The HKU School of Professional and Continuing Education (HKU SPACE) is a private post-secondary education institution in Hong Kong. The School is a private subsidiary of the publicly funded University of Hong Kong. The School specializes in professional education, as well as providing degree-awarding courses in partnership with overseas universities.

History
In the early 1950s, it became apparent that there was a need for further education opportunities in the colony. The findings of the Keswick Report (1952) and the Jennings-Logan Report (1953) provided recommendations to the colonial government to establish a new department aimed at providing adult-education programmes. On 21 May 1957, HKU established the Department of Extra-Mural Studies with an enrollment of 330 students. Part of the purpose of the Department was to develop and run courses to meet the needs of the growing colony of Hong Kong. These included library studies in response to the opening of the first library in the territory, and housing management to cope with the growing housing crises which plagued the colony in the 1960s.

The Department was renamed the School of Professional and Continuing Education in January 1992. This change elevated its status with relation to its parent organisation, giving it financial autonomy, and allowing it more freedom to make decisions related to the programmes out offered. The school was reformed into a corporate structure in 1999, allowing the University to provide for more flexible and appropriate rules and procedures not open to the University as a publicly funded institution.

Locations
HKU SPACE operates out of a number of small locations spread across Hong Kong, currently:

Subsidiaries

HKU SPACE also oversees a number of subsidiary educational organisations:

 HKU SPACE Community College (established in 2000)
 HKU SPACE International College (established in 2003)
 HKU SPACE Po Leung Kuk Stanley Ho Community College (established in 2006)
 College of Business and Finance
 College of Humanities and Law
 College of Life Sciences and Technology
 Centre for Logistics and Transport

International Partners
HKU SPACE has strategic partnership with universities globally that offer a number of part time and full time courses at HKU SPACE campuses across Hong Kong.

Alumni Structure and Organisations 
Established in 2004, the HKU SPACE Alumni aims to maintain an active relation between the school and the alumni. The HKU Professional Real Estate Agencies Alumni and Hong Kong Students & Alumni Association of The Tsinghua University School of Law as Limited Companies under the Companies Ordinance. 9 more organisations were established as societies under the societies ordinance:

 HKU SPACE Public Relations and Corporate Communication Alumni Chapter
 HKU SPACE Society of Putonghua Students
 HKU SPACE Mediation Practice Alumni Society
 HKU SPACE Wine Alumni Association
 Gem & Jewellery Alumni Association
 HKU SPACE Art Collecting Alumni Association
 HKU SPACE Fintech Alumni Association
 HKU SPACE Financial Planning Alumni Society
 HKU SPACE Docent Alumni Society

The alumni membership systems also differs from other colleges including the HKU. It consist of the "Lifelong Learner Card" which is automatically obtained by graduating from HKU SPACE and the "Life Membership Card" which can only be obtained after paying the membership fee to be a "Life Member". The only differences between the life membership and ordinary membership is the privileges which provide discounts of companies in different field, which can only be access by the life member. However, most of the privileges were shared between the 2 different types of member.

References

Universities in Hong Kong
Vocational education in Hong Kong