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FAQs

General Questions

The DCA recognizes undergraduates who demonstrate exceptional self-directed development and real-world application of communication skills (oral, written, visual, and digital) through communication-intensive courses (CiC) and experiences (CI-Exps).

Any HKU undergraduate in good academic/disciplinary standing who have completed:

  • You need to complete at least ONE CI-badged course before submitting an application. The list of CI-badged courses can be found here:
CI-Badged Courses
  • At least 4 Communication-intensive Experiences (CI-Exps) covering all four literacies.

Awardees receive:

  • A monetary award (HK$5,000 per winner) at the award ceremony.
  • A permanent commendation on their academic transcript.
  • Promotion in University communications.

Non-selected applicants receive a Communicator Certificate Award (CCA).

Up to 20 students get the Distinguished Communicator Award (DCA) annually.

Application & Portfolio Questions

Awardees receive:

  • Landing Page: 60–90 sec “Communication Excellence” video + written summary.
  • Communication Skills Gallery: 2 CiC artifacts with annotations + a 1–2 min critical incident analysis.
  • CI-Experience Gallery: 4 CI-Exps (8–10 min media total) with reflective annotations.

For more details about CI-experiences, please refer to the following page:

Communication-experience Explainer

Total media viewing time (videos/audio) should be roughly 10–12 minutes.

Suggested platforms: Google Sites, Wix, WordPress, Adobe Portfolio, Canva, Notion.  However, you can use any platforms that you want, as long as you can provide a link for the assessment panel to access your portfolio.

Yes, but you must clearly specify your individual contributions.

A case analysis showing:

  • Feedback received regarding various communication aspects of the 2 CiC artifacts you have chosen to showcase.
  • Revisions made.
  • Lessons learned and how it improved your communication skills.


A 30–60 sec targeted pitch for a specific role/industry, structured as:

  • Hook (0–10s): Name + target role.
  • Value Proposition (10–35s): Key strengths + evidence.
  • Transferable Skill (35–50s): Additional relevant quality.
  • Closing (50–60s): Strong finish.

It should be in English.

Any student-initiated activity where you applied communication skills in real-world contexts (e.g., peer consultancy, Model UN, advocacy media, editorial leadership) to create impact and make a difference.  For more details about CI-experiences (examples, how to show case them etc…), refer to the page below:

Communication-experience Explainer

Collectively, the CI-Exps must cover all four literacies (spoken, written, visual, digital), but one experience can demonstrate multiple literacies.

Explain how it:

  • Applied communication skills in an authentic context.
  • Integrated multiple literacies.
  • Had a measurable impact (e.g., audience reach, feedback).

Preparation, Submission and Evaluation

Ideally, declare interest with at least 3 semesters remaining before graduation and attend DCA related workshops.

Yes, applicants can choose to attend:

  • DCA orientation (F2F or via Moodle)
  • Portfolio workshop (how to create a portfolio & video résumé).

Check out the Orientation or Workshop dates below:

Events

Suggested platforms: Google Sites, Wix, WordPress, Adobe Portfolio, Canva, Notion.  However, you can use any platforms that you want, as long as you can provide a link for the assessment panel to access your portfolio.

Yes, but you must clearly specify your individual contributions.

A case analysis showing:

  • Feedback received regarding various communication aspects of the 2 CiC artifacts you have chosen to showcase.
  • Revisions made.
  • Lessons learned and how it improved your communication skills.

Submit a public URL (e.g., Google Sites link) + a backup (PDF/ZIP with working links).

All audio/video must have captions or transcripts for accessibility.

Check out the sample portfolios here:

Samples

  • Top 20–30 applicants are shortlisted for panel interviews.
  • Up to 20 students receive the DCA annually.

  • Portfolio (60%) – Depth of communication skills & reflection.
  • Video Résumé (20%) – Professional targeting & conciseness.
  • Portfolio Quality (20%) – Structure, engagement, technical execution

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