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In this new semester, we are happy to have Dr Stuti Rawat, joining the Department of Asian and Policy Studies, The Education University of Hong Kong, as a Post-doctoral Fellow. Stuti will be working on her own research projects and collaborating with colleagues on exciting studies related to public trust, online teaching and social capital. She will be expanding her teaching portfolio by teaching undergraduate courses on the Strategic Management of Non-Profit Organizations and the Foundations of Policy Science and Public Management, as well as hosting workshops for Masters’ students related to academic writing and research.  

Stuti earned her PhD degree from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at The National University of Singapore (NUS), earlier this year. Her doctoral research lies at the intersection of public policy and development. Her dissertation adopts a quantitative approach to address the twin questions of what motivates governments to spend on the agriculture sector and what the impact is (on food security and agricultural productivity), when they actually do. For her doctoral research, she received the Musim Mas Sustainability Dissertation Award, a prestigious award conferred to candidates who show exceptional accomplishment in conducting dissertation research in the area of sustainability. 

Stuti’s interest in the agriculture sector was spurred through her experiences working at the International Water Management Institute and The Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) as a Consultant and Research Associate. Witnessing the centrality of agriculture in rural lives in a lower-middle-income country like India, impressed upon her the role that well-designed public policies can play in effecting change on multiple fronts. Her research goal is to generate evidence on the impact of policies, while developing an understanding of the policy-making process and the behavior of policy targets. Adopting this lens, in addition to agriculture, Stuti has worked on topics related to water, climate change, behavioural change, natural disasters and public administration. 

In the past, Stuti has worked as a Consultant for the World Bank in Singapore, International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) in Nepal, The Vittorio Dan Segre Foundation (remotely) and most recently for the University of Cambridge – serving as an Expert for the ASEAN Development Outlook Report of the ASEAN Secretariat.

Although, Stuti grew up in Delhi and completed all her education prior to the PhD here, she has a close connect to the mountains. She was born in Sikkim and traces her roots to the state of Uttarakhand in India, both of which are mountainous states in the Himalayas. This makes EduHK extra special for her; she loves the serenity of the campus and the rollicking green hills that surround it. Stuti is looking forward to a post-pandemic world when she can meet students in person and enjoy time together discussing matters of common interest such as teaching, research, tennis and music.

Since 1997, the implementation of 'one country, two systems' has been subject to test in major controversies especially over national security and constitutional issues. Post-national security law, the optimists hope for the end of disorder and arrival of a 'second transition' while the pessimists worry about the erosion of the city's autonomy and freedom. Apart from growing tensions and fatigue between the 'two systems', Hong Kong's political future also faces new turbulence and uncertainty because of escalating US-China conflict. Can the 'two systems' framework still work in the changing circumstances where past assumptions no longer apply?

We are delighted to welcome two colleagues to the Department of Asian and Policy Studies at the Education University of Hong Kong, including Lecturer Mr Tommy Kwan, and Post-doctoral Fellow Dr Stuti Rawat. First, we will introduce to you, Mr Tommy Kwan. 

Before joining the Department of Asian and Policy Studies

Tommy obtained his bachelor’s degree in Social Sciences (Governance and Public Administration) at the Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2015, Then he decided to pursue his Master’s studies in Politics of China at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London. He is currently a PhD candidate in the Department of Politics and International Relations at SOAS, University of London. His research interests have been established during his Bachelor’s studies, focusing on the politics in Taiwan and Hong Kong, which extends to contentious politics, party politics, and candidate selection. As the most mature representative of the development of political parties in greater China Region, Taiwan's political parties have always been the most concerned topic when scholars talk about Chinese politics, which is one of the main reasons why he, as a Hong Kong man, studied Taiwan in the UK. 

His two alma maters, the Chinese University of Hong Kong and SOAS at the University of London, are well-known leftist schools. In his published book, The Loneliness Class, he said that students at the "left-leaning School of Oriental and African Studies" enjoyed taking part in protest marches. The cultural environment inevitably affects people, but this effect is not all radical, and it may be a critical way of thinking, which is a positive influence. Whether in Hong Kong, Taiwan, or other parts of the world, social movements and party struggles are very "big" or hot topics this year. This is also consistent with Professor Kwan's doctoral dissertation on the relationship between political parties and social movements in Taiwan. 

