With much delight, I present the Strategic Plan 2013-16: Shaping the Future: Excellence in Learning, Teaching and Scholarship.

Four years ago, the Institute promulgated the Strategic Plan 2009-12 and Beyond, outlining the vision, mission and framework which would guide the path of our transformation on four fronts: transforming our students and graduates, transforming our capacity, transforming schools and the community, and transforming the regional education landscape.

The Institute set the bar very high, aiming to achieve a large number of milestones within a relatively short period of time. Four years down the road, the Institute community can look back with much pride and satisfaction that we have not only accomplished our goals, but have also exceeded expectations, particularly because the transformation process was undertaken in parallel with the successful implementation of the 3-3-4/5 academic structure in 2012-13.

On top of our traditionally strong education programmes, we have launched multidisciplinary degree programmes funded by the University Grants Committee in, amongst other areas, language studies, global and environmental studies, and creative arts and culture. We have also launched research postgraduate programmes, and have graduated the first two cohorts of Doctor of Education students. With a robust and research-active culture across the campus, the Institute has emerged as a strong contender for a range of competitive research grants. While we continue to foster close partnership with the school community, the Institute has been increasingly recognised locally, regionally and internationally for its academic leadership. We have also been a strong advocate of education and social reforms, influencing and contributing to the ongoing discourse and deliberations of relevant topics on the public agenda.

As the Institute enters the next triennium, the Strategic Plan 2013-16 provides us with the direction, strategies and milestones that will guide us in our ongoing development. The title Shaping the Future: Excellence in Learning, Teaching and Scholarship clearly articulates our hopes and aspirations. To everyone of us at the Institute, being good is not enough; we aim to be excellent in order to catapult the Institute to the next level of its development. This is an ethos shared by the entire Institute community, whose views were solicited through wide consultation in the process of drafting the new Strategic Plan and I would like to express my gratitude to them all for their active participation and constructive input.

Grounded in the Strategic Plan 2013-16, and with the support and concerted efforts of the Institute community, I am confident that we will again exceed expectations in the new triennium.