Dr Christoph HAFNER, Associate Professor at CityU’s Department of English, recently received a fellowship under the Research Grants Council (RGC)’s Humanities and Social Sciences Prestigious Fellowship Scheme (HSSPFS). The title of his award-winning project is Language Socialization: Learning the Genres of Oral Advocacy at Law School.

Introduced in 2012/13, HSSPFS aims at granting extended time-off and supporting funds to the outstanding investigators in UGC-funded universities under the disciplines of the Humanities and Social Sciences Panel to enable them to focus on research work and writing. It is a highly competitive grant scheme. The qualifications and track record of the nominees, and the scientific and scholarly merit, originality and feasibility of their project proposals, are rigorously assessed. The winning projects should also show considerable contributions to academic or professional development, and potential social, cultural or economic application. 

An expert in the fields of specialised discourse, digital literacies and language learning and technology, Dr Hafner will study specialised English language learning by Hong Kong law students in this year-long project. In particular, it will focus on the oral advocacy skills that students develop in so-called “moots”, which are similar to mock trials.

Dr Hafner and other awardees will receive support for a period of up to 12 months in the manner of relief from teaching and administrative duties, and research funding support.