"CUHK Mooncake" introduced by the University for the second year, can be ordered now. This mooncake is a delicious festive delicacy which signifies CUHK’s commitment to serving the community.

The University has joined hands again with Caritas La Vie, a local social enterprise, to produce CUHK Mooncake. It is made of low sugar white lotus seed paste with two yolks in Caritas La Vie’s baking workshop, through which job opportunities are provided for the recovering mentally disabled.

CUHK Mooncake is sold in boxes of four. For each box sold, the CUHK‧Care service team will deliver a free mooncake to the elderly in Shatin or Taipo before the Mid-Autumn Festival. Last year, when CUHK Mooncake was introduced for the first time, it received an overwhelming response from CUHK staff, alumni and students. Many of those who bought the CUHK Mooncake donated all their purchased mooncakes and brought them to the elderly. As a result, more than 1,000 pieces of CUHK Mooncake were delivered to the elderly.

Moreover, profit gained from the mooncake sales will be donated to support the I‧CARE Programme of the University, which facilitates CUHK students’ initiatives in community services.

Act now to order this special university branded Mooncake and share the festive joy with others!

Order CUHK Mooncake: http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/cpr/mooncake2016

At the Long Service Award Presentation Ceremony this year, CUHK presented the 2015 Long Service Awards to 136 staff members who have been with the University for 25 and 35 years.

One of the awardees who have served the University for 35 years is Ms. Sarah Lam, who is currently working at the School of Chinese Medicine. In 1999, Sarah transferred from the Office of Student Affairs to the newly established School of Chinese Medicine. As one of the first staff members, Sarah witnessed the growth of the School. Moments such as recruiting the first batch of students and teaming up to fight against SARS in 2003 became unforgettable experiences in her life. Besides her passionate commitment in serving the School, the picturesque scenery of CUHK campus is also an important reason that keeps Sarah at the University. Thirty-five-year’s loyal service has made CUHK an important entity to Sarah. Lots of her friends are from the University and even her son and daughter-in-law are graduates of CUHK. For Sarah, CUHK is not only a workplace, but also her family.

Another 35-year long service awardee is Prof. Frederick Cheung from the Department of History. Prof. Cheung was a graduate from New Asia College and was taught by renowned historians of the time, including Prof. Sun Kuo-tung, Prof. Yen Keng-wang and Prof. Yu Ying-shih. Prof. Yu once told him that “to take good care of your students would be repaying my kindness to you”, which became a mission of Prof. Cheung. To make history classes lively and interesting, he always relates history to various aspects of our daily life and uses movies and songs as teaching materials. His courses have even attracted many students from other faculties. Even though Prof. Cheung has retired, he continues to teach History and General Education courses as a part-time lecturer.

Let’s hear their stories with CUHK through the video.

Prof. So Wing-Chee from the Department of Educational Psychology is now employing humanoid robots to enhance the gestural communication skills of autistic children. This robot-based intervention is a pioneer in Hong Kong, and even the world, in promoting the gestural communication skills of autistic children.

Children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are characterized by impairments in communication and social interaction. In addition, they have sensory issues and often produce certain maladaptive responses, which are termed ‘challenging behaviors’, such as physical and verbal aggression, tantrums and self-injurious behaviors. The fact that such behaviors worsen with age emphasizes the need for early intervention. According to Prof. So, “Gesture is an effective channel for communication. It can help reduce challenging behaviors of autistic children.”

Since individuals with ASD tend to have low interest in other humans and prefer robotic toys, Prof. So formed her research team with colleagues from the Faculty of Engineering and the Faculty of Arts to design an effective intervention program for autistic children using social robots, NAO. The intervention programme teaches children with low-functioning ASD to effectively communicate their needs and feelings via gestures, such as angry, annoyed, dizzy, and scared,. The team partnered with the Hong Chi Morninghill School, Tsui Lam, to use the social robot in teaching their students with ASD. The result shows that students are more capable in recognizing and producing the gestures introduced in the training. Even more promising is that these students can recognize and repeat the same gestures in human-to-human interactions.

At CUHK, Prof. So has set up the Language and Gesture Laboratory. She also develops intervention programs to promote non-verbal communication skills in children with ASD. These programs have benefited more than a hundred children with autism in Hong Kong.