Newsletter No. 244

NewVice-ChancellorProf.LawrenceJ.LautoGuideCUHKTowardsInternationalization P rof. Lawrence Lau assumed office as the University's sixth vice-chancellor on 1st July 2004. He has since met with members of the University Council and College Boards of Trustees, staff and student representatives, and the local press to enhance communication. During these meetings, he emphasized the need for greater internationalization in the University's teaching, research, and service functions. To this end, Prof. Lau has plans to raise the annual intake of non-local undergraduates from four to eight per cent and to bring in a larger number of exchange students from a broader mix of countries to enrich the cultural diversity of the student population. He also intends to send some 30 per cent of the University's undergraduates abroad on exchange or internship for at least a term, as he believes the experience w i ll broaden their perspective and increase their competitiveness. Advocating 'education without borders', Prof. Lau hopes that CUHK can attract students from the mainland and from overseas, and the number of non-local students w i ll reach 20-25 per cent of total enrolment. In the area of research, Prof. Lau w i ll support greater regional and international collaboration, and strive to attract talent from the world over through the University's extensive linkages with research centres of excellence. Prof. Lau also believes that to achieve greater internationalization, there is a need for the University to revert to a normative four-year undergraduate curriculum and to hold fast to its tradition of bilingualism. Prof. Lau believes that with an enhanced international profile, the University will be better equipped to recruit top talent from across the world and they w i ll be Hong Kong's most valuable asset. He emphasizes that the University has set its eyes not only on mainland students, but also students from other countries. Besides students, the University's 70,000 alumni are also an asset. At a dinner hosted in his honour by alumni from the communications field, Prof. Lau reiterated his aspirations to internationalize the University and sought their continued support for CUHK's long-term development. On the same occasion, a handsome amount was raised, thanks to the generosity of the alumni, to set up a scholarship for Chinese University students going on exchange. Prof. Lawrence Lau posing with student representatives E-N EWSLETTER A BSTRACT Volume 1 No. 1 HK$50 Million-Minimally Invasive Surgical Skills Centre to Be Set Up The first Minimally Invasive Surgical Skills Centre in the Asia-Pacific will soon be set up at CUHK. A HK$50 million project, the centre will revolutionize conventional surgical training, enhance patient care, and facilitate global exchange on advances in surgical skills. More than half of the project cost is funded by The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust. Nobel Laureate Steven Chu's Public Lecture Warmly Received Prof. Steven Chu, Nobel Laureate in Physics, visited CUHK on 30th June to give a public lecture entitled 'What can physics say about life?'. The lecture attracted an audience of over a thousand and Prof. Chu showed himself to be a charismatic scholar and inspiring scientist. Volume 1 No. 2 CUHK Wins HK$8 Million Grant for Digital Entertainment Technologies The CUHK Faculty of Engineering has been awarded grants totalling HK$8 million by the Innovation and Technology Commission to develop new technologies in support of the digital entertainment industry in Hong Kong. Volume 1 No. 3 CUHK Welcomes 3,000 Outstanding New Undergraduates and 300 Exchange Students from Around the World This year close to 3,000 outstanding students gained admission to The Chinese University's various undergraduate programmes. They include 180 top students from Hong Kong admitted through the Early Admissions Scheme and some 240 non-local students. In addition, 300 exchange students from around the world will join CUHK later this month to experience life and studies in a different culture. HK$228 Million Secured for CUHK's Development under UGC's Matching Grant Scheme The Chinese University has succeeded in securing a major contribution of HK$228 million from the government to match dollar-for-dollar the bulk of the donations it has raised under the UGC's Matching Grant Scheme. All funds will go towards financing programmes of strategic importance at the University. Hong Kong Champs from CUHK Do Themselves Proud at Microsoft's international Software Design Competition A team of three engineering students from The Chinese University was ranked top 12 in the world championship of Imagine Cup 2004, Microsoft's International Software Design Competition. For details, please visit http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/enews/. Seven C U HK Members Honoured T he following teaching staff and students of the University have been honoured by authorities in their respective fields, both in Hong Kong and overseas, for their exceptional achievements or contributions. • Prof. Lee Sik Yum, professor of statistics, has been selected as a 2004 fellow of the American Statistical Association (ASA) for his outstanding work in research and in promoting the development of the statistical profession. • Prof. Fanny M. Cheung, chair of the Department of Psychology and professor of psychology, was selected as a recipient of a 2004 American Psychological Association Presidential Citation for her efforts to promote psychology in China, cross-cultural research, and the study of women's issues. • Prof. Yan Houmin's paper 'Coordination of a Supply Chain with Risk-Averse Agents', coauthored with Xianghua Gan and Suresh P. Sethi, won the Wickham-Skinner Best Paper Award at the Production and Operations Management Society Cancun meeting. Prof. Yan is from the Department of Systems Engineering and Engineering Management. • Ms. Xu Xiaodong, doctoral student on the History of Chinese Art Programme of the Department of Fine Arts, has been awarded the Ford Foundation Fellowship by the Asian Cultural Council in June 2004 to undertake dissertation research in the US this coming autumn. • Mr. Rama Kamesh Bikkavilli, final year doctoral student at the Department of Biochemistry, was awarded £500 for winning the Pfizer prize for the best oral communications during the 'Bioscience 2004: From Molecules to Organisms' Conference held from 18th to 22nd July 2004 in Glasgow, UK. • A CUHK team comprising Vincent Wang and Rockson Zhang, two full-time MBA students; Alan Lam, a graduate student in engineering; and Sharon Yan, an M.Phil, student in computer engineering, won the championship of the Young Entrepreneurs Development Council (YDC) E-Challenge 2004 with their business plan 'Lord of Computer Ring'. The team was presented a cash prize of HK$30,000 at the prize presentation ceremony on 19th June 2004. The competition was organized by YDC with prizes sponsored by the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation and supported by the MTR Corporation and the Young Entrepreneurs' Organization. • Mr. Yip Kwan-hon, a first-year accounting student at the University, beat 28 other candidates with excellent academic merits to win the 2004 Sanford Yung Scholarship. Mr. Yip impressed the selection panel with his dedication to the accounting profession and his desire to pursue further training overseas. He received a cash award of HK$ 120,000 at the prize presentation ceremony held on 7th June at the PricewaterhouseCoopers Executive Conference Centre, and a summer placement in a commercial city outside Hong Kong. 1 No. 244 4th September 2004