A Word of Welcome from the Head of Department

Welcome to the Department of Government and International Studies, Hong Kong Baptist University.

We represent a dynamic community of researchers, academic and teaching staff who produce scholarship on international relations and Europe, Chinese and Hong Kong politics. Members of our department have expertise and research interests in these three cross-cutting thematic areas, which underpin an overarching narrative on comparative forms of regional integration; intra- and inter-state relationships, civil society in authoritarian or semi-democratic contexts and the changing bases of political legitimacy. Our belief in research-led teaching, and our extensive international networks, combine to promote a student-focussed approach which is designed to guarantee a whole person education, in line with the philosophy of the University itself.

The Department of Government & International Studies (GIS) is a community of academic and teaching staff who produce scholarship on international relations and Europe, Chinese politics, and Hong Kong politics. In addition, the Department has one visiting scholar seconded from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD).

The Department offers a BSocSc (Hons) in Government and International Studies, which trains students to different aspects of political science, with a strong emphasis on international relations and comparative politics. The BSocSc (Hons) in European Studies, by contrast, is a multi / trans-disciplinary programme, which combines the study of European political, social and cultural affairs with intensive foreign language acquisition. Uniquely in Hong Kong, it includes a compulsory year of study at a European university.

The Department further contributes to teaching in the Master of Arts in Global Society, Master of Public Administration, Master of Social Sciences (Contemporary China Studies) and the Global and China Studies programme.

The Department manages exchange and cooperation agreements with numerous universities and other organizations in the European Union, thereby contributing decisively to the University's internationalization efforts.

The Department manages the Comparative Governance and Policy Research Centre (CGPC). It also hosts the European Documentation Center (EDC), a reference library jointly maintained by the European Union and the University, and maintains the Self-Access Learning Unit (SALU), an extensive learning commons for European Studies.

I welcome you all to GIS.

Prof. Alistair Cole