| On 26 March 2008, Professor Anthony Cheung was installed as the Institute’s fourth President, with The Honourable Donald Tsang, GBM, Hong Kong’s Chief Executive and Chancellor of the Institute presiding over the Ceremony. Amongst others, the audience included Members of the Council, Government officials, Members of the Executive Council and Legislative Council, Members of the University Grants Committee, heads of other universities and the education community, management members of Government related bodies and social dignitaries. |
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At the Ceremony, Professor Cheung paid tribute to the teaching profession and the different generations of teachers, who have helped shape the heritage of teacher education in Hong Kong. Drawing references from various advocacies with regard to the mission for university education, Professor Cheung expounded his vision for the Institute –
encompassing the liberal education tradition, the Institute is devoted to the nurturing of professional teachers, promoting a learning society, and advancing scholarship through knowledge creation and transfer. Professor Cheung’s view is that by partnering the wider education community, in particular local schools, the Institute will fulfill a societal mission, contributing to lifelong learning and human betterment, and serving Hong Kong, China and the Region, where education has long been regarded as an important driver of social progress and mobility. |
| Led by Professor Niland, the University Grants Committee (UGC) Review Group met members of the Institute on 7 January 2008. This was the second meeting held between the Review Group and HKIEd senior management since it was set up in September last year. The Group provides specialist advice to the government on our Development Blueprint, which outlines our major thrusts and strategic initiatives for the next decade and highlights how a University Title will bolster the HKIEd’sposition and further contribution to education development in Hong Kong.
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| Useful and fruitful discussion sessions were held with the senior management on strategic direction, the academic staff on programmes and research, as well as with graduates and students on teaching and learning experiences.
Professor Anthony Cheung, the Institute’s newly appointed President, then briefed the Review Group on how a University Title will allow HKIEd to contribute and play a more effective role in the development of education both locally and in the Region, while also putting the Institute on an equal footing with other UGC-funded institutions. The move will also help to enhance Hong Kong’s
competitive edge in attracting quality staff and students in the current era of knowledge, where human capital is vital to the growth not only of Hong Kong but of the Region as well. |
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Six Non-Official Members of the Executive Council visited the Institute on 14 January 2008 to learn about our achievements, the strategic direction of our Development Blueprint and our aspirations for a
University Title.
During the visit, Professor Anthony Cheung reiterated the HKIEd’s total commitment to leading developments in creative and innovative education, promoting new pedagogy and curriculum reforms, as well as to |
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| grooming the best teachers, equipped with broad-based, multi-disciplinary knowledge and cross-cultural experience.
He detailed the Institute’s commitment to education research, policy studies and applied work, as well as our collaborative efforts to build partnerships with other universities and schools. He not only discussed how this commitment and effort would benefit future generations in Hong Kong, but also how the results of applied research would support teaching and learning both within the classroom and externally through co-curricular activities.
Since our programmes are subject to the same rigorous assessments in quality assurance, teaching, learning and research review standards as all other University Grants Committee funded universities, Professor Cheung explained how a University Title will allow the Institute to create even greater value for the local school system. As the University for Education in the territory, it will enable Hong Kong to take a leading role in higher education in the Asia-Pacific Region. |
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In mid 2007, in parallel with HKIEd’s application for a University Title, we submitted our Development Blueprint, the result of months of collective effort by the Institute, to the government. Entering this new phase and critical path, two Institute Retreats were held in September and December 2007 to consolidate ideas on how to best translate the vision, missions and strategies, articulated in the Blueprint, into action. |
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Titled “Turning the Blueprint into Action: Creating the Hong Kong University of Education”, the September Retreat saw the participation of Deans as well as the heads and deputy heads of all academic departments, centres and administrative offices. Based on the discussion of the five strategic priority areas resulting from the September Retreat, and the subsequent feedback generated from departmental retreats, a follow-up Institute Retreat was organised in December, under the theme “Embracing 334 and Enhancing R&D Capacity”. Professor Anthony Cheung, then President designate, participated in the December Retreat, actively engaging in detailed discussions with management, senior academic and administrative staff. In the two Retreats, the participants thoroughly examined the contexts in which the Institute operates and contributed incisive views on the best way forward into the future.
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