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My Sixth Year : United We Advance 2007-08
K P Fung, College Head
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United College The Chinese University of Hong Kong Foreword
This is the sixth report since I assumed office as Head of United College. In the past few months, all of us in Hong Kong experienced an emotional swing of incomparable magnitude. In May, our hearts sank with the enormity of destruction when images of quake stricken Sichuan flooded the media. For weeks and even months, we grieved with the many victims that had lost their loved ones and their livelihood. When August came, our sense of national pride reached an unprecedented high when we witnessed the spectacular opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics. We felt exhilarated as the torch was lit up high in the “Bird’s Nest” Stadium on August 8. In both of these incidences, we could not help but marvel at the astounding power of unity. In one heart, Chinese nationals all over the world combated the gravest adversity. In one mind, the Chinese people resolved to give the greatest performance that dazzled the whole world.
In the same spirit of unity, members of United College, including trustees, staff, students, and alumni, have strived to play our part in serving the people of Hong Kong, China, and the world through integrative education, pastoral care, as well as moral and spiritual enhancement of the young. In this report, I will highlight some of the efforts and achievements that the NVN College has accomplished in the past year.
Fung Kwok-pui
October 2008 The Year Under Review
I shall begin this report by highlighting a few important events and news that took place during the 2007-08 academic year:
* On 29 September 2007, the Chinese University of Hong Kong held the 2007 Orientation Day for Undergraduate Admissions. Close to 8,000 secondary students and parents visited the United College campus and toured various facilities including the Chan Chun Ha Hostel, Tien Chi Microcomputer Laboratory, Wu Chung Multimedia Library, Shum Choi Sang United College Archives, Thomas HC Cheung Gymnasium and the College sports facilities.
* Beginning in October of 2007, weeks of celebration activities including the Opening Ceremony, UC Fun Run, and Open Bazaar were launched in celebration of the College’s 51st Anniversary. On 12 October 2007, the celebration series concluded with the Anniversary Ceremony officiated by Mr Shum Choi-sang, Chairman of the United College Board of Trustees and Dr Henry H L Hu, President of Hong Kong Shue Yan University. The highlight of the anniversary activities was the “feast-for-a-thousand” held in the evening. Over 1,200 College members and guests enjoyed the dinner.
* Also on 12 October 2007, the inaugural issue of United We Advance was published. The purpose of the publication is to promote the College spirit, strengthen the bond of UC members in order to create a more prosperous future together. The inaugural issue featured the celebration activities of the 50th Anniversary of United College and was distributed to the various departments/units of the University, tertiary institutions, public libraries, secondary schools in Hong Kong as well as all UC alumni.
O * In January of 2008, the College rolled out the Globe-Oriented Active Learning (GOAL) Programme. To keep pace with globalisation and to broaden College students’ international outlook, the GOAL Programme encompasses long-term and short-term student exchanges, language and cultural learning programmes, research and internship projects, and many other non-local learning activities. Through engagement in various cultural settings, students can learn to live and interact with young people from different parts of the world.
* On 2 February 2008, the United College Assembly of Fellows held a Brainstorming Session to explore future direction of the College’s development. Prof Esther S C Ho presented the findings on the Survey on the Adaptation Problems encountered by UC students. To address these findings, a number of proactive measures have been taken for year-one students such as increasing pastoral care, allotting more hostel places, and extending the Mentorship Programme to them. The UC Forum established under the Dr Thomas Cheung Tutorial Scheme, a web-based platform to enable effective and timely pastoral care for students was launched in March 2008.
* On 22-23 March and 5-8 April 2008, Campus Planning Committee Members were invited to attend several Campus Master Plan (CMP) Engagement Meetings and Workshops. Members also held a separate meeting with university representatives and CMP consultant on 5 May 2008 to learn about the design of the adjacent Lee Woo Sing College. University representatives mentioned that necessary measures would be introduced to mitigate environmental impact during construction of the new college. The Committee will discuss with members of the College on the conservation of natural and built-heritage on the United College campus for communication to the CMP consultant.
* From 21 to 25 of April 2008, the Quality Assurance Council (QAC) visited the University and held a session on collegial system which is a unique system among the UGC funded universities in Hong Kong. Prof Stephen H S Wong, Dean of Students and Prof Chang Song-hing, Dean of General Education and I represented the College to meet the QAC members. As QAC emphasises on evidence-based evaluation and external review, United College has established an Advisory Board on College General Education to address the issue and provide the strategic directions. In the Report of a Quality Audit of The Chinese University of Hong Kong released by QAC on 6 September 2008, the independent panel confirms that ‘CUHK is providing a high quality student learning experience that reflects its mission and role statement, underpinned by good quality assurance systems. The Panel commended CUHK for having extensive student support systems with the Colleges focus on providing general support for undergraduate students. It also noted that College life is a fundamental component of the undergraduate experience at CUHK.
*On 10 and 17 May 2008, the College organised two orientation sessions for the new cohort of students admitted under the Early Admission Scheme (EAS). Orientation activities included introduction of the College System and unique United College attributes, sharing session by current students, College information display, and campus tours. About 130 students attended the sessions. The fact that more outstanding EAS students, including one scoring 10As at HKCEE, chose United College as the top choice in the 2008-09 admission, may be attributed to the success of these orientation sessions as well as the efforts to provide more scholarships and exchange opportunities.
*On 1 July 2008, we learnt of the great news that the following College members were awarded honours by the HKSAR Government in recognition of their significant contribution to Hong Kong and for their dedicated public and community service: - Dr Cheng Yu-tung, College Trustee, was awarded the Grand Bauhinia Medal -Dr Annie S F Yeung (90/MED) and Mr Jovy L K Suen (80/SWK), College Alumni, were awarded the Chief Executive’s Commendation for Community Service. -Mr David M H Fong, College Trustee, Professor John C K Lee, College Member, and three College Alumni, Mr Fung Pak-yan (76/SWK), Mr Edward W K Leung (81/SWK) and Mr Vincent M K Liu (87/ACG), were appointed as Justices of the Peace.
* On 1 August 2008, the newly revamped website for United College (http://www.cuhk. P edu.hk/uc) was launched. Enhanced with new and dynamic features, the website has incorporated user-friendly functions and provides a convenient channel to access the latest news and development of the College. A total of 26,396 visits with 144,027 pageviews from 56 countries/territories have been recorded as at 23 September 2008.
College Administration
The Board of Trustee sadly lost a most respected member this year, Dr the Honourable P C Woo, a permanent member of the Board who passed away on 30 April 2008. Dr Woo gave his staunch support to the University as a member of the Provisional Council of the University, member of the University Council and Vice-Chairman of the University Council as well as Chairman of the Campus Planning and Building Committee of the University. He served as the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the College from 1972 to 1983. He was later appointed a Life Member of the Council of the University as well as Permanent Trustee of United College. Dr Woo was committed to the development of United College. He assisted Dr T C Cheng to establish the United College Endowment Fund Committee and helped to enhance College facilities and laid a solid foundation for United College to flourish over the years. A non-residential hall of United College was named after Dr Woo in recognition of his remarkable leadership and contribution. With distinguished contributions to United College and the University for over 40 years, his significant accomplishments to the development of the tertiary education in Hong Kong will be forever cherished.
