HKU Bulletin November 2005 (Vol. 7 No. 1)

4 5 College Builds Schools T he University’s oldest residential hal l has been exercising its philanthropic spirit by raising a substantial sum to build a new school in Mainland China. St John’s College has attracted $3,000,000 in donations to help establish a Culture and Education Centre to teach mainly English, in Harbin. This generous gesture follows on from the $2.5 million raised previously and donated to the Education Department of Harbin’s local government to build primary schools and establish scholarships for pupils. Altogether the College has helped build three schools, each one teaching 300 to 400 pupils, through a fund-raising programme dating back to 2002. Master of the College, the Rev. Paul Tong, said: “We’re planning to raise a total of $10 million by 2008 so we still have some way to go. We are now in our fourth year of fund-raising so far we have raised $5,500,000. “Every year we’ve raised $500,000 through very generous private donations. This has allowed us to contribute to 50 per cent of the cost of construction.” Students at St John’s College also benefit by having the opportunity to travel to Mainland China and help in the building process. “They provide the labour,” said Tong, “And they have the chance to experience village life and receive political education. We think it’s good for them to be exposed to that,” he added. NEWS ROUND-UP Second State Key Laboratory T he continuing excellence of research at the University has received national recognition with the approval of a second State Key Laboratory in a year. State Key Laboratories are part of a national network of research centres that conduct top-level basic and applied research and investigate areas of vital interest to China. The University has the only State Key Laboratories outside the Mainland. The State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Sciences is located in the Faculty of Arts and will be a truly multi-disciplinary venture involving the Departments of Linguistics, Anatomy and Diagnostic Radiology and the Genome Research Centre. Research will focus on improving human health, enhancing the quality of education and communication, and discovering the neuro- physiological basis of learning and perception. The State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, located in the Faculty of Medicine, was approved late last year. Research there is focused on emerging viruses, bacteria, fungi and anti-microbial resistance Both laboratories were officially opened in late September by the Minister of Science and Technology, Xu Guan Hua.