Newsletter No. 40

CUHK Newsletter No.40 March 1993 and biotechnology would dominate the future US economy and suggested that the US government should invest in business education to increase productivity and maintain competitiveness. Teamwork and esprit de corps, he said, were work ethics that should be stressed. Answering questions from the audience after the lecture, Prof. Thurow stated that Hong Kong should develop as a 'headquarters city' to provide management, communication and transportation services for China, and that the ‘Asia era' would not arrive until the 22nd century. CUHK to Collaborate w i t h UK Universities on Three Research Projects T h r ee research projects proposed by members of the University have recently succeeded in obtaining financial support from the UK-HK Joint Research Scheme, which was established in 1991 by' the British Council and the Research Grants Council of Hong Kong to promote cooperation in research between institutions of higher education in the UK and Hong Kong. The three projects are: • 'Development of an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA )' Coordinator: Dr. John H. K. Yeung, Department of Pharmacology Main Partner: Liverpool University Grant: £5,123 • ‘A molecular approach to tuberculosis: diagnosis, epidemiology and drug resistance' Researcher: Dr. Augustine F. B. Cheng, Department of Microbiology Main Partner: University of Birmingham Grant: £4,600 • 'Computer simulation of processing for optoelectronic devices' Coordinator: Prof. I. H. Wilson, Department of Electronic Engineering Main Partner: University of Surrey Grant: £5,785 Director of Administrative Services Assumes Office Ms. Amy Yui, Director of Administrative Services, assumed office on 1st March 1993. Reporting directly to the vice-chancellor, she will help to strengthen and further improve the quality and efficiency of the University's administrative and support services as it rapidly expands. Initially, a number of functional units have been assigned to this new office: the Security Office, the University Guest House System, the Central Office Support Service, and the Mall Buildings Management Office. The Director of Administrative Services, being the reporting officer for these functional units, will be responsible for policy matters and the formulation of development plans for these units, and act as the liaison officer between the relevant units and the University administration. Under the new set-up, the functional managers will continue to be fully responsible for the day- to-day operation of the services concerned. Users should therefore always contact the respective functional managers first on all operational and service-delivery matters. Apart from serving as a member on various management/executive committees related to these functional units, Ms. Yui has also been appointed as a member of the Administrative Affairs Committee. Additionally, the Director of Administrative Services will serve as member and secretary of the Ad Hoc Working Group on Space Allocation. This responsibility has hitherto been vested in the Secretary of the University. Ms. Yui is also concurrently appointed as head of the Alumni Affairs Office. Ms. Yui's office is located in Room 302 of the John Fulton Centre. (Ext. 7862; Fax. 6036226) M.Sc. i n Clinical Biochemistry Accredited by IMLS T h e University's part-time M.Sc. course in clinical biochemistry has recently been accredited by the Institute of Medical Laboratory Sciences (IMLS). It is the first programme outside the United Kingdom and Ireland to have received such an accreditation. Accredited status applies to students who sit semester examinations at the end of the course and achieve a pass in them overall. Any associate member of the institute of two years' •standing who completes an accredited course and is awarded an M.Sc. will be eligible to apply for fellowship. The University's M.Sc, course in clinical biochemistry is offered by the Department of Chemical Pathology, which produced its first batch of graduates back in 1988. A Multi-purpose H i gh Field Superconducting Spectrometer to be Installed T h e University will soon receive HK$2.2 million from the Research Grants Council (RGC) of the University and Polytechnic Grants Committee to buy a superconducting spectrometer to strengthen its research base. The RGC has earmarked HK$6 million for central allocation to local tertiary institutions in 1992-93 to improve their facilities for research. The University has made a proposal for the acquisition of a Multi-purpose High Field Superconducting FT-NMR Spectrometer, which is supported by four other tertiary institutions. The project has recently been approved by the RGC, and $2.2 million has been allocated to subsidize the cost of the equipment. The spectrometer will be installed at The Chinese University and managed by the University for research purposes. The use of the equipment will however be made available to other tertiary institutions, who will pay the University management fees. 2