On the other hand, we rejoiced with our Board members who have received prestigious accolades this year. Dr the Honourable Run Run Shaw, Permanent Honourary Chairman of Board of Trustees, United College, was honoured with a lifetime honourary award from the Ministry of Civil Affairs of the People’s Republic of China for contributions to China’s charities. The China Charity Award is the most prestigious philanthropy award in Mainland China. Dr Fong Yun-wah, College Trustee, was honoured with the ‘’World Outstanding Chinese Award’’ by the World Chinese Business Investment Foundation, in recognition of Dr Fong’s long- term outstanding contribution to community welfare and world development.
While Mr Shum Choi-sang, Chairman of College Board of Trustees, and Mr Gallant Y T Ho, College Donor, were conferred the Honourary University Fellowship by the University of Hong Kong, Dr Samson W H Tam, College Trustee and College alumnus, was conferred an Honourary Fellowship by the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, and Dr Dickson K T Wong, College Trustee, was awarded an Honourary Fellowship from the Open University of Hong Kong.
In November of 2007, the United College Board of Trustee is honoured to have Prof Arthur K C Li as a new member on the Board. Prof Li has been extending great support to the College. He had been elected Fellow, Trustee of the Board and Member of Endowment Fund Committee prior to taking up his Vice-Chancellorship at CUHK. He later became the Secretary for Education and Manpower of the Government of HKSAR and has made significant contributions to the higher education in Hong Kong.
In July of 2008, 18 existing Board of Trustees members were reelected to serve for another 3-year term and two new members, Prof Stephen H S Wong and Prof Jimmy C M Yu were elected as Representatives for the Assembly of Fellows to the Board. In the same election, Mr Shum Choi-sang was reelected as Chairman of the Board of Trustees.
Prof Stephen H S Wong from Department of Sports Science and Physical Education was appointed the College Dean of Students for a term of two years from 1 August 2007. Prof Chang Song-hing from Department of Chinese Language and Literature was reappointed the College Dean of General Education for a term of two years from 1 August 2007.
Q The College also re-appointed Dr Chen Fong-ching, Prof Choy Min, Prof Kuan Hsin- chi, Dr Ng Lun Ngai-ha, Prof To Cho-yee and Mr Yeung Chung-kee as Senior College Tutors, Mr Wong Kui-hung and Mr Chan Yiu-mo as College Tutors, newly appointed Prof Chan Ying-keung and Mr Andrew Chan as Senior College Tutors and Dr Joseph H W Hung and Mr Lo Tak-kai as College Tutors.
The College administration team continued to grow this year with Ms Candy H F Shek, College Development Officer, joining the College in March 2008 and Ms Ho Mei-yee, Assistant College Secretary in June 2008.
The University introduced a new Performance Review and Development System in 2007 for all full-time non-teaching appointees. The main features of the new Scheme were to enhance staff development through an objective review scheme and to foster a culture in the University linking reward to performance. To familiarise the College staff with the new Scheme, the College has organised several briefing sessions to supplement the University’s seminars.
To keep pace with the rapid development of the University and the College, on-the-job training for staff members is needed. Over 20 staff members from the College participated in a whole-day training workshop on Saturday, 21 June 2008. The objectives of the training were to strengthen the team spirit and enhance the potentials of staff members, and to align the course of the College’s supporting units with the latest development of the University’s direction. Packed with fun-filled learning activities, the training activities were thought provoking and designed to challenge stifling preconceptions that inhibits creativities and adaptability at the workplace in an ever changing world. I would like to provide more training and development opportunities in the future for supporting staff members who are among United College’s most valuable assets.
The College has also arranged its staff members and resident tutors to attend training workshops organised by the Personnel Office of the University. General Education College General Education introduces students to university education and provides a collegiate environment to facilitate interaction among students of different academic discipline through both academic programmes and informal college activities. The twin aims are to broaden the students’ horizons and to foster interdisciplinary communication and collaboration among the students.
To offer more choices for students, two elective courses for College General Education have been approved by the Senate. These two new courses, namely GEU2017 “Bacchus: Exploring Grape Wine” and GEU 2018 “Leadership in Practice” will be introduced in the 2008-09 academic year.
To enhance the teaching and learning quality of the College General Education Programme, an Advisory Board on College General Education was formed under the College Assembly of Fellows to advise and make recommendations on quality assurance of general education courses and other related activities. The College has invited Ms Lina H Y Yan, College Trustee and Alumna, to chair the Board. Members included Mr Wilson W Y Fung, Executive Director of the Hong Kong Productivity Council, Mr Poon Yiu-ming, Chief Editor and General Manager of Ming Pao Publications Limited, Mr Kenneth K H Wu, Principal of Lam Tai Fai College, and Prof Chang Song-hing, Dean of General Education. Meetings have been convened to review the quality assurance mechanism and the individual general education courses taught at the College.
To provide an intimate and congenial learning environment and pastoral care to students, United College embarked on the Dr Thomas Cheung Tutorial Scheme in March of 2008. In a web-based platform managed by College tutors and resident tutors, the Scheme takes advantage of young people’s affinity to the internet and opens up an electronic venue where R students can freely speak their minds, vent their feelings, share their experiences and help each others with their problems in a tutorial setting. The College is most grateful for the hard work and dedication of the Tutorial Scheme Working Group and for the generous donation from Dr Thomas H C Cheung that made this innovative project possible and successful.
Addressing to the different needs and fostering the development in various aspects of our students, the College organised a series of assemblies, covering a rich array of topics and issues. To name a few, College Assemblies in the 2007-08 academic year included, “Stories of Young Entrepreneur” by Prof Kevin Y F Au of the University’s Centre for Entrepreneurship; “Achai-Mexican Mriachi and Folkloric Dance” with Mr Mario Leal, Consul- General of Mexico, delivered a talk on Mexican culture; “New Wave of Contemporary Dance”, a dance show of the City Contemporary Dance Company; and “The Beginning of Your Successful Career-Skills for Job Interview” by Mr Lam Ding-fung, a College alumnus who served at the Social Welfare Department for over 20 years. In 2007-08 College Assemblies, a “College Session” has been set up for the College to express our appreciation to the generous support of our donors. The College also invited teaching staff and students to ascend the stage, in recognition of their outstanding achievements in academic as well as public services.
