Newsletter No. 394

10 No. 394, 19.3.2012 …… 如是說 Thus Spake… 研究院在大學裏發揮甚麼功能？ 研究院的管理結構是矩陣式的，沒有專屬的教學人員，課 程通過各學院學系裏的學部籌辦。我們主要是訂立長遠 策略，管理研究生課程，確保質素，提供基本支援，也給研 究生一個集中的諮詢點，幫助他們處理學業問題。 研究院對研究生的學習有何支援？ 研究式與修課式課程同樣要求學生有本科訓練，在知識層 面和所習專業有一定闊度和深度，繼而在這基礎上鑽研， 例如開拓新思維或深造專業。Improving Postgraduate Learning是研究院唯一直接開辦的學習單元，廣及資料搜 集、實驗室安全、論文寫作、抄襲剽竊、陳述技巧等課題， 也有語文訓練，可說是研究生應有的「通識」。 中大研究生人數在四五年前趕上本科生人數，其後更 一直超越之。這個現象反映了甚麼？ 本校研究生人數約一萬二千，是多是少，要看大學的定 位。研究式課程學生人數在研究型大學的比例應較重，在 外國，與修課式課程學生多是五五之比。我們的研究式課 程學生才約二千，如可提高，研究型大學的角色便能發揮 得更好。學生人數增長主要在修課式課程，八間學院開辦 的廣泛課程吸納不少學生。學生來源也起了變化，以前是 兼讀為主，現在全日制的多了，有好幾千，不少是內地生。 香港其他院校也出現這個情況。 你怎樣看研究院課程成為大學的賺錢工具這個 說法？ 修課式課程以自負盈虧的模式運作，始自十多年前，政府 認為某些課程能滿足社會和學生的需求，但未必需要用公 帑支持，所以決定不再直接資助。另一方面，現在為配合政 府實踐發展香港為教育樞紐的使命，招收了不少外地生。 大學在發展之餘必會兼重質素保證和本身的長遠目標，課 程和學生不可無止境增長。而且，應怎樣發展教育產業， 整個社會應有共識，值得探討。 促使研究院課程產生的因素是甚麼？ 研究式課程的產生較多學系主導成分，最近推出的生物醫 學工程哲學碩士博士銜接課程，主要是大學和工程學院主 導的：既立意開拓這方面的學術研究，便要招收研究生。 修課式課程則受社會發展影響較大，如醫學院推出的一批 新課程，明顯是回應社會對某些專業訓練的殷切需求。開 辦新課程的理念，初期可能是來自個別教師的構想，非正 式場合的討論，這往往是重要的創造源頭。 英文系系主任 Prof. Simon N. Haines Prof. Simon N. Haines, chairman, Department of English 下期預告 Coming 研究院院長黃永成教授 Prof. Wong Wing-shing, Dean of Graduate School 展望未來，研究生課程需要怎樣求變？ 哲學博士是研究式課程的重心，這課程的制度沿用了上百 年，嚴格來說是為立志以學術研究為終身事業的人而設 的。然而，一方面全球學術研究工作的崗位實在有限，另方 面有部分剛唸完本科而又想繼續進修的，未必確定以投身 學術研究為目標，卻由於種種原因，選擇了哲學博士課程。 這亦是很多發達國家和地區面對的同一難題：獲政府資源 培訓的哲學博士，如果最終非以學術研究為終身事業，那是 否資源錯配？社會急速發展，對科研人才的需求不斷更新， 值得重新檢討課程內容的設計，例如，是否應提供額外訓 練，於個別哲學博士課程加入行政管理的知識，像德國將 工業培訓納入課程，又或在哲學博士以外多發展不同的博 士學位等。這都是整個社會跟教育界須共同探討的。我必 須強調這不是香港單獨面對的問題。 如何兼顧教研與行政？ 時間分配其實簡單不過，因為行政工作有其迫切性，故必 優先處理。教學也是。我仍保持每年教授一科和督導研究 生。一有時間我便會做通訊和信息控制的研究。教學和科 研給我更大的樂趣，尤其是行政工作遇上困難，難題未能 解決時，做研究也可視為調劑。當然，收到學生對課程的 好評，也帶給我很大的滿足感。 公餘有何嗜好？ 游泳和音樂是我紓緩工作壓力的兩大嗜好。無論古典音樂 或中西流行樂曲，只要是有創意、有意境的，我也喜愛。享 受音樂是一種感性的過程，但音樂也有它自身的邏輯和規 律，亦可提供抽象分析的無限空間。 What role does the Graduate School play in CUHK? The Graduate School has a matrix management organization. We don’t have our own teachers. Instead, all of our programmes are moderated by the graduate divisions of different Faculties and departments. The school’s role is to formulate long-term strategies, manage postgraduate programmes, assure quality, provide basic support to postgraduate students, and help them to deal with academic problems by serving as a one-stop information gateway. What support does the Graduate School provide to students? Both research and taught postgraduate programmes require students to demonstrate that they’ve been properly trained in their fields during their undergraduate studies. Building on the depth and breadth of their knowledge, they are expected to move on to develop new ways of thinking or receive further professional training. Improving Postgraduate Learning is the only group of modules organized by the Graduate School. The modules cover topics ranging from information search, laboratory safety, thesis writing, plagiarism, and presentation skills, to languages, which can be described as general knowledge for postgraduate students. The number of postgraduates caught up with that of undergraduates about four or five years ago and has exceeded it ever since. What does this tell us? CUHK has a postgraduate population of about 12,000. The size of postgraduate research population depends on how the University positions itself. The proportion of research postgraduates is usually higher in a research university. In overseas research universities, the research- taught postgraduates ratio is 50:50. We have only 2,000 research postgraduate students. If we have a bigger population of these students, our stature as a research university can be further enhanced. A large proportion of the growth in our postgraduate students is found in the taught programmes which, offered by the eight Faculties, feature an