The Review 2006

The Review 2006 30 The Review 2006 31 Faculty Initiatives Our faculties are committed to sharing their expertise with the community. This requires a great deal of commitment and organisation. Several faculties such as Dentistry, Medicine and Social Sciences provide services to the public relating to their disciplines, with student involvement. Academic staff also organise awareness-raising programmes on such diverse topics as oral health and arts appreciation, and frequently initiate workshops to bring together local, regional and international academics and professionals to address issues of mutual concern. A few of the highlights from 2005-06 are described below. Social needs Our faculties try to meet social needs through outreach programmes and the provision of urgently needed services. The Faculty of Dentistry, for instance, announced plans in 2006 to build an Implant Centre where elderly people can get affordable implants (an alumnus also donated funds for 100 implants, see Individuals below). The Faculty of Social Sciences organised student volunteers to take disadvantaged young people from Tin Shui Wai on a rare trip to Hong Kong Island. The Faculty of Education organised an international conference on special education, bringing together scholars and professionals from around the world. Special recognition was given to The Hong Kong Jockey Club Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention in September 2005 when it won the silver award at the 8th Asian Innovation Awards for its website, Little Prince is Depressed , aimed at de-stigmatising depression. Business and politics Security and governance were the themes of workshops organised in autumn 2005 for diplomats and government officials from around the region, by the Centre of Asian Studies. The University also hosted a visit by United Nations’ special envoy Lloyd Axworthy, who spoke on human security in a globalised world. Globalisation was also the subject of a symposium organised by the Faculty of Business and Economics for corporate chairmen and senior executives, who discussed ‘World Economic Prospects and the Future of Business in China’. The environment The Centre of Urban Planning and Environmental Management marked its 25th anniversary by organising the 12th Annual International Sustainable Development Research Conference in April 2006 with ERP Environment – the first time this conference was held in Asia. Our Centre on Renewable Energy in Architecture helped to organise a solar model car race for primary and secondary school students in December 2005 to promote sustainability and the use of renewable energy, with Hong Kong PV Consortium and Kei Wai (Ma Wan) Primary School. The arts The Faculty of Arts promoted arts appreciation and the importance of arts in a progressive society through a series of radio programmes aired on Radio Television Hong Kong. The Department of Music also signed a partnership with Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts’ School of Music to formalise their artistic and pedagogical collaborations, and was rewarded with a Balinese painting and a special performance of Balinese dance for efforts to promote Indonesian gamelan music.