Bulletin Special Supplement Bidding Farewell to Prof. and Mrs. Charles K. Kao

B u t the challenge is still the re ； the e litist system is basically d iffe re n t from the p o p u la r approach. We ha ve n 't re a lly so lved the p rob lem . In fact o u r educa tion system is fa r from b e ing geared tow a rd s fu tu re demands, and the p ro b lem w ill rem a in fo r a lo n g time. It is also a w o rld w id e p rob lem . Universities w ill have to change ； the e litist system w ill have to unde rgo a sign ifican t metamorphosis. ■ You are not only the executive head of the Univer sity but also an engineer par excellence, a telecommunications expert, an outstandi ng scientist and researcher, as evidenced by the numerous prestigious awards you have received over these years. What has been the impact of such personal achievements and standing on your work? □ Perhaps b y setting a personal exam ple o f p u rsu ing excellence, I have m o tiva ted o the rs in the U n iv e rs ity to do th e ir best. T he fa c t th a t I have been p re a ch in g excellence and have personal achievements b e h ind me makes m y job easier and more credible. I always believe that c re d ib ility and respect has to be earned. I have earned it and I feel glad. It conveys a message that things can be done and can be done w e ll. M y repu ta tion m ig h t also have he lped attract some very good peop le to the U n ive rsity — it m ig h t have in fluenced the ir decision to jo in this un ive rsity and n o t another one. ■ When you first joined the University, there were only two uni versi ti es i n Hong Kong. Now as you leave, there are six. W hat are you vi ews about thi s? What are the pitfalls that the University should beware of at this stage of its growth ? □ It's essential that w e have an environment w ith more than tw o universities. Previously there w asn 't m uch com pe tition 一 un ive rsity staff had o n ly one other un ive rsity to choose from . W ith m o re universities there are m o re jo b openings and as a resu lt ， com p e titio n is m uch keene r than be fo re . There is a lo t o f ac tion in the te rtia ry education scene, w h ic h is good fo r H o n g Kong and fo r the University. W hen u n ive rs itie s are e x p a n d in g at such a rate, how e ve r, w e have to pay p a rticu la r a tten tion to the q u a lity o f education. We have to tackle the p ro b lem o f teaching students w ith very d iffe ren t capabilities. The U niversity Grants Comm ittee recently held a Teaching and Learning Q ua lity Process Review to re-sensitize people to the im p o rta n ce o f teach ing . I am most h a p p y to fin d from the exercise tha t members o f this u n iv e rs ity have the rig h t a ttitude tow a rds teach ing and tha t w e have a strong cu ltu re o f good teaching here, som ething w h ic h must have been in existence before m y tenure. It emerged clearly d u rin g the review . 中文大學校刊，特刊 Chinese University Bulletin . Special Supplement 16