Tommy was a visiting scholar at the University of Tübingen in Germany and Academia Sinica in Taiwan. He said that the experience from Hong Kong to Britain to Germany to Taiwan, and finally back to Hong Kong was an experience of growing in a different and diversified academic atmosphere. Unlike his undergraduate years, Tommy, a graduate student, has become more involved in purely academic research. He mentioned that one of the most impressive things about studying in the UK was that the Taiwan Studies Centre at SOAS held several events every week, inviting different scholars, with no restriction on the theme. He also said that due to local limitations, many Hong Kong students do not have much mobility. But during the years since he left Hong Kong to study abroad after his undergraduate studies, he has gained the ability to be independent.

Future Plans in EdUHK

In the new semester, Tommy will be teaching two Year 1 courses, as well as completing his doctoral thesis. 

In the new semester, when the epidemic has become the new normal, he feels sorry that he could not meet and teach the students in Face-to-Face mode. Meanwhile, online teaching has also brought him challenges. But there is no doubt that this will not affect his way of getting along with the students as friends. In addition to providing academic guidance, he also hopes he can chat with students about life on campus and offers help when necessary. As for APS, just like the freshmen, he is new to the school. He hopes that teachers and students can encourage each other and adapt to the new environment as soon as possible. 

Of course, Tommy also has some expectations for his students. On the one hand, students should not only attend classes, but also enjoy their school life, cherish the short and precious time, and dare to try different new things. On the other hand, students should keep in mind their duty as students and never give up studying.

On July 2 2020, the Research Grants Council has announced the results of General Research Fund (GRF), Hong Kong’s flagship research funding scheme in the higher education sector. Three projects submitted by researchers of the Department of Asian and Policy Studies were funded. In total, the Department has secured HK$1.6 million in this round of GRF exercise. 

Dr Isabella NG Fung-sheung, Assistant professor and Associate Head (Teaching and Learning) of Department of Asian and Policy Studies has been interviewed and quoted by New York Times, on the implications of the new national security law on the Civil Society and Academic. Read more: https://nyti.ms/3dQEUya

Professor Anthony B.L. Cheung, Research Chair Professor of Public Administration with the Department of Asian and Policy Studies (APS), speaks at the online seminar hosted by TransitCenter on “Transit and COVID-19: The Hong Kong Story” on 17 June 2020. With the experience from the SARS epidemic, Hong Kong was one of the cities to respond quickly to COVID-19. But the MTR Corporation is dealing with the financial challenges due to the pandemic, as well as the pro-democracy demonstrations. During the conversation, Professor Cheung shared how Hong Kong Public Transit copes with COVID-19. Visit TransitCenter’s Facebook Page for the recording of the seminar: https://bit.ly/37D5ARo.

The Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK) announced the result of the President’s Awards for Outstanding Performance 2019/20 on 22 May 2020. Two faculty members of the Department of Asian and Policy Studies (APS) have been conferred with this prestigious awarded in the domains of teaching and research, respectively. This year, a total of 32 nominations, consisting of 10 nominations for the Teaching domain, 11 nominations for the Research domain, 8 nominations for the Knowledge Transfer domain, and 3 nominations for the Administrative Services domain, have been received. All the nominations have gone through stringent selection by respective Selection Panels comprising lay Council Members, colleagues from sister universities, staff and student representatives, as well as past Award Recipients, according to a set of comprehensive assessment criteria. 

