Students' performance at the Spring of Baxianling - the Literary Festival

Consolidating links in the Asia Pacific region
While CRIC was busy forging links that will benefit us globally, its associate, the Asia Pacific Centre for Education Leadership and School Quality (APCELSQ) was reaching out locally as well as in Asia. For example, it continued its involvement with the Hong Kong School Leadership Development Network which has principals and teachers from more than 600 secondary, primary and special schools and kindergartens in its ranks, by organising a conference in October 2001 on Leading Schools Achieving Excellence in Education in the Context of Current Education Reforms. A few weeks later, APCELSQ was busy coordinating a two-week training programme for Malaysian primary school teachers in which the visitors were able to see how Hong Kong schools tackled the teaching of English language and Information Technology.

These are details of how one section of the Institute carried out the strategic objective of forging links with prestigious institutions worldwide to benefit all parties and increase the international recognition of the work we carry out in Hong Kong.

International conferences create global partners
Elsewhere at the Institute many programmes of a similar nature were underway during the year with the same aim in mind.

The School of Languages in Education, for instance, joined with the Chinese University of Hong Kong and the University of Hong Kong in organising the International Language in Education Conference which is held annually in Hong Kong. This year the Institute acted as host with more than 700 participants from 14 countries - researchers, curriculum developers, teachers and teacher educators - taking part.

	Professor Cheng Yin-cheong (3rd from front left) represents HKIEd at the 2001 iAPED conference

The Centre for Citizenship Education, meanwhile, jointly organised the Second International Conference on Environmental Education in China: Leadership for the Future, with the Sun Yat-Sen University in Guangzhou and the Northeast Normal University, in co-operation with the University of Minnesota. This was held on the Sun Yat-Sen campus and explored issues of leadership in implementing environmental education in a Chinese context.

The Science Department turned to the important subject of science curriculum reform in its main symposium, held in July 2001, with prominent guest speakers from Australia, Hong Kong and Taipei.

International collaboration at different levels
Collaboration on a more individual basis is another essential component of our global networking initiatives. For example, the Department of Creative Arts welcomed visiting professors from the University of London, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Australia, the University of New South Wales in Australia and from Japan as well as collaborating with the Instituts Universitaires de Formation des Maitres (IUFM) in France on art immersion programmes and with the University of British Columbia in Canada on a music education immersion programme. Other Schools, Departments and Centres also welcomed scholars from around the region and the world.

There were exchanges, as well, that allowed both parties to benefit from the others' best practices and experience. This was typified by the work of the Chinese Department in organising a literary festival, the Spring of Baxianling - the Learning of Literature and Language in collaboration with the Centre for Language in Education. In this very successful event, Professor Yan Jiayan of Beijing University was invited to share his views on Jin Yong novels. Invitations to other scholars of high academic standing from the Mainland to visit the Institute for an exchange of views were also accepted.