At the College Assembly on 22 February 2008, Mr Lam Woon-kwong, Chief Executive Officer, the Equestrian Events (HK) of the Games of the XXIX Olympiad Company Limited, introduced Olympic Equestrian Events to the audience with rich factual and audio-visual information, shared about the extensive preparation in Hong Kong for the 2008 Events and encouraged students’ participation in this great event. At the same College Assembly, our alumnus, Mr Nelson Yip, Hong Kong Representative of 2008 Paralympic Equestrian Competition was invited to share his riding experience with the students. Mr Yip is the first and only one being qualified to represent Hong Kong in the 2008 Paralympic Equestrian Games.
In appreciation of the great contribution of Former College Head Prof T C Chen, the 5th College Head who served in the years of 1980-1988, the “Prof T C Chen Lecture” was held at Sir Run Run Shaw Hall of the University on 28 March 2008. Prof Chen spoke on the topic of “The Path to be Taken”, quoting a number of important theories and examples to stimulate students’ thought in choosing their path of life. Students were encouraged to approach life with curiosity and an open mind in order to find their own means and ends in life. The lecture was well-received by over 1,300 students and 50 guests.
Art and Cultural Programmes
Jointly presented by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department and United College, the exhibition titled “Fifty Years of Cultural and Educational Development in Hong Kong” was held from 25 September to 21 October 2007 at the University Library Exhibition Hall. The research and production of the Exhibition were conducted by United College students led by Prof Lau Yee-cheung and Prof Ho Pui-yin. Through representative illustrations, photos and lucid descriptions, this exhibition outlined the cultural and educational development in Hong Kong during the past 50 years from 1956 to 2006, and examined the interrelationships between the United College and the local society.
In response to surveys conducted by the College, we chose “dance” as the art theme for 2007-08 and kicked off with the amusing “Achai-Mexican Mirachi and Folkloric Dance” in September 2007. The College also invited City Contemporary Dance Company (CCDC) as the “United College Artist-in-Residence” for 2007-2008. CCDC held two dance workshops and one talk for United College, reaching the high tide in art promotion by a dance show held on 28 February 2008. The theme of the show was “New Wave of Contemporary Dance”.
The College also invited renowned artist Prof Lee Hon-ching as Artist-in-Residence for 2007-08. Born in Hong Kong where he received his early education, Prof Lee received his Master of Fine Arts degree (with honours) from the University of Oregon in 1967 and S taught sculpture and printmaking at the college level for about twenty years. During his visit in March and April 2008, Prof Lee joined hands with Dr Cheung Wai-yee, Part-time Lecturer, Department of Fine Arts at the University, and offered the “Art East and West” Workshop Series. Covering the two main streams in Chinese and Western Art, six workshops were conducted. Participants had hands-on experiences in printmaking under Prof Lee’s instruction. The College also co-organised with the University’s Art Museum in holding an exhibition titled “Art Through My Ages - Prints and Sculpture by Hon-ching Lee” from 3 to 28 April 2008.
To trace Hong Kong’s transformations over the past 150 years, Prof Woo Pui-leng, College member, Prof Hendrik Tieben and Prof Yuet Tsang-chi from Department of Architecture, and a group of students launched a research project on public spaces, street life and community history of Sai Ying Pun. An exhibition titled ‘Urban Transformation of Sai Ying Pun (1850-2007)’ was held from 10 May to 15 July 2008 at Western Street in Sai Ying Pun. The exhibition showcases research findings, historical photos and urban models to the public.
Publications
The College’s publications this year included the annual United Bulletin, College Handbook and Head’s Annual Report, the quarterly United Alumni Newsletter, and the monthly United News. We also issued a new publication, titled Who’s Who in United College and sent to College members and alumni who have joined the United College Alumni Association. This publication is a collection of names of all United College people in the past 50 years, including Trustees, Members of Endowment Fund Committee, Administrative Staff, Presidents and Vice-Presidents of Student Union, Resident Associations and Non-Residential Hall Student Associations, and nearly 18,000 United College alumni.
With the inangural issue launched in October 2007, the second and third issues of United We Advance have been published in February and July 2008. The themes of these two issues feature on the Department of Electronic Engineering and the Department of Government and Public Affairs respectively. A group of student reporters was deployed to conduct interviews and reports for the publication. Campus and Facilities Development
In accordance with UGC policy, all undergraduate students are entitled, at their own option, to stay in student hostels for at least one year of their 4-year normative study period with effect from the year 2012-13 when the 3-3-4 curriculum is adopted. In view of the pending surge in hostel demands, the University Vice-Chancellor has pledged, at the VC’s Night Talk held on 31 January 2008, to assist United College in raising funds for construction of a new student hostel. The Board of Trustees, Alumni Association as well as Assembly of Fellows fully support the initiative to build a new hostel.
For immediate hostel needs, 21 double rooms in Chan Chun Ha Hostel and Bethlehem Hall have been converted into triple rooms to provide more hostel places and offer an option of lower hostel fees to students. In order to make the triple rooms more attractive to the students, two measures have been proposed for adoption. Firstly, the spatial and furniture designs of the triple rooms were altered in order to provide more storage space and secondly, students opting for triple rooms were allowed to choose their room-mates. In terms of facility enhancement, a number of improvement works were carried out in the student hostels during the summer break of 2008, including the re-painting of Bethlehem Hall, replacement of window screens in student rooms and re-tiling the floor of the common room of Chan Chun Ha Hostel, and improvement works in communal washrooms of Adam Schall Residence.
Another major renovation project took place in the College’s canteens this summer. The catering contract between the College and the former caterer expired in June 2008. The College Canteen Management Committee at its 28th meeting on 22 April 2008 selected a new caterer. The Committee set up a special focus group of student representative and worked closely with them to give comments and suggestions to the new catering service. After weeks of extensive renovations, the student canteen was reopened in mid July 2008 T and the staff canteen in August 2008 under the new caterer for a three-year term of service.
In order to have more involvement in the management and daily operation in the Si Yuan Amenities Centre, the College decided to change the operation mode of the Centre. With the financial support from the College Endowment Fund, the Committee employed two new staff members as Amenities Centre Supervisor and Amenities Centre Attendant to run the Centre. Apart from serving as supervisor and attendant at the Centre, they will also be responsible for organising recreational activities for the College.
Environmental Protection and Health Promotion
United College has been a pioneer in the use of renewable energy. While CUHK is the first university in Hong Kong to have a solar hot water system, the first set was installed at the Cheung Chuk Shan Amenities Building in 2004. It has been well received by the University as well as the public, and helped the University win a gold medal in the first Hong Kong Energy Efficiency Awards.
With support received from the University Grants Committee, solar-powered water heaters were installed in the showers of Adam Schall Residence, Bethlehem Hall and Hang Seng Hall during the summer of 2007. There are 249 solar panels installed in three hostels and the total storage volume of solar water tanks is 22,500 litres. It is estimated that the annual cost saving in electricity will be approximately $175,000 while the annual reduction of carbon dioxide emission reaches 124 tonnes.
