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Lee Wing-on
Acting President |
I am very pleased to be writing this Message in my capacity as Acting President. I assumed this office in addition to my own substantive position as Vice President (Academic) during the year.
2006-07 has been an eventful year for the Institute. Marked by many challenges, it has nevertheless also been filled with many opportunities. Despite the difficulties, I am pleased and proud to be able to report that the Institute has moved forward with unflagging zeal on the academic front. Following the successful introduction of the self-financed Master of Education programme in 2005-06, the Institute continued to break new ground this year, launching yet another self-financed Doctor of Education programme. The first batch of students under this programme, commenced their studies in September 2007.
With the setting up of the Centre for Development and Research in Small Class Teaching, the Institute is now instantly recognised as one of the tertiary institutions which heralds small class teaching in Hong Kong. Working closely and tirelessly with the education community over the years, small class teaching has become widely recognised by educators, students and parents as the way forward in future education reforms. As a key driver of this reform, we were greatly encouraged when the Chief Executive embraced the concept of small class teaching in his Policy Address 2007-2008, pledging the policy's implementation in suitable public primary schools, in phases starting from 2009-10.
In March 2007, Members of the Council, management, staff and student representatives held a retreat, uniting to work out strategies that would drive the Institute's development forward. A major resolution passed at the gathering included the working out of development plans, in line with the Institute's application for a university title.
After the retreat, senior management set to work immediately, establishing a work group, which took charge to study the future educational needs of the education and wider community in Hong Kong, the Mainland and the Asia-Pacific Region; and the impact these needs would have on the role and positioning of the Institute. With the enthusiastic input of staff, students and the entire Institute community, as well as several rounds of workshops, forums and e-communications, plans proposed by the Work Group were eventually fine-tuned and articulated into a document called the Development Blueprint. In concert with our Council Chairman, the management, staff and student representatives, we submitted this Blueprint along with our application for a university title to the then Permanent Secretary for Education and Manpower on 28 June 2007.
Whilst preparing this Message, the University Grants Committee announced the appointment of members to a Review Group, which has been tasked with studying the Blueprint and the Institute's application for a university title in detail. The first meeting between the Review Group and the Institute's management was held in October 2007, I hope we will be hearing positive feedback on our submissions in the near future.
Hand in hand with the submission, we have spared no effort in mounting a series of publicity and promotional campaigns, communicating our aspirations, as expressed in the Blueprint, to our stakeholders. Thus far the response to our hard work has been encouraging. With the concerted efforts of Institute staff and students, I trust that the community will gain a better understanding of our aspirations and the important role of education in enhancing the quality of our future generations.
This Message would not be complete without mentioning the outstanding achievements of our alumni. I am most proud to be able to report that in the Chief Executive's Award for Teaching Excellence 2006-2007, 66 percent of the Awards and 80 percent of the Certificates of Merit went to our alumni. We owe them a debt of gratitude for their help in enabling the Institute to win the recognition of the community, as one of Hong Kong's leading education institutions.
Finally, I must say how greatly appreciative I am of the Council's and the Institute's continued support during a trying and testing year. Without this help we could not have overcome the many challenges. Working together, I firmly believe that the HKIEd will continue to go from strength to strength in the years to come.
Lee Wing-on
Acting President
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