Over 80 honoured guests, members of the Council, staff and student representatives of the Institute gathered on 22 May 2003 to pay tribute to Mr Simon Ip, the founding Council Chairman of the Hong Kong Institute of Education. Dr Thomas Leung, Council Chairman, praised the effective and visionary leadership of Mr Ip, "With the strong foundation Simon has helped us to build, the Institute will go on to even greater heights in the next few years."

Professor Paul Morris, President of the Institute saluted Mr Ip for his unique contributions to a number of milestone achievements. "Under Simon's leadership, the Institute has upgraded itself to its present stage of maturity. The most recent outcome of this is the UGC decision to undertake an Institutional Review for the purpose of deciding whether we should become self-accrediting."

A leader who always inspires and encourages, Mr Ip has been a role model for students. Miss Esther Wong, founding President of the HKIEd Students' Union, recalled her first Council meeting, where Mr Ip's encouragement gave her the confidence to take up her role as student representative on Council. "I learnt a lot from you and we graduates of HKIEd will not forget what you have done for us."

Mr Simon Ip has made a significant contribution over the past decade to the history of teacher education in Hong Kong. Though it saddens us to say goodbye, as the Institute's souvenir gift to him tells, we hope Mr Ip will always maintain his tie with the Institute.