The Education Bureau today announced that applications will open for the third cohort of the School Nominations Direct Admission Scheme in October to provide an additional pathway to university for students with exceptional talent.

The bureau noted that the scheme recognises the outstanding talent of students in specific disciplines that may not be fully assessed by the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE) Examination.

The scheme will be open for application by local Secondary 6 students who will be taking the 2024 HKDSE and commencing their undergraduate studies in September 2024.

Its nomination period will run from October 5 to December 6.

Each local secondary school can nominate two students with exceptional talent and interests in specific disciplines or areas and each nominee can apply for admission to one of the over 220 designated University Grants Committee (UGC)-funded undergraduate programme participating in the scheme.

The eight UGC-funded universities have set admission criteria that are not based on HKDSE Examination results for individual programmes.

Participating universities will arrange interviews for all students nominated and make firm offers to successful students prior to the release of the 2024 HKDSE Examination results.