Bulletin Spring‧Summer 2001

Sharpening the Competitivenes s of Enterprise s C h a i r of t h e D e p a r t m e nt of Sy s t ems E n g i n e e r i n g a n d E n g i n e e r i ng Ma n a g eme n t Prof. Cai Xiaoqiang says that China's accession to the Wo r ld Trade Organization means that competition faced b y Chinese enterprises w i l l be l i f t ed to the international level. Yet ma ny of these enterprises la g b e h i n d their i n t e r n a t i o n al c o u n t e r p a r ts i n f a c i l i t i e s , | management skills, operational efficiency , and business k n o w - h o w. A f ew years ago, the C U H K F a c u l t y of E n g i n e e r i n g b e g a n n e g o t i a t i n g w i t h T s i n g h u a U n i v e r s i t y i n Be i j i ng f or a n a g r e eme nt o n I n t e r n e t - related research a n d t r a i n i ng for Chinese enterprises. The agreement was c o n c l u d e d i n 2001 to p r o v i de for research c o l l a b o r a t i o n I and t r a i n i n g p r o g r ammes at different levels. The Supply Chain Management Executive Development Programme for Chinese Enterprises was held for the first time in Beijing in October 2001. Participants were top executives from mainland enterprises and big companies in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, and Singapore who conduct businesses on the mainland. Promoting the Disciplin e o f Chemistry Prof. H e n r y Wo n g a nd Prof. T h omas M a k of the D e p a r t me nt of Ch em i s t r y, w h o we re elected memb e rs of the Chinese A c a d e my of Sciences i n 1999 a n d 2001 r e s p e c t i v e l y, h a v e c o n t r i b u t ed substantially to the de v e l opment of chemistr y as a discipline o n the mainland. Prof. Ma k, professor of chemistry, visited China i l l 1973 as a member of the first scholarly delegation f r o m H o n g K o n g. T he l e s s - t h a n - i d e al research e n v i r o nme nt there p r omp t ed h i m to do wh a t e v er he c o u ld to help his ma i n l a nd colleagues develop their research capability. Since then th e Department of Ch em i s t ry ha s p l a y ed host to m a n y ma i n l a nd scientists passing t h r o u gh H o n g K o ng on their w a y to overseas conferences, and i n v i t ed t h em to deliver scientific reports i n p u t o n g h ua o n the campus. O n several occasions, f u n d s we re raised to sponsor y o u n g m a i n l a nd scholars to s t u d y a n d c o n d u ct research at the University. F r o m 1982 t o 1995, w h e n Prof. M a k was chairman of the Depa r tment of Chemistry, he i n v i t ed over 50 members of the Chinese A c a d emy of Science s and other famous Chinese chemists to th e Un i v e r s i ty for exchange visits. He also helps edit articles w r i t t en b y ma i n l a nd scholars i n English for submission to an international academic journal. Prof. Thomas Mak (back left). Prof. Henry Wong (back right), and Prof. H.M. Chan g (front left) playing hosts to Prof. Tang Auchin (front right), outstanding theoretical chemist who was the first chairman of China's National Natural Science Foundation and recipient of a CUHK honorary doctorate in 1994, and Prof. Li Shuqian from Jilin University (back middle) 16