KNOWLEDGE EXCHANGE AND TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER THE REVIEW2020 including viruses and bioaerosols. The filters can be washed with a simple ethanol rinse and heat drying and still retain their filtration efficiency – making them reusable. The team have applied for a US provisional patent through the Technology Transfer Office and are exploring potential collaboration with industry partners. Masks were a particular focus of outreach during the early days of the pandemic, when Hong Kong experienced a shortage of masks. Alumni in the US and their high school friends initiated crowd fundraising for masks and sanitisers, and donated them to HKU, which prompted locally based alumni and friends to do the same for Hong Kong people in need. The Development and Alumni Affairs Office and the Department of Social Work and Social Administration collected thousands of masks and hand sanitisers, which were packaged into gift packs by HKU students for the ‘hidden elderly’ who live alone. The gift packs were distributed by HKU students and staff, together with social welfare agencies, to nearly 1,000 individuals in 15 districts. Supporting Education The COVID-19 pandemic that caused learning by primary and secondary school students to move online, coincided with the release of research by Professor Nancy WY Law of the Faculty of Education that showed students from grassroots families in Hong Kong were being disadvantaged by the digital divide. This prompted an outpouring of community concern to understand the impact of online learning due to school suspensions, and led Professor Law and her team to launch the eCitizen Education 360 study – an ongoing in-depth investigation on the preparedness of Hong Kong schools, teachers and students for online learning and teaching. At the same time, efforts within the University snowballed to help students cope with the disruptions. The HKU COVID Relief Fund, set up with donations from staff, students and alumni to support students and communities in need, funded the #TeachforGood initiative, which was launched in June to help grassroots students in secondary four and five prepare for public exams. The students received online tutoring from new HKU graduates, and 100 iPads and 1,000 data cards were also distributed to schools to help students in need. Some 93 online classes were conducted benefitting more than 200 students. The second phase of #TeachforGood is providing resources to the Speech, Language and Hearing Clinic in the Faculty of Education to provide therapy to lowincome patients, as well as internship opportunities for 150 HKU Speech and Hearing Sciences students. physics students and teachers in secondary schools; a programme of at-home science experiments for primary school students, which included 17 sets of teaching materials and videos; real-time online tutoring for HKDSE candidates by student teachers which attracted more than 1,100 secondary school students; and eight half-day online workshops on unleashing creativity at home for primary and junior secondary school students and teachers. Secondary school students were also given the opportunity to earn free certification on HKU’s MOOC (massive open online course) offerings through the edX platform. The Faculty of Social Sciences also produced resources to help HKDSE candidates and other students practise mindfulness during the stress of the pandemic. HKU’s Admissions and Academic Liaison Section packaged resources and information of interest to local secondary school students through their LoveHK LoveU website. A key goal was to lift spirits and spread a caring message, which was also the aim of the HKU Sync with U initiative in which students and alumni collaborated with their alma matersto produce online musical performances. This included the HKU Sync with U Music Relay which involved nearly 100 musicians. A One-stop Platform HKU’s Fight COVID-19 website ( fightcovid19.hku.hk ) was launched early this year to provide the public with easy access to trustworthy information about COVID-19, aggregate all of HKU’s related activities in one place, and support students, alumni and the community. Here, visitors can find summaries of COVID-19 research from across the University written in layperson’s language; links to media coverage of our work and expertise; health tips and related materials produced by our faculties; and e-learning sources. The website was the brainchild of the Development and Alumni Affairs Office, which also used the platform to broadcast live interviews with HKU experts on topics ranging from public health to the economic fallout of The Faculty of Education itself launched the LIVE to LEARN, LOVE to SERVE campaign through which student teachers prepared and delivered content to primary and secondary school students, which also gave them a chance to practise their teaching skills. The content included a video series offering top tips from HKU students on preparing for the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination (HKDSE); a package of teaching materials, including bilingual videos, teacher’s manual and handouts, for COVID-19 to coping with isolation and loneliness. This online platform has attracted more than 500,000 unique visitors from around the world and over two million page views, and edited highlights have been posted on Facebook. The platform was also used to host the 15-part Fireside Wednesday series, in which business professionals and alumni shared their experiences and advice with students on topics ranging from tourism, the retail industry and start-ups, to NGOs, education and freelancing. #TeachforGood, enabled by the HKU COVID Relief Fund, reached out to grassroots secondary school students and helped them prepare for public examinations with online tutoring from new HKU graduates. A hundred iPads and 1,000 data cards were distributed to schools to support students’ online learning. Students from the Faculty of Education shared their experience on the preparation of the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination (HKDSE) in a series of ‘Top Tips for HKDSE English Exam’ videos. HKU’s Fight COVID-19 website has attracted more than 500,000 unique visitors from around the globe since its launch in early 2020. HKU students and staff distributing masks and hand sanitisers to the elderly. Nanofibrous face mask prototype developed by students in the Department of Civil Engineering. 32 | 33
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