Bulletin Spring‧Summer 1993

part of a typical research team. I hasten to add that this has long been recognized by the tertiary educational institutions themselves, and there has always been very substantial emphasis on research at The Chinese University; the only recent change is the government recognition that more postgraduate student places and correspondingly more funding should be provided for this reason. Given these external factors, as well as the very strong aspirations from within the University, the importance of postgraduate education at CUHK will inevitably grow in the near future. There w i ll nevertheless be constraints, both from student number targets set by UPGC, and from resource limitations 一 postgraduate education is very costly. • When other tertiary institutions are also expanding their postgraduate programmes, how do our Graduate School attract quality postgraduate students? Do we have any edge over other institutions? • The universities have different missions from the polytechnics and colleges, especially in the area of research and postgraduate education. Among the three local universities, there will inevitably be some overlap and competition for students. Our strength will come from the track record of research and scholarship, and from the development of innovative programmes that respond to societal needs. The recently introduced Executive MBA Programme for senior managers is a case in point. But I must emphasize that the strengths and the initiatives must come from the faculties, with the Graduate School lending administrative support. The educational scene is indeed getting more competitive, but apart from short-term objectives (such as postgraduate student numbers and programmes for the next triennium), I believe The Chinese University has the wisdom not to lose sight of the longer-term goals. If you ask yourself what this region (Hong Kong, as well as South China to say the least) needs in terms of highly educated manpower in the next few decades, it will be not only technocrats, but leaders, highly trained in their specialities to be sure, but also armed with a much broader perspective and able to think critically and to adapt to changing circumstances. I believe this university has just the right milieu and the atmosphere of free intellectual enquiry for postgraduate students to develop in this regard. Nevertheless, one needs to guard against over emphasis on short-term objectives and adopting competitive tactics that are, in the long run, detrimental to society as a whole. • What are the possible developments of the Graduate School in the near future? • I should like to distinguish between the development of postgraduate education, and the development of the Graduate School as an administrative and support unit. Programmes of postgraduate education w i ll certainly grow over a broad front, and as I have emphasized, the initiatives will come from the faculties. But given overall constraint on resources and student numbers, and with the momentum in research, there is likely to be a proportionately larger growth in Ph.D. programmes. I believe there is also the need for caution in order to restrain proliferation of programmes, especially taught programmes that may not have sufficient enrolment to be cost-effective. One interesting possibility in the development of postgraduate education 一 education in the broad sense — is the idea of a college for postgraduate One interesting possibility in the development of postgraduate education — education in the broad sense — is the idea of a college for postgraduate students, in which some research staff might have a role as well. The importance of our colleges at the undergraduate level (going way beyond the provision of dormitory places) hardly needs reiteration and certainly the same would be true at the postgraduate l e v e l . GRADUATE SCHOOL 14