OAL The Chinese University of Hong Kong eNewsletter

The Worldwide Universities Network (WUN) has provided the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) an opportunity to expand its network with a group of research universities that share similar vision over the past few years. With the University of Southampton (Southampton) in particular, CUHK has built up connections in stem cell and regeneration research through the School of Biomedical Sciences. The effort is championed by Prof. Kenneth Lee, Chief of the Stem Cell and Regeneration Programme and Managing Director of the Core Laboratories in the School of Biomedical Sciences at CUHK, and Prof. Richard Oreffo, Professor of Musculoskeletal Science in the School of Medicine at Southampton.

Their joint application for the research project "Southampton-CUHK Joint Laboratory for Stem Cell Research" received seed funding from the Southampton Global Partnerships Award in 2012, and a joint seminar on stem cell and developmental biology was organised at CUHK in 2013. Earlier this year, Prof. Lee was awarded the prestigious "Diamond Jubilee International Visiting Fellowship" by Southampton, under which he will spend time at Southampton over the next three years working with his collaborators and contributing to the research environment of the University.

Apart from the above, CUHK and Southampton are collaborating in several projects spanning the areas of public health, medicine, migration, and the humanities. This is complemented by the active exchange of faculty and PhD students through various research mobility schemes such as the Inbound Research Mobility Scheme and Global Scholarship Programme for Research Excellence.

Driving international research collaborations through WUN Research Development Fund

As one of the youngest members of WUN, CUHK has taken an active role in the Network through participation in over 30 projects covering all four Global Challenges in collaboration with all WUN members. A majority of these projects are supported by the WUN Research Development Fund (RDF), a scheme that provides seed funding to kick-start research collaborations among WUN members. So far, a total of five projects led by CUHK have been awarded by RDF with a value of HK$620,000, and 24 CUHK researchers are involved in 17 projects led by other WUN members. To learn more, please click here.

Visits from WUN member universities

CUHK received the following visitors from WUN member universities between 28 April and 29 June 2014:

Date	WUN Member	Delegate
28 Apr 2014	University of Southampton, UK	Dr. Thomas Irvine, Director, Southampton Centre for Eighteenth Century Studies, and Director of International Programmes, Department of Music
27 May 2014	The University of Sydney, Australia	Mr. Kenny Lowe, Study Abroad and Exchange Adviser, International Services, Student Recruitment and Admissions
10 Jun 2014	University of Wisconsin-Madison, US	Mr. Andy Quackenbush, Study Abroad Advisor, International Academic Programs

For more information on WUN and collaboration opportunities for WUN member universities, please refer to the CUHK@WUN website or 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