Issue 9 06 Aug 2014
From the Editor

We are pleased to bring to you Issue 9 of the College Newsletter, which summarizes the events and achievements in the first half of 2014.  This period has been a significant one.  The College buildings were completed at the end of 2013, and we moved in during term break.  The College held the Grand Opening of its premises in March, and many of our friends and supporters had the opportunity to share with us the delight we take in the beautiful buildings and facilities. Meanwhile, student activities went on apace and the first Student Union has taken office.  As we settle in, we are now looking forward to the third cohort of students joining us in September, to further augment our strength.

Students in front of the College campus
Students in front of the College campus
The College Grand Opening

It was a sunny day with glorious sunshine on 13 March 2014.  Around 300 guests, CUHK staff, benefactors, friends, mentors, Chu Scholars, College Fellows and Teachers, and two cohorts of students attended the opening ceremony of the newly established College Campus.

 

 

Grand Opening Ceremony. From Left: Prof Kenneth Young, Dr Edgar WK Cheng, Mr David Chu, Prof Joseph JY Sung, Dr Stanley Ho and Dr Ina Chan Ho Un Chan
Grand Opening Ceremony. From Left: Prof Kenneth Young, Dr Edgar WK Cheng, Mr David Chu, Prof Joseph JY Sung, Dr Stanley Ho and Dr Ina Chan Ho Un Chan
Mr David Chu, Chairman of College's Committee of Overseers, made Honorary Fellow of CUHK

The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) held its Thirteenth Honorary Fellowship Conferment Ceremony on 12 May 2014.  Seven distinguished persons closely associated with CUHK, including Mr David Chu, Chairman of College's Committee of Overseers, were conferred honorary fellowships in recognition of their remarkable contributions to the University and the community. 

Mr David Chu
Mr David Chu
College Scholarship Presentation Ceremony 2014
Witnessing the growth and achievements of their students over the years is the common wish of many teachers.  On 4 April 2014, many scholarship donors attended the College Scholarship Presentation Ceremony to meet the scholarship recipients.  Apart from the donors, some of the scholarship winners' parents, principals and teachers of their alma maters also joined the event to celebrate. With no exception, they were proud of the scholarship recipients. The atmosphere at the ceremony was full of warmth and joy.

 

Donors and recipients of the Physics Scholarship
Donors and recipients of the Physics Scholarship
Exchange Visit between CUHK CWC and Soochow CWC

Prof Kenneth Young, College Master, Dr Regina Ko and Prof Zhou Xunyu, College teachers, led a group of 14 College students to join a week-long study tour to Suzhou and Shanghai, starting from 16 May 2014.  As one focus of the trip, the group visited CW Chu College in Soochow University. Teachers and students from both Colleges exchanged views in Suzhou.  There was a return visit to Hong Kong in early July. 

 

College teachers and students visiting CW Chu College of Soochow University
College teachers and students visiting CW Chu College of Soochow University
Pursuing Your Dreams and Passing on the Spirit of Dr CW Chu

'Pursue your dreams! You can make it!' Prof Victor Li, Chair Professor of Information Engineering with the University of Hong Kong and a member of Committee of Overseers of CW Chu College, shared his story with the participants of the College's High Table Dinner on 13 March 2014.  As a recipient of the CW Chu Scholarship many years ago, he pursued further studies in the USA in the 1970s, which was a life-changing experience for him.  He was very grateful for the generosity of Dr Chu and was moved by his 'Can do' attitude.  Regarding Dr Chu as a role model, Prof Li has been courageous enough to overcome difficulties and challenges, and finally realized his dream to become an outstanding scientist before making contributions to Hong Kong community.

 

Prof Victor Li
Prof Victor Li
The Leadership Principles of Mr Dick Lee

The College held its fourth High Table Dinner of the academic year on 8 April 2014.  The guest of honour on the occasion was Mr Dick MK Lee, a CUHK alumnus and former Commissioner of Police, and he spoke on Leadership.  Mr Lee has served in the police force for 34 years, starting as a probationary inspector supervising a team of 40 and rising to command the entire force of 35,000.  He shared with students a number of leadership principles: mutual trust and team spirit, allocation of work and delegation, aspiration and the setting of goals, as well as lifelong learning.

Mr Dick Lee
Mr Dick Lee
Donations (from 9 February to 8 July 2014)

The College expresses its sincere appreciation to donors for their generous support.

  

 

Committee of Overseers

The University has approved the expansion of the Committee of Overseers (COO) from  nine to up to twelve members in addition to the Master as an ex-officio member.  The existing Chairman and Members of COO have all agreed to continue for another term of two years from 1 August 2014.  Mrs Katherine Ma, Second Vice-Chairman of the 2014/2015 Board of Directors of the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals, is a new Member of the COO. 

