RGC visitors and staff of the OUHK.

The OUHK received a panel of distinguished visitors from the Research Grants Council (RGC) on 25 August. We welcome this opportunity which signals a positive response from the government and academia to our persistent call for equal opportunities for access to research funding.

We are proud of our significant growth in the last ten years -- in student enrolment, in productivity and in building international networks -- which in turn has improved both our expertise and stature. We are also gratified to be able to balance our accounts and boost our income from private sources. Our research efforts, albeit small in scale, have demonstrated the unquenched fervour among colleagues to undertake exploratory work that can enrich themselves and the University.

Academic research and scholarship is vital to the growth, health and quality of life in universities, and the OUHK should not be kept out of the gate because of its unique approach in teaching methods and entry systems. Our colleagues and graduate students share the same desire and need to explore, create and advance knowledge, in their own disciplines and above all, in the specific areas of open and adult education. We are happy to remain self- financing in teaching, but students should not be forced to shoulder the costs in the research and further development of the University.

We lack no enthusiasm for entering into fair competition with our counterparts at other institutions for public funds and we are confident that we can deliver results with the same high quality, relevance and value. I hope the RGC visit has provided the essential background for our peers and policy makers to understand our aspirations and commitment to research. As a new era is dawning for life-long education in the next millennium, the OUHK is poised to play an increasingly important role in a knowledge-based society. Now is the time to give us some encouragement and a fair chance to match our ambitions and vision for the future.