Newsletter No. 170

2 No. 170 4th October 2000 CUHK Newsletter ChineseLanguage Centre Presents Outstanding Teaching Award 2000 Mrs. Hsi-ching Chou Dolfin was the recipient of the 1999-2000 Outstanding Teaching Award of the New Asia-Yale-in-China Chinese Language Centre. The award has been established by the centre to give recognition to distinguished instruction. Criteria for nomination include course evaluation results, contribution to teaching, participation in community services, and professional conduct. The winner has to receive at least half of the votes cast by all teaching staff. The award presentation ceremony was held on 2nd September in Fong Yun Wah Hall, with Prof. Ambrose King, pro-vice-chancellor, as the officiating guest. Mrs. Dolfin has been a member of the centre for nearly 30 years, eight as head of the Putonghua Division. A Canadian Summer for Student Teacher Fifteen second-year B.Ed. (Language Education) students took part in a five-week summer immersion programme at Brandon University, Canada in June. The programme is run by Brandon University to provide student teachers of English an opportunity to understand the cultures of English-speaking countries and the educational practices in Canada, and to promote their competence in using English as a means of communication. Apart from workshops, lectures, and presentations, there were visits to schools and cultural and scenic spots as well as home-stay with Canadian families. The students also had the opportunity to visit a Hutterite Colony and a Canadian native community. New Department Heads Series Capitalizing on Regional Connections to Achieve International Standing New Chairman of Department of Finance Unfolds Plans and Ambitions Somewhere in the humble vinyl-tiled offices of the Leung Kau Kui Building is housed one of the top departments of finance in Asia. Well known in local and overseas academic circles for its expertise in Hong Kong, China, and Asian issues, the department's research output is published in the top academic journals, and its curriculum, which covers practically every particular specialism in the financial services industry, never fails to attract the best students in each year's intake. Interface w i t h the Commun i ty Prof. Paul McGuinness, who has just returned to the University after a three-month stint as Head of Research at the Securities and Futures Commission on approved leave from the University, is the new chairman of that department. He said his predecessors had done a great job in building up a strong base in terms of teaching and research, and the next critical venture would be to improve the depa r tmen t 's i n t e r f ace w i t h the community by enhancing the applied aspect of its research so that it can serve as a resource centre for diverse parties. The amb i t i on is that the various regulatory bodies, the exchanges, and the government w i l l turn to The Chinese University first for advice and help when handling key financial issues. Research Or i entat i on The depa r tment has a l ways performed well in research and in the last few years or so, there has been a trend to focus on Hong Kong, mainland China, and Asia. This orientation is what distinguishes the department from its counterparts in the territory, and in fact, Pro f. McGu i nness remar ked, the department can justly claim to be an expert group on China and Asian issues. 'Many finance academics in Hong Kong simply focus on North America, London, or Europe because those are perceived to be the bigger markets. That's a mistaken policy I think. We in Hong Kong cannot compete with the Americans in their own markets because there are so many top class universities that are actually in the US dealing face to face with these issues. The same goes for Europe. We should prime ourselves for the local, Chinese, and Asian markets where we have contacts and good networks, and let that infuse the research we do, ' he said. New Elements i n the Cu r r i cu l um On the teaching front, the department wi ll expand its curriculum to cover the whole spectrum of financial services. A new undergraduate programme in insurance w i ll be launched in the 2001-2 academic year. Insurance is a very big area that needs large amounts of new blood wi th the right training, but as Prof. McGuinness pointed out, it has hitherto been neglected by the universities in the territory. At the same time, further developments will be made in the direction of quantitative finance especially financial engineering, with contributions from the Faculty of Science. Prof. McGu i nness said employers in the territory are demanding more graduates with a strong quantitative orientation. Another key development which is at the faculty level is the new part-time MBA programme run by the Chinese Un i ve r s i t y 's Faculty o f Business Administration at Tsinghua University, for mainland Chinese students, which w i l l have a ve ry strong f i nance concen t ra t i on. Prof. McGu i nness believes it w i l l help to consolidate the University's, the faculty's, and the department's position in mainland China. E-commerce has been one of the hottest topics in town over the past year, affecting every aspect of finance. It wi ll c e r t a i n ly be i n t eg r a t ed i n to the department's curriculum. However Prof. McGu i nness wa r ned that c r i t i cal j udgment must be exercised when teaching the subject because many of the models that are used for an e-commerce company are radically different from the traditional models. He believes it a 'great mistake' to depart from the fundamentals because the new valuation models for e- commerce are not yet backed by theory. He said, 'Though e-commerce is a major trend in the market, one shouldn't get too carried away. The essentials of finance remain the same; it's the mode of delivery and presentation of business that have changed. Financial and business risks still need to be measured properly.' Prof. McGuinness would like to see the department's undergraduates focus more on the financial markets, and read more wi de ly the financial press to balance out classroom teaching, which can be a l i t t le t ex t book -or i en t ed. However he admitted that it is hard to encourage them to explore their minds when they are over-burdened w i th assignments, projects, and exams. Training and Consultancy Services Besides teaching and research, another key issue at the department is executive training and consultancy, which are effectively done through the Asia-Pacific Institute of Business (APIB) under the faculty. Many staff of the department are involved in programmes under the APIB which essentially has many connections wi th the outside world. Since 1994, the department has run a diploma programme on Advanced Securities Markets Analysis for business executives. Starting out as a joint venture between the APIB and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, the programme w i l l become a partnership project between the APIB and the Hong Kong Securities Institute in the year 2001. And Prof. McGuinness has been the director of this success f ul p r og r amme since its inception. I n Need of a Facelift Having served as acting chairman o f the department last year, Prof. McGu i nness said that was good preparation for the challenges he w i l l face in the year ahead as chairman. He is grateful for the support of his colleagues, and feels lucky to have a department that has a good atmosphere and excellent morale. There is one thing, however, that he wants to see changed, and that is the appearance of the BA Faculty's building. 'Our facilities at the moment belie our standard. Top class departments of finance around the wo r ld look very impressive. I f we want to compete with the top departments, we've got to at least enjoy surroundings that reflect this. I f you go into an organization that claims to be something, the first thing you'll see on the floor is a carpet. It is difficult to promote ourselves particularly in the community when the appearance of our furbishings fails to match the standard of the teaching, research, and the training we provide,' lie said. The department may be relocated to new premises over the next few years, by the end of which it wi ll have looks that are more telling of the essential fittings: the first-class faculty it houses. Piera Chen