PolyU Orientation, O-Camps and Campus Festivals (Part 1): From Info Day to Red-Brick Rituals

This is the first part, mapping the skeleton of official ceremonies and festivals. The administrative and tension-ridden dimensions — the SAO's student development support, the risk boundaries of "Big O / Small O", and the differing orientation needs of commuter students, hall residents and non-local students — are covered in Part 2.

In one sentence: The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) weaves a year-round cycle of ceremonies and festivals — the autumn admissions Information Day (drawing over 40,000 visitors^※ per edition, as in 2024), the late-August orientation week, student-led O-Camps with SAO support, the November Congregation (the 31st was held in 2025^※), and the cultural festivals run by CPEO — that collectively turn the visual symbol of the "red brick" campus into collective ritual and identity.

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# What does "red brick" mean? Where does PolyU's visual identity come from?

The campus's signature red-brick architecture is the physical substrate of every PolyU ritual. According to the University's own magazine, Excel@PolyU, the red-brick style was conceived in 1972 by architect James Kinoshita of Palmer & Turner, drawing on the red-brick architecture of traditional British and American universities; the buildings are raised one storey, leaving covered, multi-purpose outdoor space beneath^※, when the institution was formally established as a polytechnic.

As the urban culture magazine Zolima CityMag notes, despite decades of subsequent expansion, the red brick remains the most essential element of PolyU's visual identity — a quality that led the magazine to call the campus "Hong Kong's underrated modern landmark"^※. The red brick is more than a cladding material: it is the shared visual language among "PolyU-ians", and the stage set for every campus celebration.

The former student union, the Hong Kong Polytechnic University Students' Union^※, was reorganised in 2022 and reconstituted under the name "Red Brick Society" — itself an invocation of this symbol, a measure of how strongly "red brick" resonates in PolyU student culture. The campus lore and taboos circulating among the red bricks are covered separately in PolyU Red-Brick Legends and Campus Lore.

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# PolyU Info Day: an admissions carnival drawing 40,000 visitors per edition

The Information Day (Info Day) is PolyU's largest annual recruitment event for prospective undergraduates, typically held in autumn on the main Hung Hom campus, and it has long drawn crowds of secondary-school students, parents and working adults considering further study.

According to PolyU's official press release, the 2024 Info Day ran from 10 am to 5 pm on Saturday 12 October, attracting over 40,000 visits^※ from people seeking the latest admissions and programme information. The programme covered JUPAS, non-JUPAS, senior-year admission and gaokao (mainland China's national university entrance exam) admissions talks, more than 200 programme consultation sessions, laboratory tours and student-sharing workshops. President Prof. Jin-Guang Teng and other senior management attended and toured the faculty booths.

By the 2025 Info Day, which moved to Saturday 27 September under the theme "Innovation and Diversity"^※, the number of activities had grown to more than 250, with first showcases of the new Bachelor of Science in Sports Science and Technology and Bachelor of Science in Language Sciences and Technology programmes opening in the 2026/27 academic year. The new "Bachelor's Degree Scheme in Interdisciplinary Studies" — which lets students explore across faculties before confirming a major — was also a headline attraction.

Info Day is a single-day autumn event; the exact date is announced annually by the University, usually falling a few months after JUPAS results are released and before application deadlines.

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# Beyond the Info Day: InnoTech Open Day and thematic visits

Alongside the annual Info Day, PolyU also holds thematic open days from time to time. According to the University's 85th-anniversary page, the "PolyU InnoTech Open Day" was held on 16 July 2022 (PolyU's 85th anniversary), from 9:30 am to 5 pm, opening with a keynote by Nobel laureate Sir Michael Houghton^※, and featured 8 research and innovation talks, 14 start-up exhibitions, 20 themed campus tour routes, and admissions consultation booths run by 14 departments.

These thematic open days foreground research achievements and innovation transfer, in contrast to the admissions-focused Info Day aimed at JUPAS applicants — their audiences are industry partners, the media and members of the public interested in innovation. The two event types complement each other: one says "come and look at our programmes", the other "come and look at our research".

