Dear members of the CUHK community,
As 2022 is just around the corner, let me first wish you a brighter new year of peace, goodwill, and wellness!
In 2021, the COVID-19 pandemic continued to wreak havoc across the world in what was another year which tested our resilience, commitment and determination in the face of adversity. But our community has once again risen to the occasion, and I was delighted to welcome students back to campus for face-to-face classes at the start of the 2021-22 academic year.
I am deeply grateful to members of the University who have united with a sense of purpose, responsibility and innovation to ink a new chapter in our history with this year's launch of our new 2021-2025 Strategic Plan.
We have been able to attain remarkable achievements in world university rankings, scholarly awards, innovation and research, and student accomplishments. As I pen these words, more than 100 faculty members and 400 students have achieved local and worldwide recognition throughout the year.
CUHK has been a true pioneer in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA). 2021 marks the 15th anniversary since we established a presence in the GBA. To celebrate this important milestone, we held a special hybrid forum with physical locations in Hong Kong as well as CUHK's Shenzhen Research Institute, where we unveiled seven new strategic partnerships that are set to strengthen Hong Kong's presence in the region's emerging innovation and technology ecosystem. You are welcome to visit this website to learn more about our presence in this important national hub.
In a major contribution to Hong Kong's innovation agenda, earlier this year CUHK established six InnoHK Centres covering health, biomedicine, robotics and artificial intelligence. The Centres are established under the Hong Kong Government's InnoHK initiative and will position Hong Kong as a global powerhouse of innovation connecting the world with the rapidly emerging research and innovation ecosystem of Hong Kong and the wider South China region.
Student experience is always at the heart of CUHK. To ensure that our graduates are ready to join the workplace of tomorrow, CUHK has launched our new, flagship Co-operative Education Programme (Co-op@CUHK), designed to embed work-integrated learning throughout the undergraduate curriculum by providing students with real-world work experience alongside specially designed courses. The programme is expected to emerge as a centrepiece of our undergraduate experience and is set to redefine university partnerships with industry.
As the world adjusts to life in the pandemic, international exchanges and global engagement remain more important today than they ever have been. CUHK conceptualised and manages The Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU) Virtual Student Exchange (VSE) programme designed to offer an extensive portfolio of high-quality international experiences to students without the need to travel. In just over a year since its launch, 37 APRU member universities in 16 countries/regions have contributed online programmes to their students. There have been more than 1,200 individual enrolments in VSE academic courses and over 1,500 individual participations in co-curricular programmes. The VSE recently won the Highly Commended International Strategy of the Year prize at the 2021 Times Higher Education (THE) Asia Awards.
Please visit here to view more information on our achievements throughout the year.
CUHK will continue to strive for excellence across everything we do, and I sincerely look forward to your continued support in the years to come.
Best wishes for the new year, stay healthy and take care.
Yours sincerely,
Professor Rocky S. Tuan
Vice-Chancellor and President |
