The Review 2005

T HE R E V I EW 2 0 0 5 The University is keen to develop our scholarly activities further by raising the standards of our work even higher and venturing into new areas. Partnership activities play a crucial role here. In 2004-05 we established eight Strategic Research Areas to promote interdisciplinary research. Scholars from diverse fields are collaborating on such pressing issues as sustainable development, globalisation and biotechnology. Our teachers and researchers are also encouraged to work together with international experts. I am confident this multi-disciplinary, internationalist approach to teaching and learning and research will yield important benefits to society. Collaboration is also brought into the classroom. Students are increasingly being encouraged to think outside the confines of their chosen discipline and work with others. Growing numbers of combined degrees are being developed, such as the new International Business and Global Management programme. Problem-based learning is used to encourage students to consult and co-operate with each other in their learning experience. Encounters with students from other cultures are also promoting skills that are useful in collaboration, such as an open mind and a willingness to understand and learn from others. In 2004-05 755 students joined exchanges overseas, while 2,457 students came here from outside Hong Kong, of which 482 were on exchange and the rest were enrolled in our programmes. There is especially keen competition for admission from Mainland students, who submitted 4,848 applications for 250 places in the 2005-06 admission exercise. Another form of collaboration involves the community, and the University demonstrated impressive community spirit during the year. Many members of the University family gave generously to the tsunami relief effort, both in cash and kind. We also published our first Sustainability Report, which describes the University’s environmental, social and financial impacts on the community and how we can improve in these areas. This is a pioneering achievement as we are the first tertiary institution in Hong Kong to publish such a report and one of the few universities in the world to do so. Sustainability was also placed under the remit of the Safety, Health and Environment Committee, which was constituted with an expanded membership from the University Council and representatives of the staff. The community is in fact our most important partner. Through its support, the University has been able to establish itself as the premier academic institution in the region, able to produce young leaders and world-class research and respond to the community’s needs. Recently, universities in Hong Kong have been asked to undertake a major shift in the curriculum towards an extra year of undergraduate education. The path of Hong Kong secondary school students will be shortened from seven to six years while undergraduate education will increase from three to four years from 2012. From an educational perspective, this is a wonderful opportunity to enhance our curriculum and learning experiences for students. Facing page: The Swire Institute of Marine Science is an important centre for teaching and research on local marine ecology.