Newsletter No. 64

4 No. 64 19th February 1995 CUHK Newsletter suckling pigs. Finally, I d o no t wan t t o leav e th e impression that 1 am rejecting my home country. 1 am English , Britai n i s m y home country, familiar, comfortable and loved, warts and all. Hong Kong is a new, seductive an d excitin g mistres s tha t constantly delights , surprises, stimulates and, sometimes , infuriates . I hop e t o remain her e an d contribut e wha t I ca n for as long as the powers that be will have me. Ian H. Wilson AN Orderly Difference 'Write an articl e o n th e difference s o r similarities betwee n CUH K an d an y other universitie s yo u hav e bee n associated with .' This request took me aback slightly. An articl e on coronary arter y disease or high blood pressur e would be easy , but this is more difficult and requires a little thought. I hav e bee n associate d wit h fiv e universities s o far . Cambridg e wher e I was a n undergraduate, Londo n wher e I did my clinica l studies , Oxford where I was a lecturer in medicine, Bristol where I had an appointment concurrent with my NHS (Nationa l Healt h Service ) consultant post , an d no w CUHK . Obviously there are many differences and similarities bu t one stands out above al l others: a t CUHK , student s work ! On e does no t se e gangs o f drunken student s wandering abou t trying to climb int o o r out of colleges, nor noisy rugby player s disturbing th e peac e a t night , no r students obviousl y sufferin g fro m hangovers afte r lat e night s o f drinkin g and arguing . Thi s typ e o f studen t ma y be th e conspicuou s extrem e o f a spectrum, an d some student s i n Oxfor d and Cambridge d o wor k hard ; bu t her e the student s see m genuinely t o wan t t o work, ar e interested , polite , an d no t scruffy. Th e clinica l student s I se e ar e delightful an d a pleasure to teach . The campu s i s orderl y an d ver y refreshing t o retur n t o afte r th e hurly - burly o f clinical medicin e i n Sha Tin o r venturing into Kowloon. Built on the side of hills , i t ha s one o f the bes t views i n Hong Kong. Although it is very different from th e 'backs ' o f the rive r Cam , i t i s equally conduciv e t o th e academi c lif e of dreaming new thoughts an d plans. Is this orderliness a good thing? No doubt beneat h th e cal m surfac e o f th e hard-working student s and staff, there is the same lust for love or power that is part of huma n natur e everywhere , foreve r creating turbulence . Perhap s Wester n students ar e to o undiscipline d an d argumentative, thoug h probably les s so now tha n whe n I wa s a student i n th e 'flower-power' day s o f the lat e sixtie s and seventies . Teachin g i s muc h mor e pleasurable here , but a little les s respect for th e establishmen t i s als o health y i n students. I t i s thos e awkward , difficul t people wh o challeng e orthodo x view s that mak e progres s possible . Bu t self - discipline an d thos e othe r excellen t Confucian principle s ar e require d fo r academic an d economic success . I t i s a difficult balance. However, at the moment 1 think CUHK i s getting the best of the East an d West i n their student s a s long as the y continu e t o challeng e an d question the views and opinions of their teachers (bu t not too frequently! ) John E. Sanderson, UK Senior lecturer in medicine Joined CUHK on 1st September 1992. First Impressions One of the attractions of coming to The Chinese Universit y o f Hon g Kon g an d enjoying it s attractiv e natura l environment, for me, is that it is located in the Ne w Territorie s an d no t i n th e relatively mor e Westernize d area s o f Kowloon an d Hong Kong Island . It i s alway s a challenge startin g a new job , an d tha t challeng e i s greate r when thi s i s wit h a new employe r i n a totally differen t environmen t t o the one to whic h on e ha s become accustomed . For myself , thi s ha s been compounde d because the University has not employed post-doctoral fellow s befor e an d uncertainty appear s to exist in the minds of many staff as to where such people fit in the picture of university life . As a truly internationa l post-doc, as compared wit h a Hong Kon g Chines e resident returning home, I wanted to live on campu s s o that I coul d be a n active participant in , rathe r tha n a passiv e observer of , lif e o f the University . Thi s clearly had not been anticipated because there wa s n o provisio n fo r on-campu s accommodation, althoug h a room wa s eventually foun d fo r m e a t th e staf f quarters o f th e Hon g Kon g Institut e o f Biotechnology. It woul d hav e bee n mos t helpful , when I arrived , t o hav e receive d some literature telling me what, where and how things happened, including what services and facilities ar e available , o n campu s generally, an d i n th e facult y an d department i n particular . Thi s woul d have reduced considerably the confusion and frustratio n I experienced , particularly in tha t firs t month . I though t i