Many students and alumni, as well as professors from the Department of Sports Science and Physical Education, participated in the Standard Chartered Marathon, an annual international running race, which was held on 28 February 2010. Dressed in Sports Science and Physical Education (SPE) shirts, many joined different race routes, including the 10-kilometer run, half-marathon, and full marathon. Students who did not register in the race similarly felt excited and cheered for us. A kick off ceremony was held at the Department on 25 February, signifying that all SPE family members have united to accomplish a mission. Undeniably, I am proud to be one of the SPE representative runners for the said event.

        This is not a new argument for a research university. When universities worldwide continue to evolve into vital, cutting-edge centers for discovery and new technology, one of the institutions' most valuable assets has been more or less left out of the action. While graduate students are intimately involved in Faculty research, undergraduates are basically left out of the loop.

        But at SSPE, with a small size of Faculty and students (both undergraduate and graduates), that is not the case, thanks to the effort of Faculty and the students, and SSPE innovative elective requirement of independent research experience for undergraduates (SPE4900 Independent Project) was conceived several years back. The course requires undergraduates to participate in Faculty research projects on a voluntary basis or a self-initiated topic for 3 units of work load. Students stay with a professor for a semester, learning research design, data collection and analyses, and reporting.