 

 

Personalia

The College is pleased to announce the following appointments.

New Members (Feb – Aug 2014)

The following teacher and administrator have joined CW Chu College as affiliates.

 

Professor Eugene Ponomarev, Assistant Professor, School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine

 

Ms Joan Lai, Assistant Director (Administration), Estates Management Office

College Student Union

Inauguration Ceremony

The Inauguration Ceremony of the College's first Student Union was held in the College's Multi-Purpose Hall on 27 February 2014.  Genesis, the Cabinet of the Executive Council of the Student Union, took an oath and promised to enrich students' college life, to reflect their views and concerns, and to serve their fellow students to the best of their ability.  Afterwards, Miss Certina Chan, President of College's Provisional Student Union, presented souvenirs to the Executive Council members and wished them success in their term of office.

 

The Cabinet of the Executive Council of the Student Union being sworn in
The Cabinet of the Executive Council of the Student Union being sworn in
Exchange Experience in Switzerland – Charles Wu

Apart from the platitudes of confirming the exchange benefits of broadening one's horizons, promoting independence, or talking about all my experience chronologically, I think rather I should  hereby discuss something different.  Going on exchange allows students to break away from daily life and to enter an exotic one.  I have had different experience and dealt with a variety of matters.  I reflected much, and developed and strengthened friendships.

Charles Wu (right) met his CUHK Business School mentor in Milan
Charles Wu (right) met his CUHK Business School mentor in Milan
Exchange Experience in Sweden – Lee Pok Wah

'Time elapsed without trace'. In retrospect, this was the must-write sentence in the written exam during my secondary education, in the hope of getting higher score in the column 'advancement in choice of words'. For such a young boy at that time, it is not likely for me to have any in-depth feelings towards the rapid changes in time, but not this time.


 

Lee Pok Wah (middle) having a 'Fika' (tea break) with local students
Lee Pok Wah (middle) having a 'Fika' (tea break) with local students
Cultural Visit to Southwest China (Chongqing Region)

Ella Liu, Cynthia Chow, College students, and Jade Cai, Project Assistant of the College, together with eight other CUHK students and fifteen students from Hong Kong Baptist University, joined a cultural experience trip supported  by The Ministry of Education (MOE) Interflow Programme to southwest China (Chongqing region) from 16 to 23 June 2014.  The trip was organized by Southwest University and eligible participants were also subsidized by the 'Pilot Mainland Experience Scheme for Post-secondary Students' launched by the Hong Kong Education Bureau. 

Participants joining a guided tour to see some historical architecture in Chongqing
Participants joining a guided tour to see some historical architecture in Chongqing
College Service Team – Visit to Residents of Sub-divided Flats

On 18 March 2014, the CW Chu College Service Team, in collaboration with Caritas Hong Kong, organized a visit to residents living in sub-divided flats along Castle Peak Road in Cheung Sha Wan and took the opportunity to conduct interviews with over twenty parties of residents. In groups of two, members of the Service Team knocked on the doors of different rooms in the neighbourhood and introduced themselves as volunteers who were there to understand more about the residents' living conditions and needs through questionnaires.

Service Team members joining the visit
Service Team members joining the visit
Scholars' Roundtable

Two Scholars' Roundtables, as lunch gatherings on Saturdays, were held in Term 2, 201314 to bring College students into contact with leaders in the community and to share experience and views, in a relaxed and informal setting.

Ms Julia Leung speaking on 'Reflections on the Global Financial Crisis'
Ms Julia Leung speaking on 'Reflections on the Global Financial Crisis'
College Internship Scheme

The College is committed to providing opportunities for students to get prepared for the workplace.  The College started its Internship Scheme in the summer of 2014, and a total of 25 summer internship opportunities were sourced from eight companies across various sectors, such as administration, human resources, marketing, media, product development, sales and sourcing, and shop management.  A total of 18 students were selected as interns after interviews by the companies concerned and they will complete internships this summer.  The College hopes that these internships after the first or second year of study should offer students a broadening experience and possibly also community engagement.  Moreover, several College students have joined global internship programmes abroad.

Workshop on Getting Ready for the Workplace

The College recruited its first cohort of students in 2012.  By summer 2014, these students will be going from Year 2 to Year 3, and should start thinking about the workplace.  After consulting students, the College organized a workshop entitled 'Getting Ready for the Workplace' on 26 May 2014.

