On 29 August, the Faculty & Administration Meeting was held on the new campus of the School of Music, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen. The meeting was chaired by Prof. Xiaogang YE, the founding dean of the School. Around 150 faculty and administrative staff attended the meeting. At the meeting, Prof. YE reviewed the academic and administrative progress over the past year and urged the faculty members and administrative staff to brace themselves for challenges and difficulties.

Prof. Xiaogang YE

Academic Work

At the meeting, Prof. Xiaogang YE noted that this is the first faculty meeting the school has held since its establishment. And the aim of it is to review the academic accomplishments of last year and plan for future development in the years to come.

For the faculty members who just joined our school this year, Prof. YE briefly introduces the history of the school. The school was officially established in August 2021, and six divisions were established since then, including the Composition & Theory, Conducting, Piano & Keyboard, Strings, Wind, Brass and Percussion, Opera & Voice, and Musicology. Currently, the school has 92 faculty members, including 42 professors, associate professors, and assistant professors.

Faculty & Administration Meeting

To make greater academic achievement, Prof. Xiaogang YE stressed as follows:

Firstly, discipline development.

In the 2024-2025 academic year, a total of 186 courses are offered by the school.  Revisions were made to ensure the courses are up to date and adapted to students' learning needs.

In April 2024, the DMus in Music Performance Programme and the DMus in Music Composition and Theory Programme were approved by the Ministry of Education, and 10 doctoral students were enrolled. In March 2025, the M.Phil.-Ph.D. in Musicology Programme was approved by the Ministry of Education, and enrolled around 7 students.

These new programmes not only enrich the school’s curriculum, but also strengthen the capacity of the school’s discipline. At the same time, the school plans to add a new concentration (Chinese instrument) to the undergraduate, master's and doctoral programme in music performance, to offer more choices to students and to better meet the market demands.

Group photo of doctoral students at the 2025 Inauguration Ceremony

Secondly, teaching quality. 

Prof. Xiaogang YE notes that the mission of the school is to become an international, innovative, and world-leading higher education institution. And the key to the school’s success is high-quality teaching.  

The school has regular Course and Teaching Evaluation as the University requires, to ensure the effectiveness of teaching methods and course content. In the new semester, the school expects all faculty members to adopt advanced teaching methods that benchmark with the best practices and international standards, and provide students with the assistance they need. 

This not only reflects the faculty members' dedication to maintaining high-quality teaching but also creates a supportive, professional, and efficient education environment for students, which lays a solid foundation for developing our school into a world-leading conservatory that impacts both China and the rest of the world.

Thirdly, research. 

Last year, the school made remarkable progress in research. Several faculties' projects gained funding from various levels of governments, including Prof. Xiaogang YE's General Project of 2024 Shenzhen Philosophy and Social Sciences Planning Program, Ms. ZHAO Ming's Youth Fund Project of the Ministry of Education's Philosophy and Social Sciences, and faculties who have published 12 CDs with funding, by renowned publishers including Naxos, Wergo, etc. 

For the Peacock Program, the first batch of faculty members who received the funding have successfully passed the performance evaluation and delivered outcomes, including concerts, publications, seminars, and academic conferences etc. The first postdoc is also on board, who will play a part in the research development of the school. 

Besides, our faculties and students also won prizes in international competitions, including the Incheon International Music Competition, the Bach International Music Competition (UK), etc.

Regarding the next steps for the school in teaching, academics, and faculty workload, Prof. YE clearly expressed his expectations: "Moving forward, all faculty members must focus their efforts on the four key areas of excellence, precision, innovation, and research. They must polish their skills and make targeted efforts in teaching, academics, research, and student development."

At the same time, fostering a harmonious teaching environment and maintaining sound relationships are the basic requirements for faculty. As teachers, we should try our best to unleash the potential of students, improve teaching quality, and cultivate students with individuality, creativity, and responsibility for the world.

New Campus

Administration Work

Regarding the school's administration, Prof. YE stated that this is the first Administration Meeting the school has held at this new campus. It's a meeting for us to review the past achievements, but more importantly, it is also a meeting for us to plan for the future. Administration safeguards the development of the school, creates a favorable environment for our faculties and students, ensures the smooth operation of all departments, helps plan, manage, organize, and execute the school's activities, which builds a solid foundation for the school's development.

Faculty & Administration Meeting

Since its establishment in August 2021, the school has achieved remarkable progress: nearly 200 new undergraduate, master's, and doctoral students enrolled in 2025, which means the total number of students reached about 500 this year. In 2027, the first cohort of doctoral students will graduate. Besides, at the inauguration ceremony, we are delighted to have five master's students who were among the first batch of 8 undergraduates of the school, with several offers from the renowned conservatories in the US and Europe, who chose to further their studies in our school.

For administration work, Prof. YE emphasized two aspects:

"First, refined management for development. Since its founding, the School, with support from the municipal government and under the guidance of the University, adheres to the principle of 'administration supports academic development', has optimized the disciplinary development, formed an all-star faculty team, and drafted management policies and rules. With this brand-new campus, the number of students and demand for teaching will increase significantly, while the school is proactively exploring digital media art and AI in music, to promote and integrate art and technology. All of these require the school to work in a more efficient manner and provide stronger support for the School’s high-quality development."

"Second, enhance implementation and strive for excellence. As the saying goes, the difficulty in managing work lies not in rules establishment, but in implementation. Knowledge gained from books seems superficial after all; true understanding comes from practice. With a new campus, we should further administration with high efficiency, promote the work, including major performances and events, high-quality teaching, academic and research development, admissions, international exchanges, and cooperation. Through enhanced execution capability, we can turn the blueprint into reality, and build the school with a higher standard and deliver more fruitful outcomes."

Prof. YE highly recognized and praised the administrative team for their great efforts and significant achievements in relocation work from the transitional campus to the new campus, with support from the Shenzhen Municipal Bureau of Education, the Finance Bureau of Shenzhen Municipality, Development and the Reform Commission of Shenzhen Municipality. He notes that this demonstrates the school's administrative team's capabilities and their willingness to shoulder responsibilities and rise up to challenges and difficulties. Prof. YE encourages the administrative staff to strive for excellence and make greater accomplishments in the future.

Faculty & Administration Meeting

At the meeting, Prof. CHAN Wing Wah, the Associate Dean (Education), and Prof. JIN Ping, the Associate Dean (Research), gave their remarks respectively. They expressed their gratitude for the efforts made by the staff and encouraged them to fulfil the tasks with enthusiasm and in a proactive manner. 

Faculty representative Prof. Yingjia XUE, Associate Professor (Teaching), and Prof. Xiaogeng LI, Assistant Professor (Teaching), shared their insights at the meeting.

In closing, Prof. YE said, "Looking back, we have achieved remarkable results. In the future, our goals are clear and our motivation is strong. Let us uphold higher academic standards and requirements, and improve administrative efficiency and coordination. A new campus indicates a fresh start, and a new semester brings hope. Let us work together and create a promising future."