21 September 2017 Dear alumni, CityU has got off to a flying start for the new academic year 2017/18. More than 2,000 new students have joined from 27 nationalities, including, for the first time to our campus, students from Croatia, Nepal, Serbia, Sri Lanka and Syria. This rich blend of cultures and ethnicities is what makes CityU such an international place to study and research. As for new faculty, we have 65 outstanding scholars from 14 different jurisdictions, half from Canada, UK and US; and the remaining from Australia, Europe, Hong Kong and other places. Their diverse experience and expertise will further enhance our research and professional education. Major developments of late include the arrival of the first cohort of top-notch undergraduates for the 6-year Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine programme, and the programme’s attainment of “provisional accreditation” status. In addition, CityU is grateful to be the recipient of a generous donation of HK$100million from the BOCHK Charitable Foundation. The money will boost learning and development programmes, support the veterinary medicine project and sponsor overseas exchanges and internships for CityU students. Since taking office in 2008, I have been championing the reinvention of the undergraduate curriculum by integrating research and teaching to cultivate creativity and enhance problem-solving. This led to the implementation of CityU’s Discovery-enriched Curriculum in 2012, under the strong support of the entire campus community and large-scale infrastructure investments by the University. We are excited that CityU’s bold commitment to this new curriculum approach won the 2017 Team Award for Teaching Excellence from the University Grants Committee (UGC). We thank the CityU team that coordinated the presentation to the UGC. This marks the fourth time that CityU has received the UGC Teaching Award since it was set up in 2011. Another exciting event is the exhibition “Sincerely Yours: Personal Letters of Tsinghua Scholars” at the CityU Exhibition Gallery. On display from 9 September to 5 November are some 134 unpublished letters, manuscripts, and teaching materials that were hand-written by Tsinghua scholars including Liang Qichao, Wang Guowei, Chen Yingque, and Hu Shih, among others. This is another unique CityU exhibition, combining arts, new media technology and history to offer a first-hand appreciation of these scholars’ contributions to the intellectual development of China during the twentieth century. Turning to CityU’s honorary doctoral degrees, we are delighted to welcome three highly distinguished individuals to the CityU family. We will confer honorary awards on Professor Serge Haroche, Dr Joseph Lee and Professor Wendelin Werner in November in recognition of their significant contributions to education and the well-being of society. These distinguished CityU members will be excellent role models for our alumni and students.
Now the weather is cooling after a long hot summer, I hope many of you will be interested in rekindling the “CityU Marathon Spirit”! I will be leading the CityU Delegation for the 10th consecutive year at the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon on 21 January 2018. I would love to see as many alumni as possible signing up for our team! The enrollment period ends on 20 October, so please make enquiries, and get training! I hope to see you there! Way Kuo |
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