Guests and participants of the workshop
Guests and participants of the workshop
Language Enhancement Programme

Social English Workshop

To bolster students' self-confidence when using English on different types of social occasions, the College organized three sessions of Social English Workshop in April 2014.  This interesting and inspiring workshop was faciliated by Mr Brian MacLean, a native English speaker who has spent many years in Hong Kong as a teacher, and as a trainer at all levels of some of Hong Kong's largest employers.  Mr MacLean drew an analogy between social communications and table tennis, both of which are played in a back and forth manner.  He instructed participating students in making communications more interactive. In the second and third sessions, some hostel residents from other colleges joined the workshop with CWC students.  After each session, the host and participants enjoyed port and cheese together, and the facilitator also introduced to the participants the relevant 'globalised' etiquette.

 

Mr Brian MacLean instructing the participants at the Social English Workshop
Mr Brian MacLean instructing the participants at the Social English Workshop
Workshop on Social Entrepreneurship

The College and Education for Good jointly organized a Social Entrepreneurship Workshop on 27 March 2014.  Ms Katherine Lam and Mr Freddy Law, intrapreneurs of Education for Good, hosted the workshop named 'The Power of Social Entrepreneurship: How I Became a Change-maker'. They shared with the participants the concept and their experiences  in running social enterprises.

 

Ms Katherine Lam (left) and Mr Freddy Law
Ms Katherine Lam (left) and Mr Freddy Law
Sports

Taichi Classes for Beginners

Taichi is an outstanding gem of traditional Chinese culture that is valuable in promoting health, developing combat and self-defence skills, and improving concentration. A series of beginners' Taichi classes were offered to College students in Term 2, 201314.  The classes were taught by a certified instructor of the International Wu Style Tai Chi Chuan Federation.  A total of 12 students, including exchange students from Demark, Sweden and the USA, participated in the classes.  As some of the participants were exchanges students, the class was taught in English.

Taichi Class
Taichi Class
Communal Dining

Starting from Term 2 of the academic year 2013–14, after the College relocated to the new campus, the communal dinners were held in the Multi-Purpose Hall of the College.  The College engaged students to organize and promote student activities, and to share their experiences during communal dining.

 

College teachers and students at a communal dinner
College teachers and students at a communal dinner
College Promotional Events

Academic Planning Day for Secondary 5 Students

The Academic Planning Day for Secondary 5 Students was held on 29 March 2014.  Over 800 prospective students visited the information booth of CW Chu College in the foyer of Sir Run Run Shaw Hall.  College students shared with participants their college life and answered their queries.  More than 140 Secondary 5 students attended the briefing sessions hosted by Prof Kenneth Young, College Master, and Prof Thomas Au, the chair of the Admissions, Scholarships and Financial Aid Committee, in YC Liang Hall.  The two professors introduced CW Chu College and the college system of CUHK to the students.  A video featuring the new College campus was also shown during the briefing sessions.  Many students were impressed by the remarkable campus design and took the opportunity to chat with the professors.

College students introducing the features of CW Chu College to prospective students
College students introducing the features of CW Chu College to prospective students
Visitors
A delegation led by Prof Liu Dongzhi, Vice-President of Tianjin University, visited the College on 5 March 2014. Prof Kenneth Young, College Master, received the delegation and introduced to them the unique college system of CUHK and features of CW Chu College.  The delegation also took a tour around the College campus.
A delegation of Tianjin University visiting the College
A delegation of Tianjin University visiting the College
Next Issue

The next issue of the CW Chu College Newsletter will be published in January 2015.  College members are welcomed to provide news and contributions (in either Chinese or English) to the College Office via email (info.cwchu@cuhk.edu.hk) by 19 December 2014.


From the Editor
The College Grand Opening
Mr David Chu, Chairman of College's Committee of Overseers, made Honorary Fellow of CUHK
College Scholarship Presentation Ceremony 2014
Exchange Visit between CUHK CWC and Soochow CWC
Pursuing Your Dreams and Passing on the Spirit of Dr CW Chu
The Leadership Principles of Mr Dick Lee
Donations (from 9 February to 8 July 2014)
Committee of Overseers
Personalia
New Members (Feb – Aug 2014)
College Student Union
Exchange Experience in Switzerland – Charles Wu
Exchange Experience in Sweden – Lee Pok Wah
Cultural Visit to Southwest China (Chongqing Region)
College Service Team – Visit to Residents of Sub-divided Flats
Scholars' Roundtable
College Internship Scheme
Workshop on Getting Ready for the Workplace
Language Enhancement Programme
Workshop on Social Entrepreneurship
Sports
Communal Dining
College Promotional Events
Visitors
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