On 14 October, Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus visited CUHK and gave a lecture on campus, titled “Small Loans for a Big Future”, to share his experience in social business.

Yunus is the founder of Grameen Bank in Bangladesh, one of the largest microfinance organizations in the world serving the poor. As a result, Yunus has become known as the "Banker to the Poor". Though now advanced in years, Yunus’ strength of passion touched the audience when he talked about his experience in setting up the bank. He could not accept the reality that the poor were excluded from loan services by the traditional banks. He eventually opened a bank which operated in exactly the opposite way. “They go to the rich, I go to the poor; they go to men, I go to women; they work in the city center, I go to the villages….conventional banks require customers to go to their offices, we go to the people”, he explained in the talk. Yunus hopes to help the poor to get rid of poverty. His dream is that the next generation will have to go to museums to see what poverty was like.

His social enterprise is not limited to banks. He sold vegetable seeds to encourage a healthy diet for children who lack vitamin A. At a time when power shortage was a big problem, he sold home solar system to address the issue. In Yunus’ view, the power of charitable donation is limited, but the value of social business is infinite. When young people complained to him that they could not find a job after graduation, he encouraged them. “You are not a job seeker, but a job creator….we’re born to be entrepreneurs.” He even set up a special fund to support social business ideas.

Let’s hear Yunus’ inspirational lecture through the video.

The public are also welcome to view an exhibition about poverty around the world and an introduction to the Grameen Bank.

Details of the exhibition:

Date: 8 October – 6 November (except Sundays)

Time: 8:30am - 9:30pm

Venue: 2/F, Yasumoto International Academic Park

In the academic year 2016/17, three new undergraduate programmes from CUHK will be available through JUPAS admission, including Biomedical Sciences, Global Studies and Earth System Science (Atmospheric Science / Geophysics). All of them are four-year full-time programmes.

Biomedical Sciences Programme is introduced by the School of Biomedical Sciences. The new programme provides three unique Concentration Areas for students’ selection, including Biomedical Research, Strategic Management & Entrepreneurship, and Health Services & Consultation. This arrangement is the first of its kind in a biomedical science-based undergraduate programme in Hong Kong. By providing specific and in-depth courses to students, such as Experimental Design and Data Analysis, Management and Marketing in Pharmaceutical Industry, and Forensic Science, the programme is able to foster talents to meet the market need for professionals with biomedical knowledge.

Global Studies Programme welcomes students who have interests in global issues and want to work for global business. The programme provides five Concentration Areas, including Global Media, Cultures and Societies, World Politics, Sustainability and Environment, and Global Economy. Students are trained in multilingual and multicultural competencies, so as to develop strategies for growingly complicated global issues. There are also chances for students to have internships at global organizations, and non-government organizations.

Earth System Science (Atmospheric Science / Geophysics) Programme targets students who want to pursue in-depth studies in either Atmospheric Science or Geophysics. Under this programme, students will have early exposure in their curriculum to some of the scientific issues of the Earth System. It also provides opportunities for students to build their research and career capacities through activities such as laboratory work, programming experience, seminars and research projects.

Introduction of the Biomedical Sciences Programme: http://www.cpr.cuhk.edu.hk/resources/press/pdf/562b274c02502.pdf

Introduction of the Global Studies Programme: http://www.cpr.cuhk.edu.hk/resources/press/pdf/562b274c061f3.pdf

Introduction of the Earth System Science (Atmospheric Science / Geophysics) Programme:
http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/sci/essc/

The Art Museum of CUHK has opened the exhibition ‘The Bei Shan Tang Legacy: Rubbings of Stone Engraving and Model Calligraphy’ to features, in two phases, 70 pieces of precious ink rubbing.

In China, stele and model calligraphy are exemplary records of the written script, and are often collected by connoisseurs. They are important vehicles of Chinese calligraphy. The exhibits are not only embedded with rich historical information, but also carry artistic and cultural value by preserving the masterpieces of the past ages.

All the exhibits are donated by the Bei Shan Tang, 20 of which are notable ink rubbings dated from the Song dynasty. Among the four well-known extant rubbings of the Stele of Huashan Temple, the Art Museum’s ‘Shunde version’ is the earliest and the best protected one, compared to the others in the Palace Museum in Beijing and the Calligraphy Museum in Tokyo. It is always considered to be the highlight of the museum collection. Some of the exhibits are even recommended for the Fifth Batch of ‘National Catalogue of Precious Ancient Books’, including Stele for Xia Cheng from the Eastern Han dynasty, Inscription on the Sweet Spring in the Jiucheng Palace from the Tang dynasty and the Song-engraved Model Calligraphies from the Chunhua era.

To help the public better understand the art, a video has been produced to demonstrate the process of rubbing, and Dr. Ho Pik-ki, Associate Researcher of Art Museum will introduce the historical value of Chinese ancient rubbings.

Details of the exhibition:

Period: 17 October 2015 – 31 January 2016

Venue: Gallery I, Art Museum, CUHK

Opening Hours of Art Museum:

Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays: 10:00am–5:00pm

Sundays and Public Holidays: 1:00pm – 5:00 pm

Thursdays, Christmas and New Year Holidays Closed.