The Partner
Established in 2003, the School for Higher and Professional Education (SHAPE) takes pride in offering a broad range of programmes across a range of disciplines. It is a leading vocational education provider in Hong Kong, offering full-time and part-time programmes at certificate to higher diploma level. SHAPE values the role of continuing education in unlocking the true potential of students and offers a myriad of opportunities to students with sub-degree qualifications wishing to pursue a higher qualification. As such it is one of the member institutions of the Vocational Training Council (VTC), offering vocational courses to post-secondary students in Hong Kong. SHAPE attracts students from Hong Kong, Mainland China and the wider region.
Over the past decade, SHAPE has cultivated many strong collaborative relationships; current partners include 12 renowned overseas and local universities, including Northumbria University.
The Northumbria University programme is offered at the Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education (IVE) campus in Chai-Wan. This is a dynamic and welcoming campus, fostering active learning to enhance students’ long-term development. There are also state of the art facilities including a Wellness Centre, 58 laboratories/workshops, a swimming pool and a Learning Resources Centre.
The Partnership
The partnership between VTC SHAPE and the Faculty of Health and life Sciences was established in 2009. Current world and national food issues have highlighted the importance of Food Science and Nutrition to both the public and professionals. As a consequence there are excellent career prospects in the food industry, consumer studies, retail management, marketing, health, environmental health and community-based projects.
It is through the BSc (Hons) Food Science and Nutrition programme that the partnership between the two organisations has been cemented. This programme emphasises the scientific understanding of food, enabling students to apply knowledge to a range of contexts such as food processing, quality and safety, technology and the identification of relationships between dietary intake and health.
The Programme
There is currently one franchised programme offered at VTC SHAPE which is:
Recognition
The BSc (Hons) Food Science and Nutrition programme offered at VTC SHAPE is accredited by the Hong Kong Council for Accreditation of Academic and Vocational Qualifications (HKCAAVQ) and therefore enjoys similar status of local-accredited honours bachelor’s degree programmes.
The HKCAAVQ determined that the BSc (Hons) Food Science and Nutrition programme meets the Hong Kong Qualifications Framework (QF) standard at Level 5, and can be offered as an accredited programme until 31 August 2018. This means students are able to access funding to complete the programme and ensures that the programme compares favourably to others on offer in the region.