The Opening Ceremony of the Environmental Protection Week 2007 and Solar Panel Systems Kick-off Ceremony was held on 18 October 2007 at Cho Yiu Hall and the rooftop of Adam Schall Residence respectively. The Honourable Edward T W Yau Tang Wah, JP, Secretary for the Environment, the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, and Prof Lawrence J Lau, Vice-Chancellor of the University officiated at the ceremony. The Honourable Edward T W Yau presented prizes to the Energy Saving Campaign’s Winners 2006-07, including United College Wu Chung Multimedia Library and United College Hang Seng Hall. He also presented a certificate of commendation to the student hostels that are fitted with evacuated tube solar collectors. More than 60 university officers, staff, students and guests joined the ceremonies.
Another environmental initiative taken at the College was the Energy-Wise Award Scheme for the periods of September to November of 2007 and February to April 2008. The overall championship 2007-08 and the Dr Sarah Liao Cup was awarded to Chan Chun Ha Hostel.
In April 2008, the College has endorsed the setting up of a Task Force on Health Promotion to formulate and implement health promotion activities, in collaboration with other relevant College or University organisations or Alumni Association, for raising health awareness of students and staff members. Activities planned for the 2008-09 academic year included the Campus Health Ambassador Programme, the Health Check Programme, a Health Talk Series, and various supports and activities for College students and staff joining the Marathon 2009 event.
Another of the College’s effort to promote health and sports activities is the opening of College sports facilities on Sundays. Started in September 2007, all College staff, students, alumni, and their family members can use the United College sports facilities at the Cheung Cheuk Shan Amenities Building as well as the tennis court free-of-charge on Sundays during term time.
Students Relations and Activities
U The 2007 United College Orientation Camp was held on the College campus from 22 to 25 August 2007. The theme of the camp was “United Alliance”. Through the four-day- three-night camp, the Organising Committee endeavoured to provide an environment for freshmen to be enlightened by the College spirit, feel proud to be a Glorious United Man and develop their sense of belonging towards the College.
There were indeed a number of achievements and occasions to celebrate for among College students this year. The College Cantonese Debate Team participated in the Tertiary Sector of the 9th Basic Law Cup for the first time this year, and won the 2nd runners-up by defeating the opponent by three to two on 4 August 2007 at the Open Plaza of the Hong Kong Cultural Centre. When the UC Men’s Swimming Team won the championship in CUHK Annual Aquatic Meet 2007, College members were exhilarated since the championship had been overdue for ten years. On top of this, the UC Drama Club won the Backstage Heroes Award with the entry “A Crush on You” at the Inter-Collegiate Drama Competition held on 14 and 15 November 2007.
For administrators to serve our students more effectively, we must know the concerns of our students. I was delighted of the opportunity to meet College students in a causal setting, shared directions of the College’s future development, and offer advices from my personal experience with them at the College Head’s Night Talk organised by the College Student Union on 6 November 2007 at Chan Chun Ha Hostel.
In another effort to enable open communications between students and University administrations, the College Student Union and the six Hall Associations organised a Vice- Chancellor’s Night Talk on 31 January 2008 also at the Chan Chun Ha Hostel. Prof Lawrence J Lau, Vice-Chancellor, Prof Michael K M Hui, Associate-Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Prof Ho Puay Peng, University Dean of Students, Mr Jacob S K Leung, University Secretary and Ms Amy W M Tsui, Director of Communication and Public Relations graced the occasion with their presence. During the talk, Prof Lau expressed his concerns in students’ campus life and briefed the recent development of the University. He promised to help in the building of student hostels for Colleges. The College and the Scout Association of Hong Kong jointly introduced the “Scout Leader Training Programme” in this academic year, which aims at attaining the world recognised Wood Badge award in a progressive manner. The training programme runs on yearly basis, and the contents will focus on both theories and practice, including leadership skills, camping, hiking, map and compass reading, conducting meetings, pioneer projects, cooking and marching techniques, with ultimate aims to strengthen the participants’ skills in planning, organising, problem solving, creative thinking, interpersonal relationships and communicating.
Student Development
As commended by Quality Assurance Council (QAC) in its Quality Audit Report, CUHK’s “education philosophy place emphasis on whole-person development and stress the all- round” graduates” and offers “a rich and diverse array of experiential learning opportunities” with the Colleges playing “an important role in providing and facilitating these broadening opportunities”. As the Panel pointed out, student exchanges are among the major contributors to experiential learning. United College strived to play its part in providing a number of international exchanges that received excellent feedbacks from participating students in the past year.
To keep pace with globalisation and broaden its students’ international outlook, United College launched the comprehensive Globe-Oriented Active Learning (GOAL ) Programme in 2008. Supported by a wide range of scholarships and financial awards, students have many opportunities to participate in non-local learning activities organised by the College or co-organised with other units of the University. Some of the GOAL Programme activities organised this year included: V (1) The 15th Budding Scholar Exchange Programme: Nine students from Shandong University visit United College from 12 to 22 February 2008 to participate in the Budding Scholars Exchange Programme. They conducted a presentation on 14 February 2008 on the topic of “The Problems Confronting Community Correction”. Seven budding scholars of the College, accompanied by their Academic Advisor, Professor Chang Song-hing, Dean of the College General Education visited Shandong University from 5 to 14 June 2008. The budding scholars conducted a seminar at Shandong University on the topic of “Confucianism and Modern Enterprise Management”.
(2) Travel Study Programme to Washington, DC, Harrisburg and Philadelphia in the US: 22 students attended the Travel Study Programme to Washington, DC, Harrisburg and Philadelphia, PA from 31 May to 14 June 2008. Through seminars and visits, students had the opportunity to gain a better understanding of American society in general.
(3) Intensive French Programme at the Institut Catholique de Toulouse, France: 30 students attended a credit-bearing intensive French course at the Institute Catholique de Toulouse from 15 to 29 June 2008. Apart from attending language classes, the Programme also included sightseeing and excursion activities to enable the students to gain a better understanding of the local culture.
(4) Summer Programme at Utrecht University in the Netherlands: 25 students attended a summer course at Utrecht University in the Netherlands from 7 to 18 July 2008. The main theme of the course was “European Cultures and Identities”.
(5) Overseas Summer Studies Programme: The College provided scholarships to 18 students to attend credit-bearing summer courses offered by various renowned universities overseas including the University of British Columbia, the University of California at Berkeley, the University of California at Los Angeles and Harvard University. (6) Summer Language and Culture Programmes: 11 students attended the Summer Language and Culture Programme at the Shaanxi Normal University from 17 to 31 July 2008. These students had the opportunity to learn Putonghua and deepen their appreciation of Chinese culture under close tutorship of Shaanxi Normal University postgraduate students.
(7) Summer Language and Culture Programmes: Two groups of 23 students departed on 5 July and 26 July 2008 respectively to attend the Summer Language and Culture Programme at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. They attended English classes at the University of Edinburgh and stayed with local host families. The programme is designed to provide students with opportunity to improve their English and appreciation of the culture of the host country.
