Message from the Vice-Chancellor: Navigating new horizons | CUHK in Focus

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VC’S MESSAGE

Message from the Vice-Chancellor: Navigating new horizons

Welcome to the first edition of the new year of CUHK in Focus. May the new year bring you happiness, peace, and prosperity.

First of all, I want to thank many members of the CUHK community who have reached out to me following my announcement last week that I will be stepping down as Vice-Chancellor and President in January 2025. I am deeply touched by your comments and I greatly appreciate the friendship and collaboration I have enjoyed across our community over the last six years. It has truly been an honour and privilege for me to have served CUHK. In the coming year, I will be focused on ensuring a smooth transition period, and provide support to the incoming Vice-Chancellor after he or she is appointed. I look forward to the year ahead and working with the entire CUHK community for the continued development of the University to achieve “Excellence with Purpose and Responsibility” as prescribed in CUHK 2025.

Welcoming international students

I was pleased to welcome 300 new incoming exchange students of 33 nationalities from our partner universities in 27 countries and regions at a dinner held on campus last week. In addition, the event was attended by 80 international students who commenced their studies with us last semester. I have always been impressed by the drive and motivation it takes for a student to make the decision to study abroad. I enjoyed very much talking to the exchange students about what motivated them to choose to come to Hong Kong and discussing how their exchange could add value to their academic pursuits. CUHK is proud of our strong network of exchange partner institutions. These global collaborations support our internationalisation strategy in education and research, enrich the exposure and cultural experience of students, and strengthen the impact of CUHK on the world stage.

Recognising outstanding students

It gave me great pleasure to officiate at the Outstanding Student Awards Presentation Ceremony organised by the Office of Student Affairs last week. It was inspiring to see a total of 210 students recognised for their remarkable achievements beyond academic excellence this year. Just last month, the University presented the Vice-Chancellor’s Scholarships for Excellence to eight distinguished students in recognition of their outstanding academic results, communications skills and track record of distinguished leadership and non-academic performance. I would like to convey my sincere congratulations to all award-winning students for their job well done. I hope that they will continue to take advantage of the many valuable opportunities which CUHK offers to sharpen their competitive edge so that they can make impactful contributions locally, regionally, and beyond. My thanks also go to the Office of Student Affairs for organising an event.

Celebrating milestones

We are thrilled to see the celebrations of CUHK’s diamond jubilee continue through to the new year. The CUHK 60^th Anniversary Concert – Dialogues in Music: Global Connections was held on 12 January 2024 on campus, featuring performances by talented student musicians from CUHK, CUHK-Shenzhen, The University of Manchester, Tsinghua University and Waseda University. I was delighted to celebrate such an important milestone with our partner institutions from around the world. Culture is the bedrock of people-to-people ties, and the concert was an important symbol of our joint commitment to global engagement and cultural exchange, and a powerful reminder of our role in connecting China with the world.

I was honoured to attend the 40^th Anniversary Gala Dinner of the Faculty of Medicine last weekend. The hard work and dedication of staff, students and alumni have seen the Faculty emerge as one of the top 30 medical schools in the world in just four decades. In the latest Academic Ranking of World Universities, the Faculty was ranked 1^st in Asia and 16^th globally in the field of clinical medicine, becoming the only Asian medical faculty to land in the world’s top 50. Its 40^th anniversary is certainly a major milestone and indicator for the development not only of CUHK, but also of Hong Kong as a leading biotechnology hub. Not long ago, the University Council approved the appointment of Professor Philip Chiu Wai-yan as Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, with effect from 1 February 2024, succeeding Professor Francis Chan, who has been serving as the Faculty Dean for more than 10 years. My heartfelt congratulations to Professor Chiu on his appointment. I firmly believe, with his stellar track record as a clinician-scientist and strong leadership experience, Professor Chiu will take the Faculty to new heights. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Professor Francis Chan for his visionary leadership over the past decade, which has resulted in many impressive developments of the Faculty in medical education, research and global engagement.