17 June 2021
As we enter the summer months under the cloud of Covid-19, there is much to do and there are many challenges ahead. But despite the obstacles, I remain very optimistic about the future and the potential opportunities for HKBU, and I would like to share some thoughts from my address delivered at the Inauguration Ceremony last Thursday on how we can take the University to its next level of excellence.
As we enter the post-pandemic era, where new norms apply, one of the great questions we face is how can we better prepare our students for an uncertain future? As a physicist specialising in photonics, I see a shining light in everything! I view the synergies created between our humanities scholars and scientists as a kaleidoscope – a panoply of shifting shapes and colours, out of which form and meaning will gradually emerge and help our students to blossom.
In view of our ever-changing and increasingly complex world, a more pluralistic and flexible system with customised learning pathways might better meet the diverse learning needs of our students, and it could help prepare them for the future.
While a transdisciplinary curriculum would enable the advancement of learning beyond professional silos and put a heavier emphasis on collaboration across disciplines, we can also help students design their own personalised learning pathways. In such a way, students, upon graduation, will become competent future leaders who are capable of dealing with change, and they will also have the capacity to take up positions in newly emerging industries. They will graduate with a mission, not just a degree!
As one of the best liberal arts universities, HKBU has long been, and will long remain, committed to delivering a well-rounded education that develops students into confident and caring leaders who possess integrity, perseverance, empathy and a sense of responsibility for themselves and others.
With its fundamental strengths in the arts and humanities, HKBU can offer an education and research environment that focuses on the human dimensions of technological advancement, at the same time using technology to push the envelope of human imagination in the arts and culture in our quest to build a more compassionate society.
As centres for knowledge creation and development, it is imperative that universities make that knowledge and expertise available to our broader society. As stated in its Institutional Strategic Plan, HKBU is raising the bar for research excellence with a focus in the areas of the arts, creative media and culture, as well as wellness-related disciplines including Chinese medicine and pharmacy and sport. These subjects were reaffirmed as areas of strength by the University Grants Committee in its Research Assessment Exercise (RAE).
According to the recently announced results of the RAE, the University performed excellently in a number of individual Units of Assessment, including communication & media studies; area studies, cultural studies and other arts/humanities; music & performing arts; physical education, sport, recreation & physical activities; translation, and computer studies/science.
These results are impressive and they serve as a source of encouragement to us all. In particular, I would like to thank our scholars, as they made this happen with their concerted efforts and commitment in their unceasing quest for excellence. We will continue to leverage these areas of strength to extend the frontiers of knowledge with the support of our cutting-edge research in artificial intelligence and big data analytics.
As a key component of the higher education sector in the Greater Bay Area, we will also extend our vision and engage deeper and further with our nation. With the arts and culture, as well as artificial intelligence and big data analytics, being our niche areas, we look forward to contributing to the National 14th Five-Year Plan, which details the development of science and technology in the country.
As the third mission of universities, knowledge transfer will take a different shape at HKBU, riding on our proud heritage and unique positioning in this new age. Through their efforts to shape knowledge, our scholars’ research will have an impact that extends beyond scientific inventions. It will include activities that celebrate the beauty of life, and endeavours that enhance wellness, such as artistic performances and exhibitions, creative arts and media productions, healthcare programmes, and community outreach initiatives to help society’s underprivileged, to name just a few.
At this historic moment, where the arts and sciences must move forward hand in hand to address new and significant global challenges, HKBU is well poised to build on its unique strengths. I pledge to be the guardian of the University’s proud heritage and I will work tirelessly to nurture it as a place where great minds come together for the public good and the benefit of mankind.