CUHK to host inaugural WUN Global China Conference

CUHK will host the Inaugural WUN Global China Conference "Family Transition, Ageing, and Social Security in China" during 5-6 December 2013 to mark the launch of the Global China Group (GCG) of WUN. The conference aims to examine key issues arising from family transition, ageing, and social security in China and the mechanisms underlying these changes in various dimensions, including the social science and humanistic perspectives. The conference is open to scholars from both WUN and non-WUN members. Experts from different disciplines are encouraged to attend the conference such that important topics can be brainstormed, key knowledge gaps can be collectively identified, and interdisciplinary collaborative plans can be fostered.

GCG is a network-wide initiative that aims to channel research efforts about China within WUN. It has a focus on "two-way understanding and engagement with China" with a main theme on social and economic development. CUHK was invited to play a leadership role in the Group given its strength in China studies. Prof. Zhang Junsen, Wei Lun Professor of Economics and Chairman of the Department of Economics at CUHK, currently serves as vice-chair and academic lead of the Group.

Registration to the conference is free and it can be made online now. For enquiries on the conference and paper submission, please email wun-gcg2013@cuhk.edu.hk.

Where East meets West: CUHK strengthens ties with academic mobility

CUHK runs a number of research mobility programmes to facilitate research collaborations and partnership building. These programmes provide a platform for researchers in various stages of their career to identify and build research ties with researchers from leading universities around the world, including members of WUN. During 2012–13, a total of 12 faculty members and PhD students from CUHK were selected to participate in these programmes and undertake visits to WUN universities. Participants were able to work with some of the best research universities in the world, including the Pennsylvania State University, University of Auckland, University of Bristol, University of Leeds, and the University of Sydney. Concurrently, there were four faculty members and PhD students from the University of Bristol and University of Leeds who came to CUHK under these programmes.

One of the participants was Prof. Janny Leung of the Department of Systems Engineering and Engineering Management who visited the University of Leeds (Leeds) for a week in April 2013. While at Leeds, Prof. Leung participated in a one-day workshop organized by the Institute for Transport Studies (ITS) where academics and practitioners from different disciplines explored the topic "The Art and Science of Individual and Governmental Decision-Making". She also met with a number of researchers at ITS and the School of Process, Environmental and Materials Engineering (SPEME) to exchange views and explore collaboration opportunities. Prof. Leung said, "These meetings enabled me to gain a much broader perspective on transport research. Besides, I learned much [from SPEME] that would be helpful for the newly developed Energy Engineering programme at CUHK".

Since Prof. Leung's visit, Prof. Oliver Carsten of ITS paid a return visit to CUHK and gave a seminar to the students and faculty of the Department of Systems Engineering and Engineering Management. He also met with Prof. Leung and her colleagues to continue the dialogue on academic and research collaborations.

Another participant was Ms. Mun-yu Tang, PhD student of the Department of Social Work, who undertook a 3-month research attachment under Prof. David Gordon of the Centre for the Study of Poverty and Social Justice at the University of Bristol (Bristol) in September 2012. Her research topic was on child poverty alleviation policies and programmes. Ms. Tang said, "My visit was very fruitful—I attended some training courses and research-related meetings and made a presentation at a conference. In addition, I collaborated with other PhD students to prepare two conference papers. With the guidance of Prof. Gordon and my home thesis supervisor, I was able to write several papers which will be submitted to journals for review soon. Prof. Gordon has played an important role in my development since my return to Hong Kong. He has offered ongoing advice concerning child poverty on the policy, theoretical and methodological levels, which encourages me in the journey of working with the poor against poverty". The visit has helped to solidify existing research ties between Bristol's Prof. David Gordon and CUHK's Prof. Wong Hung who have been working on a Hong Kong Government funded project of HK$3.2 million on "Trends and Implications of Poverty and Social Disadvantages in Hong Kong: A Multi-disciplinary and Longitudinal Study".

To learn more about the research mobility programmes at CUHK, please refer to the OAL website.

CUHK WUN Coordinator

For more information on WUN and collaboration opportunities for WUN member universities, please contact the CUHK WUN Coordinator:

Ms. Shally Fan, Director of Academic Links, Office of Academic Links
Tel: +852 3943 7586, Email: shallyfan@cuhk.edu.hk