(8) Scholar Ship Programme: This programme was the first College overseas programme which took place onboard for one semester long. The voyage started from Hong Kong and sailed to Shanghai, Singapore, India, Seychelles, South Africa, Argentina, Morocco, Spain and Greece. The College awarded US$10,000 to a student this year to attend the Programme that took place from January to April 2008.
Thanks for the support from the Endoroment Fund Committee, United College was successful in providing student travel grants which are a major enabler of student participations in exchange opportunities. The achievement was commended in the Quality Audit Report by QAC, since the Panel regarded exchange opportunities as hugely beneficial to a student’s development.
One Putonghua Immersion Camp and two English Immersion Camps were held in May 2008. 49 and 14 students joined the camps respectively. A total of 12 English/Putonghua courses had been offered to students in 2007-08. A new Putonghua course, Preparatory NM course for the National Putonghua Proficiency Test had been introduced. This is an advanced Putonghua course for students who plan to sit for the National Putonghua Proficiency Test.
Another major student development effort of the College is the Whole Person Development Award Programme which was established in 2005 to promote all round development of students in the undergraduate years. With the generous support from Mr Fung Sun-kwan, the scheme is renamed as the United College Mr Fung Sun Kwan Whole Person Development Award Programme in the 2008-09 academic year. It aims at encouraging College students to participate actively and systematically in their pursuit of whole person development through engaging in academic as well as non-formal educational activities. Participants are expected to join or organise activities grouped under the five core areas include ethical, intellectual, physical, social and aesthetic development.
To prepare for the value education activities in 2008-09, the Taskforce on Students’ Well-being organised a design competition on promotion materials for moral education. The winning designs were used to produce the promotional materials for distribution to students in the College Assembly on 19 September 2008. During the Assembly, the College also embarked on the Mr Shum Wai Yau Moral Education Scheme which is supported by Mr Shum Choi-sang, Chairman of the College Board of Trustees. As a joint initiative with students, it aims at promoting moral education and enhancing the well-being of students. Student life charters were signed by students to show their commitments to face an array of moral challenges.
The highly successful United College Shum Choi Sang Mentorship Programme, also recognised as an important student support activity to broaden student horizons and strengthen their social network in the QAC Quality Audit Report, was offered for the 8th time since its inception in the year 2000. There were 70 local alumni-mentors for 101 student- mentees and 13 overseas alumni-mentors for 20 student-mentees currently in long-tern exchange overseas in the 2007-08 academic year. In strengthening support for year-one students, the Programme was extended to College freshmen effective from the 2007-08 academic year. For the Group Sense Innovation and Entrepreneurial Project Award of 2007-08, six teams had been selected to the final round and a presentation of business plans to the judging panel was held on 29 May 2008. The winning team comprising Tse Hiu-naam(PAC/2), Edna O L Chow (BBA/2), Cheng Man-fai(IEE/3) presented their business plan titled “i3 - learning” won the Champion prize of HK$8,000. Dr Samson Tam, College Trustee and Alumnus sponsoring this Award, presented prizes to all winners at the dinner held on the same day.
This year eight College students took part in the Campus Health Ambassador Programme organised by the University’s Health Promotion and Protection Committee. A graduation ceremony was held on 15 May 2008. Our students not only received certificates upon completion of the programme, but also won an award for their outstanding health promotion report.
Other student development activities took place in the 2007-08 academic year included the College Debate Team participated in the Pentagonal Debate Competition 2008, 22 College students participated in the training sessions of abseiling, fire services and marching jointly organised by Hong Kong Fire Services Department and UC Leadership Training Camp, and a group of College students participated in the Adventure Ship training programme to build self-esteem and confidence through sea adventure.
Academic Achievements
Students of United College continued to make outstanding achievements in various academic disciplines as well as extra-curricular pursuits. Mr Sun Hui and Mr Wu Tao, Year-4 students in Mathematics, received full scholarships from University of California, Los Angeles and University of North Carolina, USA respectively for their postgraduates studies. Mr Alan W C To, a third-year Quantitative Finance Programme student was one of the winners of this NN year’s Endeavour Australia Cheung Kong Scholarship and received AUD6,000 in support of his half-year exchange programme at the University of South Australia.
Ms Sun Beibei, a second-year BBA student took the Citibank University Banking Course jointly offered by CUHK and Citibank and won the Outstanding Achievement Award. Ms Edna O L Chow, also a second-year BBA student, received the Hong Kong Outstanding Youth Volunteers Award 2007-08 from the Social Welfare Department, and the Outstanding Award in the “My Fond Impression of Tin Shui Wai” Photo Contest organised by the Hong Kong Housing Authority. Third year BBA student Ms Elaine Tai received an award of US$10,000 from the College and the Scholar Ship programme organiser for attending the ocean going study programme from January 2008 for 4 months.
Collaboration between UC students and alumni also made significant impact. UC Student, Ms Ng Ying-yee (PAC/2), UC Alumna Ms Hou Wenting (SEM/07) and three other group members developed a stock investment system and won the champion of the CUHK VC Cup-Student Entrepreneurship Competition. Another joint effort by UC alumnus, Mr Kwok Yue-ho (07/IEE), UC student, Mr Leung Yue (IEE Year 3) and their teammates, won an award in the Creative Commercial Competition of Japanese Cosmetic Company, competing with 236 submissions from Hong Kong, Japan and Korea.
Scholarly Exchange
The United College Distinguished Visiting Scholar in 2007-08 was Prof Zhang Yaping, Academician and Director of the Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Prof Zhang is an expert in molecular evolution and population genetics and has won world- wide recognition by integrating molecular biology with traditional zoology in his research. He was the first Asian scholar to receive the Biodiversity Leadership Award in 2002 and won the first prize of the 2006 Cheung Kong Achievement Awards. During his visit to United College in 18 to 27 November 2007, Prof Zhang delivered three lectures: (1) “The Origin and Evolution History of Chinese: Insight from DNA” on November 20, (2) “The Growth of the Youngest Academician of CAS” on November 21, and (3) “Mitochondrial Population Genomics of Asian” on November 22.
With the generous support from the Endowment Fund Committee, the following Resident Fellows visited the College in 2007-08
Resident Fellow Institution CUHK Department Visited Dr Eileen Former Senior Lecturer in Centre for Catholic Studies 1M C KANE History of Art in University College Dublin Department of Chinese 2 Dr Shi Hong-quan Sun Yat-sen University Language and Literature Professor Chiou Department of Geography 3 Chang-tayNational Taipei University and Resource Management Professor Dai Department of Pharmacology 4 De-zai China Pharmaceutical University Professor Li Department of Chinese 5 Ru-longXiamen University Language and Literature Stanley Ho Centre for Emerging 6Dr Chen Shen Sun Yat-sen University Infectious Diseases and Department of Biochemistry Professor Wu Department of History 7 Songdi Fudan University NO 8 Dr Zhang Yong Sun Yat-Sen University Department of Biochemistry
With the support of Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Hong Kong SAR and the Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China, 11 Hong Kong Universities jointly organised the “Higher Education Forum for Universities in Gansu, Qinghai” on 26 - 30 November 2007. Prof Jack C Y Cheng, Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Mr Yuen Kin-chung, Deputy Director of Personnel, Mrs Christina Li, College Secretary and I, as the Head of United College, introduced human resources management in CUHK and college system to the administrators on 26 November 2007. The participants then visited United College to have a deeper understanding of CUHK and the College’s latest development.
