School of Continuing and Professional Studies The Chinese University of Hong Kong eNewsletter

Dr. Ella Chan has been playing different roles throughout her career in education. She began as an English teacher after graduating from the Department of English at the University of Hong Kong; then she became a lecturer at the College of Education (now HKIed) training English teachers. After graduating from the Master Programme in Guidance & Counselling at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), she worked as a student counsellor at the Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU). She then spent a few years working in the Toronto School Board in Canada. Upon her returning to Hong Kong, she served as Assistant Professor at the Department of Educational Psychology at CUHK, and later took up the position of Associate Dean and Director at the College of International Education (CIE) at HKBU. Finally, she lands on CUSCS as our Director in June.

Dr. Chan is an advocate of continuing education as she strives to put it into practice. One may say lifelong learning is difficult for working parents; however, Dr. Chan said family support is indeed her key driving force to self enrichment. "When I was working on my doctoral thesis, it was my daughter and son who encouraged me to persist on and move forward." Dr. Chan and her husband are both lifelong learners, "we compromised and took turns to take courses and advance professionally."

Is her career change too dramatic? "Actually, education, counselling and administration are all about human relations," Dr. Chan said with sparkling eyes and a genuine smile. She believes in teamwork and regards trust as the key to success. She respects her colleagues, keeps effective communication, and always enjoys the close relationship with her colleagues. Just days before her last day at her last job, staff and students organised a surprise "Eat-Laugh-Love-Pray" (reflected Dr. Chan's personality and favour) family dinner party to bid farewell to her.

"As a self-funded School of the University, CUSCS has an advantage of leveraging the academic expertise of the University in providing quality education to the community. I will lead the School to expand our collaboration and relationship with academic departments and faculties to meet the lifelong learning needs of the community," Dr. Chan shared. The School will start its Continuing and Professional Education Centre at the Shenzhen Research Institute in September. Hopefully, with closer collaboration with faculties, quality education could be extended to the Shenzhen community.

Being an experienced educator, Dr. Chan has many precious memories of her students. "I feel satisfied when my students have gone on to shine at various corners in the society." One of her most unforgettable stories is that a student, who had gone through a court case, thanked her for her trust and encouragement and eventually committed to living a good life. It is a real-life example of how a teacher can touch a student's life.