Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra Lunch-time Concert at the OUHK

Four members of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra presented a delightful string quartet mini-concert on campus on 25 May. About 100 staff and students took some time off their lunch hour to relax and enjoy the music of Mozart and Dvorak.

To celebrate its 20th Anniversary, the OUHK and Lam Kin Chung Morning Sun Charity Fund will sponsor the 'Kolja Blacher returns' concert presented by the Orchestra on 2 October at the Concert Hall of Hong Kong City Hall. Tickets are now available from URBTIX. Check out more details from www.ouhk.edu.hk/20anniversaryconcert.

VIP Roundtable on Wine Tasting

In recent years, wine-tasting has become an increasingly popular pastime. The Li Ka Shing Institute of Professional and Continuing Education organized a series of wine education activities in May and June, which included radio programmes (produced by Metro Broadcast), an online quiz, wine tasting seminars and a wine education expo. A VIP Roundtable on Wine Tasting was held on 6 June to round up the education series, which was supported by the Consulate Generals of Canada, France, Italy and Spain, and the Concord Institute of Wine. Representatives of the Consulate Generals, OUHK President Prof. John C Y Leong, Metro Broadcast Deputy Managing Director Mr Sung Man-hei, Quality Tourism Services Association Executive Manager Ms Cathy Yau, renowned financial programme host Ms Agnes Wu and food and beverages practitioners shared their views on wine tasting during the Roundtable.

Legal and Literary Translation Competition

As an international city where English and Chinese are equally important, translators are needed in most trades and professions. The School of Arts and Social Sciences has organized a competition, which consists of two sections — legal translation and literary translation, to promote this area of study. The texts for translation were announced in a press conference on 15 June by President Prof. John C Y Leong and two panel judges, Senior Counsel Mr Anthony Neoh and Chinese University of Hong Kong Translation Professor Prof. Chan Sin-wai. In the Legal Section, participants were required to translate a Chinese judgment of the Court of First Instance of the High Court into English and an English assignment into Chinese. Excerpts from the novel February by Chinese writer Rou Shi and the short story Sonny's Blues by James Baldwin were selected for translation in the Literary Section. Entry was closed on 31 July and competition results will be announced on 17 October.

International Conference on ICT in Teaching and Learning 2009

Co-organized by the OUHK and Hong Kong Web Symposium Consortium, the International Conference on ICT in Teaching and Learning 2009 took place on 6–8 July on campus with 'Blended Learning — Building Technologies and Teaching Practices' as its main theme. The conference attracted 150 delegates from local institutions and around the world. The Hong Kong Education Bureau sponsored nearly 100 teachers to take part in some sessions of the Conference.

'For institutions to survive and thrive in the increasingly complex environment of higher education, it is imperative that leaders generate an organizational development strategy, which will lead to blended learning becoming the core approach to learning and teaching,' said Prof. Jim Taylor, of the University of Southern Queensland's Australian Digital Futures Institute, in his keynote presentation. The other two keynote speakers, Dr Jan Herrington and Mr Peter Olaf Looms, of Murdoch University and the University of Hong Kong respectively, also provided insightful, inspiring addresses on using technology for creating innovative authentic learning designs and on the issue of accessibility.

There was a good variety within the parallel paper presentations, workshops, demonstrations and special events such as the eInnovation in Education Award Competition and, a new event, 'Breakfast links.' The latter gave participants a chance to discuss and network with others in their area of interest over breakfast. Guest of honour Under Secretary for Education Mr Kenneth Chen gave a speech before presenting the eInnovation in Education Awards to the winning student and institutional projects.

Conference on Marketing Innovation and Strategic Management of Transition from OEM to OSM

The Chinese manufacturing industry has entered into an era of transformation from original equipment manufacturing (OEM) to original strategic manufacturing (OSM). To successfully accelerate the transformation, the elevation of marketing innovation and modern strategic management are essential. Organized by South China University of Technology and City University of Hong Kong, and co-organized by the OUHK's Lee Shau Kee School of Business and Administration, the Conference on Marketing Innovation and Strategic Management of Transition from OEM to OSM was held on 3–5 July in Guangzhou to explore the above topic. Nearly 100 academics from Europe, US, Hong Kong and mainland China, including the School Dean Prof. Ip Yiu-keung and two academic staff, attended the Conference. The paper co-written by Dr Anthony Ko of the OUHK and Dr Eddie Yu of City University of Hong Kong on 'Beyond OEM and ODM, is there a natural path?' got the Best Paper Award.