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# Orientation week: the first ritual for new students crossing into the red brick

Late August is when new students first step onto the PolyU campus and begin building a collective identity. PolyU's orientation system is built around two official components — the President's Welcome and the Orientation Showcase exhibition — plus student-led activities at faculty, departmental and hall levels.

According to PolyU's official press release, the Orientation Info Days 2025 were held on 27–28 August, with more than 2,300 new students attending the "President's Welcome" at the Jockey Club Auditorium, which was simultaneously live-streamed to multiple campus venues^※. The welcome featured performances by the PolyU Orchestra and Choir, a student dance performance, and an alumni sharing session — in 2025, by Dr. Wang Xuesong, co-founder of EcoFlow, who spoke about his own journey at PolyU and encouraged students to pursue their dreams.

In his welcome address, President Teng offered this message: 「I wish you a rewarding journey at PolyU, where you will not only gain professional knowledge but also grow into a better person in all aspects.」^※

The following day's Orientation Showcase was held at the Shaw Sports Complex, with more than 40 booths run by academic units and student organisations, introducing new students to campus support services, co-curricular activities and resources.

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# Student-led orientation and O-Camps: the three-tier structure of faculties, halls and societies

Alongside the official University orientation, PolyU runs a parallel "student orientation" system led by student organisations. According to the English Wikipedia entry "Orientation camps in Hong Kong"^※, the orientation camps (O-camps) at Hong Kong universities come in two forms: "Big O" (coordinated by the students' union) and "Small O" (coordinated by faculty and departmental societies). "Big O" introduces new students to campus-wide life and culture, while "Small O" focuses on building networks within one's own faculty and department.

Each group is led by two to four senior students acting as "Group Fathers" and "Group Mothers", who help newcomers settle into campus life. At the hall level, a separate "Hall O Camp" runs in parallel with faculty orientation as the entry point for building a sense of belonging among hall residents — the facilities at the two halls in Hung Hom and Ho Man Tin, and the residential college system, are covered in Halls, Traditions and Campus Activities (Part 1).

PolyU's orientation activities have been adjusted since 2025: the Student Affairs Office (SAO) now runs a "Welcome Roadshow" before the start of term, showcasing the full list of approved student-led orientation activities for new students to learn about and choose from; student-led activities must be registered with the SAO in advance before they can be promoted.

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# Congregation: academic gowns, the Jockey Club Auditorium and the weight of a degree

If orientation marks the "coming in", the Congregation marks the "going out" — the concluding ceremony of four years of study, and the most formal occasion in PolyU tradition.

PolyU's graduation ceremony follows the British university "Congregation" tradition, complete with an academic gown dress code. According to the official arrangements of the Academic Registry, graduates at different degree levels wear gowns of different colours and styles, which must be booked in advance for rental from the University's designated supplier (Victoria Uniform); no gown rental is available on campus on the day^※. The Registry's "Important Points to Note for Congregation Attendance" (PDF) stipulates that only graduates wearing the correct academic gown will be arranged to go on stage and to take part in the group photo session after the ceremony (if such a session is arranged)^※.

Congregation is held twice a year: a May session devoted to conferring degrees on doctoral graduates^※, and a series running from late October to November covering all degree levels across the University, from sub-degree to professional doctorate.

According to PolyU's official press release, the 31st Congregation (May 2025 session) was held on 10 May at the Jockey Club Auditorium, conferring degrees on 226 doctoral graduates (covering those who completed their doctorates between October 2024 and March 2025)^※. At the ceremony, President Teng remarked: 「We aspire for our graduates to connect academic research to societal needs and solve complex problems by driving innovation.」

The 30th Congregation (November 2024 session), meanwhile, ran from 31 October to 16 November 2024, spanning roughly two weeks and covering bachelor's, master's, professional doctorate and sub-degree graduates from all faculties^※. Taking the Faculty of Humanities as an example, 881 graduates participated in the 2025 congregation, of whom 188 were undergraduates and 693 were postgraduates^※.

Attending the ceremony is not required for the award of a degree; the academic gown is a condition of attendance (it affects stage arrangements and the group photo).

