A Dialogue with President marks soft opening of Alumni Function Room

Professor Way Kuo, President of City University of Hong Kong (CityU), exchanged views about the future development of the University with nearly 100 participants including alumni and colleagues of CityU at an interactive activity co-hosted by the Alumni Relations Office and the Convocation on 17 September.

The dialogue was the first function taken place in the Alumni Function Room on the 11th floor of Academic 3.

 

Professor Kuo and Mr Joseph Tsoi Wing-leung, Vice-Chairman of the CityU Convocation, kicked off the event with unveiling of a plaque as a soft opening of the function room.

 

Engraved on the plaque are the words “Pride”, “Connection” and “Support”, representing the mottos of CityU in fostering a united alumni community.

 

Professor Roderick Wong Sue-cheun, Vice-President (Development and External Relations), Professor Horace Ip Ho-shing, Vice-President (Student Affairs), Professor Paul Lam Kwan-sing, Chief-of-Staff, Professor Matthew Lee Kwok-on, Director of Communications and Public Relations, Ms Kathy Chan Yin-ling, Associate Vice-President (Alumni Relations), and Dr Hao Gang, Associate Vice-President (Development), also attended the event.

 

In the discussion facilitated by Mr Joseph Tsoi, Professor Kuo shared his thoughts about the strategic development of the University over the next five years, reiterating that CityU would spare no efforts in maintaining the quality of CityU’s teaching and research.

 

CityU has taken giant strides in terms of its development since its relatively humble beginnings 30 years ago. It is now ranked 108th in the world, 11th in Asia and 4th among universities under 50 years of age.

 

While admitting that rankings were recognition of the progress of an institution, Professor Kuo acknowledged that they were based on compounding factors and that benchmarking in all aspects was imperative. 

 

“If you would like us to improve in a specific area, please let us know. And if we are doing something well, please let the outside world know,” he added.

 

In addition, Professor Kuo emphasised the importance of research and exposure to a wealth of experiences which are significant in students’ development in equipping them with a global perspective and an entrepreneurial vision.

 

“Research uncovers the mystery of the world, and we want each and every undergraduate to understand that it is important to engage in some sort of research, no matter how small-scale it is,” he said.  “Additionally, our target is to send 50% of our students overseas on an international exchange for at least four to five months. Thanks to the unfailing support of our alumni, we have reached 45% so far, and we are confident that we can reach our goal.”

 

Professor Kuo also took the opportunity to talk about CityU’s recently founded School of Veterinary Medicine, which is the first of its kind in Hong Kong and Asia, established in collaboration with Cornell University in the US.

 

Other topics included the EMBA (Chinese) Programme, the strengthening of knowledge transfer and the protection of intellectual property, as well as the fostering of critical thinking and other soft skills for undergraduates.

 

“A Dialogue with the President” is a regular event for general alumni to get updates of University developments and share their views through interactive dialogue with the President.