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No. 76 20 November 2006
 

 

Renowned scientists visit CityU
The University's achievements in basic and applied research have been rewarded with glowing reports from top scientists from the mainland, underlining the growing respect and admiration for our progress in science and technology development. Dr Xu Guanhua, Minister of Science and Technology, and CityU's Honorary Doctor of Science 2006, paid tribute to CityU's faculty and students, adding that he was very pleased to see that CityU had leapt 24 places to 154th in the Times Higher Education 2006 World University Rankings. During the visit to the Applied Electromagnetics Laboratory on 15 November, Dr Xu met CityU students and academics and heard reports on CityU's latest research into microwave circuit technology, RFID and wireless communication.

On 7 November, a six-member delegation from the China Association of Science and Technology, led by its Chairman Professor Han Qide, was warmly welcomed onto campus by members of the University's senior management team, including Professor H K Chang, CityU President; Professor David Tong Shuk-yin, Deputy President; and Professor Roderick Wong Sue-cheun, Vice-President (Research). Professor Han, an academician at the Chinese Academy of Science and Vice-Chairman of the National People's Congress Standing Committee, praised CityU's commitment to developing technology that benefits society.


2006 Congregation
This year's Congregation was a resounding success, a clear demonstration of the strength and quality of CityU's graduates. There were 91 doctor of philosophy degrees, plus six engineering doctorates; 112 master of philosophy degrees; 1,917 master's degrees; 387 postgraduate diplomas/certificates; and 3,602 bachelor's degrees. In addition, honorary degrees were conferred upon Mr Liu Changle, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Phoenix Satellite Television Holdings Ltd; Mr Xu Guanhua, Minister of Science and Technology; and Professor Rosie Tse-tse Young, Honorary Professor in medicine at the University of Hong Kong.


Public forum on GST
The University plays a major role in promoting public discussions on issues of local and regional interest. In light of the public consultation on the Government's proposal to introduce a goods and services tax (GST), CityU brought together a number of speakers to discuss this issue from the economic, ethical and social policy perspectives. These speakers included Mr Frederick Ma Si-hang, Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, and academics from CityU, namely Professor (Chair) Stephen Cheung Yan-leung of the Department of Economics and Finance; Professor Julia Tao Lai Po-wah, Director of the Governance in Asia Research Centre; and Professor Martin Painter, Acting Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. The forum, which was held on 18 November, also featured a session on the experience of introducing GST in South Korea, Singapore and Australia.


Thanksgiving dinner
The University will be holding a Thanksgiving Dinner on 23 November to express its sincere gratitude to its benefactors and supporters and to share with them its future development. The dinner will be hosted by Professor H K Chang, University President, and Dr Dennis Sun Tai-lun, Chairman of the University Council's Community Relations Committee. The dinner will take place at the City Chinese Restaurant on campus.


No Plastic Bag Day
CityU is collaborating with the Green Student Council, a non-profit organization concerned with local environmental problems, to make 5 December "No Plastic Bag Day" on campus. On this day, outlets such as the Student Canteen, City Chinese Restaurant, City Top, Garden Cafe and the Book Shop will not provide plastic bags as they usually do. If customers want to use plastic bags, they have to pay at least 50 cents per bag. All donations will go to Oxfam Hong Kong to help ease the pressures of poverty in crisis-torn countries and regions.

 

International film awards
One of Hong Kong's leading filmmakers Mr Patrick Tam Ka-ming, an assistant professor in the School of Creative Media, won two awards at the 19th Tokyo International Film Festival in October. Mr Tam, who worked on Days of Being Wild and Ashes of Time, received the Best Asian Film Award and the Award for Best Artistic Contribution for his latest film After This Our Exile. This film is a joint effort between Mr Tam and some of his former students, focusing on the awkward relationship between a father and son after the mother abandons the family.

Meanwhile, an animation entitled Gilbert by Judy Ma Ping-on, a recent graduate from the School of Creative Media, was awarded the Technical Excellence Award at the 3rd Korea International Youth Film Festival which was held in South Korea in October 2006. The theme of the festival was "Dream" and there were over 200 entries from across Asia, including Hong Kong, mainland China, Japan and South Korea, from which 24 works were short-listed. Two of them were from Hong Kong, both from the School of Creative Media.

 

2004-05 Annual Report wins award in design
The University's 2004-05 Annual Report earned a "Citation for Achievement in Design" in the Non-profit Making and Charitable Organizations Category of the 2006 HKMA Best Annual Reports Awards. CityU's annual report was commended as "a report with a particularly impressive front cover design which at the same time is comprehensive and attractive". The panel of adjudicators also commented that the report was one of "professionalism, with clear, detailed and comprehensive reports of the organization's financial situation".

 

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