Never stop asking questions – nurturing a world-class university
By : Michael Gibb
CityU Today sat down with President Way Kuo, who is due to retire in May 2023, to discuss his 15 years at the helm.
President Kuo runs his final Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon as leader of the CityU delegation. “It is through inspiration and action that change takes place.” As a science researcher, President Way Kuo believes firmly in asking questions and looking for answers. So at his first cabinet meeting after taking over the presidency in 2008, he submitted one modest query: What is CityU? Knowing precisely what CityU stood for, and whom it represented, was crucial information, he reasoned, since the answers to such questions can impact an institution for years to come.
“We brainstormed some ideas,” says President Kuo, speaking days before he was due to run the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon 2023, his final race as leader of the CityU delegation, “and decided that we would focus on presenting CityU as a professional school rather than as a comprehensive or general education institution.
But he felt something was missing: there was no provision for any medical professions.
“That’s when I suggested setting up a vet school,” he says. And the rest, as they say, is history.
Questioning matters
Asking questions has defined President Kuo’s presidency, formulating and putting into action pedagogic ideas developed throughout his long career in higher education administration, research and teaching in the US and Hong Kong.
Two key questions after he arrived at CityU were: why do professors not teach more and why don’t teachers conduct more research? He has repeatedly argued for the need to integrate research and teaching. He firmly believes that growth comes when professors improve their research and when they spend more time in the classroom, and teachers develop as professionals when they carry out research.
Another key question was, why are politics and education not kept separate on campuses? He queried when he first arrived at CityU why Hong Kong campuses were used as platforms for local politics, a scenario that is relatively scarce in the US where he worked for more than 30 years.
“If you are a soccer player, you score goals. That’s your job. Likewise, our job in education is to teach, not use students and the university campus to fulfil your political aspirations.” By keeping politics and education separate, universities can uphold freedom of speech, academic integrity and autonomy, he argues.
Rewards follow hard work
One of the most noticeable transformations during President Kuo’s time at CityU has been the University’s improved world rankings, but this is a subject he rarely wishes to discuss.
“I believe that if you are working hard at teaching and research, your ranking is bound to rise,” he says. “It’s the same with runners: they improve their times by eating and sleeping well and training hard; at CityU, we have also improved by taking care of the fundamentals.”
Subsequently, if you are doing well, donors are more likely to pledge financial help. And the same goes for recruitment. CityU faculty are now in the top 2% globally and among the top 3 in Asia as a percentage of faculty size, President Kuo points out.
President Kuo talks to heads of world’s leading universities in the Beyond Boundaries series he hosts. “Our faculty are excellent. I always abide by the maxim that we should hire people better than ourselves if we really want to grow. Each generation should improve on the last, so it makes sense to hire the most talented researchers, and not to be afraid that new hires will outshine us. If we want to venture beyond boundaries, we need the best possible recruits,” he says.
The same can be said of our students, alumni and supporters: we want the best. This is evident in the creation of HK Tech 300, an initiative to boost Hong Kong’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.
CityU’s flagship campaign, HK Tech 300, is igniting the entrepreneurial fire among young people. “It is fair to say that only a few people read research papers, and so I asked, how can we reach out to more people and support more start-ups?” President Kuo says. And thus, HK Tech 300 was born, CityU’s flagship campaign to ignite the entrepreneurial fire among young people and bring together established leaders from local industry, business and technology to mentor innovative ideas.
“We are very fortunate to have Professor Michael Yang, Vice-President (Research and Technology), to lead HK Tech 300. He co-founded Prenetics and Cellomics, biotech companies based on technologies developed in his laboratory in CityU, and so he is well-versed in how to set up a new company,” President Kuo says.
There are numerous highlights throughout President Kuo’s career at CityU, and he says it is hard to identify the most rewarding. But he looks back with great pride on the creation of the vet school in particular because the marathon-like experience proved ultimately rewarding now that the school is fully operational.
Manners make us
But most of all, President Kuo wishes to emphasise the importance of conduct. “In all we do, as teachers and researchers, and in life more generally, we have to remember the importance of fair play and sporting conduct. CityU students are encouraged to work hard, fight for their corner, and do so with proper manners. This is important. Professionals should always be polite,” he says.“It is through inspiration and action that change takes place.”
President Kuo’s experience in the military in Taiwan was undoubtedly a defining experience for him as a person and leader.
“In the marines, you have to move, and the others follow. But in society, people often say, ‘You go first, and I will follow, or just watch!’” he says. “However, I believe that leaders must lead by example.”
And President Kuo is confident that CityU has an inspiring future to look forward to.
“I have received wonderful support as President. CityU is blessed to have fantastic alumni groups like the Eminence Society, a highly supportive Council, and in particular dedicated Council Chairs, plus collaborative international partners like Cornell University for our vet school, as well as numerous colleagues and donors who do so much, often in the background. CityU, I am sure, will continue to venture beyond boundaries for years to come.”
