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No. 36 21 March 2005
 

 

CityU adheres closely to its role statement
At the Senate meeting on 15 March, President H K Chang reiterated that CityU has been developing in line with the role statement it received from the University Grants Committee (UGC) in January 2004. Indeed, the role statement coincides with the University・s strategic plans which lay down its mission to align academic activities along the axis of professional education and applied research. The role statement has been welcomed by the University community which is determined to carry it out. Recently, in a letter to the UGC, the University reaffirmed that it has fully embraced the role statement and it will demonstrate more clearly in the next two years that it adheres strongly and closely to the role statement.

 

Stepping up the move to a four-year degree structure
Upon request by the UGC to local funded institutions, the University is preparing a report on student numbers and levels, curricula and pedagogical issues, and capital requirements associated with the move to the four-year degree structure. The report is to be submitted to the UGC by 1 April. After receiving feedback from the UGC in May, CityU will submit a revised report in October this year.

It was reiterated at a Management Board meeting in late February that the move to the four-year undergraduate degree structure is one of the three major tasks facing the University in the medium term. The other two major tasks internalisation and expansion activities on the mainland.

Meanwhile, to cater for an apparent increase in demand for student residences, on the basis of providing 1.3 years of hostel residence during students・ four years of undergraduate study, the University might need to revive its Phase Four development of the Student Hostels on Cornwall Street
.

 

University anniversary date
The University management will propose to the Council to establish 22 October as the official University Anniversary Date. The date, 22 October, was chosen on the grounds that it marks the inauguration of City Polytechnic in 1984. Another option, 1 January, the day when the City Polytechnic was formally established in 1984, was not considered appropriate as it is a public holiday.

 

CityU and Renmin University collaborate on reciprocal library support
CityU and Renmin University collaborate on reciprocal library support The Librarians of CityU and Renmin University of China (RUC) signed a memorandum of cooperation on 8 March, agreeing to provide reciprocal library support between the two institutions. The agreement allows students and academics to borrow books, make use of library resources, and receive library user education services to support their academic and exchange activities during their stay at each other・s institution. Professor Steve Ching, CityU Librarian, is actively looking into opportunities to partner with libraries of related institutions to enhance library services for students and academics.

 

Senior staff appointment
Dr Jonathan Webster has been appointed as Head of the Department of Chinese, Translation and Linguistics (CTL) with effect from 1 April 2005 to 31 July 2008. Dr Webster is currently Associate Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences and Acting Head of CTL
.


Kudos
Professor Jonathan Zhu
of Department of English and Communication has been appointed a Member of the Editorial Board of Human Communication Research, one of the SSCI journals on communication.

Professor Benjamin T・sou, Director of Language Information Sciences Research Centre, has been appointed a Member of The National Language Standardization Technical Committee (Subcommittee on Chinese Lexicology) of the National Language Commission on the mainland.

Dr Andy Chun, Associate Professor of the Department of Computer Science, has won the prestigious :Innovative Application of AI Award; issued by the American Association for Artificial Intelligence, in recognition for his traffic information management project for the Mass Transit Railway Corporation.

 

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