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Hong Kong Polytechnic University President, Professor Timothy W Tong, is in San Francisco today (July 21, San Francisco time), briefing local educators, academia and business leaders on the upcoming changes of the university structure in Hong Kong.
Speaking at a business luncheon organised by the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in San Francisco in conjunction with the Hong Kong Association of Northern California and the Hong Kong Polytechnic University Association (Northern California), Professor Tong said the university emphasised creativity and entrepreneurial spirit in addition to all-round development of the students.
He said one of the major challenges tertiary education in Hong Kong currently faced was to switch from the three-year mode to the new four-year curriculum. The new curriculum seeks to infuse students with a broader knowledge base and more all-round development. The new academic structure will also align the Hong Kong education system with other major education systems in the world. With the new structure, the universities will need to hire more professors in the next few years. He encouraged local academia to consider pursuing their careers in Hong Kong.
Echoing Professor Tong's views, Director of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in San Francisco, Ms Doris Cheung welcomed the new "3+3+4" academic structure. "Hong Kong regards human capital as its main assets. We place a high priority on education. With the new academic structure, we will be better placed to nurture students' whole person development, and effectively prepare them for the manpower needs of the 21st Century," Ms Cheung said.
Ms Cheung said the new four-year curriculum in tertiary education would not only facilitate local secondary school leavers in their pursuit of further studies, it would also help attract high-calibre individuals from overseas to study and work in Hong Kong. To attract more overseas students to Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Government has relaxed quotas for non-local students and eased the rules to allow graduates to remain in the city for up to a year after their studies without restriction to give them time to find the right job.
Ms Cheung also noted the importance of research at the highest level, both for academic pursuit and for practical application. "Hong Kong has an excellent prospect as an attractive place to conduct research," she said.
At the business luncheon, Professor Tong gave the audience an overview of the latest development of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, including the various Research and Development programmes and partnerships with private and public organisations on projects spanning a wide range of aspects from cancer treatment and Chinese medicine to textile technology, electrically driven vehicle, and "Fibre Optic Sensor System".
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, an "applied research" university, has filed more than 600 patents in the past 10 years. Research projects by the university have also won numerous internationally acclaimed awards.
Professor Tong took office as the new President of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University from January 1 this year. Before his current appointment, Professor Tong was Dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Science (SEAS) at the George Washington University in the US.
Ends/Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Issued at HKT 10:50
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