(星島日報報道)「一帶一路」沿線國家哈薩克斯坦是中亞地區最大的經濟體，教育大學通識教育榮譽文學士畢業生在機
Professor Woo Chi-keung at the Department of Asian and Policy Studies (APS) of the Education University of Hong Kong has been awarded HK$ 586,040 under the Research Funding Scheme 2020-2021 of the Policy Innovation and Co-ordination Office, Hong Kong SAR Government for his project of Performance-based Regulation of Mass Transit Railway’s Reliability Performance.
With increasing worldwide and complex social challenges, the demand for talent in public policy and management soars. It is not uncommon for senior bureaucrats or rising stars from the civil service to be despatched for overseas study, or for some, to be lured by excellence of the institutes and attractive offer. Nitikon Jirathitikankit (Nitikon), our Thai Student of Master of Public Policy and Management (MPPM) with the Department of Asian and Policy Studies (APS) at the Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK), is one of rising stars in Thai bureaucracy and an awardee of the MPPM Full Entrance Scholarship. 
Prior to coming to Hong Kong, he has received two bachelor’s degrees in Political Science and in Law, and a master’s degree in Comparative Politics from different universities in Thailand. He also has completed a Master of Sciences in Security, Conflict and Justice at the University of Leeds before studying in our MPPM programme. Nitikon has been working for the Office of the Constitutional Court of Thailand as an Academic Officer at Constitutional Research and Development Division for more than a decade, we would like to know why he decided to study in our MPPM programme, and how does the knowledge he learnt from this programme help him for career advancement?
Please tell us a bit about your job
Before I studied in the UK, and Hong Kong, I had been working for the Office of the Constitutional Court of Thailand as an Academic Officer at Constitutional Research and Development Division for 11 years. My primary duty is mostly dealing with research project regarding comparative constitutional law and public law, and also the competences of the constitutional court or equivalent institutions around the world. Apart from legal research, I am also involved in publishing academic papers in academic journals and books for the Court.
Why and how did you decide to come to EdUHK and study MPPM?
APS signed the MOU with Naresuan University (Thailand) where I got my bachelor’s degree in political science, and my teacher, Professor Napisa Waitoolkiat (Dean of Faculty of Social Sciences at Naresuan University) recommended me to apply for this programme. The department offered me a full entrance scholarship, which provided me with a great chance to improve myself in the academic and research skills, an important criterion for my career advancement. MPPM provided me with a wide range of courses, like the basic knowledge of public policy and public administration. Even though I graduated in political science for my bachelor degree, I have already forgotten some of the knowledge I acquired from the programme. So, MPPM is very useful for students who want to improve themselves in public management, public administration and public policy. I have recommended this programme to my friends and colleagues who are thinking of further studies. In my opinion, the University and the department are very supportive to students, especially international students, who are total strangers to Hong Kong, like me, and I do really appreciate that in this difficult situation, the school has putting a lot of effort to ensure students’ safety and continuity in learning. Also, teachers and Staffs of the APS have been providing good quality of teaching and learning environment, and I am very impressed. I found out that the environment here is very peaceful and lovely. Although I am living off campus, I come back to the campus all the time, even though all face-to-face lectures have been cancelled, because the environment is so tranquil that it is very conducive to learning.
How does the knowledge you have learnt from the programme help you in your career advancement?
I think the programme has broadened my perspectives. As a civil servant in my home country, of course, I am familiar with the public administration in Thailand but know very little about other countries. The course PPG 6005 ‘Public Administration and Management in Asia’ taught by Professor Darryl Jarvis provided me with this kind of knowledge. In the course, he illustrated the concepts by using a lot of real-life examples. For example, he told us how the Indonesian Government manage their utilities, such as water and electricity, through privatization. This kind of knowledge helps me understand more about public administration, and I could take some references from these examples. If I ever have the chance, I could propose some ideas to my senior managers in order to improve the Court’s performance. Not only have I gained knowledge from this programme, but also I have improved my inter-personal skills, as most of the assignments given by the lecturers are group-based. I have a lot of chances to work with classmates from different backgrounds, and we can learn how to share ideas, how to compromise with one another and get the decision from different aspects. This skill is very important to my life, as well as for my career development.
