A. Conferences and meetings

1. WUN Globalisation of Higher Education and Research Global Challenge Conference, Bristol, UK (1–3 February 2012)
Seven members of the University recently participated in the WUN Globalisation of Higher Education and Research Global Challenge conference at the University of Bristol from 1–3 February 2012. Focusing on four interconnected thematic workshops on Globalising Academics; Globalising Infrastructure; Globalising Learning; and Globalising Institutions, the conference brought together international experts from across the social sciences, arts and humanities, and business studies to examine the new challenges faced by higher education institutions.

CUHK was represented by Prof. Hau Kit-tai, Pro-Vice-Chancellor; Prof. Nicholas Pang and Prof. Ou Dongshu from the Department of Educational Administration and Policy; Prof. Wong Suk-ying, Department of Sociology; Mr. Eric Ng, Registrar and University Secretary; Prof. Gordon Cheung, Director of Academic Links; and Ms. Shally Fan, Associate Director of Academic Links.

2. WUN Global Public Health Conference, Southampton, UK (19-23 May 2012)
The WUN Global Public Health Conference from 19–23 May 2012 in Southampton will be jointly organised by WUN and the UK Health Literacy Group. A suite of international events at the conference will address socio-economic disparities in the prevention, control, treatment and outcomes of non-communicable diseases in global and local comparative contexts.

3. WUN Contemporary China Virtual Seminar Series
WUN organises a number of virtual seminar series for faculty and postgraduate students to encourage teaching and learning across distances and time zones. One example is the Contemporary China Virtual Seminar Series, organised by the WUN Contemporary China Center and led by the University of Leeds in the UK. In each of the seminars there will be a different topic and a different pair of speaker and discussant. Members of the CUHK community are welcome to attend these upcoming seminars:

a) Managing Welfare Expectations in the Post-Handover Era: Social Development Challenges and Social Policy Responses in Hong Kong and Macau, 6 March 2012 (9am HK time)

• Speaker: Prof. Ka Ho Mok, Chair Professor of Comparative Policy, Associate Vice-President (External Relations), and Dean, Faculty of Arts and Sciences Hong Kong Institute of Education
• Discussant: Prof. Ka Lin, Professor, College of Public Administration, Zhejiang University

b) Impact of Political Capital on Strategic Knowledge-Seeking ODI: The Case of Private Entrepreneurs in Zhejiang Sewing Machine Industry, 17 April 2012 (4pm HK time)

• Speaker: Dr. Tina Xu, Lecturer in Marketing and Business Strategy, University of Hull
• Discussant: Prof. Peter Buckley, Professor of International Business, University of Leeds

c) Innovating Transitional Institutions: The Role of the Second Round Reimbursement Policy in Development of China's New Cooperative Medical Scheme, 10 May 2012 (4pm HK time)

• Speaker: Mr. Lewis Husain, PhD student in East Asian Studies, University of Leeds
• Discussant: Dr. Beatriz Carrillo Garcia, Lecturer in China Studies, University of Sydney

For more information on the Contemporary China Virtual Seminar Series, please visit www.wun.ac.uk/events/series/contemporary-china.

The virtual seminars will take place at the Office of Academic Links (Lady Ho Tung Hall, Clinic Road). Faculty and students interested in participating should contact CUHK's WUN Coordinator Ms. Shally Fan at shallyfan@cuhk.edu.hk for more details and registration.

B. Research mobility programmes

1. Global Scholarship Programme for Research Excellence-CNOOC Grants now supports researcher mobility with WUN member universities
Research activities with WUN member universities may now receive funding support through the Global Scholarship Programme for Research Excellence-CNOOC Grants. The programme provides funding to support CUHK junior faculty and PhD students to undertake short-term research attachments at a selected group of leading research institutions. In addition, the programme supports PhD students from those institutions to undertake short-term research attachments at CUHK.

