The University received strong philanthropic support from various foundations, charitable trusts and organisations during the year, which led to an array of educational and community projects and initiatives to make positive changes in the promotion of life and values education, Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education, sports education, social inclusion and other areas.
With a donation of HK$16.57 million pledged by The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust (the Trust), the University kicked off the three-year “Jockey Club ‘iSee World’ Global Education Programme” in the 2017/18 academic year to promote the development of the global outlook and awareness of secondary students, especially those from less-privileged backgrounds. The University’s programme team will provide school-based pedagogical support for teachers, along with a series of extra-curricular activities for students, including local community and experiential activities, as well as overseas exposure. Also, related activities will be organised for parents in collaboration with schools’ parent-teacher associations. The project is set to benefit 32 schools and 8,200 secondary one to three students.
The four-year “CoolThink@JC” programme1 is a joint project, created and funded by the Trust and organised by EdUHK in partnership with Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and City University of Hong Kong. Its goal is to equip upper primary students with basic coding capabilities and strengthen their computational thinking to develop the next generation of problem solvers with digital creativity.
Thanks to the generous donation pledged by the Trust, the EdUHK project team designed and conducted research-based computational thinking development activities during the year, in collaboration with MIT, for about 4,300 primary four to six students. From November 2016 to April 2017, 36 teachers completed a 39-hour teacher development course on coding pedagogy and computational thinking development delivered by the University, following five days of MIT training. Selected students’ coding projects under the programme were showcased at the International Conference on Computational Thinking Education, organised by the University in July 2017. The Conference attracted close to 400 pioneers in computational thinking education from all over the world, including internationally recognised academics, frontline education practitioners and local professionals in the technology field.
1 https://www.coolthink.hk/en/
It has been recognised that Chinese language proficiency is the key to the integration of ethnic minorities (EM) into the mainstream school system. To help non-Chinese-speaking kindergarten students prepare for a smooth transition to primary schools, the University has kicked off the “C-for-Chinese@JC” project2 jointly with The University of Hong Kong, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong Christian Service, and the HKSKH Lady MacLehose Centre.
With a donation pledged by the Trust, the University launched the five-year project, whose aim is to foster a culturally responsive and effective teaching environment to facilitate the learning of Chinese by the EM kindergarten students. With the University’s multidisciplinary expertise in child development, curriculum and pedagogy, educational psychology, multicultural education, school leadership and language education, its investigators have contributed to the project through research-based evidence for advancing professional practices and building the capacity of local kindergartens, as well as supporting parents.
The University fostered a long-term partnership with the Hong Kong Rugby Union in October 2016 to promote rugby education in local primary and secondary schools. A comprehensive teaching pack was developed to provide both pre-service and in-service PE teachers with the essential skills to teach the sport, in addition to several summer workshops and professional development programmes for more than 250 teachers. Commencing in the 2017/18 academic year, touch rugby will be incorporated as part of the Bachelor of Education (Honours) (Physical Education) programme.
For 12 consecutive years, the University has been named a Caring Organisation by The Hong Kong Council of Social Service, in recognition of its sustained efforts to care for its employees and the community as a whole. During the year, people with disabilities were employed at various offices, and special emphasis was placed on staff development, work-life balance and family-friendly practices, including the setting up of a breastfeeding room, and the introduction of five-day paternity leave and flexible working hours. In this connection, the Family Council presented two awards to the University in 2016/17, namely “Family-Friendly Employer” and “Award for Breastfeeding Support”.
EdUHK students are groomed to be caring leaders through various student service teams and mass community projects, including the Action by Care programme. In the 2016/17 academic year, 571 students participated in 46 service team sessions, reaching out to more than 2,685 service recipients, including the elderly and the underprivileged. The number of student participants in these projects was double that of the previous year, with a corresponding 40 per cent increase in the number of service sessions.
Working in unison on 1 December 2016, more than 2,500 EdUHK staff and students set a new Guinness World Record by writing 2,044 letters containing positive messages and gratitude to Santa within 24 hours to promote love and peace. Guinness officially deemed the collected letters valid and approved the University’s application for the new “Most Letters to Santa Collected in 24 hours” world record in June 2017.
As part of its commitment to environmental sustainability and a healthy office environment, the University signed and implemented charters and pledges in the areas of energy saving, waste management and air quality.
- IAQwi$e Certificate – Class of Excellence
- Indoor Air Quality Certificate (Excellent Class)
- Wastewi$e Certificate – Class of Excellence
- Energy Saving Charter & 4Ts Charter
- Waste Check Charter
Among more than 6,000 entries, the University emerged as the only local university receiving the GREENPLUS Award 2016, conferred by China Light and Power. The University earned the bronze award in the category of Public Organisation, Utility & University.
Several barrier-free improvement works were carried out during the year, including the installation of two accessible lifts, two lifting platforms for lecture theatres, and the modification of a covered ramp.