Quality Assurance at HKUST
Intended Learning Outcomes – Initiative to Excel

IIM addresses community demand for graduates and researchers who can tackle the increasingly complex issues of our times through acquisition of a unique combination of knowledge and skills. It also cultivate different types of educational environment, mindset and research experience for those interested in integrating their capabilities and developing original approaches to solution-building and problem solving.

IIM students are expected to:

  • Create an individualized program of study drawing on theories, methods, and practices from a variety of disciplines;
  • Integrate knowledge and skills across courses in a unique major to be individually pursued;
  • Develop multi-dimensional perspectives and innovative problem-solving skills to existing and emerging problems;
  • Develop distinctive skill mix that enables them to communicate effectively with people of different levels and work areas within and across organizations;
  • Take initiative and responsibility to apply their interdisciplinary knowledge to solve the problems pressing social issues outlined in their program proposal;
  • Adopt an inter-disciplinary approach to tackle complex real-world problems;
  • Communicate effectively with people of different levels and work areas;
  • Transfer acquired knowledge to meet changes and challenges in different fields;
  • Engage in activities that lead to impact of social improvement;
  • Have the ability to create and innovate with divergent thinking.
Approval Process

For each IIM, it has to go through four-level of approval.

  • The student has to obtain the approval from the two advisors before they submit the proposal.
  • The Individualized Major Advisory Committee (IMAC) will review the proposal (and ask the student to revise it, if needed) and approve it.
  • The IPO-level committee will approve the proposal.
  • The proposal will be submitted to the University-level committee for final endorsement, and the entire approval process ends here.

Once a student is admitted to IIM, IMAC will hold a formal meeting to finalize and approve the requirement in the curriculum. The student may be required to revise the proposal as suggested by the IMAC and re-submit to IMAC before it is finalized and approved. The Chair of IMAC will submit to an IPO-level committee for final approval, and the information will be submitted to the University-level committee for endorsement.