Newsletter No. 144

One of the First in Asia to Achieve Accreditation from AACSB—IAME T he Un i v e r s i t y 's Fa c u l ty o f Business Administration has achieved accreditation from AACSB-The International Association for Management Education ( I AME ). This was announced on 18th April 1999 at the Association's annual meeting held in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Established in 1916, AACSB (American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business) has been the premier accrediting agency for degree programmes in business administration and accounting. Its founding members include leading business schools in the world such as Harvard and Wharton. Traditionally, A A C SB served mainly business schools in the USA and Canada. Ab o ut seven to ten years ago, there were suggestions from AACSB that CUHK might want to go through the accreditation process to become an accredited member. However, it was deemed inappropriate for the University to do so because AACSB, while widely regarded as a premier accrediting agency, was then a North American organization p r i ma r i ly for No r th Ame r i can business schools. More recently, AACSB decided to broaden its scope and changed its name to AACSB - I AME. They began to invite business schools outside of North America to become accredited members. CUHK was the first institution in Asia to receive an invitation from AACSB-IAME in September 1997 to become one of the pilot schools in Asia to go through the accreditation process. CUHK accepted the invitation, followed the prescribed procedure to submit the self-evaluation reports in September 1998, underwent an on-site peer review in January 1999, and successfully became accredited in April. The mission o f the Faculty o f Business Administration at The Chinese University of Hong Kong is to become the leading business school in East Asia and one of the top 30 business schools in the world. After becoming an accredited member of the AACSB - I AME, CUHK w i ll play an even more active role in global management education. New DNA Blood Test for NPC Nasopharyngea l cancer (NPC) is one of the five commonest cancers affecting Hong Kong Chinese. However there is no easy and accurate test for the disease at present. Current blood tests suffer from several problems including false- positivity. A joint research by the University's Departments of Chemical Pathology, Anatomical and Cellular Pathology, and Clinical Oncology has found a promising new blood test for NPC. The finding was reported in the current issue of Cancer Research. The new test uses state-of-the-art molecular technology to detect in the blood of patients the DNA of the Epstein-Barr virus which is closely linked to the cancer. It is found that the DNA is detectable in the plasma of 96 per cent of NPC patients and that the technology is highly sensitive to the severity of the disease. It has implications for clinical management and can be used to assess the results of radiation therapy on NPC. The new test is currently undergoing further evaluation. It is hoped that it can be introduced into routine clinical use soon. The researchers are also investigating the possibility of applying tests based on this technology to other cancers commonly found in the territory such as liver cancer. Annual Conference for Chinese Medical Educationists O ver 130 medical educationists from 60 organizations in mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong attended the Third Medical Education Conference for China Mainland, Taiwan, and the Hong Kong Region held from 7th to 14th March in Taiwan. The event was organized by Yang-Ming University and Y in Shu-Tien Memorial Hospital, and sponsored by Taiwan's Ministry of Education, Department of Health, the Li-Ching Cultural and Educational Foundation, and God's Help Hospital. The delegation from the CUHK Faculty of Medicine was led by Prof. Joseph C.K. Lee, who is also a founder of the conference. The conference is an important annual event of the Medical Education Association for China Mainland, Taiwan, and the Hong Kong Region. For the past three years it has provided an excellent avenue for the exchange of information and experience for medical educationists from the three regions, and laid a sound foundation for the reform of their medical curricula. The first conference was organized by Beijing Medical University in the Three Gorges in 1996, and the second, by The Chinese University in Hong Kong the following year. Six More 'Excel lent' Research Projects S ix research projects funded by earmarked grants and completed by CUHK faculty members were rated 'excellent' by the Research Grants Council in the most recent evaluation exercise. That brings the total number of excellent CUHK projects to 28 ever since the RGC started assessing the quality of research projects they support in 1994. • I n t r a - e p i t h e l i al Ne o p l a s t ic Changes i n t he H u m a n Nasopharynx (HK$620,000) Investigators: Prof. Joseph C.K. Lee, Prof. Dolly Huang, Dr. J. Lloyd McGuire*, Prof. Michael W.M. Suen, Dr. Henry G.S. Murray*, and Prof. Charles Andrew van Hasselt • The Development of Grammatical Competence in Cantonese- speaking Children (HK$700,000) Investigator: Dr. Thomas H.T. Lee* • Hy b r id Connectionist Expert Systems for Spatial Inference and Analysis 一 An Integration of Neural Networks and Expert Systems Technologies (HK$600,000) Investigator: Prof. Leung Yee • An Object-oriented Knowledge-based Image Analysis System for Env i r onmen t al Mo n i t o r i ng Using Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Systems (HK$800,000) Investigators: Profs. Fung Tung, Leung Yee, and Leung Kwok-sak • I den t i f i ca t i on of Chinese Med i c i nal Herbs by Comb i ned Molecular and Chemical Approaches (HK$766,000) Investigators: Profs. Shaw Pang-chui and Paul B.H. But • 3, 4-Bis (trimethylsilyl) -and 3, 4-Bis (trialkylstannyl) -furans, pyrroles and thiophenes: Versatile Bu i l d i ng Blocks of 3, 4- disubstituted five-membered heterocycles (HK$619,000) Investigator: Prof. Henry N.C. Wong * No longer a CUHK employee Inauguration of CUHK-Peking joint Units I n collaboration with Peking University, the University has recently set up a Joint Centre for Intelligence Engineering and a Joint Laboratory for Plant Molecular Biology and Biotechnology. The centre and the laboratory w i ll become a base for scientific and technological collaboration, academic exchange, and the nurturing of expertise for both universities. The centre is involved in education and training, research and technological development, as well as the provision of information- related services to the public. One of its primary goals is to bring research on artificial intelligence and information technology on the mainland to world-class level. The purpose of setting up the laboratory is to enhance research on plant genetic engineering and its application in agriculture, medicine, and environment in mainland China, and strengthen collaboration with important scientists and research units worldwide. The centre and the laboratory were officially inaugurated on 24th March at the University. Present at the ceremony were Prof. Arthur K.C. Li, vice-chancellor of the University, Prof. Chi Huisheng, executive vice-president of Peking University, and Prof. Kenneth Young, pro-vice-chancellor of the University.