attractive diversity. The major source of students has also shifted from part-time to full-time students. There are several thousands of them and many from mainland China. This is a phenomenon common to all other local universities. Some say postgraduate programmes have become cash cows for universities. What’s your view on this? Taught programmes have operated on a self-financing basis for a dozen years. It’s the government’s view that certain programmes should not be funded by public money although they can meet the needs of society and of students. So it has been decided not to fund these programmes directly. Now, to support the government’s policy of developing Hong Kong into an education hub, we recruit many non-local students. The quality of education and long-term objectives of the University should never be sacrificed for its development. The number of programmes and students cannot increase infinitely. We have to reach a consensus with society regarding the development of the education industry. How is a postgraduate programme conceived of? New research programmes are mainly initiated by academic departments. The newly introduced MPhil– PhD Programme in Biomedical Engineering is a joint brainchild of the University and the Faculty of Engineering. Taught programmes are mainly introduced in response to the needs of society. For example, the Faculty of Medicine has rolled out a number of new programmes to meet needs for training in certain fields. A new programme may originate from a very preliminary idea of a teacher or from informal discussions. How will postgraduate programmes change in the future? PhD programmes form the cornerstone of research programmes. The system has been used for more than a century. Strictly speaking, these are intended for those who want to pursue a career in academia. While academic research provides limited jobs globally, some people who enrol on PhD programmes, due to various reasons, may not be very interested in an academic career after they’ve finished undergraduate studies. Isn’t it a misallocation of resources for the government to fund someone to study a research programme when he or she doesn’t really want to pursue an academic career? This is a problem faced by many developed countries and regions. Demand for scientific research talent changes with the times and societal needs. Maybe it’s time to review our programme designs. Should additional training be provided? For example, adding administrative management knowledge to the PhD programme structure, or adding industrial training to it as the German do, or providing more doctoral degree programmes other than the PhD. I have to point out that this is a problem to be addressed by our community and the education sector at large, and it is not unique to Hong Kong. How do you juggle teaching, research and administrative duties? Allocation of time is easy. Administrative duties take priority because they’re usually urgent in nature. So does teaching. I teach one course a year and serve as a graduate adviser. Whenever I am free, I conduct research on communication and information control. I take much pleasure in teaching and research. When I encounter difficulties in administrative work, research offers me an escape from those problems. Of course, I derive great satisfaction from positive evaluations given by students of a programme. What are your favourite pastimes? I turn to swimming and music for relieving stress at work. I like music that is creative and moodful, be it classical or pop, Chinese or Western. The enjoyment of music is an emotion-laden journey. Music has its own rules and logics, but it also provides us with a rich source for metaphysical thinking.