Newsletter No. 273

Dean of Graduate School Outlines Way Forward for the School Prof. Wong Wing-shing Foundedi n 1966, the Graduate School of the Chinese University has experienced remarkable growth in the past f o ur decades. As of end of September 2005, student enrolment stood at 1,827 for research postgraduate programmes and 7,144 for taught postgraduate. Of the latter, 6,248 are enrolled on self-financed programmes and the rest on programmes funded by the Un i v e r s i ty Grants Commi t t ee (UGC). Prof. Wong Wing-shing, dean of the Graduate School and professor of information engineering, said that the G r a d u a te Sc hool w i l l f ocus on consolidating its wo rk upon existing foundations, and solving the urgent demand for support services created by a growing number of students. The l a t t er i n c l u d es seek i ng wa ys to effectively enhance and monitor student q u a l i ty and e n s u r i ng Un i v e r s i ty facilities can cope w i th rising student numbers. Catering for Increasing Student Numbers Prof. Wong p o i n t ed out that the Graduate School plays a very important role in the University's overall strategic planning and it also shares w i t h the University the fundamental strive for excellence in its intellectual pursuits. 'In light of the popularity of self-financed programmes, we must wo rk w i th the University to examine issues such as whether the current mechanisms for monitoring student quality needs to change. The n umb er of research students is also increasing. Although this is controlled partially by UGC quota, we should find out if the surging demand exceeds supply and if so, what the ways are of coping w i t h it,' he remarked. Review of Self-financed Programmes by Divisions The school also encourages divisions to review their self- financed programmes to see if they are fulfilling the academic and social needs they had originally been set up to serve and to assess the need for their continued development. If the answer to both is affirmative, the divisions s h o u ld evaluate the necessity to redeploy resources to these programmes or to increase resources. The school is also working with the divisions to cater to new social needs. For example, the government of the SAR has, since 2003, adopted a more flexible policy towards mainland students w i th the aim of attracting more outstanding m a i n l a n d s t u d e n ts to p u r s u e undergraduate studies in UGC-funded institutions and to seek employment in Ho ng Kong upon graduation. This policy paves the way for more private scholarship scheme-supported or self- financed students to come to the territory. Similarly, to strengthen Hong Kong's talent pool for the technology- i n t e n s i ve and k n ow l e d g e - b a s ed economy, the government's policy on allowing degree- or above-degree level mainland students graduating f r om UGC - f u n d ed i n s t i t u t i o ns to seek employment in Hong Kong has also been made more flexible. This has spurred a rise i n the enrolment of mainland students i n self-financed programmes and this upward trend is expected to continue. This means that the Graduate School needs to consider what measures should be adopted to deal w i th it. Campus Life of Graduate Students The University's Strategic Plan discusses campus life at length — how non-local and foreign students can contribute to the diversity and vitality of the CUHK campus, and add colour to the academic, cultural and social lives of the local students. Prof. Wong is of the view that this aspect of postgraduate students' life needs to be enriched. The campus life of postgraduate students have not been given as much attention as that of their undergraduate counterparts. But as we get more and more pos t g r adua te students and a l umn i, we need to enhance their sense of belonging to the Un i ve r s i ty such as by setting up a postgraduate student association,' he observed. External Partnerships Externally the Graduate School w i l l deepen its co l l abo r a t i on w i t h the Un i v e r s i ty of Ho ng Kong and the University of Science and Technology by l aun c h i ng j o i nt courses on wh i ch students at all three universities can enrol. And in line with the University's vision of internationalization, it will step up collaboration w i t h mainland and overseas academic institutions through more exchange programmes. These will enable students to not only take courses overseas but conduct research in a way similar to that p r ov i ded for by the Fulbright Scholarship. The school w i ll tap more f u n d i ng sources so as to encourage more students to go overseas and to attract more overseas students to conduct their research in Hong Kong. Th is w i l l be b e n e f i c i al f or the international perspective of both,' Prof. Wong said. Piera Chen Shaw Celebrates 20 th Anniversary S haw College celebrated its 20th Founder's Day on 12th January 2006 with Dr. Anthony Neoh, SC, as the guest of honour. A number of academic scholarships were presented at the ceremony, which was held in the college lecture theatre. That night, a dinner was hosted by the college at t he Sha t in J o c k ey C l u b . In attendance were Sir Run Run Shaw ( front row, centre), the patron, and Lady Shaw (front row, left 1). New Series of 'Talking to CEOs' C o-organized by the CUHK EMBA Programme and RTHK, the new 'Talking to CEO' series is currently aired every Sunday, from 2.00 to 4.00 p.m., on RTHK Radio One, and later, on ATV and Cable TV. Company and organization leaders in Hong Kong were invited to participate in the programmes, which were hosted by Prof. Andrew Chan, director of the EMBA Programme, and Prof. Leo Sin of the Department of Marketing. The programme's objectives are to enable these leaders to share their management experiences, insights and personal philosophies with the audience. The guest speakers for this season of the series include Mr. Allan Chiang, Postmaster General, Hongkong Post; Ms. Chiang Lai-Yuen, CEO, Chen Hsong Holdings Ltd.; Mr. Joseph Wang, Chairman and CEO, Ogilvy & Mather Greater China; Mr. An t h o ny Wu , Cha i rman, Hospital Au t ho r i t y; and Betty Yuen, Managing Director, CLP Power Hong Kong Ltd. Service to the Community and International Organizations • Prof. Lee Tak Shing Dominic, professor in the Department of Psychiatry, has been re-appointed by the Chief Executive of the HKSAR as amember of the Release under Supervision Board of the Prisoners for three years from 15th March 2006. 李德誠教授於二零零五年十二月獲《中國心理 衛生雜誌》聘任為第三屆特約編委，為期四 年。 • Prof. Yeung Yue Man, director of Hong Kong Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies, has been re- appointed as chairman of the Central Policy Unit Panel on the Pan-Pearl River Delta for one year from January 2006. • Prof. Choy Chiu Sing, professor in the Department of Electronic Engineering, has been nominated as a member of the Appeal Board Panel (Electricity) of the HKSAR Government. • Prof. Lau Tze Kin, professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, has been re- nominated as a member of the Regional Advisory Committee of the New Territories of the Hospital Authority for two years from 1st April 2006. • Prof. Hong Youlian, professor in the Department of Sports Science and Physical Education, has been re-appointed as editor-in-chief of Research in Sports Medicine. (Information in this section isprovided by the Communications and Public Relations Office. Contributions should be sent direct to that officefor registration and verification before publication.) 3 No. 273 19th February 2006