HKU Bulletin April 2010 (Vol. 11 No. 2)

2 The University of Hong Kong Bulletin 3 April 2010 Madam Liu Yandong, Member of the State Council, visited the University last December. HKU Chairman of Council Dr the Honourable Leong Che-hung, together with Vice-Chancellor Professor Lap-Chee Tsui, and the Dean of Medicine Professor Lee Sum-ping, welcomed Madam Liu on her visit to the University. During her visit, Madam Liu toured the Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine Campus, and was briefed on the history, achievements and development plans of the University by the Vice-Chancellor. She also visited the State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases and the Genome Research Centre. Madam Liu described HKU as the oldest university in the territory, with an immense legacy of outstanding achievements to its name. She said the University, with its wealth of experience in grooming talent and developing pioneering research, is well placed to support the nation’s endeavour of improving education standards and incorporating advanced international education concepts. She also expressed her wish to see closer cooperation in higher education between the Mainland and Hong Kong, to raise the quality of education nationally. As a souvenir of the visit, the University presented to Madam Liu a chair, crafted in the style of Ming Dynasty furniture and engraved with the University’s The chair presented to Madam Liu. Liu Yandong presented HKU with Yongle Dadian Shaking on it (left to right): Professor Lap-Chee Tsui, Professor Roland Chin Tai-hong and Dr the Honourable Leong Che-hung. motto ‘Sapientia et Virtus’ . The chair is an exclusive gift for supporters of the University’s research endeavours and was on this occasion a token of thanks to Madam Liu for her support to higher education and HKU. Madam Liu presented a precious set of the Yongle Dadian – a Chinese encyclopedia dating back to the Ming Dynasty – to the Libraries of HKU. HKU has closely collaborated with Mainland organizations in many areas, including joint programmes and the operation of two State Key Laboratories. The number of Mainland students joining HKU has also been on the rise in recent years and the University continues admitting very high quality students from the Mainland. HKU CAN HELP NATION SAYS STATE COUNCILLOR LIU YANDONG Liu Yandong greeted by HKU students. The Council of HKU announced in January the appointment of Professor Roland Chin Tai-hong, a renowned academic leader with outstanding university development and management experience, as Deputy Vice- Chancellor/Provost. He will succeed Professor Richard Wong Yue-chim for a five-year term as the chief aide to the Vice-Chancellor, providing leadership to the management of the University. PROFESSOR ROLAND CHIN NAMED DEPUTY VICE-CHANCELLOR AND PROVOST KNOWLEDGE EXCHANGE – BUILDING AN EVEN STRONGER TOWN AND GOWN RELATIONSHIP Committee, to emphasize the two-way flow of knowledge between the University and non-academic sectors of society for mutual benefit.” “HKU’s KE strategy not only includes technology transfer but also encompasses all disciplines, including the arts and humanities and the social sciences. Knowledge Exchange is a vital part of the University’s activities, and in future KE will be assessed and included as a measure of a Faculty’s success in the budgetary process,” he added. The University has defined the internal structure that will support the KE strategy. At the management level, the Executive Group – comprising PVC Tam, PVC Malpas, Professor John Bacon-Shone and Professor Paul Cheung – will oversee strategic developments in KE. The KE Working Group, with Faculty representation, has also been formed to coordinate the implementation of KE initiatives. On the administration side, there is a small Knowledge Exchange Office set up under PVC Tam. Making the announcement, HKU Council Chairman Dr the Honourable Leong Che-hung said: “As the University moves into its second century, there will be big challenges ahead. I believe the Vice- Chancellor and Professor Chin, together with all other members of the University Senior Management, will work as a team to successfully fulfill the strategic goals of the University”. HKU Vice-Chancellor Professor Lap-Chee Tsui welcomed the appointment: “As the University continues to reach out and engage the world, Professor Roland Chin’s distinguished academic achievements, and rich experience in administration and public service made him a most suitable candidate.” Professor Chin is pleased to accept the appointment: “I am very honoured that the Council, the Vice-Chancellor, the staff and the students have entrusted me with their confidence in joining the University Senior Management to take HKU to even greater heights of excellence. I am looking forward to working with the students and the staff to help HKU become one of the premier world- class universities.” He was born in Macau, grew up in Hong Kong, and studied electrical engineering at the University of Missouri, Columbia. He subsequently worked at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Centre in Maryland for two years before joining the Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Wisconsin, Madison from 1981 to 1995. He has served on numerous public bodies and is currently a member of the University Grants Committee (UGC), the Steering Committee on Innovation and Technology and the Commission on Strategic Development. Since 2005, he has been the Chairman of the Research Grants Council. Universities are knowledge organizations. In the continuous pursuit of excellence in research, the University strives to ensure that our innovations and the new knowledge we create can be shared with our society. Knowledge that is shared is the power that holds the promise of a better future for our society. Knowledge Exchange (KE) is certainly not new to HKU. Our faculty members have Strategic Plan 2009–2014. “The University is committed to enhance KE development not because of the UGC’s request, but because we want to maximize the value of our research to society,” said Professor Paul Tam, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research). “It is nevertheless encouraging that the UGC has recognized the importance of knowledge transfer by providing some funding support to institutions.” Professor John Malpas, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Infrastructure), said: “The University uses the term KE rather than Knowledge Transfer, as used by the University Grants long been engaged in a wide range of KE activities, including, inter alia applied research, technology transfer, contract research, professional and continuing education courses, public lectures, arts appreciation programmes, policy advice to the Government, expertise sharing through the media, and community services. What may be considered new is that KE has been made an explicit part of the HKU Looking ahead, Professor Tam said: “There is a lot of good KE work done by our Faculty members. Building on that, we will further enhance an institutional culture that is conducive to knowledge sharing through a continuous process of staff engagement. We will strive not only to strengthen technology transfer, but also to foster the development of high-impact KE initiatives in all disciplines.” News in Brief