The 2008 Annual Workshop of United College, titled “A Tale of Two Cities: Developments of Hong Kong and Macau Compared” was held on 7 March 2008. The Workshop was attended by about 200 guests, staff and students of the College. Speakers included Dr Wu Zhiliang, Member of the Macau Foundation, Macau SAR, Mr Daniel Cheung, Executive Vice Chairman, Hong Kong Exhibition and Convention Industry Association, Mr Ng Kwok Cheong, Member of the Legislative Assembly, Macau SAR and Dr Joseph S P Ting, former Chief Curator, Hong Kong Museum of History and Honourary Senior Research Fellow, Department of History, CUHK. The College and the University Library System organised an Exhibition on Historical and Cultural Publications of Hong Kong and Macau from 7 to 20 March 2008 at Wu Chung Multimedia Library.
A five-member delegation, led by President Morton Schapiro from Williams College, visited the University on 27 June 2008. Prof Lawrence J Lau, Vice-Chancellor and other representatives from the University and United College including myself extended a warm reception to the delegation. Prior to that, a delegation from the United International College (UIC) in Zhuhai, jointly founded by Bejing Normal University and Hong Kong Baptist University, visited United College on 8 May 2008. Prof Stephen H S Wong, Dean of Students, led a UC delegation composed of Mrs Christina Li, College Secretary and Senior College Development Officers to pay a return visit to UIC Zhuhai campus on 16 May 2008. At these two occasions, student affairs colleagues of the two institutions exchanged visions and experiences on the management of student hostels, student organisations and non-formal education activities.
The College continued to expand and strengthen its relations and scholarly exchange networks with renowned institutions all over the world. Delegations from the following universities visited the College during the year:
University Date of Visit National Taichung University 6 November 2007 Shandong University 27 November 2007 and 18 February 2008 Macau University 11 January 2008 Sichuan University 16 January 2008 Williams College 17 January 2008 East China Normal University 31 January 2008 Chinese Academy of Science 31 January 2008 Zhejiang University 16 April 2008 Taiwan Chengchi University 20 June 2008
Alumni Affairs
The College takes great pride of the outstanding alumni that it has helped nurture in their formative university years. Many of them have attained exceptional achievements and made significant contributions to our society. An excellent example this year, alumnus Prof Gabriel N C Lau (74/Physics) shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with former Vice President of United States Government, Al Gore, as a contributing author of the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC). The Panel wrote the Fourth Assessment Report, which NP laid out the state-of-the-art knowledge of the physical basis of global climate change.
In the public service arena, Mr Mak Hon-kai (CHI/63) won the second Hong Kong Volunteer Award organised by the Agency for Volunteer Service, for his devotion to public services for more than half a century. After his retirement, Mr Mak has fully committed himself to the promotion of continuing education and lifelong learning of the elderly. Other public services rendered by College alumni include Mr Leung Wai-kuen (81/SWK), Prof Leung Mei-fun (87/GPA), Mr Barry M S Wong (88/SWK), Mr Lee Yuet-man (88/SWK) and Mr Albert K H Wong(97/BBA), all elected as new District Council Members in District Council Election on 18 November 2007. Mr Simon Peh, 1977 graduate in Biochemistry, has been appointed as the Director of Immigration of HKSAR Government, with effect from 7 April 2008, Mr Yau Shing-mu, 1982 graduate in Biochemistry, has been appointed as the Under Secretary for Transport and Housing of HKSAR Government on 20 May 2008, and Prof Wong Po-choi from Department of Information Engineering (83/ELE) was reappointed as Chairman of the Committee on Home-School Co-operation by the Education Bureau.
Our alumni also made significant impact in the academic and cultural arenas. Ms Choi Lai-sheung, 2006 graduates in Chemistry received full scholarship from the first-ever Oxford- Croucher Scholarship to pursue doctoral studies at Oxford University. Mr Oskar K S Ng, master student of Department of Architecture, CUHK, and his teammates, won the Best Design Award in the Summer Heritage Workshop on the theme “Integrating Heritage: Public Spaces” with their proposal on the Camoes Square. Mr Wong Ling-sze (TRA/2007) won the Champion of the 17th Hong Kong Chinese Poem Writing Competition. Ms Hou Wenting (SEM/07) developed a transport system TransWare to strategically cooperate with China Petroleum Technology and Development Corporation on an equipment transport project and won the 2nd Runner-up of Challenge Cup 2007, the biggest innovation competition in Greater China.
As the Beijing 2008 Olympic Game is still fresh in our minds, you may remember that Ms Rebecca W Y Chiu (00/SPE), Hong Kong Athlete (Squash) and Mr Yip Siu-hong (91/STA), Paralympics Athlete (Equestrian) were two of the torchbearers in the Hong Kong Torch Relay on 2 May 2008. Mr Yip Siu-hong also represented Hong Kong to compete in the Paralympic Equestrian Event 2008.
Amidst the joyous exhilaration from all the honours and accolades our alumni have attained, members of United College have not forgotten the sad news that Mr Ma Lik (78/ CHI), Member of the Legislative Council, HKSAR and Chairman of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, passed away on 8 August 2007. We shall never forget the selfless dedication to the welfare of the Hong Kong community as exemplified by our late alumnus.
To show the College’s appreciation for our alumni’s continual support, the UC Alumni Day 2007 was organised on 27 October 2007. The annual event was enthusiastically supported by nearly 100 alumni and family members participating in the gathering. In the same evening, the College organised a Reunion Dinner for Alumni who graduated for 50 years or above and 25 years. 50 alumni graduated in 1957 and 1982 joined the Dinner. On 9 December 2007, we organised the Head’s Dinner of 2007 CUHK Alumni Homecoming at the UC Student Canteen. Over 270 alumni and family members participated and had an enjoyable evening at the UC campus.
Another event was organised for a special group of alumni to strengthen their ties with the College. More than 60 United College alumni that are currently working in different departments or units at CUHK participated in the luncheon organised by the College on 3 March 2008 at the UC Staff Common Room. At the luncheon, we updated alumni on the latest developments and activities of the College and the Alumni Association and invited their active support and participation.
