-MSDA-1-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/web.socsc.hku.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/1.-MSDA-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/web.socsc.hku.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/1.-MSDA-1-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/web.socsc.hku.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/1.-MSDA-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/web.socsc.hku.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/1.-MSDA-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/web.socsc.hku.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/1.-MSDA-1-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 550px) 100vw, 550px\" \/><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 8pt;\"><em>MSocSc(SDA) students collaborate during a problem-solving campus hunt.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>MSocSc(Pop&amp;PA): Nurturing Demographers with Policy Insights<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The inaugural cohort of the MSocSc(Pop&amp;PA) programme engaged in problem-solving activities, a campus tour, and a welcoming luncheon with course instructors and supervisors. In his welcome speech, Programme Director Professor Guy Abel emphasised the importance of their chosen field:<\/p>\n<p><em>&#8220;In today\u2019s fast-changing world, understanding how population trends and policies connect is more important than ever.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-34932\" src=\"https:\/\/web.socsc.hku.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/6.-PopPA-4-2-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"461\" height=\"307\" srcset=\"https:\/\/web.socsc.hku.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/6.-PopPA-4-2-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/web.socsc.hku.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/6.-PopPA-4-2-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/web.socsc.hku.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/6.-PopPA-4-2-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/web.socsc.hku.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/6.-PopPA-4-2-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/web.socsc.hku.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/6.-PopPA-4-2-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/web.socsc.hku.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/6.-PopPA-4-2-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 461px) 100vw, 461px\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-34931\" src=\"https:\/\/web.socsc.hku.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/5.-PopPA-3-1-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"461\" height=\"307\" srcset=\"https:\/\/web.socsc.hku.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/5.-PopPA-3-1-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/web.socsc.hku.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/5.-PopPA-3-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/web.socsc.hku.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/5.-PopPA-3-1-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/web.socsc.hku.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/5.-PopPA-3-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/web.socsc.hku.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/5.-PopPA-3-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/web.socsc.hku.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/5.-PopPA-3-1-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 461px) 100vw, 461px\" \/><br \/>\n<em><span style=\"font-size: 8pt;\">The inaugural cohort of the MSocSc(Pop&amp;PA) programme at their welcoming orientation.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p>During both orientations, Professor Eric Fong, Associate Dean (Teaching and Learning), delivered a pre-recorded welcoming address. He encouraged the new students to embrace opportunities, connect across disciplines, and cultivate a \u20183C\u2019 mindset\u2014<strong>Curiosity, Collaboration, and Compassion<\/strong>\u2014as essential qualities for their postgraduate journey.<\/p>\n<p>We look forward to celebrating the progress and achievements of our new students. Welcome to the HKU family!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","school_new_categories":[781],"school_news_tag":[],"thought_leadership_category":[],"department_category":[],"class_list":["post-34924","school_news","type-school_news","status-publish","hentry","school_new_categories-teaching-learning"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.socsc.hku.hk\/tc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/school_news\/34924"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.socsc.hku.hk\/tc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/school_news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.socsc.hku.hk\/tc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/school_news"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.socsc.hku.hk\/tc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34924"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"school_new_categories","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.socsc.hku.hk\/tc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/school_new_categories?post=34924"},{"taxonomy":"school_news_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.socsc.hku.hk\/tc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/school_news_tag?post=34924"},{"taxonomy":"thought_leadership_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.socsc.hku.hk\/tc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/thought_leadership_category?post=34924"},{"taxonomy":"department_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.socsc.hku.hk\/tc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/department_category?post=34924"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}