Newsletter No. 162

2 No. 162 4th April 2000 CUHK Newsletter Asia's Public Health Education in the Limelight at Conference I n the 21st century, ageing w i l l be a common problem in many parts of the Asia-Pacific. New epidemic diseases spread faster than before and people are urging for better quality o f life. To examine these issues in the light of new challenges to public health professionals, the University hosted the 32nd Asia Pacific Academic Consortium for Public Health (APACPH) Conference on Public Health Education in the 21st century from 22nd to 24th March. During the conference, academics and experts from Hong Kong, mainland China, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand, the Philippines, Korea, Australia, and the US presented papers related to different aspects o f public health in their country. Opening speeches were given by Prof. Ar t hur K.C. L i , vice-chancellor of the University, Dr. Margaret Chan, director of health of the HKSAR government, Dr. Linda Mi l an, representative f r om the World Health Organization, Prof. Kenji Hayashi, president of APACPH, and Prof. Lee Shiu-hung, director of the School of Public Health at CUHK. Prof. Lee was also awarded the Leadership Achievement Award at the conference for his dedicated leadership and significant contribution to health improvement in the Asia-Pacific region. The mission o f APACPH i s t o enhance the quality of education, training, and research for public health and primary health care i n the region. I t has a membership of 44 schools of public health and departments of community medicine in 17 nations in the Asia-Pacific region. Nasdaq Asia Moot Corp ® Here in Hong Kong From left: Prof. Andrew C.F. Chan, associate dean of business administration and director of MBA programmes, Prof. Chua Bee-leng, and Prof. Kent Neupert, associate director of MBA programmes T h i r t e en teams f r om e i ght A s i an countries participated in the Nasdaq Asia Moot Corp ® Entrepreneur Business Plan Competition held f r om 14th to 16th March 2000 in Hong Kong. The only Pan-Asia business plan competition of its type for leading M BA schools, the competition was organized by the University's Faculty of Business Administration and was sponsored by the Nasdaq Stock Market. The theme 'Entrepreneurship: Asia's Future' was picked this year to highlight the importance of new business activity i n building Asia's future prosperity. The participating teams had already undergone a rigorous selection process at their own universities before taking part in the competition. In the first round on 15th March, they were split up into four divisions to present business plans to a panel of judges comprising venture capitalists, investors, entrepreneurs, and other professionals. The winning team from each division then participated in the grand finals on 16th March. The winning team was from Sasin Graduate Institute of Business Administration of Chulalongkorn University in Thailand. National Chengchi University in Taiwan was the runner-up. According to Prof. Chua Bee-leng, d i r ec t or o f the Nasdaq As ia Mo o t Co r p ® P r og r amme, the a im o f the competition is to encourage more Asian business schools t o develop enterpreneurial e d u c a t i o n i n t h e i r curricula. PE CURRICULUM UNDER SCRUTINY Physical education (PE) was introduced to the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination (HKCEE) in 1989. Since then, only a few hundred students have taken this exam each year and their performance has not been impressive. Over two hundred secondary school physical education teachers shared their views on and explored the reasons for the apparent lack of enthusiasm for the subject in the HKCEE at a forum organized by the Department of Sports Science and Physical Education of the University on 18th March. Dr. Rob Carroll, an expert on the PE curriculum in the UK, was present to speak on the development of secondary school PE examinations. Health-Relate d Researc Receiv e Suppor t Three research projects undertaken by University staff to tackle health problems have succeeded in attracting funding support from different sources: The Review of the Central Registry of D r ug Abuse (HK$449,098) Sponsor: Action Committee Against Narcotics Principal investigator: Prof. Lau Tai-shing (Department of Statistics) Surveillance of Antibiotic Resistance in the Community — an Approach to Reduce Bacterial Resistance to Antimicrobial Agents (HK$820,912) Sponsor: Health Care and Promotion Fund Principal investigator: Prof. Julia M. L. Ling (Department of Microbiology) Study of Varicella-zoster Virus Immunization in Paediatric Haematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation (HK$498,000) Sponsor: Children's Cancer Foundation Principal investigator: Prof. Leung Ting-fan, Department of Paediatrics CUHK CHAPTER OF BETA GAMMA SIGMA INSTALLED The Chinese University of Hong Kong Chapter of Beta Gamma Sigma was installed on 18th March. Beta Gamma Sigma is an international honour society based in the US that recognizes outstanding academic achievements of students enrolled i n collegiate business and management programmes accredited by the American Assembly o f Collegiate Schools o f Business — International Association for Management Ed u c a t i on ( A A C S B- I A M E ) . I t s m i s s i on i s t o honour academic achievement in the study of business and personal and professional excellence in the practice of business, to foster an enduring commitment to the principles and values of honour and integrity, to encourage the pursuit of w i s d om, earnestness, and l i f e l o ng learning, and to support the advancement of business thought. Its current membership of 400,000 comprises the brightest and best of business leaders. Students who meet the membership requirements are named by their teachers. At CUHK, they include second- year undergraduate students w i t h a cumulative GPA in the top 7 per cent, third-year students in the top 10 per cent, and graduate students in the top 20 per cent. Membership in Beta Gamma Sigma is the highest lifetime recognition a business student can receive anywhere in the world. A t the installation ceremony of the chapter, Mr. Allen Lee Peng-fei, chairman of Pacific Dimensions Consultants Ltd., and Mr. Gilbert Y. Chow, director of Customer Service for Asia, Northwest Airlines, were made chapter honorees. And Prof. Michael Hui, associate dean (undergraduate studies) of the Faculty of Business A dm i n i s t r a t i o n, and Ms. Ca rmen Y i p , B B A student a t the University, were inducted respectively as president and vice-president o f the CUHK Chapter of Beta Gamma Sigma, the first chapter outside North America. A total of 131 student candidates and 13 faculty members were also inducted into its membership. A Taste of Europe on CUHK Campus The Depa r tment o f Mo d e rn Languages and I n t e r cu l t u r al S t ud i es c o l l a b o r a t ed w i t h European consulates in Hong Kong to host European Cultural Week from 20th to 24th March on CUHK campus. It featured a round-table seminar at the Cho Yiu Conference Hall attended by the consuls-general of Portugal, Germany, France, I t a l y, the Netherlands, and the UK. Other events during the week included career talks by the representatives of European companies in Hong K o n g , f i l m shows, e x h i b i t i o ns o f Eu r opean f ash i on, cosmetics, and cuisine, a coffee and wine evening accompanied by a performance o f Flamenco guitar, and a flea market.