Our alumni are among the most valuable resource that the College possesses. From 2005, the College and the Alumni Association have jointly organised a series of alumni talks NQ for students. Distinguished alumni from all walks of life have been invited to share with fellow students on their career and life experiences. The College invited Mr Wilson W Y Fung (85/GPA), Director of Hong Kong Productivity Council, to deliver the fourth Alumni Talk to 80 students on “From AO to quango-The Challenge of Hong Kong Politics” on 13 November 2007. The fifth Alumni Talk was organised on 22 January 2008, with Dr Peter T Y Cheung (81/GPA) from Department of Politics and Public Administration, the University of Hong Kong, to deliver a talk on “The Challenge of Growing Integration between Hong Kong and the Mainland” for 80 students.
On the financial side, thanks to the generous support from our alumni, as of 16 September 2008, close to $803,000 has been raised for the Ming De Xin Min Alumni Fund and more than $687,000 has been raised for the 50 sessions Ming De Xin Min Alumni Academic Prize.
Fund Raising
Fund raising initiatives by College staff, students and alumni this year included:
(1) College staff members: They joined the fund-raising activity for setting up a “United College Staff Prize” to encourage UC students in the pursuit of academic excellence while celebrating the 51st Anniversary of United College. Members of Assembly of Fellows and College Staff have donated nearly HK$40,000.
(2) College students: The College Student Union established a College Service Award and co-organised a fund raising concert with the Bethlehem Hall on Thursday, 27 March 2008 at the Si Yuan Amphitheatre.
(3) College Alumni: The “Graduating Class Pledge Scheme”, launched since 2004, aims to encourage new graduates to foster the tradition of giving back to their Alma Mater. 280 United College graduates sign up for the “2007 Graduating Class Pledge Scheme”, pledging to donate $500 or $800 in three years. The United College Ming De Xin Min Alumni Prize which is named after the graduation year of the alumni, established since the year 2006, is the United College Alumni Association’s initiative to show their support to the College. As of 16 September 2008, the donation for the prize has exceeded to HK$687,000.
With a generous donation of $1,000,000 from College Trustee Dr Thomas Chen this year, United College has set up the Dr Thomas Chen Community Education Fund to support a variety of community education activities such as teacher-student night talks, topical seminars, book appreciation gatherings, art and cultural activities, debate trainings and language activities, to be held at Si Yuan Amenities Centre. The objective is to encourage students’ early appreciation of and participation in community life which can develop into a lifelong habit of active contribution to our society.
Generous donations from Chairman of College Endowment Fund Committee and Trustee Dr Thomas Cheung, College Trustee and Alumna Ms Lina Yan, College alumnus Mr Yau Ying-sum and College Trustee Mr Anthony Y C Yeh enabled the establishment of a number of CUHK-Mainland Student Scholarships of HK$500,000 each, awarding to students from mainland that are affiliated to United College.
Between August 2007 and July 2008, the College has received over 5 million Hong Kong dollars from teaching staff, trustees, alumni and friends of the College. As a result, a number of new scholarships, award schemes, and programmes have been or will be launched.
Scholarships and Financial Assistance to Students
Thanks to the generous support of our donors, the College awarded nearly 8 million dollars in scholarships and financial assistance to our students in the academic year of NR 2007-08.
Newly established awarded that were granted in the 2007-08 academic year included the Fook Yee Prizes with 20 prizes at $10,000 each, Madam Rita Yao Yuk Kuen Memorial Scholarship of $10,000, 1986 The United College Social Work Graduates Caring in Community Prize of $5,000, Dr Grace Chiu Po Yuen Memorial Prize with 2 prizes at $1,000 each, Hui Koon Man Michael Ming De Xin Min Alumni Prize of $1,000, Jim Man Chu Ming De Xin Min Alumni Prize of $1,000, and the United College CUHK Alumni Association of Greater New York Ming De Xin Min Alumni Prize with 2 prizes at $1,000 each, etc.
A Working Group on Review of Scholarships and Financial Aids was formed to review the scholarships and financial aids available, optimize the resources available by the University and the College, increase the numbers of awardees and to attract outstanding students joining the College. It recommended that the College should increase the number of scholarships for both EAS and JUPAS entrants and boost the number of first-year scholarships from the current 18 to 50 to adequately address the concern of admission of high quality students both to the University and United College. As a result of this re-alignment, the number of academic scholarships for upper-year students was increased from 124 to 166.
The Working Group also recommended that two iconic scholarships to be launched in 2008-09, extolling the College’s spirit should be established. They are the United College Ming De Scholarship, based mainly on excellent academic achievements, and the United College Xin Min Scholarship, based primarily on excellent service to the community and leadership. Both of the scholarships are HK$50,000 each.
The College started to provide hostel residence grourts to students from 2007-08. With the generous support from Mr Yau Ying-sum, alumnus of Untied College, the Yau Ying Sum Hostel Residence Grant was set up from 2008-09, to provide financial support to needy students to enable them to have a residential College life for advancement in academic performance and for better participation in various activities on campus.
Staff Resources and Development
The superb calibre of the College’s faculty and staff members are best demonstrated by the honours and accolades that they have received in the past year. Prof Emily Y Y Chan from School of Public Health and Department of Community and Family Medicine won the Hong Kong Humanity Award 2007 which is co-organised by the Hong Kong Red Cross and Radio Television Hong Kong. This very first award of its kind in Hong Kong aims to give tribute to those live up to and put into practice the spirit of humanity.
Living up to College motto, many of our members have strived to serve the people of Hong Kong through taking up various positions in public services. Recently, Prof Kenneth Young, Pro-Vice-Chancellor, was re-appointed by the Chief Justice as a member of the Barristers Disciplinary Tribunal Panel; Mrs Grace Chow, Director of Admissions and Financial Aid, was appointed by the Secretary for Education as the institutional representative of CUHK in the Joint Committee on Student Finance; Prof Eliza C Y Tse from School of Hotel and Tourism Management, has been re-appointed as the member of the Advisory Committee on Admission of Quality Migrants and Professionals by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government; Prof Sung Yun-wing from Department of Economics, was appointed as the Chairman of the Hong Kong Committee for Pacific Economic Co-operation; Prof Ignatius Yu from Department of Community and Family Medicine was appointed as the Board Member of The Pneumoconiosis Compensation Fund Board; Dr Ben Y F Fong, Director of University Health Service, was appointed as the Chairman, Health and Environment Committee of Sha NS Tin District; Prof Tang Kwong-leung, Professor of Social Work and Chairman of the Department, was appointed as Part-time Member of the Central Policy Unit of the HKSAR Government; and Mr Paul C Y Chan, resident tutor of Adam Schall Residence in 2003-04 has been appointed by the Chief Executive as Political Assistant to the Secretary for Food and Health.