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# The PolyU Hall Festival and campus-life carnivals: everyday celebrations of the "red-brick community"

PolyU's ceremonial calendar extends beyond the formal admissions and graduation occasions, with a scattering of student-centred events throughout the academic year. Chief among them is the Campus Life Festival, a University-wide student activities carnival held at the start of term each September.

According to a report from the Student Affairs Office (SAO), the 2025 Campus Life Festival was held from 10 to 12 September on the FJ and FG podiums, drawing over 10,000 PolyU students, with 40 student groups setting up booths showcasing art, sports, culture and entertainment^※. Vice President Prof. Ben Young and Acting Dean of Students and Global Affairs Prof. Horace Mui attended. The 2026 Campus Life Festival is scheduled for 3–4 and 7–8 September at the Shaw Sports Complex, open each day from noon to 6 pm^※.

Another annual tradition is the PolyU Hall Festival, usually held in November — the largest-scale collective event at the hall level. Each hall's Hall Association holds joint exhibitions, competitions and evening parties during the festival, a key moment for hall residents to express their collective identity.

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# CPEO cultural festivals: the cultural-ritual layer of the "red brick" campus

Each year, two major cultural festivals organised by the Cultural Promotion and Events Office (CPEO) add ritual depth to the campus festival calendar.

The PolyU Chinese Culture Festival is CPEO's largest annual cultural project. According to CPEO's official page, the festival aims to "deepen the appreciation of Chinese culture among the younger generation", encompassing exhibitions of traditional crafts such as lacquerware, embroidery and indigo dyeing, performing arts (erhu concerts, mid-autumn parties and more), academic lectures and workshops^※. The 2024 edition coincided with the 30th anniversary of PolyU's university status (conferred in 1994): activities ran from March to November, including a cross-institutional "classic Chinese recitation performance" co-organised with students from Hong Kong, Macau and mainland China.

The PolyU International Cultural Festival, held each spring (roughly late March to early April), centres on multicultural themes. The 2025 International Cultural Festival ran from 24 March to 10 April, jointly organised by CPEO, the Student Affairs Office, the Global Engagement Office and the Department of English and Communication^※, featuring an opening ceremony, film screenings, five cultural nights (covering international, South Asian, Kazakh, Malaysian and Indonesian cultures, among others), K-pop random dance, Italian commedia dell'arte performances and a European food festival.

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# The festival calendar: a ritual map of the PolyU year

Placing these events within the academic-year frame reveals the ritual rhythm of PolyU campus life — from a new student's first arrival to graduation, a collective ceremony marks a beat every few weeks.

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# How do these festivals shape a "red-brick" identity?

Every Hong Kong university has its own symbols and traditions — HKU has its century-old Main Building, CUHK its college system. PolyU's sense of identity has long been anchored to the visual symbol of the "red brick", activated and reproduced through this cycle of ceremonial festivals.

A new student first sets foot on the red-brick-lined walkways and podiums during orientation week; discovers the diverse communities of halls, societies and sports at the Campus Life Festival and O-Camps; dons an academic gown and walks across the same red brick at Congregation; and senses a campus dimension wider than "polytechnic" at the Chinese and International Cultural Festivals. This arc of rituals condenses the four years from matriculation to graduation into an experience that can be named. The identity of the "PolyU-ian" accumulates precisely through these recurring scenes.

It should be said that, unlike HKU's hall culture or CUHK's college system, PolyU has no University-wide college identity framework; its festival traditions revolve instead around the University as a whole (Logo Square / the Jockey Club Auditorium) and faculty societies, rather than a single elite community. This makes PolyU's festival culture naturally more mass-oriented and pluralistic — and makes the "red brick" itself the cultural symbol with the broadest consensus.

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# Beneath the skeleton: administration, tensions and where we draw the line

The above sketches the public skeleton of PolyU's festivals and ceremonies — how Info Day, Orientation Info Days, O-Camps, Congregation and the CPEO festivals are arranged across the calendar and recorded by the University. What truly shapes students' experience of orientation, however, lies in the administrative base beneath this skeleton (the SAO), the risk boundaries of "Big O / Small O", and the three differing sets of needs of commuter, hall-resident and non-local students — these are taken up in Part 2.

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