Seminar on Outcome-based Approaches to Learning and Teaching

The seminar on Outcome-based Approaches to Learning and Teaching organized by the School of Education and Languages on 14 May drew the participation of 350 educators. World renowned outcome-based learning scholar Prof. John Biggs elucidated through video-conference from Australia the concept of 'constructive alignment' and described how students actively construct meaning and knowledge by engaging in appropriate learning activities, and how learning outcomes, learning activities and assessment tasks could be aligned. Dr Angela Ho, Director of Educational Development of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University and Prof. Sunny Kwong of The Chinese University of Hong Kong also shared their experiences in implementing outcome-based learning.

Talk on 'Microfluidics... coming soon to a screen near you'

How microfluidics can help develop high efficiency displays to replace inefficient LCD displays? The School of Science and Technology invited Dr Rob Hayes, founder and ex-Chief Technical Officer of Liquavista, to give a talk on 7 June to introduce the characteristics and development of the microfluidics technology and illustrate how it can further enhance the quality of displays.

Talk on Quality Primary School Teachers

The 'Snoopy Principal' Ms Lam Woon-sum was invited by the School of Education and Languages to give a talk on Quality Primary School Teachers on 10 July, sharing her insights and experience on how to be a good teacher with over 150 participants. Ms Lam has over 30 years of work experience in primary education and is currently headmistress of Ying Wa Primary School. She has built a good rapport with students and likes to use letters to communicate with them. Ms Lam has also published books on how to understand the thoughts of children. She is a fan of Snoopy and has her office decorated with numerous displays of the comic character.

Talk on WiMAX Traction and Applications

At the public lecture 'WiMAX Traction and Applications' on 15 May, Ir. Danny Cheng from Motorola Home & Networks Mobility (Asia Pacific) illustrated the applications and performance of WiMAX technology through the findings of a collaborative test of Motorola and the OUHK. He also discussed with the audience how to enhance our quality of life via the use of appropriate wireless and information technology.

Distinguished Alumni Symposium cum Alumni Homecoming Day (Mainland)

Since its launch in 1998, the mainland MBA training programme offered by the Lee Shau Kee School of Business and Administration has accumulated over 8,000 graduates. To celebrate the University's 20th Anniversary and to re-connect with these alumni, the School organized several alumni events in collaboration with its academic partners in different teaching locations — Fuzhou, Shunde, Shanghai, Hangzhou and Xian — in June and July, with the participation of about 1,000 alumni, government officials, institution heads, professors and tutors of partner institutions. President Prof. John C Y Leong and Vice-President (Academic) Prof. Danny Wong gave speeches at the Shanghai and Fuzhou gatherings respectively. The School Dean Prof. Ip Yiu-keung, Head of Public Affairs Ms Jacqueline Cheng, mainland China Projects Co-ordinator Dr Simon Xu and some staff members also joined the celebrations in different cities. All alumni were presented a 20th Anniversary Stamp Pane Commemorative Set as souvenir. Alumni associations were set up at respective teaching locations.

Apart from forums and talks on financial issues conducted by scholars and alumni from different sectors or professions, there were also alumni sharing, dinner gatherings and an enticing array of performances. Among the speakers were a professor from Fudan University in Shanghai, a professor from the City University of Seattle and the School's Assistant Professor Dr Raymond Chow and Lecturer Ms Shi Xuemei.

Forum on China's Water Resource and Quality Protection

Water is the origin of life, but we have often neglected its protection and preservation. Co-organized by the Office for Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan of the National Natural Science Foundation of China, Beijing-Hong Kong International Training Centre and the OUHK, the Forum on 'China's Water Resource and Quality Protection' was held on 18–19 June on campus. President Prof. John C Y Leong and HKSAR Director of Water Supplies Mr Ma Lee-tak spoke at the opening ceremony of the Forum, which was attended by about 70 experts in the field. Topics covered by the Forum included water management systems and technologies.