The Review 2002

A key objective of The University of Hong Kong is to build on its local and regional leadership and develop into a world-class institution. You can count me as an example of this outward- looking goal. I arrived this year from overseas, having specialised in genetic research, an area which is also of interest to the University. But I have not been brought in to steer a new path or impose a new order. The Universi ty is already a quality institution which promotes excellence in teaching and research. My role is to work with others here to build on these strengths as the University elevates itself into the top international ranks. The groundwork for this task has been laid by my predecessors, together with every member of the University family. Their hard work and dedicat ion have enabled the Uni versi ty to become a mul t i - faceted organisation with more than 14,000 students, modern teaching and research facilities, and an extensive range of research programmes. In many areas, the Uni versi ty can claim impressive achievements, as the fol lowing pages of this Review will describe. Our researchers at t ract the highest competitive grants from the major Hong Kong research funding bodies. They produce work of local and international significance, such as the discovery of a new, potential ly health- threatening bacteria and the uncovering of evidence of ancient l i fe in Tibet. They are working in cutting-edge areas establ ishing Hong Kong as the fourth entry point worldwide for a global database of al l genet ic l i fe, for example, and setting up a new Genome Research Centre for the region. They also col laborate with researchers overseas and in Mainland China, where our close l inks wi th inst i tut ions there provide increasing opportunities for joint teaching and research. All this is accomplished by an international, high-cal ibre academic staff who invariably also have teaching duties. These are not an af ter thought , but are at the core of the University’s work. We underwent a vigorous external review of our teaching quality and improvement assurance processes in 2002 and received encouraging informal feedback. (The final report will be ready in early 2003). The Uni versi ty of fers some of the most innovative teaching in the region, exemplified by the fact we are the leading practitioner in problem-based learning in Asia. Our quality and innovat ion, coupled wi th our high standards and impressive facilities, enable us to attract the best students in Hong Kong and a growing number of top students f rom Mainland China and overseas. We like to benchmark our programmes against top institutions around the world. A mark of our success in this respect is that we undertake student exchanges with more than 100 leading universities in North America, Europe, Austral ia and New Zealand, and Asia, who al l recognise the qual i ty of our programmes. We have also formed partnerships with overseas research institutes, The Review 2002 Vice-Chancellor’s Message 3 VICE-CHANCELLOR’S MESSAGE