Newsletter No. 171

Annual Conference for Chinese Medical Educationists O ver 120 medical educationists from 31 organizations in mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong attended the Fourth Medical Education Conference for China Mainland, Taiwan and the Hong Kong Region held from 17th to 21st September in Kunming. The event was organized by the Peking University Health Science Centre and Ku nm i ng Med i cal College, and sponsored by the China Med i c al Boa rd o f New Y o r k . The d e l e g a t i on from the C U HK Faculty o f Medicine was led by Prof. Sydney S.C. Chung. The focus of discussion at the conference was the training of family doctors a n d m e d i c a l e t h i c s education. The conference is an important annual event of the Me d i c al Education As s o c i a t i on f or Ch i na Mainland, Taiwan and the Hong Kong Region. For the past four years, it has provided an excellent f o r um for the exchange o f information and experience among medical educationists from the three regions. The first conference was organized by the former Beijing Medical University in the Three Gorges in 1996, the second, by The Chinese University in Hong Kong in 1997, and the third, by Yang M i ng University in Taiwan in 1999. The next conference w i l l be organized by C U HK in Hong Kong in November 2001. Another Step Forward in Accounting Education N ew students and the first batch of graduates of the Master of Accountancy Programme offered by the School o f Accountancy attended the programme's orientation and awards presentation ceremony held on 2nd September at the Hong Kong Regent. The programme started with an opening address by Prof. Peter Cheng, d i r e c t o r o f t h e programme, and Prof. Simon Ho, director of the school. M r . Er ic L i , chairman of the Advisory Board on Ac coun t i ng Studies of the University, Mr. P.M. Kam, president o f t he H o n g K o n g Society of Accountants, and Mr. Patrick Yeung, managing director o f Asian Capital (Corporate Finance) Ltd., also spoke to the students. The Federation of Schools of Accountancy (FSA) Outstanding Academic Award was presented to the top student of the year 2000 graduating class by Prof. Japhet Law, dean of the Faculty of Business Administration. The CUHK School of Accountancy is the only member of the FSA in Hong Kong that has been accredited by the AACSB-IAME. Prof. Japhet Law (right) presenting the FSA Outstanding Academic Award Ways to Curb Diabetes C hanges i n l i f e s t y le i n Ho ng K o n g, characterized by overeating, physical inactivity, and psychosocial stress, have unmasked the genetic predisposition of some individuals to develop diabetes. Inability to process the large amount of calories consumed can lead to multiple hormonal abnormalities, resulting in obesity, diabetes, and related diseases. Together with the high prevalence of childhood obesity, these factors have contributed to the increasing prevalence of young-onset type 2 diabetes in Hong Kong Chinese. It is estimated that two per cent of Hong Kong people aged under 40 have diabetes, accounting for 20 per cent of the diabetic population. I n the l i ght o f the r i s i ng incidence o f diabetes and its complications, the Hong Kong Foundation for Research and Development in Diabetes, established by the Diabetes Care and Research Group of the Faculty of Medicine in 1999 to promote diabetes research and develop innovative programmes to improve diabetes care, organized a symposium on diabetes and cardiovascular risk factors on 30th September and 1st October 2000. The symposium provided a f o r um for local and overseas experts and health care professionals and administrators to discuss and develop strategies to control the epidemic. The foundation also organized an advanced course in diabetes management r e c e n t l y , w h i c h was a t t e n d ed by 28 diabetologists f r om different parts o f China. Similar courses are being planned for local doctors and health care professionals w i th the objective of improving the standard of diabetes care in the local community. Summer Internship Programme Present s C e r t i f i c a t es O n 22nd September the Elite Development Programme of the Faculty of Business Admi n i s t r a t i on organized a luncheon and a certificate presentation ceremony at the University Guest House for the participants of its summer internship programme. On the occasion, 24 undergraduate students shared with the audience their experience as interns at 14 different organizations during the summer vacation. The programme, now in its fifth year, aims at o f f e r i ng second-year B BA students a chance to gain valuable working experience at leading local and international companies or government departments. The pa r t i c i pa t i ng organizations include Cable & Wireless HKT, Caltex Oil (HK) Ltd., PricewaterhouseCoopers, The Bank of China Group, Ya h o o ! HK, and Yau Lee Ho l d i ngs Company. Awards Ceremony for China Career Development Programme A pp r o x i ma t e ly a hundred students who successfully completed the China Career Development Award Programme last summer were awarded their certificates on 28th September 2000 at a ceremony held at the Park Hotel. A l so present at the awards presentation ceremony were Prof. Jack Cheng Chun - y i u, university dean of students, representatives from the Beijing and Shanghai Education Commissions, and representatives f r om donors and sponsoring companies.