Calendar 2018-19

6 Part 1 • General Information Part 1 n n Postgraduate Studies Master’s programmes were first offered in 1966–67, and the number of programmes in 2018–19 is 150. Doctoral programmes were first introduced in 1980–81 and the number of programmes is 27 in 2018–19. MPhil–PhD programmes were first introduced in 2004–05, and the number of programmes is 41 in 2018–19. In addition, 13 postgraduate diploma programmes and one postgraduate certificate programme are offered. Research and Development CUHK fosters the development of high-quality research over a broad front in all its eight Faculties. It encourages academic staff to conduct research aimed at expanding the frontiers of knowledge, and also to undertake specific consultancy projects of community value and collaborative projects with industry. The University has also established a number of research institutes, providing the necessary financial support and research infrastructure. Riding on its research strengths, CUHK aims to promote interdisciplinary research excellence that can deliver benefits, tackle grand challenges, and fulfil societal needs locally, nationally, and globally. As part of its Strategic Plan 2016–2020, the University has prioritized four major research areas that will address some of the most pressing issues facing humankind. These major research areas are China studies, translational biomedicine, information and automation technology, and environment and sustainability. In the seven University Grants Committee (UGC) ‘Areas of Excellence’ exercises, CUHK has secured significant support from the UGC in the following research centres: Centre for Genomic Studies on Plant-Environment Interaction for Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security; Centre for Organelle Biogenesis and Function; Institute of Network Coding; the Historical Anthropology of Chinese Society; Centre for Research into Circulating Fetal Nucleic Acids; Chinese Medicine Research and Further Development; Centre for Plant and Agricultural Biotechnology; and Information Technology. Good progress is being made in all these research centres by the dedicated, multidisciplinary teams. At the national level, five State Key Laboratories have also been established at CUHK. The State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China (CUHK), established in 2006, conducts research into the biology and early detection of cancers particularly prevalent in Asian populations, and seeks to develop novel therapeutics for their treatment. The State Key Laboratory of Agrobiotechnology (CUHK), established in 2008, studies ways of improving rice yields in China by improving the species of rice grown by Chinese farmers. Established in 2009, the State Key Laboratory of Phytochemistry and Plant Resources in West China (CUHK) conducts research into the modernization of traditional Chinese medicine and the application of biotechnology in medical science. The State Key Laboratory of Synthetic Chemistry, established in 2010, advances interdisciplinary basic research. In July 2013, the State Key Laboratory of Digestive Disease was approved by the Ministry of Science and Technology with the aim of promoting research in digestive disease.