What would you say about the learning style in Thailand and Hong Kong?
I was quite surprised by the Student-Teacher relationship here. In Thailand, we keep some distance with our teachers as we need to pay respect to them, However, in Hong Kong, we are given opportunities to contact all lecturers, and we can make an appointment for consultation just simply by sending an email. Therefore, we have a very close relationship with lecturers. Furthermore, lecturers provide students with the reading list, assign us with lots of articles and texts to go through before the class. This proves to be quite useful, as you know what you are going to learn in advance, and we can prepare ourselves before the class. Moreover, the University’s facilities, such as the library, also provide us various kind of materials, which are the significant resources for conducting research project and doing assignments. 
How do you spend your free time here?
I am one of the volunteers at the Hong Kong Society for Asylum-Seekers and Refugees (HKSASR), which is founded by Dr Isabella Ng, and this offered me a new experience. As a civil servant in Thailand, I was just sitting in my office and doing my job, but working with Isabella, I can explore the unknown side of Hong Kong. At the same time, I have made a lot of new friends with the asylum-seekers and refugees. This offers me a new opportunity to learn how to communicate with people of different background from Hong Kong.
PTU News ran a feature story on Dr Isabella Ng Fung-sheung, Assistant Professor at the Department of Asian and Policy Studies, who won a “Good Teacher Award” organized by the Hong Kong Professional Teachers’ Union. The story mentioned Dr Ng, who is committed to research and community work, founded the Hong Kong Society for Asylum-Seekers and Refugees and set up a music class to help children who are unable to go to school due to their nationality issue. For more details, please visit: https://issuu.com/hkptu/docs/704ptunews/12. (Chinese only)
Dr Xiao Hanyu, assistant professor at APS, was interviewed by Ming Pao. He pointed out the abilities young people should have to participate in politics and introduced the four characteristics of the Master of Public Policy and Management (MPPM) Programme. 
香港教育大學除了提供師範培訓以外，亦開辦社會科學等課程。其中包括由亞洲及政策研究學系開辦的公共政策及管理碩士(Master of Public Policy and Management, MPPM)。課程著重理論與實踐結合教學模式，涉獵廣泛公共政策元素。另外，課程提供三大專業方向讓學員自由選擇，分別為管治及公共管理；社會政策；以及高等教育政策。 對於現時愈來愈多年青人投身政府部門甚至從政，公共政策及管理碩士副課程主任肖漢宇博士指年青人參政需要三大能力：首先要深入瞭解政策過程，培養自身分析能力及批判思維；其次要深入社區，理解市民需要；最後，以全球化角度思考問題，加以不同學科及背景的角度分析。課程其中一個必修科目「戰略溝通」教導學員與公眾及傳媒溝通，亦是現時公共部門需要改進之處。 肖博士亦表示課程有四大特色：
- 課程設計方向的集中政策研究，討論及比較不同國家的社會及公共政策；
- 學系與逾50間機構合作，為學員提供實習機會，合作機構包括：香港紅十字會、香港美國商會等；
- 學系安排學員到不同政府部門及機構採訪，讓學員瞭解相關政策運行，如立法會、房委會、醫管局等，另定期邀請前政府官員或學者到校舉辦講座
- 學系非常鼓勵學員積極參與公共政策分析比賽，以訓練學員政策分析能力。
- 課程為優秀學員提供獎學金，包括：公共政策與管理碩士學術獎學金及公共政策與管理碩士非本地學生住宿獎學金。
課程查詢方式： 網址：https://www.eduhk.hk/aps/mppm
電話：(852) 2948 7845
微信：apsmaster
本文轉載自明報《青年不再政治冷感 研公共政策造時勢》一文，略有刪改。 原文: https://jupas.mingpao.com/postgrad/%E9%9D%92%E5%B9%B4%E4%B8%8D%E5%86%8D%E6%94%BF%E6%B2%BB%E5%86%B7%E6%84%9F-%E7%A0%94%E5%85%AC%E5%85%B1%E6%94%BF%E7%AD%96%E9%80%A0%E6%99%82%E5%8B%A2/
A team of students of the Master of Public Policy and Governance (MPPG) Programme of the Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK) won the first prize in the Eighth National Universities Mock Mayor Competition in November 2018. Organized by the Chinese Academy of Management and the Central University of Finance and Economics, this event is one of the most reputable academic competitions for Chinese students in the field of public policy and administration. Competing on a team basis, contestants are expected to identify a critical public policy problem in real-world setting, undertake solid policy analysis, and formulate innovative solutions.
