SOCI8030

Capstone project

Offer semester
Full-year course

Course description

This course aims to facilitate students to integrate and apply the knowledge and skills they acquired through the MCCC programme.  In collaboration with community partners (CPs) in the field of media and culture, students have to conduct a research project in two semesters in a group of two students under the supervision of an academic supervisor assigned by the department.  Each group has to develop a research topic related to the field of media, culture and creative cities with its supervisor or to select one research topic suggested by its CP.

Sample topics include but not limited to the following: evaluating the effectiveness of the web platform for preserving local history; the role of public engagement in cultural conservation projects; a comparison of the funding models for international art festivals; independent filmmaking in the digital age; gender identity and consumer culture in globalization; the opportunities and challenges of new media in business; the emergence of cultural clusters and art districts in global cities; a proposal for setting up a crafts museum in Hong Kong; assessing Hong Kong’s cultural policy after the development of the West Kowloon Cultural District.  Each group is required to prepare a research proposal, two progress reports, one presentation of its project and a research report.

Project archive

A curated collection of past students’ final capstone reports is available on the HKU Scholars’ Hub.

A comprehensive list of titles of past student projects is also available.

Community partners

We have excellent connections to the practitioners and non-governmental bodies in the fields of media, culture, and creative cities, providing exceptionally strong external links for research and teaching input, especially in the capstone project. Below are the community partners who have agreed to participate in our programme:

Please note the availability of community partners varies from year-to-year.

Course learning outcomes

Upon completion of the capstone project, students should be able to:

  • Conduct academic research in collaboration with a community partner;
  • Integrate and apply the knowledge acquired from the programme to collect and analyze data;
  • Demonstrate a thorough understanding of theories related to media, culture and creative cities through presenting their research findings;
  • Develop analytical skills and critical thinking through producing a research report.

Assessment

TasksWeighting
Coursework100%

Course co-ordinator and teachers

Student view

The best part of this course is that students were granted freedom to explore any topic that we are interested in using mainly qualitative research methods. The data collection process provides a journey to truly experience the cultural aspects and discourses of a particular topic within the context of Hong Kong and Asia.

– Elizabeth Wang, year 2 MSocSc Media, Culture & Creative Cities student

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