Dear readers,

The second term has begun as gazetted after the unplanned suspension of classes starting in mid-November last year.  Many physical damages of the University such as broken doors and smashed cameras have been rectified.  Derogatory graffiti on prominent spots and roads with misplaced barricades were cleared.  Hazardous materials are, of course, no longer exposed outdoors and immoderately.  Despite the upset of some school routines, our learning and teaching activities have basically returned to the right track.  We may not be, however, accustomed to the tightened security including checks for the University members and visitors, as well as restriction of access by unregistered vehicles.  Or we will consider it ludicrous that some sorts of school buses, which had been illegally operated during the five-day occupation of the campus by masked students and protesters, are sitting alone in the cordoned area at the John Fulton Carpark.  Still and all, the tangible side of the University appears almost the same as before.

Launched by this Centre in 2015-16, the Social Enterprise Startup Scheme has been encouraging CUHK students and recent graduates to make good use of their expertise to establish or expand their social enterprises.

The “Fitness x Mentorship” Scheme of this academic year was launched in October last year and had lasted for almost one term.  The participating CUHK students partnered various members of the community to undergo basic training of dodgebee, orienteering or running for enjoyment of exercises.

Seven students enrolled in this Centre’s “Fitness x Mentorship” Scheme, together with their sports partners (all from Lee Yen & Lee Yuk Lun, BBS, JP, Father & Son Lohas Villa, Tung Wah Group of Hospitals), took part in the TWGHs “iRun” - The Hong Kong Jockey Club Special Marathon 2020 on the 12^th of this month.  The event, which attracted a total of 4,400 participants, aims to encourage the intellectual disabled to practise sports.  It is also hoped to achieve inclusion of people with different abilities.

The 1^st session of A Walk in Community with I·CARE in this academic year was successfully held on 24 October 2019.  14 students visited Aoi Pui School in Hung Hom to study the school’s implemented “Applied Behaviour Analysis” and its curriculum formulated as per the “Individualised Education Programme”.  They also exchanged with the school principal, the consultant and a senior teacher to understand more about the learning of students with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Organised by this Centre, the I·CARE Theatre is supported by The Office of the Arts Administrator and originally arranged two films to be screened and discussed in November of last year.  Due to the social incidents, the above events were postponed.

The Mother Nature Rocks, a brand-new programme of this Centre, successfully organised two tours in the first term.  The response was overwhelming such that over hundred students had failed to be admitted.  In the 1^st tour titled “Caving × Wading × Hiking”, participants went hiking and eco-touring around Shing Mun Reservoir and also had a joyful wading experience.  As for the 2^nd tour titled “Photography × Hiking”, participants completed the Lion Rock hike and took photographs of the beautiful sunset scene on their way back.

The I·CARE Social Service Projects Scheme of this Centre organisied three training activities on the 15^th and 21^st of October last year, and on the 15^th of January this year respectively.  These activities were conducted for students who aspire to implement social services, particularly those having submitted applications for subsidies under the aforesaid scheme.  They are expected to be equipped with competence in actualising their ideas.

The I·CARE Social Service Projects Scheme encourages students to organise and implement self-initiated social services.  Three rounds of vetting are available in this academic year.  Students may submit applications in accordance with the commencement date of their projects and the amount of funds required.  Now, the 2^nd round of application is open.  Details are as follows:

The “Core Group Nurture” under the I·CARE Achievers Programme of this academic year had its selection interview conducted in October last year, and finally recruited 30 students to form the 2^nd core group of this programme since its inception.  These core group members were then divided into four small teams in accordance with their own interest namely hiking, marathon, farming and camping.  At the introductory session, they not only learnt the content and requirement of the programme, but also mingled among themselves.  The session was climaxed by the signing of the I·CARE Pledge by each member, which symbolised their commitment to the programme.

The “Value Exploration Series” of the I·CARE Achievers Programme aims to enhance self-awareness and good qualities of CUHK members through a series of activities on character building, thereby promoting positive development of the community and the world.  Two activities under this series were organised in the first term, namely “Mindfulness Day” and “Remoulding Camp”.

The I·CARE Community Research Scheme of this academic year runs a research project on “Grassroots Housing”, which drew 17 students from different disciplines as members.  This project studies the causes and impacts of “inadequate housing” and the approaches towards securing “grassroots’ right to housing” through investigation of the impact of domestic bedbug infestation and through oral history interviews.

The 18^th and 19^th sessions of I·CARE Salon were held on the 16^th of October last year and on the 10^th of this month respectively.  They drew an attendance of more than 580 CUHK students, staff, alumni, and members of the general public.  The participants had responded to both talks enthusiastically through raising many questions and sharing their own views in a candid way.

The first round of CUHK Blood Donation Campaign in this academic year was successfully concluded.  As a supporting unit of this meaningful cause, this Centre had staged the I·CARE Blood Donation Day on 16 October which attracted a zealous participation of over 70 CUHK students and staff.

Upon the arrival of 2020, the website of this Centre has got dressed afresh in order to offer users a different browsing experience.  This revamped website not only contains information about various projects and activities under the I·CARE Programme and snapshots of previous events, but an “Event Calendar” is also embedded to allow users to have basic understanding of all the upcoming activities of this Centre at their fingertips.  To align the style of design, the website of the Student Development Portfolio, which is administered by this Centre, has also adopted a new look.  You are welcomed to pay it a visit.

CUHK has been ranked the most innovative university in Hong Kong in the fourth year in a row by Reuters’ “Asia Pacific’s Most Innovative Universities”.  To celebrate its achievement, the University has produced the CUHK 2020 Calendar with the theme “CUHK Innovations”.

Please click on the image below for more information.