Undergraduate Curriculum Reform in Hong Kong: Re-designing a Local Dental Curriculum with an International Perspective

Abstract

Higher education in Hong Kong has recently undergone a historic shift in the provision of undergraduate curricula. This shift has been both structural and conceptual. Structurally, the time apportioned to university education and senior secondary schooling was adjusted. Conceptually, there has been an overall drive towards active student engagement in intellectual inquiry within an outcomes-based framework. This paper outlines the process of re-design undertaken by the curriculum development team for the Bachelor of Dental Surgery（BDS）at The University of Hong Kong to meet not only the demands of a clinical dental programme but also larger university demands to internationalize the campus and to foster, among a suite of graduate attributes, global citizenship and internationalisation. Specific initiatives in dental education are highlighted as examples of good practice arising from Hong Kongʼs curriculum reform.