Consisting of both local and mainland students, this EdUHK team focused on elderly care and public housing, two of the thorniest social policy issues in Hong Kong, and designed an integrated policy package that seeks to encourage intergenerational social solidarity in rapidly ageing Hong Kong. Their innovative policy solution and high-quality policy analysis were generously appreciated by the referees’ panel that comprised of senior public sector leaders in China.
A team of students of the Master of Public Policy and Management (MPPM) and Bachelor of Social Sciences (Honours) in Greater China Studies (BGCS) programme won the first prize in the Ninth National Universities Mock Mayor Competition in November 2019. Organized by the Chinese Academy of Management and the Central University of Finance and Economics, this event is one of the most reputable academic competitions for Chinese students in the field of public policy and administration. The contestants are expected to identify a critical public policy problem in a real-world setting, undertake solid policy analysis, and formulate innovative solutions.
Consisting of both local and mainland students, this EdUHK team focused on elderly re-employment under the aging society. As the coach of the award-winning team, Dr Alex He Jingwei, Associate Head of the Department (Research and Development), provided intensive training and mentorship throughout the entire course of the competition. Gigi Szeto, Year 4student from the BGCS programme said her academic research skills had been enhanced enormously.
Twenty-five international scholars participated in an authors’ workshop on The Future of Policy Sciences. Organized by the Department of Asian and Policy Studies (APS), the two-day workshop held between November 14 and 15 provided international participants the opportunity to engage with local scholars and explore the future of policy sciences both as an intellectual enterprise but also as a pedagogical set of activities focused on teaching and training policy professionals.
Attracting a leading cohort of internationally recognised policy scholars, including the General Secretary of the International Public Policy Association, Professor Philippe Zittoun from the University of Lyon, France, the workshop explored several themes including big data in public policy making, contrasting geographies of policy science, the future of policy schools, the evolving role of the policy scientist, and future challenges for public policy teaching and research.
The papers presented at the workshop will appear in 2020 in several special issues in leading international policy journals. The organisers of the workshop also hope to institutionalise the event via an annual rotating ‘policy dialogue series’ to be hosted by the Department of Asian and Policy Studies, EdUHK, Hong Kong, the Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Doha, Qatar, the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore and the College of Economics and Administrative Sciences, Koç University, Istanbul, Turkey.
Twenty-five international scholars participated in an authors’ workshop on The Future of Policy Sciences. Organized by the Department of Asian and Policy Studies (APS), the two-day workshop held between November 14 and 15 provided international participants the opportunity to engage with local scholars and explore the future of policy sciences both as an intellectual enterprise but also as a pedagogical set of activities focused on teaching and training policy professionals.
Attracting a leading cohort of internationally recognised policy scholars, including the General Secretary of the International Public Policy Association, Professor Philippe Zittoun from the University of Lyon, France, the workshop explored several themes including big data in public policy making, contrasting geographies of policy science, the future of policy schools, the evolving role of the policy scientist, and future challenges for public policy teaching and research.
The papers presented at the workshop will appear in 2020 in several special issues in leading international policy journals. The organisers of the workshop also hope to institutionalise the event via an annual rotating ‘policy dialogue series’ to be hosted by the Department of Asian and Policy Studies, EdUHK, Hong Kong, the Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Doha, Qatar, the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore and the College of Economics and Administrative Sciences, Koç University, Istanbul, Turkey.