Learning Finance Through Campus Dollars: Secondary Students Take on Finance Quest @ EdUHK

While financial concepts are often learnt through classroom teaching, figures and case examples, 33 S4–S6 secondary school students experienced personal finance in a more interactive way at EdUHK’s Tai Po campus on 3 July.

To help secondary school students gain a better understanding of personal finance, university learning and related career pathways, the Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Personal Finance (BA(PF)) Programme Team organised a Summer Programme from 3 to 5 July. The programme included programme and admissions sharing, sharing sessions by distinguished guests and graduates, a Cashflow Board Game, a field visit to the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, and interactive campus-based learning activities.

In the interactive “Finance Quest” game on 3 July, participants acted as university students. They were introduced to common university-life expenses, including transportation, meals, stationery and learning materials, communication and mobile data, social and campus activities, and emergency reserve. They then had to complete tasks at different stations to earn “Campus Dollars”, and decide how to manage their earnings to cover essential and optional university-life expenses within the limited game time.

“Each task carried a different value and required different levels of time, effort and teamwork. To make the best use of their Campus Dollars, students had to plan their route, manage time, consider risks and make trade-offs, much like making financial decisions with limited resources,” said Ms Isabella Law of the Department of Social Sciences and Policy Studies (SSPS), which hosts the BA(PF) programme. Current students of the BEd(BAFS) programme served as student helpers throughout the game by guiding groups, explaining rules and facilitating task completion.

The Campus Dollars-earning tasks covered a range of team challenges and financial learning activities. Students completed tasks such as risk-matching, a financial quiz, bottle flipping, pencil catching, human-knot teamwork, “The 7 Game”, and campus check-in tasks, as well as building a self-standing card pyramid during the flash checkpoints. Two flash checkpoints were released at designated intervals during the game, giving teams extra opportunities to earn Campus Dollars, though each required weighing whether the potential reward was worth the time and travel involved.

Aki Cheng, a Form Five student studying business at Buddhist Wong Fung Ling College, said the activity helped her understand that financial decisions often involve priorities, trade-offs and consequences. “My teammates were very engaged in the game. We had to move quickly between stations and work together to complete the tasks within the limited time,” she said, adding that the pencil-catching challenge was especially exciting.

Coming from Fujian Province, Ethan Shi, a Form Five student from Notre Dame College, said he joined the Summer Programme to learn more about financial management, entrepreneurship and future business development. He said the Finance Quest game helped him make new friends and become more familiar with the EdUHK campus. He added that, while adapting to a Cantonese-speaking environment remained a learning process, the programme provided a welcoming space for him to interact with peers and participate in group activities.

The game concluded with a financial settlement and debriefing session, during which teams reviewed their Campus Dollars, considered how to allocate their earnings to university-life expenses, and reflected on the financial decisions made during the activity. Teams with outstanding performance were awarded gift coupons and souvenirs. By the end of the day, students left with new friends, a first-hand taste of university life, and a better understanding of how financial decisions can be shaped by time, resources, risk and teamwork.

Click here to understand more about SSPS’ Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Personal Finance Programme.