In terms of academic and research achievements, Prof Tony K M Shing from Department of Chemistry, an internationally renowned expert in organic synthesis, was awarded Senior Research Fellowship 2008/09 by the Croucher Foundation; Prof Cong Wang from Department of Finance won the Hana Bank Outstanding Paper Award at the Second International Conference on Asia-Pacific Financial Markets in South Korea in December 2007; Prof James W Y Lau and Prof Enders K W Ng were the members of the Gastrointestinal Research Group that won the 2007 State Scientific and Technological Progress Award (SSTPA) second- class award for its achievement and innovation in the treatment of peptic ulcer bleeding; Prof Chang Song-hing, Dean of General Education, received the Best Paper Award at the Guangdong Social Science Annual Conference 2007; the project “Accelerated Schools for Quality Education” led by Prof John C K Lee, Dean, Faculty of Education, and the project “V- China-Enhancing the Effectiveness of Teaching and Learning Using Video Conferencing Activities” headed by Prof Wong Po-choi of Department of Information Engineering, received the outstanding awards by the Quality Education Fund.
Of University awards, College members Dr Chan Tak-yau from Physical Education Unit and Prof Lutz-Christian Wolff from School of Law, won the Vice-Chancellor’s Exemplary Teaching Awards 2007; Prof Tang Wai-kwong from Department of Psychiatry, Prof Liu Zhifeng from Department of Chemistry and Prof Wang Jiangyu from School of Law, won the Young Researcher Awards 2007. Two College staff members received the University’s Long Service Award 2007 on 7 April 2008. They are Prof Kwong Wing-hang, Department of Anatomy and Mrs Grace Chow, Director of Admissions and Financial Aid.
There is no doubt that the success of the College is grounded on the many contributions rendered by our team of extraordinary staff members. In recognition of the importance of our members’ services, Long Service Awards were presented to staff members with over twenty years of services at the Annual Dinner of the College Board of Trustees held on 10 December 2007. Award recipients included Mr Anthony W H Ho from Tien Chi Microcomputer Laboratory, Prof Lam Ching-man from Department of Social Work, Prof Lo Kwok-wai from Department of Anatomical and Cellular Pathology, Prof Wong Po-keung from Department of Biology and Prof Yu Tak-sun from Department of Community and Family Medicine. Mr Cheng Woon-sang, Junior Staff of Chan Chun Ha Hostel, was awarded the University’s Exemplary Service Award 2006-07 at a presentation ceremony held on 14 December 2007. College alumna, Ms Eleanor Hui (94/GPA) who works in Alumni Affairs Office, CUHK won the same award this year. The College has taken a further step to acknowledge the importance of staff contribution this year by resolving that participation and contribution in College affairs will be given due considerations in allocating various grants and subsidies to staff members.
The College has been offering various grants and subsidy schemes to encourage its staff members on academic pursuit, research and publication. This year, the International Conference Grant Scheme supported 35 staff members with an amount close to HK$160,000 to attend and present research papers in international conferences. Meanwhile, the Lee Hysan Foundation Research Grant Scheme and Endowment Fund Research Grant Scheme supported 21 staff members with a total amount of $494,000 to carry out academic research projects. In addition, a total of over $650,000 was awarded to 80 research and administrative projects involving 365 College students under the United College Student Campus Training and Service Award Scheme.
Supported by the Endowment Fund Committee,the College has also established a conference sponsorship scheme to provide financial sponsorship to academic departments and units of the University for organising local and international conferences. Conferences and symposiums supported this year include the following: NT Name of Conference / Symposium Date 2nd International Conference on 30-31.8.2007 Traditional Chinese Literature of Hong Kong International Symposium on Comprehensive Care of Fragility Fracture - 22.9.2007 from Hospital to Community Student Affairs Forum 2007 10-14.12.2007 Challenges and Issues in Siting of Locally Unwanted Facilities 12-14.12.2007 History of Religious Orders and Missionary Congregations in Hong Kong 13-14.12.2007 The 2nd International Conference on Dubbing and Subtitling in a World Context 14-15.12.2007 International Conference in Structural Biology 19-22.11.2007 International Conference on Classical Chinese Fiction and Drama 3-5.1.2008 International Conference on Environmental Remote Sensing for 10-11.1.2008 Pearl River Delta Region The 3rd Cross-Strait Symposium on Food and Biotechnology 15-16.5.2008 Rule of Law and Cross-Border Legal Cooperation in the Greater China Area 23-24.5.2008 A Writer for His Culture, A Writer Against His Culture: Gao Xinjian 28-30.5.2008 5th International Workshop on Wearable and Implantable Body Senor Networks (BSN 2008) in conjunction with 5th International Summer School 1-3.6.2008 and Symposium on Medical Devices and Biosensors (ISSS-MDBS 2008) The 6th Chinese Psychologist Conference 11-14.6.2008 Interaction between Teachers and Students
The College Dinner is a part of the College non-formal education to facilitate interactions between staff and students outside class. College staff and students of the Faculties concerned were invited to join the dinner gathering specially arranged for their faculties at the College student canteen. Guest speakers are invited to give talks during the dinners. The following dinners were held on:
4 October 2007 Faculties of Medicine and Business Administration 12 November 2007 Faculties of Arts and Engineering 23 January 2008 Faculties of Education and Science 17 March 2008 Faculty of Social Science and School of Law
With the objective of strengthening contact and interaction between teachers and students outside the classroom, United College has set up a Social Fund to support College teaching or administrative staffs’ expenses when they take students out for meals/refreshment for consultation and advice.
United We Advance
The 2007-08 academic year has been a fruitful and eventful year. Under the visionary leadership of the Board of Trustees and Endowment Fund Committee, the relentless support from the Alumni Association, the selfless dedication from our staff and the numerous contributions from our students, United College has forged new grounds in fulfilling its mission to enable whole-person development and integrative education to young leaders who will be NU the next generation movers and shakers of our society.
The times ahead will pose great challenges to the College as the education system in Hong Kong will be going into a 3-3-4 secondary-tertiary system. It is an opportunity for universities in Hong Kong to review and refresh the current curriculum, and to create new, innovative, and forward-looking programmes. United College will exert its utmost effort in supporting the University in this transition and provide a high quality student learning experience that reflects its mission. With fifty-two years of successful experience in the collegiate system, United College shall assist the best we can, in the planning and development of the five new Colleges that will be joining the CUHK family in the not so distant future.
United College will also continue to build on its strength in providing and facilitating experiential learning opportunities to broaden our students’ horizon, as commended by QAC. We shall constantly review and enhance the College’s General Education Programme. An Outcomes-based Approaches Roadmap has been drafted to guide the development and assess the effectiveness of the College’s General Education Programme for the next three years. Meanwhile, we shall direct resources to expand our GOAL Programme by establishing innovative and quality learning opportunities in all parts of the world in partnership with renowned overseas education institutions. As pointed out by the QAC Report, exchange opportunities are hugely beneficial to students’ development. United College will strive to secure the needed resources to increase the number of students that will be able to participate in these invaluable opportunities.
Together We Innovate, United We Advance. It is not only a slogan but my earnest request to all friends and members of the College. With your support, United College can forge ahead with fresh and outstanding achievements in the years to come.