Newsletter No. 203

CUHK Student Wins Rhodes Scholarship 2002 A Chinese University student m a j o r i n g i n C h i n e se Language and Literature has been chosen as the 2002 Rhodes Scholar for Hong Kong. Miss Frances Lok Man Yin, now in her final year of study at the University, w i l l pursue a B a c h e l o r o f A r t s d e g r ee programme in law at Ox f o rd University this October. She has demonstrated herself as a person of high intellectual ability and has ma i n t a i n ed an o u t s t a n d i ng academic record throughout her university studies. A mature young woman with an outgoing p e r s o n a l i t y , she e n j o y s interacting w i t h people and participating in extracurricular a c t i v i t i e s. Memb e rs o f the scholarship award's selection c omm i t t ee have f o u nd her c omma nd o f E n g l i sh most impressive. The prestigious Rhodes Scholarships were first set up in 1902 under the w i ll of Sir Cecil Rhodes. It was o r i g i n a l ly intended for students from the Commonwealth countries, the United States, and Germany. Since 1985, Hong Kong has been included in the scheme and one local student has been chosen as Rhodes Scholar each year to pursue studies of his or her choice at Oxford. Over the last seven years, The Chinese University has produced five Rhodes Scholars. S C S S o o n to L a u n c h A s s o c i a t e D e g r e e P r o g r a m m e s I n response to the government's call to raise the participation rate in post-secondary education to 60 per cent of the relevant age group, the University's School of Continuing Studies (SCS) will introduce associate degree programmes this year. Two such programmes — the Associate of Arts in Business and the Associate of Science in Computing w i ll be on offer this summer. The SCS is also actively exploring opportunities of joint ventures with local and overseas educational institutions, with an aim to increase and diversify opportunities of higher education for senior secondary school leavers in Hong Kong. Efforts in his direction have resulted in two recent agreements, one signed with the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals in Hong Kong, the other with the University of Waikato in New Zealand. Agreement with TWGHs to Set up a Community College A memorandum of understanding was signed between the University and the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals (TWGHs) on 30th Ap r il in Cho Yiu Conference Hall to provide for the establishment of a community college that offers associate degree programmes. Under the memorandum, the University, through the SCS, w i ll be responsible for curriculum design, academic accreditation, and quality assurance in respect of the academic programmes of the college, while TWGHs w i ll be responsible for constructing the campus on a suitable site and the overall operation of the community college. A planning committee with equal representation from both institutions w i ll be set up to oversee the entire project. At the signing ceremony the two institutions were represented by Mr. John Ma (right), chairman of TWGHs, and Prof. Arthur K.C. L i (left), vice-chancellor of the University. Articulation Arrangements with University of Waikato On 6th May, an academic agreement was signed between CUHK and the University of Waikato in New Zealand to provide a pathway for graduates of the associate degree programme to enrol in undergraduate studies at the University of Waikato. Under the agreement, the University of Waikato recognizes credits gained in the SCS's Associate Degree Programme in Business. Graduates who have attained a minimum of B grade average and a satisfactory level of English proficiency w i ll have the option of proceeding to undergraduate courses in management studies, electronic commerce, and liberal studies at the University of Waikato. The two institutions were represented by Prof. Arthur K.C. Li (left) and Prof. Bryan Gould, their respective vice-chancellors. The ceremony, which took place in Cho Yiu Conference Hall, was witnessed by the Hon Trevor Mallard ( r i g h t ) , Minister of Education of New Zealand, Mr. Frank Wilson, the Consul-General, as well as senior officials from schools and tertiary institutions in New Zealand. More Support for Universit y Research and Other Projects T he following four research projects and two conferences of the University have attracted funding support from different quarters: • Major Changes at the School Level in Parallel to the Launching of 'Curriculum Tryout —Collaborative Learning Material Development' Scheme of Secondary Chinese Language (HK$1,228,826) Sponsor: Education Department, HKSAR Principal investigator: Prof. Wong Hin-wah (Department of Curriculum and Instruction) Other investigators: Prof. Chow Hon-kwong and Prof. Ho Wai-kit • Data Mining, Financial and Logistics Information Processing (HK$600,000) Sponsor: The Croucher Foundation Principal investigator. Prof. Xu Lei (Department of Computer Science and Engineering) • Development of a Ganoderma (Lingzhi) and Coriolus (Yunzhi) Formula as an Anti-cancer Agent (HK$3,000,000) Sponsors: Innovation and Technology Fund and Vita Green Health Products Co. Ltd. Principal investigator. Prof. Clara Lau (School of Pharmacy) Other investigators: Prof. Zhong Zuo, Prof. Moses Chow, Prof. K.P. Fung, Prof. K.N. Leung, Prof. Ge Lin, Dr. Anthony James, Prof. P.C. Shaw, Prof. J.A. Buswell. and Dr. Lieberman • Development of a Screening Instrument for identification of Hong Kong Secondary School Students Who Are Psychoactive Substances or Heroin Abusers (HK$50,000) Sponsor. Beat Drugs Fund Principal investigator. Dr. Joseph Lau (Centre for Clinical Trials and Epidemiological Research) • The Pacific Rim Geometry Conference (HK$100,000) Sponsor. The Croucher Foundation Coordinator: Prof. Wan Yau-heng (Department of Mathematics) • Hong Kong-Mainland Regional Conference on Reshaping Environmental Assessment Tools for Sustainability (HK$100,000) Sponsor: The Croucher Foundation Coordinator: Prof. Lam Kin-che (Centre of Environmental Policy and Resource Management) Efforts at Women's Health Education and Promotion T he Centre for Research and Promotion of Women's Health at the School of Public Health presented a free health talk on 19th April at the Shaw Auditorium of the School of Public Health. The talk, which attracted over 500 participants, aimed at throwing light on women's health problems including weight management, the function of oestrogen, diet management, and the prevention of cardiovascular disease. The speakers included Ms. Mandy Sea, Dr. Kwan Ka Mei, Ms. Connie Chan, and Prof. Cynthia Chan.