EdUHK Annual Report 2018-2019

With teacher education as its primary focus, EdUHK makes a unique contribution to society. As the Council Chairman, I am privileged and honoured to have played a role in this University, which is celebrating its 25 years of teaching excellence. Yet, our roots in teacher education can be traced back to 1853, when the first formalised in-service teacher training programme was introduced in Hong Kong. The establishment of the former Colleges of Education in the past century and the subsequent birth of the former Institute of Education 25 years ago are part of our education legacy, of which we are very proud. I am pleased that EdUHK and its predecessors have together nurtured generations of passionate and committed educators and caring professionals for the benefit of the school sector and the betterment of society. All these achievements could not have been possible without the concerted efforts of our predecessors, former and current Council members, colleagues, students and alumni, as well as partners and supporters of the University, during the different stages of development. I wish to take this opportunity to express my heartfelt gratitude to our founding Council Chairman, Dr Simon Ip Sik-on, whose foresight and vision provided a blueprint for our growth and transformation, when our Tai Po campus was still under construction almost a quarter of a century ago. Special thanks must also go to my predecessors, Dr Thomas Leung Kwok-fai and Dr Pang Yiu-kai, for their exceptional leadership and enormous contributions. As a young and thriving teacher education-focused university, we must continuously strive for excellence in what we deliver in terms of learning and teaching, research and knowledge transfer. In this regard, I am pleased to report that the Council held a retreat in June 2019 to take stock of our progress, re-examine our strategic goals, and identify priority areas for the coming years. This was the first progress review of the University’s Strategic Plan 2016–2025 – three years after its launch. Many ideas were generated during brainstorming sessions at the retreat to help the University scale new heights, especially in the domains of internationalisation, academic development and research training, to enhance the competitiveness of our undergraduate and postgraduate students. Another important initiative during the reporting period was the signing of the University Accountability Agreement (UAA) for the 2019–22 Triennium with the University Grants Committee (UGC). As always, the Council attaches the utmost importance to university governance, and we worked closely with the UGC during the consultation process. Among other things, the UAA outlines the key performance indicators for EdUHK and other UGC-funded universities in five key domains, covering the student learning experience; research performance and research postgraduate experience; knowledge transfer and engagement; internationalisation; and financial health and institutional sustainability. The Council and the Senior Management team are 教大以培育優秀教師為己任，對社會有獨特貢獻。 欣逢二十五周年校慶，我能以校董會主席身分參與 其中，實與有榮焉。 本地的教師教育歷史源遠流長，可追溯至一八五三 年。當時，首個正規在職教師培訓課程在香港開辦。 到了上世紀，多所師範學院相繼創辦，並於二十五年 前合併為香港教育大學正名前的香港教育學院。百 載以來，師道傳承，教大及其前身之教院與師範學 院培育了一代又一代充滿熱誠、對社會有承擔的教 育工作者與專業人士，對學界與社會貢獻良多。 我要感謝前任及現任校董會成員、教職員、學生、校 友、大學夥伴，以及各界支持者，在本校發展的不同 階段，與我們同心同德，成就今日的教大。我更藉此 機會，向創校校董會主席葉錫安博士敬致謝意。在 四分一世紀前，亦即本校大埔校園建設之際，他的 高瞻遠矚，為教大定下發展和變革藍圖。此外，我亦 要感謝兩位前任校董會主席梁國輝博士與彭耀佳博 士的超凡領導與重大貢獻。 教大是一所專注教師教育，更充滿活力的年輕大學。 我們定必努力不懈地，在學與教、研究及知識轉移 方面，追求卓越。《策略發展計劃2016-2025》公布 至今，已有三年。在此，我很高興向大家匯報，校董 會已於二零一九年六月進行集思會，首次全面檢視該 計劃文件，重新評估教大的策略與目標，同時制定未 來優先發展範疇，冀助教大更上層樓。集思會當天， 討論氣氛熱烈。校董會成員就如何在國際化、學術 發展、研究培訓等方面，提升本科生與研究生的競爭 力，交換意見。 Chairman’s Foreword 校董會主席前言 4 The Education University of Hong Kong Annual Report 2018-2019