Spring has come to EdUHK

While strolling around on our campus lately, I’ve noticed that the trees are sprouting fresh green leaves upon thickening branches. The air is laden with the gentle song of chirping birds and insects, as butterflies and bees dart around blossoming flowers of every colour. Indeed, nature is aflutter with the signs of spring. By the time this newsletter reaches you, spring will probably be reaching its end, with summer just around the corner. It makes me think of just how fast time flies: students in their final year will soon leave this University, and the academic year 2021/22 will come to an end.

Even as these things inevitably change, however, our commitment to teaching and research while serving people through our innovations and community participation remains steadfast. In this issue, we are delighted to have Professor Chetwyn Chan, Vice President (Research and Development), share his decade-long experience with research work, his opinions on FLASS’s potential, and his advice on how we can build upon our strengths to develop research and knowledge transfer works. Dr Alex He Jingwei from the Department of Asian and Policy Studies also shared with us his joys and difficulties of doing research.

This newsletter also continues to proudly report on FLASS’s excellent achievements. I hope you’ll be just as pleased as I am to read about our distinguished scholars recently winning major international acclaim. The imagination and scope of FLASS’s academics and alumni are unfettered by our university campus; they are encouraged to run the extra mile to turn their research efforts into innovations that benefit the world. Learn about how their efforts were rewarded by medals in the Inventions Geneva Evaluation Days – 2022 Special Edition held in March, see how our scholars aim to rejuvenate the lives of the elderly and disadvantaged through light volleyball, discover how our scholar at the Department of Social Sciences (SSC) collaborated with SSC alumni to unearth the dynamics affecting the development of women’s and grassroots football in Hong Kong, and be inspired.

At EdUHK and FLASS, we treasure the relationships with our students and graduates. There is no lack of alumni who call this University home, who eagerly return to serve their alma mater. Mr Zanio Yong Chi-fung is a beloved alumnus and a veteran rugby coach who started working at the Department of Health and Physical Education this January. Another esteemed alumnus, Dr Philbert Li King-yue, has taught music at the Department of Cultural and Creative Arts (CCA) for a while already. They are just two of the many examples of returning alumni, and we are delighted to have their personal accounts in this issue on how they have developed their careers amidst challenges and how the teachings from their professors at this University have motivated and enlightened their lives.

Many of you might have already heard of the award-winning invention of Dr Michael Leung Chi-hin from CCA — the Grid Notation — which has helped thousands of people to learn music. In this issue, Michael contributed his lesser-known story of how his lifelong love of music was sparked, and how he followed his heart to chart his own path in the wonderful world of music.

As times shift and the world continues to thaw from the pandemic, I encourage you to set some time aside and take a minute to walk around the campus as I have been doing lately. Be bathed in sunshine, breathe in the fresh air and enjoy all the lush greenery that comes with the warmer seasons. Whenever you take a break along your walk, why not spare a moment to read some of the stories in this issue of FLASS FORWARD? They are sure to resonate with you.

Professor Li Wai-keung

Dean of Faculty of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences