Bulletin Autumn‧Winter 1999

Opening Speeches In his opening address, Mr Tung Chee Hwa urged all participating i nstitutions to capitalize on the companrative advantages of different countives and universities and share good practices, and called for greater inter-institutional callabration at the international level. Dr. Wei Yu pointed out that to rejuvenate China, technology education is an important strategy. To become a strong country in terms of global higher eduction, China needs to make more profound institutional r education sector. Predicting the F u t u r e of Higher Education Three Special Lectures Distinguished professor-at-large of the University, Prof. Yang Chen-ning, spoke on 'Science, Technology,and Universities'. Quoting examplesfrom the last two centuries, he observed that th staggering growth in human p r o d u c t i v i t y would not have beenpossible without technological advances.He pointedout that the US government's policy of pooling large amounts ofmoney i n to university researchhas had positive effect on knowledge creation,h u m an productivity, human welfare, and is an important factor in America's becoming a major economic power. It is clear to all university presidents that, beyond the primary responsibility of education, all universities must participate ‘ rigorously in the inter-related activities of science, technology, and economics, and to stimulate innovation. Dr. Wei Yu, speaking on 'Developing Modern Distance Education and Constructing a Life-long Learning System', said the most advanced elements of the human society will he built on the Internet—the knowledge platform for the fields involving economy, politics, and culture, with super-speed circulation of information and a wide connection to the world. Developed and developing countries alike either hop on to this platform or risk being washed away by the tide. She believes that a developing country like China must develop long distance education to solve the problem of inadequate educational resourcesand gradually build a life-long education system. In his speech 'Education for the New Millennium— Education Reform in HKSAR', Mr. Antony Leung, chairman of the Education Commission, briefly described Hong Kong's plans for education reformfor the coming century as well as the role of tertiary institutions in it. He pointed out that in this age of advanced information technology, Hong Kong is facing unprecedented competition as a result ofglobal economic integration. To stay ahead of the game, Hong Kong needs quality human resources. In a knowledge-based economy, those who succeed must be creative, versatile, knowledgeable, and multi-talented. Theycannot be conformists or followers.