Bulletin Summer 1989

An Interview with Mr. N.J. C. Sutherland of the Jockey Club Mr. N. J. C. Sutherland is the Head of Secretariat of The Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club and Secretary of the Club's arm for charity 一 the Hong Kong Jockey Club (Charities) Ltd., which recently made a generous donation of $170 million to this University for the Hong Kong Institute of Biotechnology. The Bulletin has had a brief interview with Mr. Sutherland, who explains the Club's view about its support for the project and its expectations. Q. Mr. Sutherland, $170 million is a large sum of money. What kind of community benefit does the Club wish to achieve through this donation to the University? A. From the education point of view, the Club believes that the project can improve the quality of undergraduate and postgraduate education in Hong Kong . W i t h enhanced resources for research, The Chinese University can attract and retain high calibre professors and scientists and this w i ll benefit the student population as a whole, and in particular those graduates with a leaning towards research. The Clu b also regards this donation as an investment in the 'industry of the future', for the importance of biotechnology to Hong Kong in the next century migh t be like that of the textile industry to Hong Kong in the sixties and seventies. I f biotechnology research is the cornerstone of the new form of industry and Hong Kong is left behind while its neighbours like Singapore and Taiwan are forging ahead, Hong Kong w i ll easily lose its competitive edge. Its future w i l l be in jeopardy and the community as a whole w i l l suffer. Q. I understand that the Club has made available a total of $300 million for the development of biotechnology in Hong Kong. May I know the use of the other $130 million? A. It is for the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology to develop its Biotechnology Research Institute. You may wish to note that prior to this, the Club also made an $8 million donation to the Institut e of Molecular Biology at the University of Hong Kong to support specific research projects. Q. So will it mean that different institutes in different universities will be doing their own biotechnology research? A. That's why we've specifically requested that a Board of Overseers comprising representatives f r om all tertiary institutions, government officials and local industralists be formed at the Hong Kong Institute of Biotechnology to ensure that (1) there is good coordination among the different research institutes to avoid duplication of work, and (2) areas and levels of research be properly defined and resources be channelled to those areas which can best benefit the general public in Hong Kong. Q. I dare say $170 million is the largest single donation the Club has ever made for research projects of any kind. Was it a difficult decision to help CUHK launch this project? Wherein did the difficulty lie? A. First of all it was the amount of money involved, especially when the funds were to be managed by an institute which didn't yet exist. Then the Club had to make sure that with all its heavy commitments in other charitable causes, it would still have sufficient funds to be able to support this project in the next few years. Finall y and most importantly, the Stewards of the Jockey Club had to be convinced that there's a real chance that the community might benefit. A donations sub-committee was set up to study the application i n detail. We all know now that the Stewards were convinced. Q. How would the Club measure the success or otherwise of the project? A. If we find that the Institute is used, is running 5