HKU Bulletin January 2011 (Vol. 12 No. 1)

Teaching and Learning Undergraduate research requires students to apply their intellectual and analytical skills to an unknown outcome. Those qualities are increasingly in demand in the 21 st century and in graduates of HKU, where we recently announced a new Undergraduate Research Fellowship (URF) Programme to identify the best and brightest potential young researchers. While research is a component in many undergraduate programmes, the URF will provide outstanding students from across the University with training in research methodology and opportunities to pursue a research project, either individually or as part of a team. They will also be supported with internships, mentoring, courses on research and other initiatives to strengthen and enhance their research abilities. The fellowships will be offered from the 2011–12 academic year. “The skills required in undergraduate research will be valuable to students in their future careers, whether these are in the corporate or academic arenas. Enhancing undergraduate research will also contribute to nurturing the next generation of researchers and scholars,” says Professor Amy Tsui, Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Vice- President (Teaching and Learning), who headed the University’s Task Force on Undergraduate Research. Building on Current Experience The focus on undergraduate research builds on various efforts across the University to encourage students to do original research. Research at the undergraduate level offers a valuable learning experience and an opportunity to develop the skills of potential academics. Nurturing Young Research Talent Several faculties have been running dedicated undergraduate research programmes for several years, such as the Faculties of Science and Medicine. Most other faculties also offer courses with assignments or projects with explicit research goals. Students in some fields, such as Engineering, also participate in external competitions that require original research. The URF will also offer recognition to student efforts, such as allowing them to attend or present their research findings at international conferences. Recent experience shows this exposure can offer learning opportunities. Five HKU students were selected to attend the U21 Undergraduate Research Conference in Melbourne in July, at which they presented their work to more than 50 top research undergraduate students from around the world. The HKU students, who majored in Medical Engineering, Social Sciences, Speech and Hearing Sciences, Biology and Dental Surgery, had produced research on such topics as laser micro-surgery techniques, female genital cutting from a feminist political perspective and overcoming speech and language deficits. Communicating to Non-experts Evelyn Wan, who attended the conference right after completing her BSocSc(Govt&Laws), did the project on female genital cutting and said the conference was an invaluable experience because it forced her to consider how to present her subject to people outside her discipline. “It’s important to be able to communicate your ideas clearly and succinctly to facilitate intellectual exchange. After chatting with some of the delegates during the social programmes at the conference, I realized that it would be difficult for the many science and engineering majors there to understand the theories and jargon that I used, so I almost re-wrote my entire script the night before my presentation,” she said. Professor Chan Lung-sang of the Department of Earth Sciences, who accompanied the students to Melbourne, said the experience also exposed students to the high standards of undergraduate research underway at other universities and the different research methods and approaches being used. “The cream of the crop of students from other universities was there and I was impressed with the high calibre of their presentations. Our students did very well and demonstrated really remarkable work,” he said. “Many universities are talking of research- led learning and encouraging students to engage in research in a non-trivial manner because they can learn more this way.” 31 Left to right: Andy Lau Kam-seng, Medical Engineering; Carmen Chong Ka-man, Speech and Hearing Sciences; Evelyn Wan Pui-yin, Social Sciences (Government and Laws); Simon Leung Chung-yin, Dental Surgery; Professor Chan Lung-sang of Earth Sciences, and Sally To Kit-yan, Biology. Professor Chan Lung-sang January 2011