CUHK and King’s College London to advance mental health care in Hong Kong

Prof. Fanny Cheung, Pro-Vice-Chancellor of CUHK (left), and Prof. Ian Everall, Executive Dean of the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience at King’s College London (right), sign a MOU for collaboration between the two universities, with a focus on mental health research.

Prof. Fanny Cheung, Pro-Vice-Chancellor of CUHK (left), and Prof. Ian Everall, Executive Dean of the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience at King’s College London (right), sign a MOU for collaboration between the two universities, with a focus on mental health research.

Mental disorder is a global problem and a pressing issue for Hong Kong in particular, with one in six people in the city suffering from a diagnosable mental disorder. However, Hong Kong only has 4.5 psychiatrists per 100,000 people, which is inadequate to meet the growing demand for diagnosis and treatment of mental problems. To tackle this pressing problem, CUHK and King’s College London (King’s) in the UK join hands to collaborate in mental health research and practice with a view to adopting novel technologies to diagnose, treat, and prevent mental disorders.

CUHK and King’s College London (King’s) join hands to advance mental health care in Hong Kong by adopting novel technologies. From left: Prof. WING Yun Kwok, Chairman of the Department of Psychiatry at CUHK; Prof. Fanny Cheung, Pro-Vice-Chancellor of CUHK; Prof. Ian Everall, Executive Dean of the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience at King’s; and Mr. Tayyeb Shah, Deputy Vice President (Global Business Development) of King’s.

CUHK and King’s College London (King’s) join hands to advance mental health care in Hong Kong by adopting novel technologies. From left: Prof. WING Yun Kwok, Chairman of the Department of Psychiatry at CUHK; Prof. Fanny Cheung, Pro-Vice-Chancellor of CUHK; Prof. Ian Everall, Executive Dean of the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience at King’s; and Mr. Tayyeb Shah, Deputy Vice President (Global Business Development) of King’s.

A signing ceremony was held on 8 March 2019 on campus where Prof. WING Yun-kwok, Chairman of the Department of Psychiatry at CUHK, and Prof. Ian Everall, Executive Dean of the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience at King’s, shared with an audience of 40 their collaboration plans. The joint work will be strongly multi-disciplinary, with inputs from engineering, computer and data-science, psychology and psychiatry, epidemiology, public health, and qualitative methodologies. To maximise patient benefit, the team will also work closely with different community sectors including health care providers and the technology industries.

The joint work between CUHK and King’s College London engages expertise from across disciplines and different community sectors. Representatives from the health care sector at the ceremony include Ms. Annie Tam, Chairperson of the New Life Psychiatric Rehabilitation Association (6th right); Mr. Terry Wong, Acting CEO of New Life Psychiatric Rehabilitation Association (5th right); and Dr. David Y.K. Lau, Chairman of Mental Health Foundation (6th left).

The joint work between CUHK and King’s College London engages expertise from across disciplines and different community sectors. Representatives from the health care sector at the ceremony include Ms. Annie Tam, Chairperson of the New Life Psychiatric Rehabilitation Association (6th right); Mr. Terry Wong, Acting CEO of New Life Psychiatric Rehabilitation Association (5th right); and Dr. David Y.K. Lau, Chairman of Mental Health Foundation (6th left).

Mr. Tayyeb Shah, Deputy Vice President (Global Business Development) of King’s College London, speaks on the significance of the CUHK-King’s collaboration in tackling mental health problem globally.

Mr. Tayyeb Shah, Deputy Vice President (Global Business Development) of King’s College London, speaks on the significance of the CUHK-King’s collaboration in tackling mental health problem globally.