A total of 4,463 degrees were conferred by the University at its 160th Congregation held at the Hong Kong Coliseum on November 30, 2000. 1,535 graduates of the Class of 2000 were awarded postgraduate degrees, including 216 at the doctoral level and 1,319 at the master level. 2,928 received bachelor degrees.
Pro-Chancellor, Dr the Hon Ti-liang Yang, presided over the Congregation and the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Ian Davies, addressed the assembly.
The Congregation was broadcast live to Fudan University, in Shanghai, where the first batch of graduates from the IMBA programme were able to view the ceremony and - most importantly - participate during the conferment of the degrees. The image from Shanghai was transmitted to the Hong Kong Coliseum so that other graduates in the Coliseum could share the joy of the IMBA graduates in Shanghai.
Congratulations and wishing all members of the Class of 2000 a great future!
The RTHK documentary, "Hong Kong Connection" ( 鏗 鏘 集 )of January 8 (aired on TVB Jade, 7 to 7.30 pm) focussed on the University of Hong Kong today.鏗 鏘 集
The half-hour episode tried to examine the essence of higher education, using the 90-year-old HKU as a case study, and interviewed our graduates, including former Vice-Chancellor Dr Rayson Huang, and other alumni who are now teaching at HKU, including Professor Cheng Kai-ming (Education), Professor Fan Sheung-tat (Medicine), Professor Albert Chen (Law) and Dr Albert Chau (Social Sciences).
The filming was stunningly beautiful, showing the classical architectural features on University buildings. What is more, the passion and commitment for education and service to society could also be fully expressed and communicated. If you have missed the programme, you may view it on: www.rthk.org.hk.
The Council has appointed three new Pro-Vice-Chancellors for the period December 20, 2000 to December 19, 2003. They are:
Professor C F Lee (李焯芬) of the Department of Civil Engineering Professor J G Malpas³Á°ö«äof the Department of Earth Sciences
Professor J A Spinks (史秉士)of the Department of Psychology
The main areas of responsibility for the Pro-Vice-Chancellors are currently designated by the Vice-Chancellor as:
Professor K M Cheng (程介明 ) - networking, fundraising and IT in education
Professor S P Chow (周肇平) - human resources management and Traditional Chinese Medicine
Professor C F Lee - research affairs
Professor J G Malpas - planning and administration Professor J A Spinks Ð academic and student affairs
Professor J A Spinks - academic and student affairs
Six distinguished people received the Honorary University Fellowship on December 12, 2000. The Fellowships were presented by the Pro-Chancellor, Dr the HonTi-Liang Yang.
The recipients of the Honorary University Fellowships are: Mr John C C Chan .A (BA 1964) is the managing director of the Kowloon Motor Bus Company. Prior to that he served the Hong Kong Government as Private Secretary to the Governor, Deputy Secretary (general duties), Director of Information Services, Deputy Chief Secretary, Secretary for Trade and Industry and Secretary for Education and Manpower.
Professor Samuel T H Chan (BSc 1965, PhD 1968) has dedicated his entire working life to the University of Hong Kong where he was professor in zoology. He pioneered the production of transgenic mice in Hong Kong and served as Pro-Vice-Chancellor for two terms from 1993 to 1998.
Mr Andrew K F Lee (BArch 1956) has won wide recognition as an architect. He is principal partner of Andrew Lee King Fun and Associates - Architects and a Director of AP Architects Ltd. He is a member of the University Court, the Council and a Director of the University of Hong Kong Foundation for Educational Development and Research.
Professor Lu Sin is the founder, chairman and managing director of the safety Godown Company. He is also chairman and managing director of South Asia Textiles Ltd. His company has made donations of over RMB 150 million to establish schools and scholarships in China.
Dr John Strickland spent most of his working career with Hongkong & Shanghai Banking Corporation in Hong Kong, and was responsible for the Group's information technology from 1971 to 1995. Presently he is a director of the Airport Authority and Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd.
Mr Anthony T Y Tsui ®}¤Ñ¦ö (BSocSc 1970), former Clerk of Convocation with which he has been associated for the past 23 years. He is Director of the Croucher Foundation, a private body specialising in the support of scientific projects in Hong Kong. He was a University Court member from 1985 to 1999.
The Honorary University Fellowships were created in 1995 as a mark of the distinction and esteem with which the recipients are held by the University, and to better relationships with the community at large.
A reception for outstanding students was held by the University Grants Committee (UGC) on December 19, 2000 at the Government House to let community and business leaders meet the outstanding students from the eight UGC-funded institutions and to appreciate at first hand the students' true capabilities. At the reception, the UGC acknowledged the generous support from the Hong Kong Jockey Club for a pilot scholarship scheme for 450 outstanding students from top-notch mainland universities like Beijing, Tsinghua, Jiaotung and Fudan Universities to pursue undergraduate studies in Hong Kong institutions. It also announced that a generous donation of $20m was received from the K K Ho International Charitable Foundation to launch the Rosita and K K Ho Scholarship for outstanding mainland students in the 2001/2002 academic year. Support also came from benevolent individuals such as the Lee Heng Scholarship Scheme donated by Mr Maximilliam Ma.
In the midst of financial crisis, family breakdown, juvenile delinquency, aging and other social issues confronting society, the Faculty of Social Sciences adopts a broad-based education enabling its graduates to take on as "social engineers" and to provide social "medicine" to society in terms of public and social administration, social policy and management, economic and financial strategies, justice and political governance. The K K Ho Foundation Scholarships will reward academic excellence to social sciences students who excel in their academic achievements as well as their commitment to society.
A new Faculty of Business and Economics of HKU was established on January 1, 2001 by amalgamating the School of Business and the School of Economics and Finance. It is the University's latest strategic move to re-position and fortify its provision of business and economics education in the territory and to steer the long term development of the two disciplines, in particular that of finance.
The new Faculty will embrace the academic activities of the two Schools, offering a wide range of programmes to 1,000 undergraduate students and more than 5,000 taught and research postgraduate students annually. The undergraduate programmes offered are: Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA), BBA (Accounting and Finance), BBA (Information Systems), BBA (Law), Bachelor of Economics, Bachelor of Economics and Finance, and Bachelor of Finance. As regards postgraduate studies, in addition to the research programmes leading to the degrees of MPhil and PhD, the Faculty offers a variety of taught master programmes, including Master of Business Administration, Master of Business Administration (International), Master of Economics, and Master of Finance.