Outstanding Performance in Teaching

Dr Isabella NG Fung-Sheung Associate Head of Department of Asian and Policy Studies (Teaching and Learning) Assistant Professor The President’s Award for Outstanding Performance in Teaching was established to recognize and reward excellence in teaching by individual academic staff or teams and to emphasize the University’s commitment to fostering teaching innovation and excellence, enhancing students learning, and providing teaching scholarships. Dr Isabella Ng Fung-sheung, Assistant professor of APS has been awarded the Presidents’ Award for Outstanding Performance in Teaching. Trained as a feminist anthropologist, she applies her research approach to teaching by engaging students in long-term community, policy and research work. Her research training facilitated her adoption of her 3Cs approach – Collaboration, Co-production and Camaraderie – as a way of combining training in the tangible skills of co-construction and application of knowledge, and the intangible personal attributes of resilience, compassion, passion, love and empathy. Dr Ng’s teaching philosophy is “Teaching without borders”. She has applied this philosophy by 1) leading her students to work on and in the local community and communities far and wide; 2) encouraging students of diverse backgrounds to engage with marginalized communities; and 3) exposing students to real-life learning by participating in real-life policy advocacy and lobbying processes. She and her students have worked with walled villagers, Thai migrants, and asylum-seekers and refugees in Hong Kong, as well as displaced persons in Thailand and Myanmar. She co-founded a non-government organisation (NGO) with asylum-seekers and students in 2014. Through her engagement with the refugee community, she has co-produced and published journal articles and the first Chinese book on asylum-seeker and refugee issues in Hong Kong, in collaboration with her students. She was the first academic to lead a team of students to prepare and present policy submissions in Hong Kong Legislative Council Public Hearings. Within the University, Dr Ng developed the popular Communication Studies in Policy and Governance minor, which promotes integrating communication studies as an integral part of contemporary policy studies and advocacy, a crucial element overlooked in the local higher-education curriculum. In 2013, she obtained a Teaching Development Grant to develop a web portal to engage students in instant forum discussions and reflective learning, and to use media tools and strategies to actively engage in policy and social issues. To live up to her philosophy of “Teaching without borders”, Dr Ng has been training academics in universities in Myanmar and giving talks locally and internationally on refugee issues. She has also worked with the United Nations and international NGOs to combat negative narratives about migrants. She received the 2019 “Good Teacher Award” from Hong Kong Professional Teachers’ Union for her dedication and commitment to learning and teaching.  

Outstanding Performance in Research (Research Excellence Award) 

Dr Alex HE Jingwei Associate Head of Department of Asian and Policy Studies (Research and Development) Associate Professor The President’s Award for Outstanding Performance in Research was established to honour research excellence exhibited by individual academic staffs or teams and to recognise, encourage and reward outstanding research of significant benefit to the wider community. Dr Alex HE Jingwei, Associate Professor of APS, has been awarded the President’s Award for Outstanding Performance in Research (Research Excellence Award). Dr He’s main research areas are public policy analysis, health policy and reforms, and comparative social policy. As Principal Investigator, Dr He secured funding from the Early Career Scheme (ECS), the General Research Fund (GRF), the Public Policy Research (PPR) Funding Scheme, and the World Health Organization (WHO) in the past five years. Success in these external grant applications is a good indication of the recognition of Dr He’s significant contribution to social policy research in urban China and Hong Kong, and strong evidence-based policy recommendations. Dr He is prolific researcher, with 23 research outputs in the past three years, including 14 journal articles, four book chapters and one edited book. He was the first author or corresponding author in all these publications. Dr He’s specialisation in social policy and health governance with an East Asian focus has been widely recognized. In July 2019, he was selected as a core member of the research consortium of The Asia-Pacific Observatory (APO) on Health Systems and Policies of the WHO. This achievement not only served as a strong testament to Dr He’s academic excellence, but also increased the exposure of EdUHK in the international health care community. He has demonstrated outstanding research leadership in the broader academic community, serving as the Associate Editor of the Journal of Asian Public Policy and Executive Member of the East Asian Social Policy Network. In addition to his research achievements, Dr He is devoted to the promotion of a research culture in both EdUHK and the broader academic community. He has held key administrative roles in his Department, where he is the Associate Head and Chair of the Departmental Research Committee. Since 2016, he has run an annual public policy summer school series, which attracted hundreds of young scholars and research students from Hong Kong, the Mainland, Taiwan, Macau and overseas. Striving to make impact for the betterment of the society with his research, Dr He enthusiastically participates in policy advocacy. He has contributed to raising public awareness of health-reform options through extensive media engagements in Hong Kong and China.   In view of the current pandemic, the President’s Awards Presentation Ceremony for this year has been postponed and combine it with the one in the next year. Since the launched of the President’s Awards in 2011/12, several members of the APS have been awarded.