During the year, the University recorded its best-ever fundraising results, with over HK$164 million in donations pledged by various donors, foundations and grants. Amongst the pledged donations, HK$40 million was received during the year.
The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust made a grant of HK$62.5 million to the University to launch an ambitious project that will benefit upper primary school students. The four-year Computational Thinking and Coding Education project for primary schools, organised by the University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and City University of Hong Kong (CityU) commenced in April 2016. The project is aiming to equip upper primary school students with fundamental programming concepts and develop their computational thinking skills and perspectives from an early learning age. Amid very keen competition, 32 out of 150 applications were shortlisted as network schools, at which 16,560 students will benefit from the combined EdUHK-MIT-CityU expertise. In addition, more than 100 teachers will be trained by EdUHK and MIT to equip them with computational thinking teaching skills.
The University also received two generous donations for the promotion of Chinese culture and history. HK$5 million was donated by the Fung Sun Kwan Chinese Arts Foundation to help prospective teachers and the younger generations fortify their foundation in traditional Chinese culture. Spanning five years, the project will benefit student teachers at the University, equipping them with the knowledge and skills needed to develop and deliver a life education curriculum infused with traditional Chinese culture and values, through which the meaning of life and the importance of living to the fullest can be advanced. A donation of HK$1 million from another donor was dedicated to promoting the study of Chinese history and culture among local students, deepening their understanding of Chinese tradition. Supported by this donation, the 2015/2016 Primary and Secondary School Chinese Culture Quiz Competition was held on 28 May 2016, with keen participation by 60 primary and secondary schools.
The Presidential Advisory Group (PAG), a high-level platform set up by the President two years ago, was supported by very knowledgeable members of the community from different walks of life. These leading figures included members of school sponsoring bodies, the secondary, primary, early childhood and family education fields, the Legislative Council and the business and broadcasting sectors. Meeting regularly, members of the PAG and its four sub-groups with focuses on different education areas advised the President and his management team, giving their invaluable views regarding the ongoing development of the University and its programme offerings.
To promote science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education, the University held its first Innovations in Science and Environmental Studies (ISES) event in 1998. This long-running collaboration between EdUHK, government departments and educational organisations aims to promote a habit of innovation, an understanding of scientific knowledge and awareness of environmental issues, hence nurturing STEM integration skills and problem-solving techniques through scientific investigations. ISES annually attracts more than 1,000 upper primary students from over 150 schools in Hong Kong, the Pearl River Delta Region and Macau. During the year, participating students worked on the theme of “Green Aviation”. To recognise those efforts, the University disseminated their outstanding work via the publication of 18 books and uploaded videos on the investigation process and ideas to the official event website.
Founded in June 2015, the Centre for Excellence in Learning and Teaching is renowned for supporting and initiating new and cutting-edge classroom practices, advancing teaching and learning effectiveness and excellence through lesson study, self-directed learning, communities of practices and small class teaching. With the 30 commissioned professional development courses, school development days and partnership projects it has organised since establishment, the Centre has helped 2,600 teachers, students and other participants to benefit from the latest and most innovative theories and best education practices.
The University actively involves its students in serving the underprivileged and students with special educational needs (SEN). Launched in 2011-12, with the support of the Education Bureau, the After-school Learning Support Scheme engaged students at the University as tutors to serve pupils with financial needs. In 2013-14, the Scheme was launched with the Tai Po Association of Secondary School Heads to support SEN secondary school students in the Tai Po district. In 2015-16, the Scheme was extended to cover schools in the Shatin district. In the two academic years, some 3,000 EdUHK students were engaged as tutors, benefiting students in 120 primary and secondary schools.
The University is dedicated to advancing the well-being of the wider community and environment by partnering with other organisations or working independently. With that purpose in mind, the University invited U Deli, a social enterprise cafe under the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals, to operate its Coffee Corner on campus through a tendering procedure.
The cafe provides a mutual learning opportunity for both its employees and the University community. While employees with disabilities have been given the chance to be self-reliant after receiving training, University staff members and students have learned to embrace inclusiveness and positively interact with the employees. In the same spirit, the convenience store on campus is operated by Rehabilitation Alliance Hong Kong, which gives training to people with disabilities and rehabilitated patients so that they can be re-integrated into society, allowing the University community to get to know these groups of people better.
To help protect the environment, the University stepped up waste reduction efforts in collaboration with the Conservancy Association during the year, placing recycling bins on campus. Some 180 kilogrammes of used clothes were collected, partly for donation to Cambodia and partly for turning into work gloves for industrial use locally.
To nurture our students as caring future leaders, the University launched a mass community service project entitled Action By Care – Move For Good on 1 March 2016. More than 500 staff members, students and alumni participated in the project whereby they recorded the calories they burned during physical exercise for three weeks by using Mi Bands. Over 3.1 million burned calories were then tallied and converted into equivalent bowls of rice to be donated to underprivileged families and those in need of food assistance.
The Hong Kong Museum of Education (HKME) has been attracting scores of visitors to its exhibitions and activities. Launched in June 2015, the Re-encountering Confucius exhibition was organised by HKME and co-presented by the Shandong Provincial Cultural Relics Bureau and partners from Mainland China. Through interactive edutainment activities and guided tours, the exhibition enhanced the understanding of Confucius and his philosophy among participating students and teachers. Building on its success, HKME coordinated the organisation of the large-scale Six Arts, Five Constant Virtues Carnival on 8-9 July 2016 in collaboration with five academic units. Through fun-filled activities, exhibitions, video shows and game booths, the Carnival aimed to promote traditional Chinese culture and values and whole person education. From its establishment in 2009 to when this report was being prepared, the HKME had attracted close to 94,000 visitors to the 24 exhibitions it organised.
The Eco-garden was built on campus as part of the University’s green initiatives that also facilitated learning activities. Comprising organic farmland, aquaponic and wetland systems, rain and butterfly gardens, solar and wind energy features, and ecological and ornamental ponds, the Eco-garden demonstrates renewable energy applications and sustainability while serving as a research, teaching and learning facility.
During the year, the University website won the Triple Gold Award of the Web Accessibility Recognition Scheme jointly organised by the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer and the Equal Opportunities Commission on an annual basis since 2013. The University was lauded for its efforts in adopting user-friendly design in its website, which facilitates visitors, including disability groups, to obtain useful information, thereby promoting Hong Kong as an inclusive society.