Applications to the Global Scholarship Programme for 2012–13 are now open. To learn more about the programme and application procedures, please visit: www.cuhk.edu.hk/oal/linkage/fellowships/11021.html.

2. PhD Student Exchange Programme with WUN Member Universities
CUHK has established PhD Student Exchange Programmes and Short-term Faculty Exchange Programmes with a number of WUN member universities. The PhD Student Exchange Programme provides an opportunity for research postgraduate students to undertake short-term research attachments at a partner university so as to enrich their learning experience and facilitate research collaborations between CUHK and the partner university.

Applications are now open for PhD student exchange with the following WUN member universities for 2012–13:

• University of Bristol, UK
• University of Leeds, UK

For more information on these programmes, please visit: www.cuhk.edu.hk/oal/linkage/fellowships/11022.html.

C. Research groups

WUN has approximately 70 Interdisciplinary Research Groups (IRG) and most of them fall under the umbrella of the Global Challenges. CUHK is involved in a number of these research groups, working with other members of the WUN community to address some of the most pressing issues the world currently faces. In this issue, we look at a research project led by CUHK's Prof. Wong Hung of the Department of Social Work on "Trends and Implications of Poverty and Social Disadvantages in Hong Kong: A Multi-disciplinary and Longitudinal Study". The project has received funding worth HK$3.2 million from the Research Grants Council of the University Grants Committee.

The research project is a coordinated effort of inter-disciplines and inter-institutions to perform a comprehensive and longitudinal research to measure and gauge the current trends as well as implications of poverty and social disadvantages in Hong Kong. The first research focus is to develop a specific measurement and calibration about poverty, deprivation and exclusion in Hong Kong and to measure the current impacts of policy initiatives in tackling poverty. The second focus is to investigate the impacts of poverty, inequality and social disadvantages on young people's health and well-being. The interaction of poverty and health inequalities is its third focus. How and to what extent social factors influence health in the local context is not known. This project will fill in this research gap. Prof. Wong said he is excited about the collaboration with his interdisciplinary team. He expects that the results of this research will inform policymakers about how to alleviate poverty, deprivation and exclusion.

• WUN Collaborators: Prof. David Gordon (University of Bristol) and Prof. Jonathan Bradshaw (University of York)
• Non-WUN Collaborators: Dr. Maggie Lau and Prof. Mok Ka-ho (The Hong Kong Institute of Education) and Prof. Peter Saunders (The University of New South Wales)
• CUHK Collaborators: Prof. Wong Hung (principle investigator) and Prof. Chen Ji-Kang of the Department of Social Work: Prof. Samuel Wong, Prof. Sian Griffiths, Prof. Martin Wong, Prof. Roger Chung, and Prof. Jonson Lau from the Jockey Club School of Public Health and Primary Care; Prof. Bo Huang and Dr. Joanna Lee from the Department of Geography and Resource Management.

D. Visits from WUN member universities

CUHK received the following visitors from WUN member universities in recent months. These visits were aimed at gaining a better understanding of CUHK after its admission into the Network, as well as to explore collaboration opportunities under the auspices of WUN.

Date	WUN Member	Delegate(s)
1 Nov 11	University of Bristol, UK	Dr. Susan Jim, IAS/WUN Development Manager, Institute for Advanced Studies
16 Nov 11	University of Wisconsin-Madison, US	Prof. Gilles Bousquet, Vice-Provost for Globalization and Dean of International Studies, and Ms. Laurie Dennis, Associate Director, Wisconsin China Initiative, Division of International Studies
9 Jan 12	University of Southampton, UK	Dr. Paul Harrigan, Lecturer in Marketing, and Director of BSc International Marketing, School of Management
12 Jan 12	University of Bristol, UK	Prof. Eric Thomas, Vice-Chancellor, and Dr. Robert Partridge, Academic Registrar
14 Feb 12	University of Alberta, Canada	Prof. Phillip Baker, Professor of Obstetrics & Gynecology, and Senior Advisor on International Health/Science Issues

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

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