Bulletin Spring‧Summer 1997

AM ADDRESS BY SIR MICHEAL ATIYAH Mr. Chancellor, Vice-Chancellor, members of the University Council, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen: It is a great pleasure for me to be asked to address this congregation on behalf of today's honorary graduates. Let me first begin by offering my sincere congratulations to all of you who have graduated the hard way by having to pass examinations. This is a big day for you, your families, friends and teachers. It is the culmination of many years of study, the overcoming of difficulties, academic, financial or personal, and it is a moment of celebration. From my own memories of distant days and from more recent memories of my children's education, I know that success does not come easily, and that much depends not only on the student's individual effort but also on the support of family and teachers. A ll rightly share in today's festivities. The large numbers here reflect the importance that the people of Hong Kong attach to higher education. The world of the twenty-first century is going to offer many new challenges and opportunities for the young generation. We may not know what is in store but we can be certain that a high level of education will be essential, both for the individual and for society. Not only will particular skills be needed but, with the rapid pace of change, you wil l also have to be flexible and adaptable. Education, in the broad sense, will not stop here. It will be with you for life. Let me now offer my congratulations to my two fellow honorary graduates. I n a whole range of activities they have bothmade great contributions to Hong Kong and it is highly appropriate that you should be honouring them today. A university is very much part of the social fabric, not just an ivory tower, and it is important that the links between the university and the wider community be continually emphasized. This you have done by recognizing the achievements of your new honorary graduates from Hong Kong. So, in this context, I ask myself why I amhere? I am not alocal resident an d I cannot lay claim to any major contribution to Hong Kong, though I have many friends here, particularly in the universities. But, while a university is part of the local community it serves, it is also part of the world-wide community of academic learning. My presence here is, I believe, a reflection of that important fact. Knowledge is not confined within national borders and its benefit should be shared with the whole of mankind. It is true that, i n this highly competitive commercial age, there is a temptation to patent everything in sight, but a narrow- minded national approach should be resisted. Perhaps, as light relief, I might recount the story of a British Government minister who was discussing cosmology with a Chinese University Bulletin Spring • Summer 1997 10