t might be helpful to try to learn Cantonese and since my arrival in September I have been trying to do so, or rather my teacher has bee n tryin g t o teac h me . I d o recognize tha t i n th e shor t ter m o f m y contract, only an extremely limited basic understanding can be achieved, and that I canno t hope to become conversant with the script 一 s o I puzzl e over the many , possibly interesting , notice s whic h abound i n m y facult y an d aroun d th e campus. And now after a few months, I have made a few friends on and off campus to whom I ca n turn fo r advice ; my rol e i n the departmen t remain s unclear ; an d I work awa y o n m y research , whic h enables m e t o mee t man y interestin g people in the world outside the University and t o experienc e th e wealt h an d diversity o f offering s whic h thi s incredible cit y presents . Marian C, Stone, Australia Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Educational Administration and Policy Joined CUHK on 1st September 1994. A German Viewpoint When I wa s aske d t o describ e th e differences between my home university in Germany and The Chinese Universit y of Hong Kong, my initial reaction was to decline the invitation. I studied at the Free University o f Berli n — th e larges t university in Germany with about 60,000 students an d an annual budge t o f mor e that US$ 1 billio n — an d mos t o f m y experiences ther e hav e bee n negative . After fou r year s in Berlin, I lef t with no regrets to stud y i n the United States . So what could I say that would not sound like a condemnation of German universities? Germany ha s long been known fo r the qualit y o f it s institution s o f highe r learning, and one of its universities, the Ruprecht-Karls Universit ä t in Heidelberg (1386 ), is amon g the oldes t i n Europe. Similar t o Hon g Kong , th e Germa n school system is highly selective and only a smal l percentag e o f youn g peopl e qualify fo r enrollin g a t a university . While admissio n to many social science fields suc h a s medicin e o r biolog y i s restricted, it is fairly eas y to be accepted in othe r area s o f study , suc h a s th e humanities. Th e allocation of universit y places t o th e restricte d subjec t field s i s based on the prospective student' s fina l grade obtaine d i n th e so-calle d Abitur , the fina l diplom a earne d afte r 1 3 years of hig h schoo l (Gymnasium) . Onc e accepted, universit y educatio n i n Germany is free, and students have to pay only a smal l registratio n fe e eac h semester (abou t HK$300) . Th e usua l four- to- six-year course of study leads to the Diplom or similar degrees, about the equivalent o f a master' s degre e i n th e United States. Unfortunately, mos t Germa n universities ar e hopelessly overcrowde d and underfunded. The inadequate number of lecturer s an d professor s i n man y German universities increases the student- teacher ratio to levels unheard of in Hong Kong. I t is, for example, not uncommon for students to attend discussion seminars with mor e tha n 20 0 students , man y o f them standing in the hallway, because the rooms are too small to seat all. Moreover, the teachin g performanc e o f universit y professors is rarely assessed and students frequently complai n abou t indifferen t teachers an d lack o f persona l attention . To mak e matter s worse , ne w facult y positions seldom become available, while the numbe r o f ne w student s keep s growing each year. These unsatisfactory conditions creat e a ver y depressin g atmosphere amidst German students, and many quit their education during the first few semesters . Overall , th e Germa n university syste m is in a deep crisis and government official s ar e beginnin g t o think about adopting some features of the American universit y system , suc h a s higher registration fees and more private universities. The bigges t differenc e betwee n the Free University of Berlin and The Chinese University, I think, is found in the student population. Whil e Hon g Kon g student s are accustome d t o consum e lecture s rather tha n tak e a n activ e rol e i n classroom discussions, German students tend t o b e quit e outspoke n an d enthusiastic whe n give n th e chanc e t o express thei r opinion . Becaus e persona l attention from lecturers i s often limited , German student s ar e als o force d t o b e more independen t i n thei r academi c work. O n th e othe r hand , wha t make s teaching at The Chinese University such a pleasant experience i s the friendlines s of students and their genera l respect fo r the teachin g staff . I hav e als o bee n impressed by the academic performance of many student s and their eagernes s to learn. Overall , i t i s probably saf e to say that, compared to their German counterparts, lecturers i n Hon g Kon g hav e a much mor e pleasan t job teachin g thei r students. For that, I do not miss Germany too much . Lars Willnat, Germany Lecturer in journalism and communication Joined CUHK on 2nd January 1993.