Bulletin Autumn‧Winter 1991

An Open Letter from the Vice-Chancellor on Global Linkages The Vice-Chancellor issued his fifth open letter to all staff and students of the University on 28th November 1991. In the letter, he emphasizes the importance of global linkages to the development of this university. Here is the fu ll text of the letter: Over the summer months I made an extensive trip through Canada, USA, France, and England. The primary purpose o f the journey was to strengthen the linkage o f this university w ith those universities and institutions that had current or probable future relationships with us. In this letter I would like to share w ith you my thoughts on the importance of global linkage to the staff and students o f this university. I shall divide this discussion into four parts: academic openness, staff and student career options, global participation, and present situation. A ca d em ic O penness Tertiary education worldwide is under signi­ ficant pressure for adjustment. This is brought about, in my opinion, by at least three factors, namely, knowledge expansion, broadened access and ex­ tended social roles. This situation is best described as academic openness. It w ill lead to corresponding changes especially in the design and delivery o f the curricula. In the USA, a current debate on education may eventually lead to a great deal o f changes in the way tertiary education is delivered and its standard maintained. So far the inadequacy o f traditional curricula to cope with modem demands has already been recognized. Everywhere I went the academics I met told me that they were revamping their curricula. Almost all business schools have started to place more emphasis on international business and are developing new approaches to the teaching o f busi­ ness. The emphasis in accountancy teaching is, for example, shifting away from bookkeeping theory and methodology to management accounting. O f course, each institute would tailor the changes to suit their environment and strength. A t the University o f Toronto I found that they had recently changed their medical curricula. A t CUHK the Senate has approved the adop­ tion o f a flexible credit unit system, which is now in operation. We now have the opportunity o f making our curricula more flexible, up-to-date, and more effective in meeting the local and current require­ ments on a continuing basis. To the students, our system might not appear to have the promised fle xi­ b ility at this initial stage. I can assure them that the academics o f this university are working towards achieving maximum flexib ility quickly. We need to be vigilant and to tackle this issue at all levels, in ­ cluding consulting w ith the students. We have already agreed on a policy o f urging the departments to work towards a reduction of core course requirements in all fields o f studies and to increase student counselling. We feel that the reduction o f core course require­ ments forces curriculum design towards focused selection rather than unfocused coverage, an effective way to cope w ith the greatly increased range and scope o f knowledge. St af f a n d S tu d e n t C a re e r O p tio n s Many tertiary institutions are keen to have staff and student exchanges with our university, and to establish at staff and student levels jo in t or coopera­ tive research projects. I see this situation as important. Through such exchanges, our students w ill be able to gain direct experience o f studying under a different cultural environment and thereby appreciate, first hand, different perspectives in life and studying habits. This situation applies equally for the other students visiting this university. Great and lasting contacts can be made and friendships cultivated. Through staff exchanges, our academic courses w ill be enriched by the presence o f visiting scholars who bring into our midst their enthusiasm and energy. Our staff on foreign campuses w ill exert similar effects. Such exchanges and contacts w ill serve to increase the exposure o f our staff, a step important in the course o f sound career development. G lo b a l Par tici pat ion Linkage to a worldwide community o f univer­ sities and institutions w ill bring many unique oppor­ tunities of great value. Colleagues engaged in a variety of academic pursuits may find projects that could be NEWS 16