Your uni-days are to be remembered. It’s the time in which most of us make the transition from useless teen to aspiring yuppie. Some may have lost their virginity or perhaps you experimented with huge amounts of alcohol or drugs (or maybe not). Hopefully you ended up making friends for life. But you know what’s also sweet about universities? Working for one! Especially if you’re employed by Polytechnic University.

If you stick around long enough to become a senior staff member, you could end up earning between HK$ 1.8 and 4.8 million a year, which is more than what any other government funded uni in this city pays. But it gets better. Especially if you’re a (former) council member, as PolyU has no issues investing in one of your businesses, whether they make money or not. 38 subsidiaries and affiliates of PolyU have resulted in write offs of HK$ 83.4 million in 2009, and total losses of HK$ 332 million over the past five years. Oh, your business is not related to any of the university’s course material? Who cares.

PolyU Modern TCM, a firm of which the university owned 59.18 % at one point, makes Chinese herbal products. The fact that no courses in Chinese medicine are offered by PolyU is simply irrelevant, as well as the sale of this great venture for HK$ 1.1 million last year (which resulted in write offs of HK$ 25 million). Let’s not bore you with additional details on how a construction firm run by a former council member was awarded with HK$ 700 million in contracts over the past few years, or how HK$ 504 million was lost due to risky bets on stocks and derivatives.

What does this all mean for PolyU’s bottom line? A HK$ 900 million loss over 2009. Mo Man Tai!